HOW TO ROW.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2518, 16 April 1881, Page 2

HOW TO ROW.

Ilanlan, the champion of the world, claims that any oarsman, to become an expert, must row as follows : —“ A full, long reach out over the toes, with both arms straight ; a sharp, clean ‘catch’ of the water a powerful, steady, horizontal stroke, with an application of the whole force at the moment of immersion ; a clean feather and a low, quick recover, shooting out at the moment of the finish. Good form is especially desirable, and this can only be gained by steady practice. Some professionals claim that the long slide to the seat is the bes‘, but among the crack oars the short slide is being adopted. It is of the greatest importance in a long race that the lower part of the chest should be as free as possible, otherwise the wind will not last. It has been shown that the best way to hold out in a long race is to keep the back straight, head erect, shoulders thrown back and stomach out. Oarsmen should bend from the hip, and not double themselves up ;if one does, he is certain to lose the action of the lower part of the lungs. The head should be up and eyes in the boat ; nothing is so bad as to have any member of a crew turning or looking around. The knees should bespread well apart, thereby giving the loins an easy and more powerful action, In commencing a stroke, the arms should be straight and at full length. There are many faults to avoid in handling the oar, one of the most important being the dropning of the hands too low at the end of the recover. Another fault is that of dipping too deep, very common in beginners and caused partly from raising the hands in the middle of the stroke instead of pulling the oar straight through the water. The oar should be put on its face, the inner part slightly towards the water. In this way only the blade of the oar will be immersed, and at the finish will come out cleanly without lugging or danger of crabs. Of the forward reach and dip, the best authorities on rowing say : When the forward reach is taken the blade of the oar should travel backwards in the air after the dip, ho-izontally, at a distance of a few inches from the water, of course the distance depending whether the water is rough or smooth. As regards the dip, the blade should descend to thd proper depth before any force is applied, (otherwise the stroke will cut. To effect fitas-the hands must be