The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-06-30

-Four Rowing Contests at POughkeep-
sic. NY.

PoJGHKEEPsIE. N. Y. June 90
A smashing Of intercollegiate records
for varsity elght-oared shells. If th'
wind and weather are favorable, or al
the least, one Of the most hOtly CON
tested races ever rowed by collegiate
crews in this country. is promised FOL
tomorrow on the splendid course op.
posite this city. For the first time in
the history Of this course. now Eve
years old. four races viii be rowed il
enc day. and In the last race the var
sity eights, Ave crews. win row side by
side for supremacy. Those who make
pretensions as experts say today. after
watching the practices. that never have
crews shown themselves SO evenly
matched. and this opinion is evidently
shared by the coaches; for not one OF
them tonight will make a definite
prediction that his crew win win the
race ~s
So far as the consensus OF opinion
among the experts is concerned, It Is
believed that the four-oared event
which will open the racing at o'clock
tomorrow afternoon. win 60 to Penn
sylvania. It's crew has shown superb
form in practice, Mr.. Ward. the coach,
giving them quite a gOOi deal of at
tention, while the coaches Of Colum-
bia and Cornell have seemingly neg
lected their four-oared crews and they
do not row in the same good form as
the freshmen and varsity. Mr.. Court
ney, Of Cornell. however. processes to
believe that while his four-oared crew
does not show up in the usual neat
Cornell form. they are very fast, and
this has been in a measure demonstrat-
ed in their practice with the eights.
In the freshmen eights the young
sters from Wisconsin are depicted as
winners by the same experts that pick
Pennsylvania in the fours. That they
are very fast is not to be disputed,
and they have quick. snappy style
that usually counts for much in the
short two-mile race. but the Pennsyl-
vania freshmen are also very quick
and have given the varsity crew a
good hustle many times lately, showing
continuous improvement that may be
dangerous to the success Of the Wis
consin men. Cornell is usually sea-
ture in the freshmen races here, and
have by no means conceded that they
are outclassed. while the Columbia
boys, If they do not forget the Han
lon stroke. claim that they will be in
the foremost Of the fight. One thing
is always true Of freshmen race,
that it is won, because Of its short
course, by hard work and not partic-
ularsy by endurance and skill like the
four mile. and that any one Of the four
crews has good winning chance. II
win be what the college boys call a
.scrappy" race from start to finish. and
it looks now as II it would be done
in fast time.
The varsity race is causing more
disagreements in expert circles than
any previous race in years, and this
Is believed to be due to a divergence
Of opinion as to the relative merits OF
the strokes. 1t is a singular fact that
five distinct strokes are being rowed
here and viii be tested in the race
tomorrow, in contradistinction to an
almost similar stroke rowed by Yale
and Harvard on Thursday. In fact
the strokes are radically different. the
only generally applied principle being
in the case Of Cornell. Pennsylvania
and Georgetown, all three Of whom
agree upon the strong use Of the LEG
to finish out the stroke after the back
Of the man is perpendicular In the
boat. There. however. comes at once
a difference. for Georgetown completes
the stroke with the shoulders, Cornell
with the arms, and Pennsylvania with
both arms and longer slide. Co
lumbia uses the shoulders to large
degree all through the stroke, while the
great difference in the Wisconsin stroke
from the others is the sharp, quick
catch and the quick recovery. George
town win row the fastest stroke on the
river. starting at 40. dropping down to
IS and getting back again to Al and ~
It is a hustle. but it seems to make
the boat go with good rate.
Here is a brief description Of the
strokes used. given to the Associated
Press by the various coaches.
Mr.. Courtney for corneIl-From the
beginning Of the stroke the backs Of
the men are kept straight, as are also
the arms, until the body has its full
swing. Then the hands are brought
quickly in to the body, the elbows be-
ing kept low and close to the sides. and
instead Of putting the oar in the water
at a right angle like the Pennsylyania
crew. It goes in at an angle 81 sr0out
IS degrees turning after the oarsInar
has passed the erect position and ths
car is e yigat angles With the shelf
Their they are shet ont % their full
length The recovery s SO. and de-