New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-29
THE JERK AND THE SWEEP.

! JULIAN uAwrmoRNE's COMMENTS on THE HAIRY
ARD-YALE RACE.
| To the Edttor or The TrtoHne.
SIR: Twenty years ago at Lake Quinslga-
mond saw Wilbur Bacon's fine defeat Harvard IN
three-mle race The Yale rowed with bent backs
and nearly motiouess bodlesa thoroughly bad stroke;
but they won because they pulled 1t to-
eeher and because the Harvard stroke though pretty
in appearance lacking in power to propel the boat
and yet owing the great inclination backward OF
tho body the end OF the stroke was exhaustng to the
men, The result OF was, of depressing
10 Harvard sympahzers. at the tme but the victory
OF Yale the latter ncalcuablc injury for the time to
come and the contest yesterday showed that the mis-
chief Is by means at an end even now.
important to tho interests OF good rowing In this
country that this question the right form OF stroke
should be clearly discussed by competent men, Such
victory yesterdays gave pleasure to me, though
am n Harvard man. II is demoralzing to winners and
losers both TO the latter because 1t discourages and
perplexes them to the former because it makes them
careless so long quarter OF mile Of clear water
between the at the end OF four mile race Is an
even possible contingency we shall never sec really I'm
ished Craftsmanship In college The general
principles of the stroke be used should be settled in
tine first place. and would think that little common
sense and experience should make those IN authority
determine that matter and, starting from this as
basis the of either crew should DO made 10 de-
pend upon the care and accuracy with which those prn
cnIes were developed and perfected. When two
row in the same general form. then Will be won
and lost by the obscrva neglect OF the iencments
OF the science instead OF las now by fantastic
one side and mere rudmentary nationality on the other
The winning crew yesterday, for example. was by 10
means drstrae except TO the physical quality OF its
members Their form contrasts very unfavorably with
that of the average English university But the
central idea of their being right, while that OF
Yale was hopelessly wrong they enabled to lead
nv between 400 and 500 yards instead Of by a boats
length or two Such result, after all the talk and the
orzng OF twenty years. is grotesque and really
discouragng to both sidcs.
good stroke Is rowed neither with the arms nor legs,
but with the body The arms are useful merely IA a
o,nnection between tho body and the oar; the legs
merely as aaorins purchase for the oar against the
resistance OF the water. And the chief work
should be put In at tho moment whcn
tina body Is IN the most favorable position
to perform it-tnat Is to say. Just before to Just
after passing the perpendicular IL this broad principle
be borne In mind, tho details. such tho CATCH tho
finish and tho recover will follow almost Of hom
selves. IL is evident that any mans body has more
mower than any mans arms. The arm-stroke has one
recommendation. and one only-that 1t can be pulled
with moro rapidly the bodystroko. But this rec
concentration, which was never worth much' Is worth
less than nothing now that the invention Of sliding seats
has made really rapid stI oke impossible Nor could IL
under the most favorable conditions be available except
for We y short mile ort two miles, Tor us
exhaustng as It Is comparatively feeble. Neither again,
is it possible to uniformity Of time movement
with the armstroke; that rhythmic, penduum-like mo-
ton which IL natural and easy the body and which,
once obtained becomes automatic and almost involull-
tary, 10 mpraeticaDe by the arms alone. The man who