’Angry Woman’ Leads Rowing Crusade

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31094, 24 June 1966, Page 13

’Angry Woman’ Leads Rowing Crusade

“The Press" Special Service

WELLINGTON.

A petite young Auckland woman is being described as the second Mrs Pankhurst. She is preoccupied with a crusade to win recognition for her sex in a sport that for years in New Zealand has been virtually a male preserve.

The sport is rowing and the woman is Miss L. Skelton, president of the newly-formed New Zealand Women’s Rowing Association.

Miss Skelton was stroke in the New Zealand women’s crew which toured Australia early this year.

She is now in Wellington trying to win support for a women’s rowing club in the capital. “Everywhere we’ve gone we have come up against male prejudice," she said.

“But all of a sudden women’s rowing in New Zealand has got a bright future. “This is due to the chain reaction set off by the New Zealand women crew’s trip to Australia. “But because of the male prejudice some girls can’t get the chance to row, so we’ve just had to start up our own clubs.” For a number of years there had been a women’s crew in Auckland and one or two others scattered throughout the country. According to Miss Skelton, the organisations realised that they had to be united if they were to survive. “Establishing new clubs costs so much, but I'm sure with the incentive of trips to Australia every two years we’ll grow,” she said. Told that a prominent Wellington oarsman had recently described women’s rowing as “ludicrous,” Miss Skelton was irate.

“At the secondary schools regatta at Lake Waihola this

year when we took part in a special race, we were told by many people that only one crew looked better than us and that was Wanganui Collegiate,” she said.

“If you took any novice men’s crew and compared them with us, I’m sure we would look far better.

“Rowing is a great sport for women. It’s rhythmic and it’s healthy and it’s a team sport that' builds up a great character.

“In Europe there are some countries tiying to get F.I.S.A. (the international controlling body of rowing) to get women’s rowing introduced to the Olympic Games. “Apparently in Russia women race against the men and give them a good go too.”

But equality, even to Miss Skelton, has some limits. She says she would not like to see the day in New Zealand when women raced against men. Oarswoman, administrator and crusader. Miss Skelton has another string to her rowing bow, coaching. “This season I’ll be coaching full time,” she said. “I’ve got to. There just isn’t anyone else.”