WITH THE OARSMEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 279, 25 November 1936, Page 4

WITH THE OARSMEN

CREWS FOR REGATTAS With all regatta crews selected the three Wanganui clubs are settling down to training in earnest for the Jury Cup and the Boxing Day regattas, the river presenting a husv scene with dozens of craft atloat every evening.

The activities on the river have led more than one observer to compare the scene with that generally presented on the Yarra at Melbourne. Eights, foursj pairs and singles simply swarm over the Yarra river surface from 5 p.m., but owing to the restricted area available the traffic is well controlled to give all oarsmen a chance of enjoving their spin. Here the oarsmen have plenty of room on the broad river surface. * * * * Wanganui oarsmen would be well advised” to exercise caution if rowing above the Aramoho Railway Bridge. Several snags have made their appearance near the river banks, but as the Aramoho crews know of their location they invariably steer clear. Other rowers, however, may through ignorance of the positions strike trouble. It is understood that the Union Boat Club intend entering an eight for the £lOO scratch race which the Tauranga Club is promoting for New Years Day. and if transport can be satisfactorily arranged the trip will be made. This will not. of course, prevent the light blues from having the usual large representation at New Plymouth for”the New Year's Day regatta there. Support for the Wanganui regatta on Boxing Day promises to be on a large scale. The programme is one which is sure to appeal to all tastes. Aramoho Boating Chib. With the regatta crews selected members will have to settle down to serious training and must attend all training conscientiously. The committee should pay close attention to this and those members who are not training should be dropped, irrespective of their standing.* The selectors are io be congratulated on the result of their arduous task. The crews selected appear to be the best obtainable. All crews will require coaching and the committee will no doubt elect a coach to each crew this week. Without suitable coaching the crews might .just as well stay in the shed. Next Saturday afternoon all members will participate in sprint fours, the crews being drawn Friday night. For those members not in Regatta crews a Double Sculls trophy will be held, entries for this closing 10-night. The “young bloods" of the shed are holding a .series of dances. Judging by the success of last week's dance the series should be a handy source of revenue for the rebuilding fund. A few brief comments on the selected regatta crews may not go amiss at the present stage:As expected, in the senior fours. D. Holmes took the vacant two seat. This crew was seen out on Sunday morning and rowed very well together. There is a decried shortage of junior oarsmen in the club and to fill Hie complement of the junior and junior welter crews, members have had to be taken from the maiden ran ks. F. Laird and W. Anderson have gone into the open junior crew and J. Farrell and W. Turner in the junior welter, ’out all these men are good oarsmen and will make their presence fell in the boat. Both of the junior crews will need a considerable amount of coaching to produce their best. The open maiden No. 1 crew appear a likely combination. Two of last year's crew are still seated in the boat, these being R. Gifford and T. Sweet. The crew will he stroked by R. Gurr, who for the last two or three \ears has been rowing for the Petone Club. The other member of the crew’ is Vic. Benefield, who has been rowing a good stick this year. The No. 2 crew is an unknown quantity at present but they have the makings of a good crow providing they can hit combination. In the lightweight maiden crew A. Brougham has the stroke seal and should do well. With him are R. Nalder and M. Dearsly, both second year oarsmen. I. Dromgoole, who has the two seat, is a first-year oarsman, but has shown good form in trophy racing. The No. 1. youths crew should be a snappy combination. Three of the members are first-year oarsmen, but are as keen as the proverbial mustard. The No. 2 crew are, except for the bow, a weighty outfit and the No. 1 crew will have to look to their laurels. To fill the sculling events on the programme must have been a problem for lhe selectors, but the members selected are the best available and no doubt will bo right on the spot when wanted. Union Boat Club. With the selection of crews for the Boxing Day regatta, lhe club-house is a hive of activity, and training has begun in earnest. The selectors appear to have done their job well, and their choice has lhe general approval of lhe members. It now remains for the oarsmen themselves to do their part, and if strict attention is paid to the coaches and to training, good results may be expected from lhe light blues. The senior four is an entirely different combination from that of last season. R. Gould, who was stroke of the crack youths crew a few seasons back, is in the .stroke seat, and H. Benge, a newcomer to senior ranks, is No. 3. G. Delves, who was stroke of the crew last year, is in No. 2 seat, and although he has not yet displayed the form that won him his seat as stroke of the Wanganui eight that won the interprovincial championship at Dunedin in 1935, the selectors feel confident that he will soon come right, as he is a powerful oar and a genuine stayer. M. Granville was chosen for the bow position, but has developed a poisoned leg, and. acting on medical advice, will not row before Christmas. A. Tonks, who was selected for sculing events, replaces him in the crew. » ♦ * * The eight should mould into a good ■ombination, although training for this will be limited to week-ends. It is a solid, powerful crew, and pro-

vided the combination is developed, will prove a tough proposition in their races. ♦ * » * The juniors also should mould into a good crew, for there is plenty of strength in the boat, and i-f this is properly applied, they should do well. Mclntyre, No. 3, is a much-improved oar, and, fit and well, will have no trouble in seeing out the mile and ahalf journey. * * * r The heavyweight maiden four is an exceptionally solid crew, one of the heaviest boated by the club for many years. Although it includes a firstyear oarsman in E. Dillon, they should, under the guidance of their coach, Mr. G. Thompson, soon settle down and show rapid improvement. The selectors have great hopes that this particular crew will do well in regattas during the present season. * * * * The Youths • crew is that which carried the light blue colours to victory at the N.Z. Championships in Wellington early this year. If they can retain the form that secured them premier honours in several regattas last season, they should again be difficult to head off. A. K. G. Jackson had his first row of the season on Sunday, and the big fellow is at present carrying a lot of condition. However, he is conscientious in training and will rapidly get down to his normal rowing weight. He will represent the club in the handicap singles, and also in the eights, at the Boxing Day fixture. Oram Corby, a son of Duncan Corby, stalwart of the light blue club and himself a champion oarsman, will represent the club in the maiden sculling events, and has as his partner C. Dillon, or, as he is more familiarly known to his clubmates, “Popeye." The junior welterweights, stroked by W. Wakeling, is the first crew entered in this division by the club for some years, and as they are all good oarsmen, they can be expected to do well in their class. . The lightweights, both No. 1 and 2 crews, are all keen youngsters, and if honest endeavour counts for anything, they will be tough nuts to crack. The novices have been selected to row in lhe fours, and they had their first outing as a complete unit on Monday evening. That they have reaped the benefit of the lengthy coaching given them was at once apparent, and as they progress in the mastering of the art, the light blues will have some excellent young material to draw upon later in the season. Wanganui Rowing Club. The regatta crews for the Wanganui Club on Boxing Day have been selected and were announced in Monday's issue. The selectors' task was not an easy one, as there have been only two trophy events to go on. It behoves every regatta member to settle down to serious training now and endeavour to justify his inclusion. The rowing of the novices in the Wray Eights reflects great credit on lhe coaches, as well as on the novices themselves. Faults there were in plenty, of course, but on the whole fhe results were very gratifying. Watching the oar instead of the man in front was one of the most noticeable faults and one which is easy to contract but difficult to break. It has been decided that sprint racing for club trophies will be adopted by the club this season, commencing on Saturday. All members who are available will be entered. As mentioned in last week's notes, this method should prove very satisfactory as in the past regatta members have been unable to compete. The selected strokes for each trophy should make a point of taking out a crew every night. In this way the new members will be assured of a row every night land the club in general will attain a high standard of physical fitness. At the end of the season three gold medals will be presented by the club to the members who have attained the greatest number of points. The method of scoring will be: 1 point for each entry and one point for each win. ♦ * * * Certain members entered for the last trophy, the Wray Eights, and did not turn up on the day of the race, with the result that the first heat was over an hour late in starting. Apparently these members do not realise the inconvenience they cause and the bad example they set. the new members. Fortunately some of the old hands “came to light” and helped lhe trophy through by rowing in two crews. It is to be hoped that there will be no repetition of this as it denotes lack of the real club spirit. With reference to the Jury Cup regatta, the Wanganui Rowing Club committee have rescinded their motion regarding local regattas before Christmas, at the same time asking the Rowing Association to assist them by reconsidering their decision ol holding the Jury Cup before Christmas. If they find this impracticable, the Wanganui Club will assist them in every way and will enter for as many races as possible. It will be impossible to enter for every event. It is pleasing to note that the new members are being specially catered for in that each one is being placec with an experienced sculler in the club doubles. This is a vital factor Not only will the novice be taught tc scull, but he will be able to see the results of his own efforts against opposition. Germany, which came along so tremendously in the 1936 Olympics, is already preparing assiduously for the 1940 Games in Tokyo. Four special airships have been ordered to be constructed so that the athletes will be transported to Japan in three days instead of three weeks. In addition, all firms with eight employees or more are establishing funds to send a number of workers to the Olympics in Japan. Germany expects to have 25,000 followers at the Games in Japan.