ROWING: Heard the one about Wairoa staging the nationals? | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

ANENDRA SINGH

It started as a joke but when the laughter died away what it really came down to was who had the best river in the East Coast.

For the East Coast Rowing Association it was a choice between the Clive, Wairoa and Turanganui (Gisborne) rivers.

The flow went with Wairoa and it will now host the national regional rowing championships next year, according to East Coast association regional coach/development officer David Rodger.

"Well, Turanganui River is the shortest river in the southern hemisphere and Clive River was out because it is between the cities of Napier and Hastings. However, Wairoa River is wider and runs through the town, so people can easily walk to the venue," Rodger tells SportToday.

Rowing New Zealand's decision to award the September 2007 event to East Coast caught association president Rohan Condon on the hop.

Oddly enough, the seed was planted at this year's championships in Ashburton two months ago when a group of jovial East Coasters invited other regional types to "get on the bus with us" and enjoy being "uniquely East Coast".

The East Coast team had hired a Karamu Coachlines Ltd 47-seater to the regionals, hopping between the islands on the ferry to travel south.

"We stood out down there with our cost-effective means of transport. At the end of the event we cheekily suggested they hop in the Hastings bus with us and come visit the coast for the next championship," says Rodger, who is based in Hamilton.

Not to be confused with the New Zealand Club Championships, to be staged in Twizel in March, the national regionals at Wairoa will see up to 400 rowers and officials converge on the town from the 10 associations around the country.

Accommodation will not be a problem, says Rodger, as Wairoa Mayor Les Probert prepares to host the visitors in hotels, camping grounds, high schools, marae, and, if pushed, has the support of the nearby settlements of Nuhaka and Frasertown.

"They will have up to 500 beds available and rowers are used to travelling for 20 to 40 minutes if need be," says Rodger, who champions the Wairoa community hall as a superb catering facility.

Rodger says the country often sees Wairoa in a negative light in the media with highlights on drive-by shootings and its cultural issues with people living on social welfare.

Condon says Wairoa's park-like setting along the banks will become a hive of activity as the community will use the regatta to showcase the town with the presence of top-class athletes during the school holidays.

"Perhaps we are being a bit nostalgic of the good old days when townspeople used to line the bank on both sides to watch the regattas," Condon says, "but isn't that what sporting events are about?"

The last major regatta staged in Wairoa, the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship (Maadi Cup), was in 1982. In 1955, it staged the NZ Club Champs.

With Wairoa boasting the No.1 kapa haka group from Wairoa College, Condon also hopes the town's world-class waterskiers and surfers will take part in the ceremonies.

"Most people have no idea of what talent lies here on the East Coast, let alone in Wairoa, and we hope that this new-found knowledge will give people a different perspective on the area," he says.