PLY THEIR OARS WITH A WILL

NZ Truth, Issue 1214, 7 March 1929, Page 14

PLY THEIR OARS WITH A WILL

Provincial Rowing Men Will Meet In Wanganui and Auckland

| STRQNC-

' '' : : r ■;'••• '(Fr^ XjSrith rowing; right m the^^booinv;a^tt€ntion will be \foculied -dn . doings in* the North Island this week. 1 The Auckland prdyiiici^l r4^ Whau, Riverj while the Wanganui ! regatta will be held over the popular river coursei, Nekt ; week the New Zealand' champion eights will meet at Lyttelton. y „{; -i._.._ j ; .;.'„„:1: .....„,_..-.._. — — . - —

THE chahipion % four will' be seeri. out at the Auckland regatta, "and Hamilton should win again. I The champions have been very successful this season, and deserve the honors gained, if drily "for their strict attention to training. •' ' ' : . • < The crew was m great fettle at Picton, and their rowing I ' was good, though the catch was not as crisp and; clean as if might have been, nor was there the hard finish tha,t was a-fea-ture .of some ". of. the .old. , champion crews. ' • ' ' ' ' ",".;. ;"■"'■ ; With the rading they h'ad\ had, '■■. the' Hamilton menvyere m the pinky at Picton. There is JM S .* *^ c : V?, s ' ■■> sibility they might now be feeliiig the effects of their hard rbwincf.y , Mr.. Bay.fi eld, who. witnessed- the racing at Ticton, ( was greatly impressed w;ith the tiemendous effort made by C.JHealey, btioUe of the Wanganui Union crew, m the champion fours. Owing to the ci umpling up' early m the rage, of the nurriber two* Healey had to dig it m, and keep digging it •m. all the 'way. ,-.-'■ ,' .. '■'•'..'■ ,, It was due mainly to Healey's remarkable rowing that Union eventually got up to witnin three ., feet of Hamilton. All who witnessed Healey's. performance and knew he .was carrying practically a passenger,, were unanimous m declaring that it was an effort worthy of the man who has proved himself oneofthe finest ; oarsmen m the world m recent years. ;.--.'. Aucklanders are hopeful of seeing W. Turner, the New Zealand champion sculler, m action on* Saturday on the Whau River. ! They look to W. Stevenson to extend, and perhaps defeat, the champion.

y .If y the. 'pair meet it- sh.ouldi.be .^anyinteresting rac,e, '.with the , chancesy m favor of Turner. : , '. ... '.'■ ■ YY : :.: ■ The Tauranga sculler isra good man, who would improve, considerably if he had someorie like W. Webb to .coach him.. -...';. ;• . -..' ; ■<•.■,.;: „-■;.: ,. + ". -y .- He plies • his sculls, .^vigorously,,^ ".-'and has ' a' good; leg * drive, but ! hisy blade work needs attention.- : . Owihg^tb- the ' Auckland regatta \ j being fixedfor. the same day, therey [ will be- no northern, oarsmen ; .at ; : Wanganui,, but -some good racing ; : is promised. '... ? ,. f t Several, outside crews are expected to make the. trip to the river city, and the three local clubs— •U.ByC.yAramoho, and y Wanganui— wlli be well represented. .-■:... ■-'■•..-,---', '..V.-.-- i. ; Saturday, March 16, will be Va- big day' at Lyttelton.,' as ..on ' that date -the

interprovincial championship eights will be . r/o wed. on Corsair Bay.' , j ; It is to be v hoped the weather is ! favorable, as m that case a stirring contest will be. witnessed by a big crowd of x-owing enthusiasts. > Four v crews will compete — Marlborough, Wellington,- Canterbury and Otago. They are all m hard training, and an exciting struggle may safely be anticipated. ' , -There is some good material m • the Wellington boat, and the coach - is knocking it into shape. : When seen put the other day the crew was; swinging along well and by Saturday week should have, attained good: combination. ; There is plenty of weight m the boat, and the Wellington: boys should give a good account of themselves. M It has not been possible for the Marlb.orough men to get out together as often as could have been wished, as some live m Picton and others m Blenheim. Still, they are all good oarsmen, and with a few more rows they will be ready to put up a big race. Canterbury will be represented by a warm combination, and under the watchful eye of H. Ayers, one of the finest coaches m the land, it is not surprising that this crew. is expected to again win the championship. Further south, the Otago crew has put m some solid work, and m view of the great race rowed by the southerners last year, there appears solid ground for the confidence felt by their supporters, that the Cup will go to Dunedin next week. The indications are that it will be a splendid race, but the odds at present are m favor' of Canterbury .retaining the championship.