ROWING SEASON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22259, 6 November 1935, Page 21

ROWING SEASON

CLUBS' OPENING DATES RACING NEXT SATURDAY BARRETT CUP COMPETITION The Waitemata Boating Club's opening ceremony 011 Saturday was performed under ideal conditions and it was disappointing to see only a few clubs wero taking advantage of the good water available. No club racing has yet been done 011 the harbour this season but next Saturday a commencement will bo made with their yearly programmes by the Waitemata, St. George's and West End Clubs, which arc to hold trial fours races. The firstnamed club is to conduct races for Mr. C. J. Ellerbeck'B trophies; West End's contest will bo for the Peacocke Shield; while St. George's will hold races for the Kowscll Cup. The North Shore and Auckland Clubs will also be commencing their programmes next Saturday. The following Saturday, November 16, will mark the first inter-club event of the season, the Barrett Cup contest, and on November 23, three more clubs, Auckland, West End and North Shore, will hold their openings simultaneously. By that time it is hoped that all clubs which have not already done so A'ill have their plant rigged and in good condition for the season.

It is regrettable to note that it will still bo necessary for some clubs to get their plant into good order. In ithc early part of the season there is usually no lack of enthusiasm, especially among newer members, but, if tho facilities are not available their eagerness to get out and row will soon be supplanted by a spirit of indifference and a lack of interest which are the ruin of many a promising oarsman. TRAINING NEW MEMBERS VALUE OF COMBINATION The first season is not always an encouraging one for the young oarsman, and the importance of taking new members in hand and maintaining their interest right from the beginning of the season cannot be too greatly stressed. Most club officials realise this fact, and their attention to it is fully appreciated by the embryo oarsman. Older members who have served their apprenticeship to rowing, however, are sometimes apt to be forgetful, and by their attitude, and perhaps by their carelessness, they make tho task of the new man more difficult than it need be. Every successful crew knows only too well the value of combination among tho individuals which compose it, and there must be the same spirit of cooperation among all the members of a club if the best is to be got out of the sport. New members are just as essential to a rowing club as seasoned oarsmen, for from the ranks of the former the winning crews of to-morrow will be recruited. IN OTHER CENTRES OPENING DAY AT HAMILTON In opening the rowing season last Saturday Auckland was by no means early on the mark. The Wanganui Rowing Association held a combined At Home on October 19 to mark the opening of the season in that district, the hosts on that occasion being the executive of the Aramoho Boating Club. Tho Gisborne and Poverty Bay Rowing Clubs, in conjunction with tbe Poverty Bay Power-boat and Small Craft Club, held an aquatic carnival on October 26 to mark the official commencement of the Beason there, while Wellington clubs commenced as early as October 7. The Hamilton Club held its opening on Saturday last. Judging from the entries received for the series of trial fours decided during the afternoon the members of this energetic club are declining neither in numbers nor in enthusiasm. Over 12 crews took part in the contest, which was for the president's trophies, and it was necessary to decide the race in four heats before rowing off in the semi-finals and final.