Oarsmen Are Ready

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 788, 8 October 1929, Page 14

Oarsmen Are Ready

Season Starts Next Month

Through the winter and particularly during the last few weeks, Auckland oarsmen have been overhauling plant ready for the approaching season which will be quietly opened in about three weeks’ time. AUCKLAND’S PROGRAMME Auckland, the club which headed the prize list as far as the city clubs were c oncerned last season, has already submitted a tentative programme. The club is unfortunate in losing the double sculls comb nation which carried all before it last season in the maiden class. deal is going out of town for a time at least and Eaddy has handed his resignation into the club. It is rumoured of Eaddy that he is seeking bow seat n W. Stevenson’s boat for the championships. 110 is young, but lie is one of the most promising scullers in Auckland and under the guidance of Mr. Logan he could be made into an excellent partner for the ex-champion. Auckland will pin its faith to a junior crew stroked by Bygat»> in regatta fixtures. Mahon. Ross and Andrews will be the other members of a good crew. The Stuart-Reid eights, at present held by Waitemata, are under Auckland’s control and this season a proposal will be made to have the event rowed on the Whau. Expenses are estimated at .ClO—£2 a dub. Another inter-club trophy for « ompetition by the harbour clubs has been presented through the Auckland i’lub bv Mr. H. Schmidt, the Commodore. It will be rowed for under the same conditions as the Barrett Cup and the date for its disposal is .’December 7. As captain of West End. J. Hay lock exclaims with pride that the plant in the shed at St. Mary’s Bay has never been in better condition. This club, too. pins its faith largely to the junior crew with six good men available for selection. Representing the club in handicap sculling will be F. Conway and possibly Wright. G. Conway will partner his brother in the maiden doubles and should do well. These two ran the Auckland pair very close at the Whau. Two new club trophies have come West End's way: President's trophies, donated bv Mr. A. M. Paterson, and a trophy for handicap s«-. tilling presented by the secretarv, Mr. M. E. Taylor. The Waitemata prestige, which received a sad blow last season, is to

be restored to its former position, according to the executive members of the club. Waitemata will probably be the only club with a senior crew on the harbour. There is a possibility that T. Johnson, stroke of the Waitemata crew that was so successful across the Tasman in 1927, may conic back to the shed and. if so, Waitemata may turn out a combination to frighten even the Hamilton stalwarts. L. E. Brooker, R. Fearon, Cruicksliank, W. Stevenson. J. Stevenson and A. Mackay are the other senior oars in the shed. W. Stevenson is practically certain to contest the championships this season. He has ordered a new boat from Towns. preferring the Australian shells to those of Simms, and will be \ training hard. W. Lowe is also taking tip sculling and has bought a boat ; from Blundell. ST. GEORGE’S AND SHORE St. George's has not yet had its j annual meeting which is set down for j October 24. Then will be discussed ways and means of getting over the difficulty of inconvenient tides leaving the sheds high and dry. Though the club has suffered a loss in the departure of Symons to learn flying in England, there are a dozen new members including Jackson, of Shore, and J. C. Horton, a sculler with a good English record, who is bringing his own Best and Best skiff with him to the shed. The club’s programme starts early in November. The first Saturday in November will see the opening of the season’s programme at North Shore. Juniors, youths and heavy maidens are already training and prospects are bright for the season. It is unlikely that the club will boat a senior crew, but the youths, who had some success last season, are the same crew as before. It is understood that Mr. P. Graham is building a boat for Davies, who is to take up sculling again. Varsity Club is contemplating the purchase of a boat of its own. This season the annual race will be held 'at Dunedin most probably. This is largely a policy movement as Dunedin was not represented at the last meeting. Four crews will compete and the race will be held at Auckland in the following year. If the race i.s rowed at Dunedin this season it will mean that each centre will have been , the scene of the race once since its j inception.