BOWING.,

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13662, 28 March 1908, Page 4

BOWING. ,

THE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING.

Our Waitara correspondent writes :-— Arrangements in connection with tno Championship, Regatta far from perfect, the majority *6f %he> officials having apparently little or w> knowledge of now to run the affair. • In the Ciiampion Fo^rs, the crews weife . kept waiting over half an hour tri? «Ie • post for the starter, and as it was raming and cold the men had anything but a pleasant time of it. One or two of the crews pulled to the shore to empty their boats of tne > rain water, ands also N r to gjve the men a chance to get warm by running up and down the beach. Hotter management should, and must be, insisted upon by the Association,^ t'uuire at chimpiontihip regattas. l'ne Unions or Wan^anui admit that they met crews which were too good , tor them on tne aay., 'a no Ctiami«pu, i?ours was a great, race, the, winners (Jackson's Blenheim crew) being slightra iv too good tor the others. There was , a great race for second place, which the : OUftoniaus had a tii£ chance oi gaining, but they stopped momentarily ».ut»n tuß gun went on, aud thus allowed .vViaiteuiata to., beat them... Thejudge placed the Cliftons thud, but the I'ictonians and Unions were, almost in a line, and many reckon th»t,JPicton, reftlly beat Clifton, and were ,i»ty - -, foot ahead of Unions* Had,the;,Blepr->, heim crew not been amongst the start-; ., ersi the battle for, first place would* have Dec* one of the finest ever seen between Waitemata, Ticton, Clifton and the Unions, who were all bunchedAt a smoke concert tendered the visiting oarsmen at Napier on the tj night ot the regatta, George Whelch anhoiinced that he had decided not.so\row again as an amateur, but whether, he meant that he intended to .turn piy* • iossipnal was not made cleac 'JJbe Ajspr } foa sculler had set his heart en. win- > ninas the Jiklmonds trophy outrifgiVafta . aecompiisbed his .object by scoring; ill! -. the championship singles three times. # ' A rowing authority-wliO' visited Napier says that Whelch proved his superiority to «ll|theTotiie^r-is^ltersvpejimd a doubt, and had ah easy win. \At the same time, tho said authority is not inclined to place Whelch, in the same class as Webb, as the latter would bo too "solid" altogether for Ibhe AJcaroa man over a three-mile course, though th« amateur champion is very brilliant over a mile. ' L-ii - The Clifton Senior crew "also 1 start- * cd w .in the Napier Fours and after they had gone about a quarter of aintfe the bow puppett gave way and •• spoiled any chance they might have had of winning. As it was they finished A. number of members of the Clift6n 'Rowing Club- met the crew who oom- ; petetl at the Cbampionshio Regatta, when they arrived home on w edmesaay ~ evening. Cheers were given, for the' returning oarsmen. " *