St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-28

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 we'll in
formed about the doings of the Ok
ford-Cambridge races, comparatively
little is known about the Henley re-
gatta, which is the greatest annual
rowing event the world over. The in
terest of the British people in the
Henley races is more acute than in
the university contests, for the rea-
son that. in the former the contest
ants represent a wider circle. 1t is
the ambition of every rowing club in
the kingdom to have crew in the
Henley races, and the clubs fortu-
nate enough to possess capable men
have vast multitudes of friends who
shout and celebrate for their respec-
tive favorites.
The Henley regatta is quite an an
Gent affair, having been established
in 1889, and being governed by
board of stewards made up of promi-
nent men. Its first president was the
Rt. Hon. Lord Camoys, and the
mayor Of Henley is always on the
board of stewards.
SOME CURIOUS RULES.
The rules governing the contests
would never stand in democratic
country like this. Keen discrimina-
finY, i- ,,oo6o hotmoap tbo ole opI
the masses, all in favor of the former.
In the laws of the association con-
siderable attention has been given to
a definition of an amateur. The pur-
pose of these laws is simply to shut
off from participation in the contests
any one who is not gentleman in
the society meaning of the word, no
matter what his ability as a purely
amateur oarsman may be.
In the classification of ineligibles is
the following:
mo one who has ever been en-
ployed in or about boats, or in man
ual labor for money or wages"
A more emphatic dig at the people
is in the following:
mo one who has been by trade or
employment for wages, a mechanic,
artisan or laborer, or engaged in any
mental duty"
This autocratic ruling debars a
skilled mechanic, but admits cheap
clerk.
THE HENLEY COURSE.
All the races are over the regular
Henley 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,
and where a coXswain skilled in the
knowledge of the eddies and cur
rents Of the river would have small
advantage over a stranger. THERE'S
just one slight turn to the left from
the starting point at the Island to
the finish at the upper end of Phyllis
Court, but this lis small matter.
BARE ARMS BARRED.
There are many queer rules govern
ing the races, one of them being of
the old maid type. 1t reads i'm this
way:
Every competitor must wear com
plete clothing from the shoulder to
the knee, including a sleeved jersey"
1t will be something of surprise
Ito the Cornell boys to discover that
the bare arms of a man are an Of
Tense to the English public.
The great race of the Henley re-
gatta is the Grand Challenge Cup for
eight oars. 1t is open to all amateur
crews, members of any university or
public school, and officers of the
English army and navy. The en-
trance fee is f6 IS. About the best.
time ever made in the race was in
1886, when the Trinity hall crew, of
Cambridge, won in 6:531a minutes
The Stewards challenge cup for
four-oared crews is next in import
ance, and the conditions are the same
except that the entrance fee is 21s
less, In 1886 the Thames Rowing
clubs crew captured the cup, making
a record in 7:39 minutes.
The Ladies' challenge plate for eight
oars is open to college crews in the