Rowing: HB crews not playing hiding games

Brooklyn Bayly (left), Harriet Williams, Danika Wilson, Hannah Lawson, coxswain Kathrine Ebbett (obscured) compete in Clive River. PHOTO/Duncan Brown

The educated word on rowing is that other schools and clubs are "hiding" talent in the hope they can spring a few surprises come marquee events later in the season.

"There are some other age-group crews who they haven't raced yet so we've just got to take it regatta by regatta," said Hawke's Bay Rowing Club coach Cedric Bayly yesterday after the first day of the annual New Year's Day Regatta along Clive River.

So the burning question is: Who are the Bay club hiding to counter the likes of Epsom Girls Grammar School, of Auckland, and Waikato Diocesan?

"Hawke's are not hiding anyone," said the stalwart with a grin after his novice schoolgirls' quad and four of stroke Brooklyn Bayly, three-seat Harriet Williams, two-seat Danika Wilson, bow seat Hannah Lawson and coxswain Kathrine Ebbett stamped their class in every category they competed in to make the finals today. "Epsom Girls and Waikato are hiding girls in the under-16s," Cedric Bayly said.

So should that be considered as tactical or simply astute on their part?

Replied Bayly: "Well, we know about it."

As far as the stalwart is concerned the club simply prepared crew to the best of their ability.

"They are pulling on from the form they had in Karapiro - they won it two weeks ago," Bayly said.

The club had just finished a camp and the rowers were simply carrying on the momentum into regattas.

Asked what the novice crew's secret to success was, Bayly replied: "They swing and they swing very well."

Brooklyn, 13, Bayly's granddaughter, said they had been rowing as a crew since the season began last winter in the quad and the four.

The fundamental difference between the quad and four is that the former use two oars while the latter "sweep" with one.

"Well, we all seem to pull the same amount of weight in the boat so we're quite strong and we all tend to swing quite well together to find a connection in the boat from the very start," said the Iona College pupil, who will start year 10 early next month.

Her role is to control the speed of the boat and the "rating", which means she dictates how fast the four go up and down the slide on their seats.

Brooklyn had done some digging to discover Waikato Diocesan were hiding their eight as well as the under-16s and four.

"And they are quite [a bit] older than us," she said, suspecting Waikato would bring them out during the North Island Championship from January 28-30 at Lake Karapiro and the nationals at Twizel from February 14-18.

It doesn't faze the novice rowers, who believe they can only control the controllables.

"Well, we'll just go out there on the day and just push ourselves, I guess, but we don't like hiding and do our best.

"We're getting good outcomes lately so that's good," she said.

No doubt, the Bay quad are confident of winning their final today.

"We're just going to go as hard as we did at the final at Karapiro," Brooklyn said, expecting a fight from Aramoho/Whanganui Rowing Club or the second Bay crew who make up the eights.

The novices combine with Sahmara Ara, Stella Griffiths, Lucy Burrell and Aimee Brooker to form the Bay novice female eight. The Bay schoolgirls have qualified for all their divisions - singles, double, quad, four, eight.

Brooklyn said in the eight race, the second Bay boat crew were given a 150m head start but her crew prevailed.

They also competed against the Bay club eight to finish runners up.

Seven clubs from North Island are at the regatta here. Racing resumes at 8am today.