The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-08-09

as an anaLeuT), JneEe Is HO DueSIIOH
that he is an excellent coach or train
er. Two local boat clubs have had
his services and his face is well known
to Washington rowing men. His
complaint regarding local crews has
been that he was not called upon to
pick out crew until q few weeks be-
fore the race, when the crew should
have been in training for months.
When Courtney was recently asked
to specify the main characteristics of
his "stroke" he smiled good naturally
and said:
"WelI, that's a pretty long question
and covers a good deal Of ground. To
answer it let me say first of all that
regard it as essential to keep the sculls
or sweeps, as the case may be, in the
water the longest possible time and
in the air the shortest possible time,
without, of course, wasting any time
at any part of the stroke. If you do
that it stands to reason that you are
pushing your boat through the water
as fast as you can. The blades should
hold on the water as long as possible,
though never beyond the point when,
in doing so, power is sacrificed.
The Recover.
"When the stroke is finished the
hands should be dropped sharply in
the lap, the blades of the SOULS COM
ing cleanly out of the water at right
angles to it, and the arms shot forward
as quickly as possible for another
stroke. The slide on the recover
should be started at first rapidly, but
gradually slowed up before the finish,
in order not to have the weight of the
oarsman brought up too suddenly on
the stretcher, which would, as mat
ter of course, retard the movement of
the boat. In other words, to get the
best possible results, the oarsman
should SNEAK up on the slides.
The Catch.
HAt the catch the blade should not
be dropped in at perfectly right angles
with the boat, but should be inclined
Just a trifle, so that it will enter the
water easily and cleanly, scoop fash
ion.' The blade should strike the
water very sharply and no power be
wasted before applying the power to
the stroke. All there is to this part of
the stroke is to get the blade in the
water cleanly and to get it in without
wasting time. / want a man, how
ever, to always cover his blade fully
and keep it covered, and right here L
would remark that this is a great
fault with many oarsmen. The blade
should not be sunk too deep in the
water, but it should always be COW
cred. Tn stroke can be rowed so that
to an outsider it appears as If an oars
mans blade is covered, while in realI-
ty it is only the pressure of the water
against the blade, forcing itself against
IL and apparently covering 1t. Great
care should be taken to have the
blades as close to the water as possible
before the catch in order to avoid
clipping which / find is the fault
with many an oarsman who in other
respects does fairly well.
Leg Work.
"Too much attention cannot be
paid to the leg work. The legs are, of
course, the strongest part of the body,
and, to my way of thinking, they
should therefore be required to do the
greatest amount of work in rowing.
An oarsman should not try to keep
his knees close together, for by so do
ing he occupies a cramped position
and is physically handicapped at just
the time when the most work is re-
quired of him. On the other hand, he
should not open his legs too wide, for
ne is then kicking around a corner
Unless the knees are in an easy posi-
ton, the muscles are strained and
considerable power is lost. / believe
in rowing we should accept every ad-
vantage nature has given us.
\ Straight Back.
al have already spoken of the neces-
sity of keeping the back straight. The
bend should be at the hips and with
no 'kink' in the back.
HAnother point which cannot be too
closely followed Is TO keep the arms
perfectly stright until the shoulders
have gone back as far as it is intended
they should go. The shoulders should
never 90 back so far that it is an effort
to bring them to the perpendicular.
/ am firmly impressed with the belief
that a straight back is desirable to an
Carsman. 1t stands to reason that IL
he keeps his back erect there Is less
compression of the vital organs of the |
body, but 1 must admit in this con-
nection that a straight spinal column
is not absolutely demanded OF fast !
sculler, for there are many living eX'
amples to the contrary. L claim |
however, it is easier for q man to row |
without a 'kink' in his back-thats |
all.
In n Nutsheu.
Summed up, then, in answer to |
your question, how should man row |
to puli boat fast through the water, |
/ would say: Let him keep his blade |
as long as possible in the water, and /
the least possible time in the air. |
When his sculls or oars are in the |
water he is pushing his boat along !
when they are in the air he Is not. |
The oarsman should never overreach, |
and be equally as careful to avoid |
going back too far on the last OF the !