New-York tribune., 1896-05-31

men Of the powerful build Of this years eight
could maintain such a clip. but the English critic
TO whom reference has been made is himself per-
son OF unusual proportions. and must have been
even in training. heavy as vel as powerful man
The members OF the Yae eight themselves have al
ready demonstrated. even though they no, at
present in the best Of form FOR fast racing. that the
quick stroke is nevertheless possible without the
loss OF those features which have always been held
to be the elements Of success In Yale rowing
80 RADICAL EXPERIMENTS.
Despite any fears u the contrary tina, some rali-
cal experiment TO be tried. It seems. at least
TO the mind OF the average observer that the Gle
ments OF Yae rowing In the case OF the present
eight just what they have been IN all successful
Yale crews. The main idea kept IN mind In Mr..
Cooks theory OF rowing. as applied at Ia.", - that
the race IS Just long and that the oars ar-
pushed by human beings who hav" just So much
strength to use: therefore. that energy should b-
expended I'm each stroke 0ny where tho greatest re-
IL made ana that Il Il better 10 cease the APP
plicatlon Of power. when the return becomes rela-
lively small. and 10 use the time In rest than to
move every inch and 10 pull every pound that % :,
possible FOR Il man to do from the beginning tO
the end OF a stroke This may be illustrated In ihs
way: The boat Is probably pushed ahead by keep
ing the in little further than the Yale oars
man will generally allow It 10 remain: but the
effort which he makes In that last jerk Of pul.
and the difficulty Of getting himself ready after It
tlon after such efforts for two three Four
hundred strokes. the may be. do not
rant that additional outlay. Some one has put Il
this way They pun for every ounce that's In them
long It pays to pull. Then they stop short.
get a little rest by the easy recovery. and are al
ready to pull just as hard and just as effectively
again; and at the last stroke OF the race they are
just as ready to drive into the stroke every ounce
Of force that the whole eight possesses as when they
first gripped the water.
These principles are readily when IA
finished Yale eight swinging down the last mile
OF the long course at New-London apparently az
fresh when they left their quarters at Captain
Browns But then they only moving At a 30 or
81 gait. unless they are being hard pressed-an un-
usual exception N tho last ten years But does all
this apply when the pace has reached the furious
figure OF IS AMI 20? Mr. Cook says yes without
any hesitation. and h!s explanation OF the way in
which the additional speed "a obtained Is that the
oar is simply driven through the water faster This
shows the wisdom OF having men Of strong physical
build for these sprlntlng races. A light crew.
which Is otherwise more ag.e In Its movements.
simply cannot rip the oars through the water fast
enough TO keep up the pace There are. OF course.
other points where little time IS gained as In the
lightning shoot OF the hands as the stroke IL
finished and clean Off. but none Of the Yale
this year as powerful nearly all of them are, are
so clumsy not to be able to increase the speed
in these portions OF the stroke. Any one who has
watched the Ya.e men sliding over the mile course
in the harbor during the .ast few days will hardly
complain of awkwarl rlness dellberation In their
movements They at % and &c easily. and have
often been up to 3s and ~.
COMPARED WITH LAST YEARS CREW
At the same time some good critics are saying to-
day that the is not good last years crew
at this time 1t Is said that record time made
the other day on the harbor. but the conditions
were very favorable. Good time Is also reported
from Lake Whitney, over the course which is sup
posed TO be the same length that for the Grand
Challenge Race; but the measurements the ice
BY which this course marked out, have not
been verified. and sending eight over these
waters. so well known to the coxswain is different
from travelling Henley. with all the elements OF
tide and current and wind which enter into a
contest there.
Besides the slowness the catch mentioned in |
the criticism by the Engshman. n skilled eye sees
often apparent break In the boat so that the
crew seems TO be rowing In two fours rather than
a single eight This trouble Is traced naturally
enough to No and the coaches crticise this oar
for not getting vicious enough grip on the water
Mr.. Rodgers. who is In this position Is a tre- |
strong man. his record In the Yale |
line last fall showed. but his record there also
showed. he is slow and needs good deal of en- |
couragement and excitement to keep him ION his |
toes" When the call comes however his friends be-
lieve that he will be equal TO the emergency He |
wasn't very far behind the game at Manhattan Field |
last fall. Though they used 10 call him the road
roller" few men covered more ground than he or |
made 1t more unpleasant for the Princeton players
This week the work has been liyht ana although |