ROWING

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 45, 22 February 1930, Page 22

ROWING

TWO TITLES CHANGE HANDS

ay "STmoKt" THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

A SUCCESSFUL REGATTA

I The-.■ championship regatta, of the 11*20- '6O season will bo remembered as 3 one of flic most successful champion--5 ship meetings. True, tho weather was not all that could be desired from tho spectators' point of view, but in other . respects tho meteorological conditions could hardly have been improved upon. I The night before tho fixture a high wind l appeared. ■ unfavourable, but this ( dropped during the night, and when , the fours, the first race of the day, was , started, the water was in a good eon- , dition. It was a little choppy at the two-mile post, but for all that it was favourable from an oarsman's point of view. During the day tho wind \ dropped, and as the racing progressed t the water became better, till towards . the end of the programme the Sound was J like tho proverbial sheet of glass. The , good conditions pleased the competi- ' tors, but the spectators wero not so fortunate. Light rain commenced to fall early, and as the wind dropped the rain became heavier, and most of those who \ had anything to do with the control of the regatta were thoroughly wet before the day .had progressed. It was unfortunate that it should have been so wet, as the crowd anticipated from Blenheim did not make the journey, and the regatta club's finances suffered as a consequence. The meetng was well conducted, and the convenience of the competitors a,nd supporters received due consideration.The Titles. . " . It is only on rare occasions that championship titles do not change hands, and this year was not ono of those oecaisions. , Two of the titles were retained, and two went to different clubs, which is all for the, benefit of tho sport. There is no. doubt that a championship title in a rowing ceiitro makes a great deal of difference to the sport there in the way of encouragement to other members of rowing- clubs. Three of this season's titles have remained in the North Island, the other going to the: South. The most important event of the day was, of course, the fours. Apart from tho fact that it was tho most important race, it was one of the best races, and that gives it added 'interest when ono comes^ to review the regatta. After the Picton crew's showing in the fours at the previous championship meeting, there were some,who were disposed to think that Picton might just beat Hamilton. But there was a larger number "of people who were satisfied that Hamilton would be able to stave off any challenge. There is no doubt' that the' form show/i by the Hamilton four at the Wellington Begatta the week prior to the championships was most impressive, and the general opinion was that Hamilton would carry off the principal honours. After tho race, however, there'was; a different tale to tell. In point of entries, tho championshipvfours was- disappointing, the total entries for that race being only three— Hamilton, Pietou, and Wairau. In spite of the poor entry the race must be remembered as a, classic, and as one of the best races seen at a championship meeting for a. long time. Over practically the greater part of the distance the two -boats"'(Wairau" had dropped back, early) raced side by side, and the difference between them was too small to be observed from ' the umpire's launch. Then in the last quarter-mile Pieton,- who had stuck to their task with great doggediiess, gradually drew ahead, and went on to finish by a comfortable '.margin.' From the point of view of. style, tho race waß an eyeopener —the polished work of tho Hamilton four contrasting with the less finished but moro effective effort on the part of Pieton. Stamina, not style, was in the boat that day, and stamina won. The Picton Club first won the championship fours in the 1897-98 season, and held it for three years (till 1899-90) when Canterbury took the title. They won it again in the 1911-12 season, but did not hold it for more than one season. The title lias gone back to the club now, and it should give rowing a new lease of life in Marlbofough—not that it needs it badly. . ". . . The Sculls. , ■ The other championship race that promised to be well worth while watching but which was a disappointment, was the championship sculls. At the previous championship regatta, Turner, the Tauranga sculler, beat Jackson by a margin of a few. inches, and the week prior to the championships Jackson beat Turner, at -Wellington. It was anticipated that the race would be a classic, but the unfortunate incident of the scullers' blades touching spoilt tho finish. Tarrant, of Picton, also started, and gave a very good account of himself, though he was never in a position to threaten either Jackson or Turner. Haua, Turner's club mate, started, but' was left behind before tho leading boats had gone very far, and so, aa was the case in the fours, this race came to a neck-audriieck struggle between, two boats. When the-scullers were entering on the last quarter-mile their bladestouched, and Jackson ■ stopped rowing. He went on after an interval and claim-' ed a foul, .-which was disallowed. At the time, Turner had a very slight advantage^ his paddle was dipping simultaneously^ but -a little ahead of Jackson's, but it is extremely doubtful whether the incident affected the race in any way. Turner kept on rowing, and he finished easily. " The sculling was very pretty to watch, Turner's especially. Ho put more "life" into his work than his opponent, and rowed as though he was out to win from start to finish. Haua also made a creditable display. The Pairs. ; ~ As Wellington rowing held the pairs title, moro than tho usual interest attached to this race. It provided tho jlosest finish of the day, the winning Hamilton crew crossing the line a bare six inches ahead of Star, the.holders of the title last'yoar.-All agreo that Hamilton thoroughly.. deserved their win, sspecially in view of tho fact that they had had one hard raco that day. Cooko Jrid Mullins, the Star pair, rowed a very fine .race; Mullins, Svho was new to jhampionsriip rowing, acquitted himself well, and showed that he ,is a fitting partner.- for Cooke. The pair hope to lave many more seasons- together yet, md should give a good account of themselves at future championship meetllgS. ' I---''-.