ON THE WATER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18992, 11 February 1930, Page 7

ON THE WATER

ROWING NOTES FROM MANY QUARTERS.

(By

“JASON.”)

FIXTURES.

February 15—New Zealand Championships, at Picton. February 22—Kaiapoi Regatta. March 22—Interprovincial Eights, at Auckland. April s—Otago Regatta. The Avon Club’s junior four, who won at the Wellington Regatta on Saturday, will compete in the junior fours at the New Zealand championship regatta at Picton next Saturday.

They are G. Rushworth, F. 11. Thompson, G. Jordan and C. 11. Bishop. Members of the crew will row also in the junior pairs and in the Marlborough Plate, the concluding event of the day. The club’s maiden four (C. Wright, A. Robinson, A. Andrews, 11. Warlow), and the light-weight maiden four (Wright, Warlow, W .Harvey, H. Williamson), will compete at Picton, also. This latter crew ganied second place in the event which the Canterbury Club won at the Christchurch Regatta. At time of writing, details of the racing at the Wellington Regatta on Saturday are not to hand, therefore comment is not possible. On the results Star had four wins and three seconds, Hamilton three wins, Petone two wins and two seconds, Avon two wins, and Union (Wanganui) one win. The best that Canterbury could achieve was three seconds. It is mentioned that the club’s crew in the youths’ fours was disqualified, but the reason for this is not given. The Hamilton senior

four, which is expected to win the New Zealand championship next Saturday, proved much too good for the Star crew, which had a fairly easy win at the Christchurch regatta on the previous Saturday, but the men from the Waikato appear to have been fortunate to win the senior pairs. The report states that the Star pair had the race practically in their hands, when they struck a rock and smashed their boat. Avon’s two wins were in the junior fours and pairs, the first and second places in the fours being as they were at the Christchurch Regatta, Canterbury finishing second. The Avon crew is well balanced physically, and the form generally is quite good, but the stroke could be lengthened with benefit. In this crew the club has the material for a senior four next season. In the senior single sculls Turner (holder of the New Zealand championship) held the lead from the start to within a few feet of the finish, when Jackson, from whom Turner took the championship, passed him on the line. Some disappointment was expressed locally when it became known that the Kaiapoi Regatta Committee had decided to adhere to last year’s programme, from which senior events were eliminated. On that occasion the date of the regatta clashed with the championship regatta, and to an extent that is the case this year, as the championships are h'eld a week before the Kaiapoi Regatta. But the closeness of the two fixtures, it would seem, is not the reason for the absence of senior races. It is a question of finance. The Kaiapoi Regatta Committee would willingly increase the number of iis evencs ;f finances permitted, but the/ will] not. Not only was the Christchurch Regatta on February 1 a huge success from a racing point of view, but the gate receipts were of a size that brought an additional smile to the eversmiling countenance of their popular, energetic and enthusiastic secretary, Mr Rex Hobbs. He was a most persistent advocate of the Kairaki course when opinions were strongly divided, and experience has justified the soundness of his judgment. The gate takings, by the way, amounted to over £6O, which gives an indication as to the size of the attendance.

The genial secretary’s ctip of happiness possibly would be filled could he succeed in doubling the club’s present membership. There will be, however, no lack of membership when Mr Owen gets that mile straightaway course on the Avon and sufficiently wide to enable three boats to race abreast, thus enabling the Christchurch Regatta Club to promote a Henley-on-Avon under conditions which will make it the biggest annual rowing event in the Dominion outside championships.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rowing Association, when the allocation of the eight-oared race was under * consideration, the Auckland delegate said: “There is no justification for Wellington, other than its central course, and I think the race ought to be passed round in turn.” Commenting on this remark and the possibility of the race falling through this year, the “Dominion” says:—“lt now should be quite conclusively demonstrated that this ‘justification’ is by far the most important point to be

considered when the are made for next year. If finance is the main obstacle for the more remote centres, then, if possible, the course should be arranged to suit them, otherwise there is the danger of the contest dying out. As has been commented upon in this column before, the donor of the challenge cup for these eights (Mr Halliburton Johnstone) is desirous that a central course should be decided upon, and apart from following his wish, it would seem that it is in the best interests of the sport, that it should be so.” 11. R. Pearce, the Olympic sculling champion and holder of the Australian title, will represent Australia at the Empire Games to be held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in August, provided the Australian Rowing Council will grant him permission. If it does, the New South Wales Association will defray the cost of the trip. *.* ;.j It is generally understood in connection with the annual Oxford-Cambridge race, that the ’Varsity boat club’s president is in charge of the crew, being superior to the coach or coaches, at least in the matter of altering positions in the boat. A cable message states that the Oxford president fell foul of the three coaches in this matter, with the result that the coaches resigned. A meeting of college captains was called and by twelve votes to ten, supported the coaches, whereupon the president resigned. For several years matters in connection with the Oxford crew have been unsatisfactory, though at this distance exactly what has caused this is not perceptible. Possibly the successive defeats of Oxford by Cambridge have led this year to an attempt to introduce new ideas in the preparation of the crew for the big race, either by the president or the coaches, and as neither would give wav the clash and the meeting of captains and their decision was the result.