enthusiastic after visiting us here,” says
Rowlands. “He singlehandedly persuaded the
northern hemisphere countries to come here.”
>
New Zealand Rowing got the go-ahead to
stage the championships in 1976. This gave the
organising committee two years to plan and build
a World Rowing Championship. Every weekend for
18 months crews of volunteers would descend on
Lake Karapiro to work at building the infrastructure
to make an international event possible. Rowlands
was the person everyone looked to. Tony
Popplewell, who volunteered in 1978, described
Rowlands as ‘an infectious leader.’
After the 1978 championships Rowlands’
innovations led to his engagement in designing
other rowing courses throughout the world
including four Olympic courses. “I was sent to all
sorts of places to give advice at FISA’s request,” says
Rowlands. FISA’s events director, Svetla Otzetova
worked with Rowlands when he was part of the
FISA regatta installation commission and describes
Rowlands as very practical. “He was good at solving
problems,” says Otzetova, “a trouble shooter.”
Rowlands. The priorities were transport and food.
These were covered by giving every team their
own bus and driver. “They could come and go as
they liked,” adds Rowlands. At the lake a restaurant
catered by the New Zealand Army, with the choice
of unlimited portions, was a great success to
the extent that some rowers had to watch their
increasing weight.
© Don Rowlands
Rowlands. “School rowing started to explode and
it’s been growing ever since.”
Don Rowlands in 1978 at the
World Rowing Championships
held in Karapiro, New Zealand.
Rowlands was a deft hand at coming up with
ingenious ways to get things done and he had
no hesitation in using the many contacts through
the rowing community. His own engineering
background also came into play.
“Combined with his engineering skills,” says
Popplewell, “Don did a lot of innovative things
on and off the water.” These included a mechanism
at the start to hold the boats in line, an Albano
rowing course that was dead straight with buoys
every 10 metres and housing for all of the boats
under cover in a series of giant temporary buildings.
This was in recognition of the need to keep the
wooden hulls sheltered from the elements.
The legacy resulting from 1978 is ongoing. “We
ended up with a lot of wonderful equipment and a
very good course,” says Rowlands. “The recognition
of how good it was is shown in that the world
wanted to copy it.” Rowlands adds that some of
the equipment has survived to 2010. The adaptive
rowing start at the 1000m mark is a modification
of the starting equipment that was used for the
1000m start by women in 1978.
Rowlands has been honoured on a number of
occasions for his contribution to rowing. In 2005
he received the New Zealand leadership award
for sport. He has an Olympic Order medal and
in 2009 Rowlands received the World Rowing
Distinguished Service to International Rowing
award. A book on his leadership style, ‘The Don
Rowlands Leadership Guide’ (by Keith Davies) was
recently published.
Earlier in the year the Don Rowlands Centre
was opened on the shores of Lake Karapiro. The
$4.6 million (NZD) complex is a fitting tribute to the
man that brought so much to New Zealand rowing.
;
■ M.S. B.
“We were all ex-rowers and we concentrated very
hard on what the visiting rowers wanted,” says
The legacy is also seen in the advancement of
rowing in New Zealand. “There’s no question
that there was a boom in rowing after 1978,” says
