The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-19
CAMBRIDGE ROWING DISPUTE
HOT CONTROVERSY OVER TIE
STYLE or STROKE.

Old Confab says the improvement 10 Due TO
Steve Ralrbairnb Coaching and Not to
wrinkles Taken From Belgian Grew
-Ihe, Importance Of the Leg Drive.
Oxford and Cambridge rowing circles havs
~ late been engaged in the wermest kind
Of q controversy over the style OF swel
stroke adopted 30 effectively by the Cantabs.
No athletic innovation seen at the big Eng
lish universities In the last generation has
caused such diverse opinion as we'll as U+i.-
versal interest but there is one thing upon
which all the rowing oonnoisseurs agree,
and that ID that Cambridge has acquired q
style which IL little short Of perfection in
boat pulling.
What II most remarkable about the dis.
pute h that the keener crowd Of the critics
are divided into " parties, q each with
q totally different theory. One has IL thAt
Cambridge owes it's success to the stroke
taught by Steve Fairbairn when he coached
Jesus College e couple Of years'ago, willis
others advance the argument that the visit
Of the Belgian crew to Henley and the imit8-
ton Of the best parts Of their stroke is the
main cause Of supremacy with the Light
Blues. just now this style OF the Cam
bridge oarsmen In Of great interest TO Amerl-
cans, for In all probability II a crew from
Harvard goes over again Cambridge is the
aggregation they will I'VE to meet. Even
should an American visit be a couple Of
years away there Is little doubt that Cam
bridge will then be the opponent. for G win
by Oxford over the Cantabs is a thing most
unlikely for a long time.
Sizing up the situation from a scientific
standpoint an eX-oarsmAn OF prominence
at Cambridge says IN the Field. sIn the
first place there is no Cambridge stybs,
and even IL there ie II lie not due TO the VIC
tory Of the Belgian crew at last years.
Henley. It 10 really unnecessary to point
| out that the Belgian style has had no In
~huenoe, as the soulling style Of last years
crew was widely commented upon, and the
Belgian style has been only mentioned 10
the very popular accounts Of this yeaf'h
race. But / think / am right in saying
that there has been some improvement IN
the rowing at Cambridge during the last
three years, and that this has been due to
Mr.. Steve Fairbairn.
AT the time when he first came UP 30
coach Jesus crews in the lent Of 1905 most
Of the work was done by the shoulders
and muscles OF the back, while the legs
were practically not used at all. At the
am time nearly every crew had a terrific
recovery, and 30 could row at IS to 10,
while now, with a more uniform swing, they
only row at 81 TO 80. During h Lent Of
1905 every crew that had cultivated a hard
leg drive went up, and that though they
rowed a slower stroke than the crews who
rowed in the old fashioned In
the Mays the same thing occurred Inc IN
the last year practically all the crews IN
of this revival Of leg drive, hard finish and.
a steady forward swing
Nov FOR q word as to this Jesus style.
In the old style the finish wa out, the hsnds
ward with a jerk which was supposed ia
drive the boat away at the finish, while tbs
swing forward consisted Of a rush and q
wait as the body was steadied down over
style the finish is we'll held out and the
body kept a until the hands are got
away without banging the boat about.
after which the body is swung evenly for.
ward. It seems obvious that In this newer
style the boat Is less jerked about and SO
should travel more evenly between tbs
strokes with the momentum given it during
the stroke, while the body Is rested by thu
steady swing instead OF being tired by the
breathless rush and wait Of the older
method.
with re gard to the question OF leg drive,
there Is no doubt that the legs were sadly
forgotten before. just as body swing may
be forgotten in the near future. As Tar az
oerned, on studying the question 1t will be
seen that the legs are so set on the hip girdle
(pelvis) that when In a sitting posture the
bones are set on about four inches above
the seat, so that II the feet and body are
the Strengthening Of the legs must
drive the boat backward with a greater
leverage than the muscles Of the back can
possibly exert. .
the legs have been more developed than
the back muscles previous to their taking
up rowing. 30 that II we grant that the
legs were not practically used at all before
welind that a mans power Of doing work
work. As proof Of this we note that the
OF the stretchers has been de-
considerably In the case Of Lent
boats during the last year, and also that
this year have been under those mem
toned In the records Of many OF the clubs
for previous years.
'From what has been said 1 think we
may regard the case for increased leg
consider the finish, What was most notice
able about the Jesus crews in theAariy dayg
Of the revival was their Bteadiness for
ward. which enabled them TO get a firmer
was much harder than In the case OF crews
in the older style, in that the Jesus
men were applying. their work with legs
shoulders combined. while in most
Chooo GUY the bnOulQerB were used.
This fact OF the more solid beginning seems
10 account completely for the harder finish,
as y yrnld pile w more water n FROM
of the blades and so enable the finish to
DO held out longer. Besides this, II a crew
9 getting hold OF more water at each stroke
I will take longer TO bring the strokes
through and 90 will row at q slower stroke
han n which Ia missing the beginning,
md yet viii be getting much more work
nto the blades h the crew rowing at
he faster stroke.
The. Disadvantages Of this style appear
% be obvious rather TO the eye than In the
'aoe of the boat. Young oarsnen rowing
n this style appear to have a comfortable
inish. rather too comfortable perhaps, but
sem to shape well sooner than those In the
I'D style. Again. they seem to ave more
lih1culty In keeping their backs In and
generally row with rounder backs than
hose taught on the older lines: but this
. due entirely, / believe, to the fact that
he undeveloped back muscles cannot
tand the strain to which they are sub
by even n moderate leg drive. Any
Iow. they seem 70 improve in this respect
n the course df time. I rave tried TO show
THAT ] think 10 be the main points OF the
0y1Vnl Of ArAd eat rnuing