Encounter

While wandering along Lambton Quay the other day, your sports editor spotted two of the English Empire Games team, so they were rapidly engaged in conversation. It turned out that they were both rowers: but when asked whether they could comment on the standard of Varsity rowing here with the English standard, they were quite floored. There were no Varsity reps among the New Zealand Gaines rowing team.

This seems to be a very poor reflection on rowing in New Zealand university colleges: we hereby issue a plea to the rowing types here to get down to some serious stuff.

We arrived eventually at the conclusion that sport here is otherwise pretty much the same as in England—after they had extensively interviewed your sports editor. One point that surprised them was that rowing clubs here race, for prizes—a thing clubs normally don't do in England. While they opined that it might perhaps be a good idea, they so sounded rattier dubious about it.—J.N.J.