ROWING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1611, 30 November 1912, Page 12

ROWING.

IBr "Mercoet."]

THE CHAMPIONSHIP MEDLEY. December 16—Akaroa Regatta. January I—Lyttelton Regatta, Marlborough. . Barry, Pearce and Co. The latest with regard to the world's sculling championship is that Ernest Barry wishes to wait until August next before racing Harry Pearce, his Australian challenger, so that the event can be held upon the date of that great London institution. Bank Holiday. It will be remembered that Pearce wished to row in .May or June, and intended to leave for England at Christmas time, but, of course, it is Barry's "say so," and if he says August, then August it will have to be. There is one point, too, about August that will make the postponement popular in Australia. It will allow of time for tho settlement of the local differences in Australia before Pearce need sail for .England, The week's ■ Australian mail shows that the circumstances of the internal, disturbances haye changed somewhat.

Alfred Felton—Mediator. The present state of affairs is indicated in a letter received by the "Referee" from Felton, a copy of which runs: "The Editor, 'The Referee.' Dear Sir,—Respecting my challenge to row ' Harry Pearce for the championship of Australia, of which you are already aware, I am prepared to withdraw same to give Pearce every opportunity . of going ahead with his arrangements to row Barry, provided Messrs. C. Towns and J. Paddon agree on their part to do likewise, and do not take my offer of withdrawal as giving them , priority in a race with Pearce in tho event of his rowing in Australia before leaving. "In view of the above offer, I am prepared to accept the challenge of Messrs. Towns and Paddon for a threecornered race on the Parramatta, or ■upon any other course to be agreed on, upon the following conditions:—' "1. To be a sweepstake of per mail' (to bo raised to .£3OO pei man if Towns and Paddon desire). "2, Winner to take the lot. "3. The gate to be divided as follows: 50 per cent, to winner; 35 per cent, to second; 15 per cent, to third. "i. Start to be from moored boats by pistol; course to be not less than three miles. "5. I would not agree to having anything to do with tlie proposed .£IOO . purse, believing that the 'gate' would provide much better financial result. "G. The race to take place any time, between last week in December and second week in January. "In conclusion, should Messrs. Towns and Paddon. not agree to sweepstakes as suggested, I am prepared to row Towns a match for any amount fiom .£2OO, rnd also offer similar terms to Paddon should Towns not agree to race, or after I have raced Towns. "Stake money to be lodged with 'The Referee' on dates to be agreed upon suitable to Messrs. _ Towns and Paddon—Thanking you in anticipa- : tion, I am, yours, etc., ALF. D. FEL.TON. "P.S.—No objection to Whelch or Webb joining in." Unravelling iho Tangle. Th© acceptance of this defiance by the men named therein' would clear the air considerably. In October last Felton Paddon, and Towns challenged Pearce simultaneously to race for the Australian championship in terms of the conditions governing the holding of the title. There were also cross challenges for a sweepstake match of aside and challenges to Felton from Towns and Paddon for individual matches of .£2OO aside. _ Then Arrist came into tho game with, his offer to allow any or all of the three lOsoc. start in a .£2oo'aside'contest. _ Felton now goes further. He proposed for the time being to leave Pearce alone and to this end will withdraw conditionally on the other two doing the same, and will use his .£25 deposit as an earnest to clinch a match it each will put up, not ,£IOO, but .£2OO aside. . Or, again, should this not meet with acceptance from Towns or Paddon, he will racg each man separately, and, moreover, he leaves the way open for Webb or Whelch to join in. This is a sound sporting offer. It would settle which of the trio should be Pearce's legitimate challenger for the Australian championship by a process of elimination, and then, if Arnst. is in earnest about getting tack into the game he oould force a race on tho winner, and so work his way back to another race for the -world's championship with Barry, should the latter have defeated his Australian challenger or with the latter should he have vanquished Barry.

Once More the Status Question. The subject of tlie amateur definition of New Zealand oarsmen las been allowed to drop for a while locally, pending tlie special meeting o£ delegate to discuss the matter at championship regatta time, but the matter is now exciting _ interest in Australia. In an article dealing with the steps that have been taken in the Dominion to solve the difficulty, an Australian writer says: "It has been suggested that tho matter might be referred to the Inter-State' Conference, and no doubt if it ware that body might indicate what course would have to be adopted to render New Zealand eligible to compete in Australia. "It seems quite clear- that there is .a simple and easy way out of tho difficulty, more especially as it is understood there are only a few oarsmen in the Dominion ■who are in faot professionals. If the clubs ceased to compete for money prizes, and undertook to conform in future to the amateur definition, as adopted in Australia, dt is conceived that there would be little if aiy objection, to the Dominion's oarsmen. In other words, if her oarsmen are really in earnest about the matter, the local association might reinstate all oarsmen who have offended, such reinstatement, of course, to take place from one specific date. It is recogniscd fully that reinstated oarsmen are not eligible to compete in inter-State races here, but in the special circumstances affecting the whole Dominion of New Zealand it is anticipated that no objection would be raised to a wide reinstatement clause such as was adopted in New South Wales many years ago." Tho Real Obstacle. Unfortunately the matter is hardly as simple as that, although unanimity among tho centres would soon bring about a settlement. With regard to the question of clubs ceasing to. compete for money prizes, there will not even be any need for that. This part of the difficulty is to be surmounted easily enough. It simply calls for an adjustment in the wording of regatta programmes, so that it is clear to tho uninitiated that the oarsmen do not compete for money. This is a technicality, nothing more—' the big hurdle being the permission of professionals in other sports to compete as amatear oarsmon. It is hero that the reinstatement scheme as suggested by our Australian critic, and as advocated for months past in this column, would lake effect, and, if once the centres would fall into line so that a clean start could be mado from some fixed date, the rest would bo easy enough. It would simply mean that the ordinary measures would have to be taken to prevent oxisting olub members from contravening tho amateur code in future, and that all intending club members should take tho amateur declaration as the' basis of eligibility for election.

The Weather and Training. Locally there has been a decided depression in rowing matters of late, accounted for largely by the execrable weather. With the limited opportunities for actual rowing at present offering, it is all tho moro necessary that as systematic a course of land training as is possiblo should bo undertaken by each crew, so that when it is possible to get out in the boat, the worlt can bo confined to the acquisition of combination and good rowing form rather than to spasmodic and fruitless endeavours of trying to hustlo up a certain amount of condition. The shore worlt, if steadily adhered .to, will briug condition—tho time iu tho boat should be devoted to the overcoming of technical difficulties, then when the good weather does come, as eomo it surely must some time, there will bo no lost ground to be made Up in teaching to row men v/lio should bo undergoing hard regatta cropwatioM. .Verb eajtj,