Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-28
HIGH SCHOOL CREW
A Circular Appeal for Funds for
the Coming Season.
The Boys Want $500 to Put Rowing on
Sound Financial Basis at the School
What They Want 1t For.

It takes money to run boat crew
In fact boating is the most expensive
of school or college athletics. Boats
cost good deal of money, and there are
no gate receipts at the races to offset
the expense. Thus it becomes necessary
for the high school crew to appeal tc
! It's friends for money for the coming
season. The following statement ha:
been issued, about 200 copies of which
have been mailed to men who might be
expected to be interested in the sport ir
connection with the high school:
An appeal to the friends of the Worces.
ter High School Boat crew.
! Dear Strive desire to appeal to your
/ interest IN the boat crew Of our high
schools, which made so credftable a rec
| ord last year, and desires to maintain
| its position and increase its efficiency
| during the coming season. :
/ There can be no doubt of the Valuc
and prestige of such an organization In
| connection with our schools, as it de-
/ sires to create an interest in one of the
| cleanest of the manly sports
! About six hundred 600 dollars will be
needed to equip fairly the crew with
rowing apparatus for immediate indoor
and outdoor practice and for general
expenses incident to such training as
will insure commendable success during
the year. All oarsmen are agreed that
without faithful preliminary work a
crew is fatally handicapped.
1--WE ask your support by contribu-
ton of such an amount as you wish to
give, and if not convenient to remit at
once, please pledge the amount and
forward the same to the manager. Any
donation, however small, will be appre-
GATED Upon the response of the
pfriends of our boat crew will depend its
maintenance or failure.
This action has the entire approval of
interested members of the high school
faculty. Yours respectfully,
Irving Fulton Orr, Mgr.
The circular puts the need with toler-
able clearness, and makes it apparent
that without a satisfactory response
there will be no boating at the high
school this year. 1t would be a pity to
abandon a branch Of sport in which the
school made such a brilliant record last
year There is an unfortunate
feeling at the school that there
is an antagonism between the
crew and track athletics. They
certainly should not interfere. In
a school of 800 boys there ought to be
candidates enough to form creditable
teams in all worthy branches of athlet-
les. The members of last years crew
have shown an active interest in foot
bail and in the track athletic team,
which is now training for the indoor
games at Boston, and if a similar reci-
procity Of spirit is shown by the track
men, there is reason to believe that
another successful season is ahead of
the crew.
The question will doubtless be asked
why it will cost so much as $500 to main
tain crew for the coming season. In
the first place it is essential, as stated
in the circular, to equip the crew with
rowing apparatus and place
in which to train. Last year
the boys trained at Kerns' shop
on machine which he had in
stock He gave them the use of the
shop and the machine free of charge.
He could well do this when there were
] less than a dozen boys interested in the
sport, and he had spare machine.
This year he has no eight-oared ma
chine which he can devote to the exclu-
sive use of the boys, and he certainly
has not shop room for the 80 or 40 boys
who are sure to try to make the crew
this year. If rowing is to be made a
permanent feature of athletics at the
high school. it will be necessary to pur-