First river row for Harvard crew
Harvard University Men's rowing 8's took to the Waikato River for the first time this morning.Having been based in Karapiro since arriving in New Zealand last Tuesday the crew was finally given the chance to experience rowing upstream on the Waikato.
"This was a good chance for us to familiarise ourselves with the river," said Bill Manning, coach of the Harvard crew.
"This is definitely a unique body of water and is unlike anything that we have back at home. We are very excited to be racing on the mighty Waikato."
The hometown secrets have been shared with Harvard, with former New Zealand International Rowing Representative and one of the Events Directors Rob Hamill sharing his knowledge.
Recent changes to the coin toss will also add to the excitement of the race, with crews having to pick either their starting side or their finish side for the race.
Hamill explained that, "with five races under our belt we know that it is hard for a crew to pass once they are trailing. It's extremely difficult to pull out into the stream and pass, especially rowing against the current with few natural passing lanes."
As Manning said though, "in the end this is a rowing race, so it still comes down to something that the Harvard team is accustomed to."
The skill of the teams will be decided on Saturday 8th September, with a close finish expected on the Grantham Street finish line.