Rowing crews from the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Rowing Club will get to race in today's time trials and the Royal St. John's Regatta after all.
Friday morning, club founder Cyril Greeley received a call from Terry Kelloway of Kelloway Construction with an offer to pick up the remainder of the $895 Regatta registration fee for five crews. Another two crews supplemented their registration fees by picking up co-sponsors as well.
"I'd like to say thanks to everybody who supported us in this, we were really overcome by the support from the people who thought we were being treated unfairly," Greeley said.
"And a special thanks to all the sponsors who put our crews in the Regatta. We're really pleased with the support we got, especially from within our town."
Other sponsors to come forward at the 11th hour include Business Management Services, A&R Services, Crossroads North Atlanti and Leon's.
The Regatta applies a higher in-town registration cost to all crews from St. John's and the surrounding area. However, Greeley says the seven teams in question do not practise at Quidi Vidi or avail themselves of the St. John's shells, but rather use their own boats on Neary's Pond and as such should have qualified for the out-of-town reduction.
What's more, the seven crews had - at least temporarily - had their registrations accepted as out-of-towners. On Friday of last week, they paid the $275 fee and on the following Monday, found their names posted on the tentative time trial schedule. However, later that same day, they were told by the Regatta Committee that a mistake had been made and that they would have to pay the full fee if they were to participate in the time trials.
Regatta Committee spokesman Wayne Young told the Telegram the registrations were accepted as a result of "a clerical error," and not because of any change in policy.
With four crews from the Portugal Cove club already fully registered, plus the addition of these seven, it brings the total number of crews rowing in today's time trials to 72.
But with all the goings-on this week, the crews could be at a disadvantage.
"They quit practising and everything this week because they were too busy looking for sponsors, and now we've got to get everything ready for tomorrow," Greeley said Friday.
"So there's a lot to do."
koliver@thetelegram.com
Sponsors save the day
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Published on
July 11, 2009
- Published on July 1, 2010
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Kenn Oliver
ROWING/ROYAL ST. JOHN'S REGATTA Crews from Portugal Cove-St. Philip's will row in the Regatta after all
Rowing crews from the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Rowing Club will get to race in today's time trials and the Royal St. John's Regatta after all.
Friday morning, club founder Cyril Greeley received a call from Terry Kelloway of Kelloway Construction with an offer to pick up the remainder of the $895 Regatta registration fee for five crews. Another two crews supplemented their registration fees by picking up co-sponsors as well.
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