Avon four favoured

Press, 7 February 1986, Page 21

Avon four favoured

Avon’s new coxless four will be tested in race conditions for the first time when the Canterbury rowing championships are held at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel, this week-end. The Dave Elder boat, launched only a week ago, has already caused something of a stir with its unconventional rigging. At Lake Ruataniwha the Avon crew of Neil Gibson, Les O’Connell, Don Symon and Simon Aplin — all members of the New Zealand team which competed in the 1985 world championships at

Hazewlnkel, Belgium — will be strong favourites to win the men’s open coxless fours. Their opposition will come from a North End (Dunedin) crew, another Avon combination and two Canterbury club fours. The two-day regatta has attracted 302 entries, well down on the 404 last year when the titles were a "dry run” for the New Zealand championships, held at the same venue a fortnight later. Neither Wairau (Blenheim) nor Nelson will be sending crews south. But the South Island cham-

pionships at Lake Ruataniwha a week later has 471 crews entered. It is one of only three classification regattas on the national calendar this season. As well as the fortunes of the new Avon boat there will be interest in the premier men’s single sculls contest between a hardy trio. John Cook (Avon), a most consistent performer this season, will be up against two New Zealand lightweight sculling representatives, Dale Maher (Union, Christchurch) and Allan Rowe (North End). The intermediate eights

will bring a re-match of last week-end’s battle in the Lion Brown regatta with Union looking for revenge over Avon, now the holder of the Oxford Victualling Co. Trophy. A new event, the women’s lightweight coxed fours, will be raced between Canterbury, Cure (Kaiapoi) and North End. There will be 38 titles at stake with all 29 heats to be raced on the internationalstandard course tomorrow. If the weather is fine finals will begin tomorrow and be completed on Sunday.