The New York herald., 1876-02-03
Oxford Declines TO Row EARLY as
July.

Oxford as will be noted from our special
despatch, has declined the challenge of the
Rowing Association of American Colleges to a
six-oared race on Saratoga Lake, to take place
about July 20. 1t will be remembered that
the plan was to ask Cambridge, Oxford and
Dublin to. meet our fastest student crews in
a friendly contest following closely upon the
University race. Her reason for declining,
as was in part Dublin's, and will probably be
Cambridge's, is that coming here so early
would prevent her attending the great
annual amateur event at Henley on the 18th
of June, contest second only to the Putney
to Mortlake one in British interest. Indeed,
in one way it is more important race than
the latter, for it enables the University men
to compete with the best amateur oarsmen
of the country, an advantage which our
students have not yet secured to them
selves here, and which would unquestion-
ably bring them valuable knowledge as the
English have already found. Here, then,
thep respect of race, easily more important.
and which would have awakened more in
tense and universal interest than any other
aquatic meeting of modern times, seems to
be rudely blasted, and for a reason which wa
ton ought certainly to have known and pro-
vided against And the latter they did in
part; for, though the challenge was as above
stated, they wisely empowered the Regatta
Committee to take such further steps as
might prove necessary to insure race. =
and it is but due to the gentle
men composing the committee to say
that they are working with characteristic
vigor and energy to just that end. And their
way out happens to be really easy Their
guests could not comfortably reach here after
Henley much before the Fourth of July. To
ask them to row inside of six weeks from
their arrival would not be fair to them, nor q
thing we would consent to do in England.
Let an invitation go promptly forward to
row at such time during the month following
mid-August as will best suit the challenged
parties convenience. Show them that the
warm interest felt here in their coming, as
expressed in Captain Rees' letter of Decem-
Der 3, has even now largely increased, and
that every courtesy will be extended them.
not by our university men only, but by our.
best citizens generally. BY this plan our
rowers, instead of having to keep at the top
of their condition for days and weeks to-
gether, and SO surely getting stale, could
take turn at the sea shore, get well rested,
and yet have three or more weeks to get into
shape again.
But there is one other change which might
as well be faced now as later, and without
which they may almost forego their pains;
make it, and with the new date all these
crews can yet be prevailed on to come. 1t
is to make the race for fours. Skies are as
unknown there as eights here Fours have
for years been familiar, indeed the principal
racing craft of the oarsmen in both coun-
tries Fewer men need thus come. Relays
would be abundant, our crews each having
two good ones at once fast time could be
compared the boats cost less and ara
handler and stronger; they could, if de-
sired, as they often have, cross the ocean or
be carried anywhere, and, almost above all,
in the great open amateur race at Philadel-
phia our students could meet and probably
beat the best amateurs of America, if not of
the United Kingdom as well, which they
simply cannot do in skies. There is good
reason to think that both the English and
Irish really want to come, and it will be very
dull of us to stand in their way.