ROWING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 257, 3 November 1906, Page 12

ROWING.

Summer is with us in solid earnest; and crews generally will appreciate the altered conditions, especially '° tho*-* , who have to do their training in the early Luorningo. It means a great deal, and the lanous club sheds should be full, morning and evening, of training ci£«6. Entries so far this season have been good, and one hopes to see them kept up right through the season.

The opening day for the Hamilton Rowing Club has been fixed for November -?A. when trial fours will be rowed. The final for the Howden's Challenge Cup will also be rowed. The committee have, decided to enlarge the shed accommodation on the river bank and to purchase another outrigger four.

The Xgaruawahia Regatta Association has given an annual challenge shield for competition between the Hamilton and Xgaruawauia Clubs. Tlie initial race fur this, shield will be rowed at >>"egaruawahia, and future races will be lowed in the course of the club holding the shield. Writing in the London '-SportingLife" on the five of the great race between the Cambridge and Harvard crews on the Thames, "Old Blue," a particularly well-informed writer says: "Briefly put, the best American style implied a new .stroke, best described as a compromise between the old short dig to the longer and more logical sweep. A stroke, moreover, which appears to combine in a masterful way the maximum power with the ni'nimuin of effort. It combines with the best of the English with the best of the American elements discarding the extremes of each. Watch ihe Harvard men tojday, and you will see. that it lacks the extreme swing back <A the typical English style, and the extreme slide and arm work of what is nnw called the typical American style. There a ;,eeav3 to be no wasted effort or misdirected elioit. American coaches con T nd that their style takes all the woi : po.-sibU from the abdomen, which i> the first part of the athletic to give out. And by so doing they put more york on the legs, which, as they rightly contend, can afford to do more than their share. As a matter of fact, their style has the slide as its basis. Any attempt to teach Americans a long s\vin<f has fail<tvl. as the crows so taught hitherto have cracked in hard races. What is more, the best American coaches readily admit that it i> the Englishman's prolonged racing experience which makes him so formidable and robust an opponent. I usrree absolutely. And one fears that there sill a tendency amnnr , American University oarsmen to SRi'Viiice body-swing to the mere pistonaction oi rho leg* on a very long slide. jHUti ] "rhaps they have cultivated a longer swing and more general steadiness, but not to any great extent. "As all experts know, our English st\ lv i-- mainly Lased o;i the swing. There i.s no longnr, for "nstance, a pieeoneeived notion that elegance propels a boat, or that .1 stiff back is the staff of victory. Nor does 'beginning' mean ;•. mere smack at I lie water. It menus a mm hold of it. got, by raising the hands above the stretcher, and the in--Btanemia .-winging back of the body. The right use of the slide is incalculated, too, i.e.. that use of it which makes the swing and slide absolutely synchronise. As regards swing, it is the straight swing ami the long swing, a swing supported by the legs throughout, which '.& the very essence of modern English oarsmanship. This impilos a liuish which throws the shoulders right back, and brings the blade cleanly from the water. Nor can 1 see that this style places undue strain upon the abdomen—as argued by the Americans. "The proot «.." the pudding is in the eating." and, as the outcome of many years' experience, 1 never remember any first-class English University crew suffering from acute abdominal pain after a race. Quite the contrary, in fact, And the theory of 1 heir work has given us the grand* Oxford and Cambridge eights of the last two decades. All the same, the rival Cantab and Harvard crews of to-day have each brought their own style of rowing well-nigh f.o perfection. At last Hie great question of which is the better for prolonged speed is to be. answered. Over the shorter Henley course there was very little in it when Pennsylvania and other foreign crews were m opposition. We won, certainly, but only ju>t. Hiiherto, however, we have flattered ourselves that for distance-rac-ing our English style is unapproachable, i-hali we be able to do so after the great race of to-day ■■.'' The body-swing, long-back body swing, is said to have had a lot to do with the Cambridge victory. This is something that local oarsmen mi<*ht ponder over. West End Club "a-t home" on Saturday Last was a LriiliuJit function, rilorious sunshine, perfect water, the most excellent good management, delightful music and first-elasa racing all contributed to make the function a conspicuous success. For any one club to enter for over 1000 visitors was no small undertaking, and that everything passed off without a hitch speaks volumes for the organising ability of the ladies' committee. The racing' was conducted throughout in a masterly manner. The starter (Mr. Aloe Wilson) was lenient, a.nd put himself to a. great deal of trouble to keep those in order who displayed too much anxiety to get off the mark. The rowing, tliough good—and there is no doubt that every man did his best—was a lutht erratic, and there was a great tendency on the part of the crews to indulge in spasmodic spurts. One crew I noticed put in 40 strokes to the niin"tf>. They were not full strokes, however, and 1 am inclined to the opinion that a, long steady stroke of about 33 to the minute would ha.ye served equally well and created- less fatigue. Carlow had bad luck in breaking'his rowlock in the final. Ftocti the form displayed in his heat, I liked his chance very much. All honour is due to Quiivs crew, who won their race through sheer hard work. 1 think the owners of plear sure boats were remarkably inconsiderate, in sailing their crafts aimlessly backwards and forwards across the course. The least they could do would be to keep clear of the course on gala days. Auckland Rowing Club's energetic secretary, Mr. J. A. Dyson, is not letting the grass grow under his feet. For some weeks past he has been strenuously working to augment the funds for a new cight-oaTed boat, and I am glad to say that his efforts are meeting with success. The project is I one which should appeal to all lovers I of aquatic sports, whether supporters of the Auckland Rowing Club or any [other club. If Auckland is to keep up j to date with other Xew Zealand aquaI tic centres, eight-oared boats will have to be introduced. It is practically certain that no other Auckland club will j-make. the experiment. I admire the I pluck of the Auckland Club, and feel

sure they will have the heartiest support of every individual who ihas the interests of squatics at heart. North Shore Rowing Club held their first trials of the season on Saturday. Although the water oa the chosen course was r-hoppy, some good racing resulted. Representatives from all the other clubs -were present.

St. George's Rowing Club hold an "at home , ' and aquatic car nival en Saturday next. Amongst the various items will be a. relay swimming race open to one team, from each of t,he rowing clubs, the competition being for a bau ner. The closing scene will take th? form of a grand tableau, coupled with one of the dub's comic members named fcshrieks, who will recite a most pathetic poem accompanied by the cornet. I was once privileged to hear this recitation, and carefully noted that it brought the tears to the eyes of even the most hardened. 4000 invitations have been issued, «md only a line day is required for a most pleasant function.

Waitemata Boating Club have ordered a new clinker four and a new doubiesculling (convertible pair-oared) boat. The new skid for this club has recently been completed. It is fifty feet long by fourteen feet wide, so that'there is a: -I ple room on it for two boats to be carried down at the same time. The great length of the skid provides a gentle slope to the water, so that nttle hardship will entail on those handling the boats.

Auckland Racing Club's new skids are ' now completed. The skids are both wider and longer than the old skids. One ! end is attached to a crane, &o that they can be raised or lowered at wiil, thus ' obviating the risk of damage through |* vessels moored alongside. 1 The two new pair-oared (convertible } double-eculliiig) bouts recently ordered ' by tht; West r.::d Rowing Club arrived last Sunday. Crews are already at ' work training in them. The Ponsonby Regatta Committee are | hard at work getting really for this' popular regatta to be held on December loth, and the interest they are taking i in it should make it more successful than ever. It is very gratifying tc see so many crews from the ro»ving clubs getting ready to compete for the different races placed on the programme, and local rowing clubs will welcome the row- 1 ing events provided for them. I con- I ixratulate the committee en the very' proper action they have taken in adding | to their number representatives of all the yaehing, motor boat, rowing and other aqua lie clubs, so that every club will have a voice, in the management of the regatta. With line weather the regatta should prove an unqualified success. Innovations are generally unwise unloss carefully thought out, and results in the. last two Australian regattas have? pixveJ so. The N.S.YV. K.A. placed the uivjnrfi on the public etcauiev and tlv. , result of the experiment was most unsatisfactory. The amount of barrack ng and shouting that is always heard on a I steamer following must have made tiie umpires voice absolutely inaudible to any one of the crews, and therefore his position was, to say the least of it, hardly p.s >vn< intended. The laws of boatracing state that tho umpire : hall havo the boats in charge from the time they have been duly started, and may warn any crew which he considers is rowing a course that may lead to another boat being retarded or fouled. What is the use of a warning if no one can hear it. The Sydney Rowing Club went to the other extreme, and provided the uncertain motor launch. However srood a launch may be, it seems to have the undesirable habit of breeakng down at the wrong time, and on October 13. it followed its usual tactics, jibbing before the umpire and starter could get the crews anyway together, and after getting rid of the officials calmly proceeding down the course as if glad to be rid of the unwelcome freight.