Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-06-29
LEAST WASTE OF TIAE AND STRENGTH
Importance Of Leg Work and a
Straight Back.
QUICKNESS oF RECOVER

Washington rowing men. His complaint
regarding local crews has been that he
was not called upon to pick out crew
until a few weeks before 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-naturedly
and said:
well, 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 SOULS 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. II you
do that 1t 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 80. power
Is sacrificed.
The Recover.
when the stroke is finished the hands
should be dropped sharply in the lap. the
blades of the SOULS coming clearly out of
the water at right angles to 1t. and the arms
shot forward as quickly as possible for
another stroke The slide on the recover
should be started at first rapidly, but grad
ually slowed up before the finish, In order
brought up too suddenly on the stretcher,
which would, as a matter Of course. retard
the movement of the boat. In other words,
to get the best possible results the oars
man should sneak up on the slides.
The Catch.
"At the catch the blade should not be
dropped in at perfectly right angles with
the boat, but should be inclined just trif1e,
50 that it will enter the water easily and
oJa 20
strike the water very sharply and no pow
to the stroke. All there Is to this part of
the stroke Is to get the blade in the water
cleanly and to get 1t in without wasting
time. I want a man. however, to always
cover his blade fully, and keep 1t covered,
ard right here I would remark that this
is great fault with many oarsmen. The
blade should not be sunk too deep in the
water, but it should always be covered. The
stroke can be rowed so that to an outsider
it appears as II the oarsnan's blade is COW
cred. while in reality 1t is only the pressure
OF the water against the blade, forcing It
self against 1t and apparently covering it.
Great care should be taken to have the
blades as close to the water as possible be-
fore the catch in order to avoid Clipping,
which I 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 7oarsman should not
try to keep his knees close together, for
by so doing he occupies a cramped posi-
ton and is physically handicapped at just
the time when the most work Is demand
ed of him. On the other hand, he should
not open his legs too wtde for he is then
kicking around a corner Unless the knees
are in an easy position. the muscles are
strained and considerable power is lost.
I believe in rowing we should accept every
advantage nature has given us.
A Straight Back.
II 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.
Another point which cannot be too close
ly followed Is to keep the arms perfectly
straight until the shoulders have gone
back as far as it is intended they should
go. The shoulders should never go back
SO far that 1t Is an effort to bring them
to the perpendicular. am firmly impress
ed with the belief that a straight back Is
desirable to an oarsman. 1t stands to rea-
son II he keeps his back erect there Is less
compression of the vital organs of the
body but I must admit In this connection
solutely demanded of a fast sculler, for
there are many living examples to the con-
trary. 1 claim, however, 1t Is easier for
man to row without a 'kink in his back
that's all.
In Nutshell.
Summed up, then, in answer to your
question, how should man row to pull
a boat fast through the water. would
say: Let him keep his blade as long as
possible in the water, and the least pos
sib!e time In the air. When his SOULS 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 stroke, for
bringing his body back to the perpend1cu-
lar requires great effort on the part OF the
abdominal muscles. Catch the water firm
ly with the blades slightly inclined in. Pull
the stroke through from beginning to end.
Bring the blades clearly out of the water
with snap and out at right angles to
1t. Don't hang when the stroke is finished
Drop the hands quickly. Shoot the arms
forward like lightning, and let the silde
follow on the recover at first quickly, but
gradually decreasing in speed as the ends
of the seat rails are approached. Don't
lose any time in dropping the blades IN the
water when they are back in position for
the catch. Pull with straight arms until
the shoulders are back to the farthest
point it Is intended to carry them. Never
buckle or slide up to meet the handles.
Avoid dropping the shoulders and 'kink-
ing the back. Bend from the hips. On
the recover, keep the blades as close to
the water as practicable without striking
the surface. But above all else pun nara
If you desire to make your boat go fast,
and never for a moment forget the fact
that the shortest distance between two
points Is straight line Many boat
race has been lost by orasteering.
Mr. Courtney has never been believer
in the old fogy notions about training:
His idea Is that man in training should
able to his palate and agreeing best with
him. and that there should be a variety IN
the bill Of fare. a.
EVANSVILLE.
49, =
The Hyattsville public school closed yes
tel day. In Mr.. Edwards department, COM