The herald., 1895-05-26
Many Facts About the
Far Famous English
Race Course
WHERE CORNELL WILL. ROW
Strange Rules BY the Regatta Associa-
ti0n.--Bare Arms Not Per mitted
in the Contests

The year 1895 will go down in history
as famous one for international sports.
OF the many contests for athletic suprem
acy on the tapis between the men of Great
Britain and the hardy sons of Uncle Sam,
| the one that will attract worldwide atten
tion will be the rowing races of the Hen
ley regatta. in which picked crew from
Cornell college will take part ana endeav
or to force the beet oarsmen of he United
Kingdom to bow down to them.
When the Cornell boys reach London in
the first week in June they will speedily
discover that they have task before
them Of hercuean proportions. The row.
ing craze IN this country is nothing to
what it is on the other side of the pond,
and when the art was in its infancy here
it was highly perfected there.
Although this country is well informed
about the doings Of the Oxford-Cam-
bridge races. comparatively little is known
about the Henley regatta. which is the
greatest rowing event the world over.
The interest of the British people in the
Henley races is more acute than in the
university contests, for the reason that in
the former the contestants represent a
wider circle. 1t is the ambition of every
rowing club in the kingdom to have a
crew in the Henley races, and the clubs
fortunate enough to possess capable men
have vast multitudes of friends who shout
and celebrate for theI respective favor
ties.
The Henley regatta is quite an ancient
affair, having been established in 1899.
and being governed by a board OF stew
ards made up Of prominent .nen. Its
first president was the Right Honorable
Lord Camoys. and the mayor of Henley
alwavs IN the hoard of etpwnr1S
: The rules governing the contests would
never stand in a democratic country like
this. Keen discrimination is made be-
tween the classes and the masses. all in
favor of the former. In the laws OF the
association considerable attention has
been given to a.detinition OF an amateur.
The purpose OF these laws is simply to
shut off from participation in the con-
tests any one who is not Il gentleman in
the society meaning OF the wold, no mat
ter what his ability as a purely amateur
oarsman may be.
In the classification of neligibles is the
following:
''No one who has ever been employed
in or about boats or in manual labor for
money or wages.
more emphatic dig at the people is
in the following:
"No one who has been by trade or en-
ployment for wages. mechanic, artisan
or laborer or engaged in any mcnial
duty
This aristocratic ruling bars skillfu
mechanic, but admits cheap CLERK.
All the races are over the regular Hen
ley course of one mile and $50 yards or
not quite mile and third. The course
is now almost straight away, allowing
contestants to keep in the middle of the
stream where the tides OF the Thames run
evenly ami where a coxswain skilled in
the knowledge of the eddies and currents
of the river would have small advantage
over q stranger. There is just one slight
turn to the left from the starting point
ut the island to the finish at the upper end
OF Phyllis Court. but this is small mat
ter.
There are many queer rules governing
the races, one of them being Of the old
maid type. It reads in this way:
EVERY competitor must wear complete
clothing from the shoulder to the knee
including sleeved jersey"
1t will be something of surprise to tho
Cornell boys to discover that the bare
arms of a man are an offenso to the Eng
lish public. The great race OF the Henley
regatta is the Grand Challenge Cup for
eight oars. 1t is open to all amateur
crews, mem bers of any university or pub
lie school, and officers OF the English
army or navy The entrance fee is e6 6s.
About the best time ever made in the
race was in 1886, when the Trinity Hall
crew OF Cam bridge won in 6:53% min
utes.
The Stewards Challenge Cup for four.
cared crews is next in importance.
except that the entrance fec is
twenty-one shillings less. In 1885 the
Thames Rowing clubs crew captured the
cup. making a record in 7:39 minutes.
the Ladies Challenge Plate .er eight
oars ia opsn to college crews in the rTni-