Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-04
SCHOOL BOY CREWS
Eton's Devotion to the Sport of
Rowing.
EFFORTS TO MAKE" THE FIGHTS
How the Universities Profit by the
Training.
T. MP 4 r IENCE HENLEY

Ii was said by many when Harvard.s
eght, exhausted and despairing. forsoo,<
the English stroke i'm the race with Yale
ana cornell last June and went hack 10
their old. more familiar form, that Mr.
Lehmann. the English coach had attemp,
ed the impossible when he tried IN incui
cate the English stroke in few months
Ihat the English stroke proved exhaust
ing to the Harvard oarsmen is undoubted
HAD that stroke been taught them from
boyhood, as IL is In England. the result
might have been different
There is little rowing in the schools I'm
this country. 1t is rare that a member of n
freshman crew Is proficient with a sweep
or the souls when he enters college. some
Few preparatory schools have crews. and
some high schools as in PHILADELPHIA. but
The number is small and the effect on coil
Iese rowing is inconsiderable. 1t is far diff
ferent in England
Boating i'm the public schools is culti-
waited chiefly at Elton. according to writer
in Harper's Round Table. The Bedford
grammar school usually gets cut an eight
for the Ladies plate at Henley hut never
wins more than heat. Radley, which Is
fortunate in being situated on the Isis Just
below oxford. made good race with Elton
as early as 1853. and still rows for the
Ladies plate. but has never won. Elton is
the only school where boating has anything
like the prominence II enjoys ut the uni
Nersities A single university eight often
contains as many as five old Efonians
The story of boating at Elton is the story
of boating in the public schools
Boat Races at Eton.
The races rowed at Elton are innumer-
able In the first place, there are two
kinds of rowing. both for pairs-'pulling"
in which each man has a sweep. and
''sculling." in which each has two oars. In
lower-boy pulling" the course is a mile
and return, and the boats ara heavy and
have fixed seats. In 'lower-boy scuiling''
the course is the same. and the boats used
are whffs. This is also the case in novice
pulling and novice sculling." In Junior
pulling and Junior sculling" the boats
are lighter, and the course is a nile and "A
half and return. In school pulling and
school sculling" the course is the same as
in the junior events and sliding seats are
used. The number Of heats rowed i'm each
event especially the lower boy and
novice" race. is appalling. yet each heat
brings out number of followers who run
along the towing path shouting at the top
of their lungs. Besides these there are
races every year between six or seven
tours chosen from the leading houses"
in which the boats. though light, have fixed
seats. Here again the rivalry is intense,
and every heat crowds the towing path
with what an American schoolboy would
call ''rooters.''
There are three upper boats" and seven
lower boats" and none but fifth and
sixth form boys are ever admitted to them
however well they row. on the other hand.
there is no favoritism shown. so that "A
good oar is sure Of his place. The one
exception to this is in the of the
captain of the cricket eleven. who out of
compliment. is usually asked to take a
place in the highest of the upper boats
the teI-oared Monarch.
The special training to get into the boats
l. rafGla.
a hundred boating men post their names
as candidates. The big oarsmen then take
them out in scratch eights. each Of which
is stroked by a lower boatsman." The
best of TIE candidates are chosen for the
novice Fights. The races are three-quar-
tiers Of "A mile-from Sandbank to Henley
bridge-and the boats used are heavy and
have fixed seats. The successful candi-
dates get their boats"
Captain of the Eight.
The captain Of the eight is almost al
ways the man who has been in the boat
longest, and by virtue OF his Office he is
captain of the boats. Among all digni-
taries Of all the public schools he is the
greatest swell" In boating matters he
has unlimited power. not only in the Sc
lection OF the members of the boats but
in all boating matters. Ii he is anything
OF foot ball player. he is always asked TO
play in the match between the college and
match whether he Is any good not. His
position, more than anything else i know.
shows the dignity and Importance of ath-
letics in the public schools.
The result IL that public opinion makes
IL necessary for every English school boy
to go into some sport regularly. At Elton
every boy has to decide whether he shall
row and be a wet bob or go I'm for land
sports and be dry bob
The method of selecting the eight is
much the same as at the universities; ard
i'm the present year Mr.. Lehman, the old
Cambridge oarsman who came over TO
coach Harvard, introduced Ii in America.
In the Easter term sixteen men are Sc
lected from the best oars I'm the upper
boats" and are divided evenly pos
sible into two crews called trial eiehts."
The first and second captains of the boats
coach them but do not compete. The
course is about long the Henley
course. The men who show up best in
the trials are selected for the eight.
After this she crew trains regularly on
clear stretch of water some distance from
the Brocas. But On the last days before
Henley they do their work i'm the sight
of the whole school, and you can guess the
enthusiasm they arouse.
Whenever Elton has an especially fine
crew ii goes in for the grand challenge
cup. Two years ago ii entered in the hope
of berg drawn against Cornell, and last
year II did the same in the hope of meet
ing Yale.
Introduction of Systematic Rowing.
The father of rowing is the present head
master, DIR. Ware. When he came to
Elton as a tutor, in 1860. the captain OF
the boats asked him to teach the eight
the stroke in at the universities. He
consented. and kept on coaching for twen-
ty-four years-that is. until he became
head master, by which time. il may be
believed. rowing traditions were well es-
tablished.
The permission to row at Henley was
gained by Mr.. Ware in 1862 the second
year of his coaching. The race entered for
is the Ladies' plate. which is open only
to public schools and colleges-not to boat
clubs from town to university crews.
In the first two years Elton beat Radley
(schooD. and In the third year Trinity Hall
Cambridge and Brasenose College OK
ford). The fourth year she won the Ladies'
plate. Since then Elton has won the