Δημοπρασία σκιφ στην Ν.Ζηλανδία

A piece of New Zealand and rowing sporting history is to go under the hammer at this year's annual BankLink Rowing New Zealand dinners. Double Olympic gold medallist Georgina Evers-Swindell has donated her first single sculling boat - the hull in which she made her name in New Zealand as a top flight sculler - for the fundraising dinner auction that will take place at the Chateau on the Park on May 6th. "This was my first-ever boat and the one and only boat that's ever just been mine. Mum and dad bought Caroline one when she'd just left school, I think, and I got a car. "We both used the car though and I could never use her boat, so there was always a little bit of jealousy there. Caroline's boat was blue, so that always stood out amongst all the other boats in the New Zealand shed, so I got a little pink trim put on mine. "I think I got it in 2005 and I've had some ding-dong battles with Caroline in this boat and it's cool. I haven't seen it since before we left to go to China. In fact, it's probably the first boat I've touched since Beijing." The boat has been signed by Georgina across the bow and will be the headline auction item at the dinner - which will also have world champions Eric Murray and Hamish Bond as keynote speakers. Anyone who may not be going to the event can still bid, as auction organisers will have contact long distance bidders by telephone on the night - giving everyone a fighting chance of securing a major item of sporting memorabilia. "It would most definitely make a superb item for a private sporting collection or even a feature for the recepion area of a commercial organisation," added event organiser John Wylie. Anyone wishing to register as a telephone bidder should send their name, email and contact telephone number (including any appropriate international code) to: Richard Gee at richardgee@rowingnz.com Thanks go to the Christchurch Press for the photograph.

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