ROWING - Leaving them IN THEIR WAKE

An influx of schoolgirls has put the pressure on, but in the meantime Whangarei Rowing Club officials are pinning their colours on a club four they think might be in the hunt for some silverware this season.
Whangarei club captain Kevin O'Hagan says rowing is still proving to be a popular choice for schoolgirls to the point where they have plenty of rowers but not enough coaches.
But when the club hosted the season-opening regatta in Whangarei on Saturday it was the club four comprising Karl Tucker, Reuben Wright, Michael Villanova and Alastair King that flew the flag by winning all of their races.
O'Hagan, who is now coaching the crew, said the club was hoping it might be able to get the foursome into some major finals this season.
"This is their second year together basically and they have slipped back into the boat very nicely quite quickly this season," O'Hagan said.
"They are fit but not rowing fit just yet as a couple of the boys have just finished representative rugby and have only just really got back into the boat. So to see them moving along quite nicely so early on is pretty promising," he said.
O'Hagan said the club hoped to have at least six crews on the water at various regattas this season. The fact that the nationals are at Lake Karapiro after being hosted in the South Island last season may yet boost that number.
The club has scheduled in nine regattas they will compete at this season, culminating in the North Island Championships in February and the New Zealand nationals in March.
O'Hagan said while the focus was on the club four and several other fours at various levels, there were also plans to get an eight on the water at as many regattas as possible.
"We should have quite a few novice crews out of the schoolboys, and we have several more we think might come out of the woodwork in the schoolgirls but there are quite a few older rowers coming back into town who are quite keen to get out there," he said.
On Saturday West End was the dominant club with the majority of its crews mastering blustery headwind conditions.