The Washington herald., 1907-07-07
by CONSTANCE $. TITUS,
National Amateur Sculling Champion.

More than ordinary interest has been
awakened among oarsmen on this side IN
the success Of the Belgian crew for tho
second year In lifting the Grand Chal-
lepge Cup in the Henley regatta and
chiefly because the winning crew used a
stroke similar In some respects to that
of Annapolis In the recent big intercol-
/ legiate regatta on the Hudson. It was
| for this cup that crews from Cornell,
/ Yale, Pennsylvania and the Vesper Club
| have vainly crossed the water in the last
/ twelve years
! When the Belgians won the cup last
year it was claimed that their victory
was a nuke, and in the usual half-hearted
way. when they lose. thu English stew
ards presented the trophy. They also
/ laughed at the Belgians stroke, but ad-
mitted that it was a marvellous perform
ance Of juggling and all to beat their
| crack Leander crew-still, II was not row
ing. In view Of the Belgians' success, and
! remembering what they handed TO me and
/ all other Americans in barring us cut it
/ viii be interesting to see what will be
/ found against the Belgians to keep the
cup at home next year
! 1t will also be remembered that be
| fore the race the English critics declared
that the Leander was the best crew in
years, and when it is known that the
/ Leanders can pick from any crews on the
river their best men. a thing not allowed
/ 10 the others there is reason to believe
| that they honestly thought they had an
| unbeatable crew.
! In Wow Of this result the question natu-
rally arises: is the Belgian stroke better
/ than the English or American? I reply
/ that while it might do for sDrinting it
would never do in a long race for the
/ same reasons as those given against
[ Annapolis
To my mind. it was the marvelously
good physical conditions Of the Belgians
/ that won the race. I am guided In this
/ judgment by the reports that they fnins-
ed well within their strength az a 43
clip while Leandcr. which was all out
20 the last ounce. and their excellent
stroke, Stuart. one Of the best scullers
in England, tainted from the overexer-
ton when taken from the shell Only
weIl-seasoned oarsmen OF the best physi-
~
/ such the Belgians must be.
In the Belgian stroke all the work IS
done at right angles 20 the row-lOCk.
They use very little slide and TO body
/ swing whatsoever either fore or aft In
this they are somewhat different from the
Annapolis crew that did a lot Of work aft
OF the row-lock. or. in other words, while
they pulled the stroke through they laid
well back on the oar. which is somewhat
after the English style. but the midship-
men do not 60 quite so far back as the
/ English Neither does Annapolis reach
out as far as the English on the catch.
The critics last year thought from the
early practice that the Belgian sprint
stroke could not be maintained for n long
distance race. | doubt If they could carry
this high stroke over four miles The
Henley course is only ! mile and 500 yards
and In that distance il requires men who
can stand the gaff and get the benefit OF
long practice / think the Belgians have
made a special study Of this stroke fol
Just this race. = is also important TO re-
member that only men with perfect and
strong heart action could stand this ter.
rible strain.
Il has been claimed that the English
stroke is longer than that Of the Ameri
cans This is a mistake. The stroke OF
an oar is measured from the time or place
where a blade hits the water To the point
where Il IS taken out. Some critics hold
that the distance is measured by the po
sition OF the shoulders, which form a
semicircle or from the position of IN,
body when catching the water and ir
making the finish, which is wrong
The Englishman rigs his boat further
away than the American, and his shoe.
and further from the slide Consequently
the English oarsman uses less slide thar
our scullers. and he has 10 make fl up IN
a longer body swing in order 20 get q
stroke equal to ours. This makes a ter.
rible strain on the abdominal muscles in
the finish of the stroke when recovering.
/ The American stroke is a happy me
dium between the English and Belgian
and isb best adapted for all-around work
I think that we have crews here that
could beat the Belgians In both long ant
short distances, and that much Of the sue.
cess Of the Belgians az Henley was due
20 superb physical training and practice.