EIGHT-OAR ROWING.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 638, 16 December 1932, Page 7

EIGHT-OAR ROWING.

Otago Stroke Replies to Criticism. DUNEDIN, December 15. “ It’s a lot of rot,” declared Mick Brough, the well-known champion stroke of many successful Otago crews, when'shown a report of the Canterbury Rowing Association’s discussion on the boat used by Otago in interprovincial eight-oar rowing contests. 44 Both boats are identical,” he added, 44 and Canterbury’s statement that one is always used in interprovincial eights because it is faster is false. Because this boat is housed at Port Chalmers, where the representative crews train, it is used. The crews become accustomed to it during training, and to change over might be detrimental.” Examinations of the boats had proved them to be exactly the same, and so was the boat sent to Southland, when Brough was in Wanganui in 1930. He compared this boat with those distributed amongst local associations, and there was no difference. Apparently no special racing boat was delivered, though it was ordered with the other shells built for the N.Z.A.R.A. 44 I rowed in the boat over which all this fuss has been made at the Empire Games in 1930, and it was no faster than any of those distributed amongst the associations in the various centres,” he concluded.