Residents back rowers

IAIN MCGREGOR

TOO NOISY?: A university rowing team trains on the Waikato River.

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A Hamilton resident who complained about noisy rowers on the Waikato River has been lambasted by Waikato Times readers as "mean-spirited" and told "move to another suburb".

The Times reported yesterday that Hamilton City Council had received a complaint about rowing coaches' noisy megaphones on the water.

However, the unidentified complainant appears to have few supporters, particularly among River Rd residents.

"I think the people who have complained are absolutely mean, and should reconsider their attitude and if they're that upset they should move somewhere else," councillor and River Rd resident Gordon Chesterman said.

Mr Chesterman said he loved the rowers and was not perturbed by the use of megaphones on the water during early-morning training sessions.

Mr Chesterman, who has lived in his Claudelands home since 1986, said the rowers were like an "alarm clock" each morning.

"I just think it's spectacular, it's interesting, the noise is neither here nor there and it's no different to a car driving past your house at six o'clock in the morning.

"This is the home of champion rowers, these are the people training on the river, it's fantastic."

Two other River Rd residents, Dulcie and Barry Cowley, were also angry about the complaint.

"We've lived on the river for 50 years, the rowing has been going on all that time and what I'd like to ask them is, do they want the ducks to stop quacking, or do they want the tui to stop singing or the sparrows to stop chirping?," Mrs Cowley asked.

Ian Kennedy, also a riverside property resident, advised the complainant to get a life in another suburb "and make room for someone who will appreciate every aspect of the Waikato River, including dedicated young men and women involved in a healthy pursuit".

Waikato Rowing Club president Alec Auld said the complainant was "making a mountain out of a molehill".

Most club rowers now were based at Lake Karapiro year round, instead of the club's Grantham St shed.

Mr Auld said the coaches, who travel alongside their crews in a boat, had to use a megaphone to call instructions.

"The athletes just can't hear without some form of a megaphone. But we certainly try and keep them at a reasonable level. I think you can coach with a megaphone without it being too blaring."

Hamilton Rowing Club president Blair Currie said the club's secretary had sent a warning to members to keep noise to a minimum. Only three or four of the club's 15 coaches used megaphones, he said. There were complaints most summers despite rowers having been based on the river for decades.

Council spokeswoman Monica Holt said the complaint was being investigated.

- © Fairfax NZ News