ROWING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15521, 31 January 1914, Page 5

ROWING.

SOMERVELLE SHIELD,- CONTEST. The first contest for the Somervelle Shield will take place this afternoon, when the Auckland Rowing Club t (red and black), - holders of the trophy, will meet Wanganui Union (light blue). The race, which will be the first eight-oar event ever held on the Waitemata, has aroused great interest in rowing circles, and it is expected that the Peregrine, which will follow the boats, will have a full complement of passengers. Both crews have been training hard all the week, and, although the i visitors are expected to prevail, there are many who are confident that the shield will not leave Auckland. Officers for the race have been appointed as follows i — Judges, Messrs. W. Coleman and R. E. Isaacs; starter and umpire, Mr. A. J. Farmer. At the' conclusion of the race the Peregrine, which will leave the Ferry Wharf (Northcote -tee) at 2.30 p.m., will make a trip up the harbour. Ihe course for the race has not yet been decided on. A dinner will be tendered to the visitors after the race at the Strand Cafe. .^ WAITEMATA - CLUB. The work of fitting up the new boathouse is progressing satisfactorily. Lockers have been built, but at present no doors have been placed on them. Members are requested to bring their saws and hammers to the boathouse this afternoon and complete the building of the lockers. Materials will be provided. The official opening on February 21 should be a. notable day in the history of the club. It is the wish of the committee to draw together as many as possible of the present, and old members, and a comprehensive programme, including interesting whaleboat events, has been arranged. Invitations have not yet been issued, but will shortly be printed and sent out to as many addresses of members and supporters as available. _ That the new clubhouse has been of invaluable assistance to the training regatta crews since they moved into it was proved by the success attending the club's representatives at Mercer on Thursday. NOTES AND COMMENTS. After many weeks of hard work by the committee, and hard training by the various competitors, the New Zealand championship regatta has eventuated, and the ambitious northern crews have had the opportunity of trying conclusions with their stalwart southern rivals in the mat ter of securing championship honours; and their training has not been without effect, for in several instances they proved themselves undeniably superior to the Wanganui men, although in the championship events—with the exception of the single —they were completely outclassed. <- A point of note in regard to this regatta was the comparative absence of piitr side competition in the championship events of the day. With the exception of the Wanganui Union Club's representatives the whole of the crews facing in the classic events were from clubs under the jurisdiction of the Auckland Rowing Ass*% ciation- The reason for this state of affairs is only too obvious. The Marlborough and Wellington oarsmen have shown continual disfavour y towards tho holding of the championships at Mercer, on the ground that the river does'not afford equal conditions for all competitors.' The injustice of this objection, however, is apparent when it is understood that no Wellington crew has "ever; rowed over the course. The fact' that ; the four-knot river J current may • considerably s accelerate the speed of the boats : is- quite-true, 4 but '.as there is practically no difference between the uniform speeds of the current at all points across the river little'advantage is likely to be gained by : any S crew Certainly ■:■ any slight advantage derived' by any particular crew through: a favouring current would be small -83 -compared, to that gained by a crew/which has the '" inside " course \on aT harbour regatta, when the wind, .blowing from the land, makes the sea choppy for the outer crews; Though " dead" water is"recognised to afford the best rowing conditions, the river at least offers equal opportunity to all.

The fact that the governing association of a large regatta is dependent for its success so largely.. upon financial support by the public was probably one of the chief reasons for holding ; the New Zealand championships at Mercer. When- the Bowing Council allotted the championships to Auckland it was considered necessary by the association for ■ the regatta to be held on some public holiday, when a large attendance might be secured, and as a successful regatta has been held annually on that date at Mercer■ ' for many years, the association considered it advisable to fix Mercer as the championship course. - '■,'■'; ~ ">" ' Little comment is necessary on the championship events. In the fours Wanganui Union proved far * superior to I their opponents/ Getting away with ; a clean start, they steadily increased their lead, rowing a sharp powerful stroke, not being troubled at any time during'the race 'by the other competitors. :, A noticeable feature of their exhibition was the steadiness of their boat, which they maintained in perfect trim through the roughest of the water. This is a point which might to advantage be noted by some of the local crews, who, owing to faulty time and bad blade work, rolled far too much. This race was won by the same crew at Wellington last year, and also in the season 1909-10, when, with the exception of the No. 2 man, the crew was the same as rowed at Mercer. • ' •"-'"■*» - /', The pair oar and double sculls were also simple demonstrations of superiority ; on the part of the Southerners, who won ; with no difficulty. In the single sculls Hadfield rowed consistently; for the entire • distance, ably staving off any , attacks 'by the other competitors. C. Eoose, of the . Mercer Club, put up an excellent'performance, more than justifying the hopes of his partisans. vHe • proved himself an oarsman of considerable skill and 5 sound stamina. He already , has a good provincial record, and in years to come should figure further in sculling events; Of the ordinary class races, the heavy maidens was easily the best event of the '. day. Eleven.crews faced the starter, and good, starts were effected in nearly all < cases. The matter of starting, however, deserves far more attention than it usually receives. Many a race is won at the start. The stroke of a crew, when he can once get his opponents . " under his eye," is able to watch their every movement, anticipate their spurts, and, so long as the material in the seats behind him is sound, keep them there until the.post is passed. Time after time the same thing is noticeable, and in Thursday's race, when 11 crews left their buoys ■ together, the two crews who put themselves a length in the lead in the first 100 yds, finished first and second respectively. It must be admitted, nevertheless, that ix, is hard to j get a satisfactory start in running water, the blades of the sculls often being drawn under at the critical moment. The Whangarei crew rowed a good, steady stroke throughout the race, and deserved their j : win. The Kawhia. representatives, who appeared for the first time in a regatta, performed creditably, and, with more experience, should prove as good a heavy maiden crew 'as any in the province. Their crew barely escaped forfeiting their second place by making the mistake of. ceasing to row when the gun was fired, instead of continuing until they crossed the line. Probably the most exciting finish of the day was in the junior double sculls, when Waitemata beat Whangarei by 2ft. The Whangarei men rowed a steady stroke down the course, and were holding their lead well from St. George's and Waitemata, when, 100 yds from home, the latter, who had been conserving their strength, made a , splendid spurt, and, with thensuperior weight and condition, succeeded, in defeating the northern crew. ! Next to the Wanganui Union crews, the J best work of the day was done by Waite-. mata representatives, who won five firsts and two second places, with accompanying prize money to the extent of £64. 'After them came Whangarei, who, with three firsts and two seconds, secured £33. Altogether, £239 was disbursed in prise

money, of which £101 went Sooth witli Wanganni Union. The work of the Waits*" 'j \ A mata crews was very consistent, showing in all cases evidence" of steady "training 7" "» and careful attention to technical points. . • ' of the work. Their maiden double scull- , ing representatives showed themselves. ' % equal to the challenge of Aramoho when .. "- 50yds from home, rowing the latter to agr*" standstill. The Auckland Exhibition fours .''H also proved an easy, win for* th^liemor crew. ■ S :All things taken into consideration, that; : regatta was a great success, and the" next opportunity for competition between clubs will be keenly anticipated. 1 * Th» next regatta fixture will probably be at Ngaruawahia, usually held on' March 21, and after that will come the Rotorua re« gatta, held annually on Easter Monday. PADDON V. BARRY. By Telegraph.—Press Association— 1 • - * (Received January 30, 7.30 P.m.) Sydney, January 20. * ' Paddon is forming a committee to raise subscriptions to cover his expenses in the proposed match with Barry, the champion. He wishes C. Towns to accompany him as trainer, and asks for £250 as expenses for- - each. Seifert, of New Zealand, will also , accompany Paddon, paying his own expenses.