A few students jumped into the Tamsui River, where the race was being held, in protest against their being demoted to the losers’ group, though they won the first heat on Sunday.

The Taipei bureau of sports organized the three-day race, which started Sunday. Altogether 125 teams are taking part, nine of them from abroad.

Cheng Chia-hui, captain of the NTNU crew, said she was told right after the first heat win to take her team to row in the second heat for the winners’ group.

“We were ready to take part on schedule,” said Cheng, whose team was competing in the “mixed” division. All crew members are students of the NTNU Mandarin Training Center.

Among them were Lynn Lee of the United States and Boukje Bruinsma of the Netherlands.

That second heat was scheduled to start at 9:40 a.m.

“But,” Cheng said, “the bureau of sports, without warning, advanced the starting time to 8 a.m.”

The NTNU crew had to report for the heat one hour 40 minutes earlier than they had been officially told. “We were not fully ready,” Cheng complained, “and were disqualified because our helmsman didn’t wear what they call the right life jacket.”

There are at least three different life jackets, but the organizing committee didn’t specify which life jacket should be worn.

After the removal from the winners’ group, the NTNU team was moved to the group of losers to continue competing under protest.

The team lost the second heat for the losers’ group.

“We were thoroughly demoralized,” Cheng went on. “And that’s why we lost.”

To give vent to their pent-up emotions, a few NTNU crew members jumped into the river.

“I didn’t,” said Lynn Lee, “because the river smelt.”

Wu Chin-sheng, deputy director of the sports bureau, apologized for “the errors” the organizing committee made to compel the NTNU team to row as losers.

Champions of the two groups emerged after the heats. They will row in the finals today.

“On behalf of the organizers,” Wu said, “I offer my apology to the NTNU team. But we think it’s wrong for students to jump into the river to protest.”

Protests should be filed with the organizing committee, Wu added.

As a matter of fact, the NTNU crew captain said, those who jumped into the river regretted what they did. “We asked the organizing committee to announce our apology to the public for delaying the competition of other teams,” she pointed out.

No apology of the team was broadcast by the organizing committee, Cheng said.

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