Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-23

faults and destroy the equilibrium making
the boat roll. The stretcher should be ad-
justed SO that the oar just clears the knees
as II is thrust forward. and the strap
buckled tight over the left foot. The
thwart. on which the rover sits. should be
SO high that he can easily command his
oar and low enough to enable him to get
the oar well over his knees. The lower
the oarsman sits she more he has a tend
ency to pull the boat under water, and the
higher the more ne lifts the boat with his
stroke.
How to Row.
TN rowing throw the hands well for
ward. with the boat straight and eyes fixed
on the man III front. The chest should be
well out. with the arms forward and the
knees separated about twelve inches until
the hands are over the toes. In making
the stroke irnmersa the oar so that the
blade Is just covered-no deeper Then pull
the oar well back. Strengthening tie back
and drawing In the arms till the oar is
well home at the chest TIE forward
movements for the next stroke involve
feathering. Bend the wrists we'll down.
which will bring the plane Of the oar par
aliei with the water. and again thrust out
the arms until, the hands reach a point
osersthe toes. and so pull again. The move
uient of the body has been much facilitated
BY the great improvement of the sliding
slide together into position with much less
muscular effort.
The Proper Stroke.
IF the oarsman keeps his eyes firmly
fixed on the man in front. corresponding mo-
ton for motion with him. then 1t will not be
his fault II the time is bad. Let there be no
hurry. Bring the hands well up 10 the chest
or home. as 10 Is termed. A quick recovery
and the free use Of the legs will lift the
boat at every stroke. And nothing Is q bet
ter sign of well-coached crew than to see
the boat lift with every stroke. And for
~ hA ",
the oariock which is most important. When
the oar Is brought home to the chest the
hands should be dropped, which will lift the
oar out of the water; then by turning the
wrists down the oar is feathered and the
arms should be shot cut to their full stretch
the body following them without pause but
as part or continuous movement. A quick
recovery Is produced by keeping the back
straight. The knees should not cease to be
slightly bent The contraction Of the knees
and the abdominal muscles must come into
play and the body be swung evenly forward
not Jerked. as II working by machinery. II
Is all important to get the oar in square II
1t gets In obliquely IL will go too deep and
Pull the back down. Avoid beginning the
featherins motion with the wrists before
the oar Is well out Of water. or you will
splash.
The Need for Ease.
Il have trained and coached crews in
England. Ireland. Scotland and Germany:
and also here in America, and have tried
rowing in every possible way. right or
wrong. in the old and the new styles of row.
Ing. and can tell from my own experience
and study what Is most effective This
thing have learned, and that is, the less
you make OF rowing the better and faster
you will pull You don't want to do a bit
more than Is necessary to pull the boat
Avoid extreme effort. and try to make every
motion In the easiest possible way The
three great points in rowing are: First. per-
feet time; second. to get the oar in square;
third, to row the stroke right out and use
the legs we'll You can exert your strength
of the shoulders and arms best when sitting
erect In the boat, not stiffy, but easily
bending at the nips Just enough to get the
oar in square. and little swing, and let
ting the powerful muscles Of the legs do
their share OF the work
The great difference between the old and
new styles Of rowing is that while formerly
only the body down to the waist could be
Used. now the thighs and legs come into
play, greatly Increasing the power avail
able. II a man gives out in any particular
place, unless there Is some special weak
ness. II Is because he doesn't use his
strength evenly and intelligently. Great
strength is not the only requisite for fast
rowing. Many Of the men whom I have
rowed down In England are much stronger
than I am Frenchman seven feet four
high. and weighing over $50 pounds. I met
IN a regatta on the Seine at Paris May 80,
1887. and defeated easily by twenty lengths. -
How has time been cut down by i'm
proven ents IN appliancesr
improvements I'm Methods.
The builders are making tighter, smooth
q and better boats than were thought of
twenty years ago. Speed has been increas-
ID In that way. Of course. The most strik-
ing thing that occurs to me in the improve
msnt made In sculling was the invention of
the aiding seat. In 1S6S Brown. the Amerf-
can 90 rsman. went over to England to row
Joseph Sadler, who was then champion
scuilAr Of the world. When he saw the
style and rig Of the Englishman he forfeit
ed to Sadler. The Englishman used to
slide on q fixed seat. Brown took an idea
from this and devised the sliding seat.
which was nrst made by W. Ruddock the
boat builder. He failed to establish his
claim for the patent however. his partner.
who had the papers. dying suddenly and
leaving no trace OF them.
Another great Improvement was In the
sculls. Josh Ward pulled with SOULS that
weighed twenty-four pounds the pair. and
a. most Of the weight was cupboard he had
TO put lead weights on the oars to balance
them. Now we use sculls that weigh only.
eight pounds to the pair. Up to 1876 no.
body used sculls less than ten feet two
inches long nor more than five inches wide