ROWING NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 379, 22 March 1932, Page 11

ROWING NOTES.

Union Club’s Success at Kaiapoi. CANTERBURY "EIGHT'S” FORM. Saturday was an ideal day for a rowing regatta—warm, sunny and no wind, which meant perfect water for racing. The Kaiapoi Regatta Committee deserved such a chain of happy circumstances as a reward for their generous gesture in voluntarily surrendering their original date—March s—to the Christchurch Regatta Club, which was unfortunate in its selection of a date—February 20. On that date, the long-standing drought was broken by a storm of rain and wind, compelling a postponement. Saturday’s regatta was the last of the season, good fields competed, and some first-class racing was witnessed by a very satisfactory attendance of spectators. Of the seven events, five resulted as generally expected, the only real surprise being in the first heat of the junior pairs, in which Canterbury defeated Akaroa. who were regarded as something of a certainty for the event. By securing three wins and two seconds, Union increased their lead for the D.C.L. Cup, the final points for the trophy being as follows: Union 72, Avon 61. Akaroa 46, Canterbury 38, Lyttelton 19, Sumner-Redcliffs 13, Cure The Union Club having also won the Head of the River Flag, thus follows Canterbury and Avon in securing the dual honours for the season, the former winning in 1930 and the latter last year. Akaroa Club’s Success. The two junior races on Saturday were generally considered as certainties fv - the Akaroa representatives, the Revd brothers, who ran through the maiden class in 1931, and this year had scored equally well in the junior up to Saturday. In the Double Sculls they met stubborn opponents in Canterbury, who kept them going all the way and who were only defeated by a narrow margin. In the pairs it was Canterbury who upset the pot in the first heat, the crew winning with a little in hand. The losers attribute their defeat largely to not having done .any pair-oared work since the Akaroa Regatta, and to not having had any practice together of any kind since the Christchurch Regatta. Canterbury won the. final without being seriously troubled by SumnerRedcliffs, who beat pretty stiff opposition in the second heat, and showed good form. Though .somewhat unequally matched as regards weight, the winners rowed excellently, the time—a very important factor in pair-oar racing—being splendid. They have done a fair amount of work together this season, and another success that stands to their credit was the winning of the Head of the River race for pairs. The preliminary heats of the maiden double sculls were won respectively by Avon, Union and Sumner-Redcliffs, and in no case was the winner seriously pressed. In the final, Union caused Avon, easy winners at the Christchurch Regatta, to keep moving all the way. ■Cure, Akaroa and Union won the heats of the pairs and had a great tussle in the final. Cure getting home first from Union by a very narrow margin, and Akaroa also being in the hunt at the post. The winners are well-built young fellows who showed form which seemed to indicate that they had undergone coaching. Not only were they well together, but they clumped the weight on in a delightful manner. Union rowed in the easy, effortless style they showed in the Head of the River race, and Akaroa were a pair of rugged battlers in which vigour was a feature more outstanding than combination. Union and Avon won the heats of the light-weight maiden double sculls, and they had a great race in the final, being practically on even terms all the way, Union getting the decision by three or four feet. The seemingly easy win of Union in this class at the Christchurch Regatta had led to the natural conclusion that only a maintenance of that form was necessary to secure a repetition of the performance at Kaiapoi, but in the interim between the two regattas Avon, by consistent practice, had made considerable advancement. The crews, accordingly, met on practically even terms and hammered each other in a most gruelling race. Youths’ Partnership Dissolved. In the youths’ events the unbeaten Union pair had no difficulty in winning the double. This was their last appearance together in the class, as Toner will have lost his status as a youth before next season comes round. They have been associated for two seasons, and during the present one their performances have very materially assisted their club in attaining the two premierships. Avon were second in both the finals. Sincerity of Purpose. The many wins of the city clubs’ crews at the three local regattas has produced discussion as to reason for the comparatively poor showing of the other clubs, the Akaroa juniors alone showing superiority. These clubs have representatives of physique equal to that of the opposing city crews, yet they manage to win only an odd event now and again. It really comes down to a matter of coaching and consistent training. In addition to their training for club races, city crews do a tremendous amount of work in preparing for the regatta races, and consequently are physically fit for hard racing. Then again, not only is there regular preliminary instruction from older members who have “ been through the mill,” but crews do not go wanting for coaching for their various engagements. In short, possibly the real reason for the rare success of outside crews can be attributed to an absence of that sincerity of purpose that is usually to be found amongst city clubs’ crews. If the outside clubs tackled their tasks as seriously as do the other clubs, their record of wins would show an advancement. Tlie Canterbury Eight. Amongst those present at the Kaiapoi Regatta were members of the Canterbury eight, some being merely spectators, others taking part in the racing. Enquiries produced the opinion that the crew were doing very satisfactory work, and the feeling was strong that as a combination they were lengths faster than last year’s crew, who just missed winning at Dunedin. If this expression is not just surmise, but a conviction based on a knowledge of the qualities of the two crews, then unless the opposition is more formidable than usual, Canterbury should carry off the honours this year. Last year Otago won at Dunedin, and also proved successful at Lyttelton in 1929 and at Wellington in tlie following season. The soutlierners again have a strong crew, but reports do not credit them as being better than that of last year. The race will be rowed at Picton on Saturday, and the field will be thoroughly representative.