ROWING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1788, 28 June 1913, Page 12

ROWING.

I' f . ——o ——— (Br "Mercury.") • "BEATEN ALREADY." : ENGLISH CRITICS ON PEARCE; | fr luly,,2, 3, 4, s.—Royal Henley 'Regatta. July 21.' World's championship: Barry ~f l UjHpt -nil I. ' 11,0 July's Classic Events. ' The coming month will sea the two principal aquatic events of tho year—first in order but second in importance, the Royal Henley Regatta, which may practically be considered as consisting of the world's amateur rowing and sculling championships, and secondly that most important event, the great match foT the world's championship and aside, between Ernest Barry and Harry Pearce. In both is Australia keenly interested. Although there is no "eight" from the Antipodes this year to defend the Grand Challenge Cup, won by the Sydney Rowing Club's representatives at tho, last Henley, in ' the Diamond Sculls the Commonwealth has an entrant in Cecil M'Villy, of Tasmania. In the.othei, the I championship event,. - thero is . Harry Pearce, who will endeavour to win back for Australia the "ashes" lost by Dick Arnst. The Epistles of Pearce, ■ Bearce is a good correspondent, and keeps his friends in Sydney well posted as to his training operations. His letters find their way into print, and his progress cannot be better reported than by means of extracts therefrom taken from the Sydney papers. Under date May 24, just five weeks after his urrival, lie writes:— Training is progressing favourably. lam doing my full course daily, with 1 a little sprint in my morning walk, and I am feeling just "the »oods." Tho cool, brisk atmosphere > . makes one | feel like doing plenty of .'work, buit with the other "eyes of the stable" on one, I have to do just enough to satisfy them. My weight is about the same, varying a little in accordance with the row. I am putting up some nice row 6 over the course; giving Priddle and : , M'Villy something to do to keep in front of me. Tho tides. are troublesome, so the course we do is perhaps i a little longer or shorter as the case may he. Owing to the amount _ of ■ rain we havo had lately, there is a lot of "land" water coming .down, j which makes rowing against the tide rather unpleasant—but it ia worth rowing up against, even if only to get a "go" back. How does the boat rush through the bridges! I often ' think how the N.S.W. boys would liko to cover three miles on the Parramatta like as one tan get over three miles of the Thames with the tide. The Fastidious Critics on Pearce, Then in a later letter ho reports again that all is well with him :— "Samo old tale," commences Harry, "Nothing new, but everything is going along O-K. This is a terrible place for getting weight off, but it has a great redeeming feature, the air is so crisp and sharp that it seems to givo you added enorgy. I don't trouble much about my weight so long as I get good and strong in the wind. I am 13st. 4lb. how, and will be quite satisfied to row at that weight. I row tho full course now every day, and do not think it is a bit harder than the Parramatta, notwithstanding the extra mile. The water runs so fast that you seem to fly along. My wind is pretty good now, nnd, if I go oh im-i proving it, I should be very fit. Barry'is l ' doing light work daily, but I have not seen anything of his fast work. "The critics hero will have none .of | me," Pearce adds. "I do not swing far enough, and I should row with my knees together to get' extra strength . on tho drive; I shoot my slide, nnd wash out; in fact, I am beaten already. Archie or Charlie Smith, however, canhot seo tne marked faults, and I have looked for them myself, but nni unable to find them. At present I do good fast work off the mark, and row to hice, clean, weighty strokes from Hammersmith (lij miles) to Barnes (3j miles), so my condition is not too bad. The only thing which can trouble me is that I might overdo it, but I will take tho best of cate to guard against that. M'Villy is improving vastly, and should perform pretty well at Henley."