Varsity hijinks on the river

by Jared Dennis, Wanganui Chronicle on 19 Apr 2006 Nude rowing and swimming were just some of the events on the Whanganui River on Saturday.

They were not the main attraction on display, however, as the New Zealand university rowing championships came to Wanganui.

There was some competitive racing at times, with Otago University retaining 'The Ashes' for most overall points.

It is the university’s seventh successive overall title, keeping for another year the prize they donated, which contains the remnants of their boat shed destroyed by fire.

New Zealand Universities Rowing president and Otago University head rowing coach Glen Sinclair said he was stoked with his team’s performance, which also included retaining the Heberley Shield for the men’s championship eight and wins in the championship single sculls for Kirsty Elder and Nathan Cohen.

'The win first up today for the men’s eight was brilliant, it set the scene for the day,' Sinclair said.

'I’m especially proud of the novice crews. They gained tonnes of points for us.'

Waikato University head coach Steve Mills was also a happy man with his team coming second equal overall with Victoria University and also retaining the Tamaki Cup for the Women’s championship eight.

'Our women’s crews were excellent,' he said.

'They won every race they were in. It was one of the better university regattas I have been to, maybe not as many numbers but the standard of racing has been good.'

Victoria’s second overall was their best result in over 20 years and their men’s eight pushed the Otago crew all the way, finishing less than a length behind the defending champions.

With 300 students in town and Wanganui putting on a stunning day, the after party was something most were looking forward to.

'I hope they don’t run out of beer at the Aramoho Hotel like they did last time,' Mills said.

Along with the competitive rowing action there were also the usually shenanigans that go with a university event. One of the last races of the day, the men’s intermediate quad saw two and a-half of the five crews in the field race completely disrobed.

This got the large crowd on the bank excited, with one member of the Otago crew that placed second in the race later heard saying: 'At least we were the first naked crew home.'

Another to get assimilated with the Whanganui River in a primal state was Auckland University’s Sam Henry, who ended up nude in the water as a result of a dare.

'It just kind of happened,' he said. 'It was extremely cold.' He spent 15 minutes in the river asking for his pants back, before using an inflatable kid’s boat to shield himself as he ran for cover from the riverside onlookers.

Even with the traditional university antics the event ran smoothly, with all involved praising the Wanganui Rowing Association for a smoothly run regatta.

The rowing champions are the first event of the New Zealand University Games.

The remainder of the 28 sports being contested, featuring over 2000 students, are being held in Wellington from tomorrow to Friday.