ROWING. :

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1623, 14 December 1912, Page 12

ROWING. :

[BT "Meboctbt."] HARRYING HARRY PHAROH, Bccembsr 16—Akaroa Regatta, December 2fl—Port Chalmers Regatta. January I—Picton Regatta. January I—Lyttelton Regatta. January 10—Sumner Gala. . February 22.—Cliristchurch Regatta, Corsair Bay, Lyttelton. Hands Up! A Race or Your Tltlel Tho "stand and dolivoT" policv adopted towards Harry Pearco by his challengers iu the matter of his Australian championship and his refusal to defend his title has now reached its logical outeomo. Pcarco has been held to have forfeited the titlo, which now rests in aboyance ponding tho result of the raoo between Alfred Felton and Charles Towns on January 25. The matter was thoroughly thrashed out at a meeting of those concerted in Sydney recently, Pearco and his challengers boing presont either in person or by proxy. J'he upshot was the formal signing of articles between. Folton and Towns for tho match on January 23, and a further signing on of Folton and Paddon for another match on February 15, for .5200 aside and tho title should Felton be tho then holdor. This is tho present position, but it is likely to l)o complicated at the oonclusion of the second race mentioned. "Dick" Arnst is back in tho game again, without doubt, and, although it is apparent that ho will not trouble Pearco until the latter is through with Barry, it is very apparent that, as soon_ as another Australian champion has arisen, Arnst will be on hand with a challongo. So it appears that the next race for tho championship is just a preliminary to'a race with Arnst, which is exactly what the public want to see, for, if the exchampion gets hold of the local title, ho will be fairly on his way to another race with Barry, and, if ever this match comes to pass, the Englishman will find that he has to deal with quits another Arnst to, the one he defeated last July. This is all of course presupposing that Barry beats Pearco. If not, then of course Pearc® will bo asked to sottle with his fellow Australians. . '. I Style—An English View. Reverting to tho question of .the Ans- ; tralian stylo, as opposed to the English, a Sydney paper publishes a letter received by the manager of the recent Olympic, Australian rowing team, from, a pro-, minent member of tho Leander Club. . The matter is highly interesting to row-, ing men,' but, unfortunately, lack of: space precludes its publication in totu; However, tho most important points ai;e appended:— Sinoo you have asked me for it, I will give you my impressions of Australian rowing. I thought your crew the best because they were the best combination of eight men I have over, seen. Their wrist-work was excellent, and their bodies and shoulders were kept in a sound and powerful position and shapo all through the stroke. No over-reaching or tiring shoulder work, Leander's wrist-work and position of shoulders and bodies suffered by comparison with your crow. . . _. "Your crew may have been theoretically correct; they were very nearly practically so according to our ideas; but not quite. That difference just took away the great speed which your crow might have had. I allude to the 'beginning.' Your crew bad V beginning, but just missed 1 'the' beginning which is_ the_ crux of speed in our eight, and which is the most difficult point to learn in rowing. This is not acquired by a jamb of the'legs or heave of the body, nor uy the lightness of the hands alone; it is tho combination of all points. It is true the Australians had the combinations of all those points, but they era not quick enough to get a true grip of the water. . . . "As regards tho swing, your crew were pn tho short' side."' On the other hand, !.teander mar have overdone it, owing to the bad and faulty position of their bodies.- A crew which does not really grip their beginning is apt to be short in their swing back,_ and a crew which is .short forward finds it very difficult to get •hold of tho beginning. ' "Tho true beginning is a knack—sleiglit-of-hand, feet, and body, if you like to call it so—which, when acquired, in always 'hitting' the boat along even when the men are dead beat. 'Hitting' is quite the wrong expression, but I think you will | understand it. Also, on that true beginning the. weight is suspended .and carried with irresistible force through to th© end of tlio stroke; .in consequence, the weight is working when the individual is tired. If you do not have the true beginning, the blade work, and in consequence the pace of the boat,- must depend on the speed of tho slide back, which must fall off as tho legs' tire." ■ "Where I consider youT crew were faulty was at tho beginning of tho stroke., inasmuch as tlint simultaneously with the blade entering tlio water thoir w&'ghts were not suspended between thoir stretchers and handles of their oars.' ,' "If you can produce a crew as good as this vcar's, with true beginning, they would" be fiftwn seconds foster over the Ilenley course." ' "To sum it up. Our rowing at the beginning might bo expressed by 'Grip the water and hang your weight on it.' Yours might 1m expressed by 'Carry it right through from the beginning.' Do you see the difference in the two expressions? They really mean' the same, only the first one lavs more stress on the instantaneous hold at tho beginning of the stroke." What Does It all Amount To? Which seems to point tho. difference between the English, the Australian, and the New Zealand styles. It will be 6een from tho above that whereas we differ from tie English and agree with the Australians in tho length of wing, wo ogrco with tho English and differ from the Australians in the method of gripping tht water. . - In shoTt, what thev call "getting the beginning" we call '•getting tho catch," ■a.ud it is just the difference between the meaning of tho words "beginning-" and "catch" as. rowing terms that points tho difference in tho methods. Thus, .our farm "catch" moans just what the English- critic says, ''Grip the water and hang your weight on it." Local Championship Ropresentatiotii Locally tilings aquatic are looking up. for which one has to thank tho clerk of the weather most oordially. Tho good water prevailing of lato has had a marked effect on both the town blubs. Regatta crews are doing work, and, best of nil, there are indications that both clubs will be represented by crews in the Champion Fours this season. The Wellington Club has secured a decided acquisition in the person of Charle3 Hegglun, lato of the Blenheim champion crew, and rumour has it that it is receiving further reinforcements. Among those mentioned as probablo candidates fot esuts in a crew to represent tho club are Ditely, who some seasons back, with Kearney, won the Champion Pairs, in the interests of. the Akaroa Club, and two Christ-church oarsmen, Rollesbon and Brown. Tho Star Club is reljring on its older meinters for its championship crow, and it is probablo. that a quartet, of which Bayfield, W heeler, and Evatt are already certain starters, will bo finally selected veTy shortly. Already tentative rows have, iWn indulged in as a kind of "try out" for tho men concerned, and tho result h«6 bsen considered satisfactory, so that it is probabk that by the time this appears in print training operations will liavo bjgun m real earnest. Representation in tho championship events by local crews § . will do an immense amount to stimulate interest in the sport here, and will add considerably to tho measure of success attained by tho big meeting on the harbour ot tho end of tho s?a<?onj so it is to be hoped that both clubs will do their utmost to bring, their present efforts in this direction to a successful issue. Comment on, and criticism of, local regattas, crows, and club racing is unavoidably crowded out through pressure on space, but iifxt week theso features will rccoivo due attention.