Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-30
BELGIANS WILL MAKE NO KICK
SATISFIED AT EXCLUSION FROM
ROYAL HENLEY.
Will Devote All Their Efforts to
the Olympic Regatta Next Year.
British Explanation.

III. L. steward, chairman OF tile GU
mittee of management of the Henley
royal regatta, has made a public state
ment explaining the exclusion of foreign
ers next year. Steward says:
AT a meeting of the stewards of Hen
ley regatta, held on the 14th instant, l
was requested to forward to the press a
short statement with the object of remov-
ing the misconceptions. more or less wide
ly spread which appear to exist with re-
gard to the resolution passed by the stew
ards early this year suspending for the
year 1908 the rule under which all en-
tries from outside the United Kingdom
are accepted, and which suspension will
prevent the Belgian club which won the
Grand Challenge cup in 1907. from COM
peting at Henley regatta in 1905
I'm March, 1907, the Olympic council
decided to hold an international regatta
at Henley in the last week of July. 1913.
in connection with the Olympic games
which are to take place in England in that
year. When this became known to the
committee of management of Henley re-
gatta ii appeared clear to them that 1t
would be unreasonable to endeavo to
hold two International regattas in July,
1908. and that they ought to do all in
their power to make the Olympic regatta
the international regatta of the year.
Foreigners Excluded.
with this object in view they decided
to recsmmend to the stewards that en-
tries from outside the United Kingdom
should not be accepted for Henley re-
gatta, 1908. Tie committee also felt that
If such a course was to be adopted 1t
should be settled before the entries were
made for the regatta of 1907. so that any
club from outside the United Kingdom in
tending to enter for the regatta of 1907
should be aware that could not be
represented at Henley regatta in 1908.
The committee therefore made the
above recommendation to the stewards
who. at a meeting held May 1.-TWO
months before the date of the regatta in
1900, passed a resolution SuSpending for
the year 1908 the rule under which entries
from outside the United Kingdom are &C
copied This resolution was forthwith
lished in the sporting and other papers
in this country. The views of the Belgian
club upon the subject may presumably be
inferred from the following letter OF M
Gregoire. the president of the Federation
Beige DIES Societ es d'AvirOn, body In
Belgium that corresponds to the Amateur
Rowing Association in this country, which
appeared in La Vie Sportive. Brussels,
December II. and in La Flandre Liberale.
Client, December IA:
MI. Gregoire Satisfied.
LAS you ask my views of the decision
of the Henley committee as far as re-
lates to the year 1908. 1 tell you frankly
that, in my opinion, the English are per-
fectlv right. In a year like 1908, which
will see the Olympic regatta take place
at Henley. and constitute there world
wide exhibition of Craftsmanship. it Is not
reasonable to hold an International re-
gatta fifteen days previously upon the
same course. Moreover, who would have
gone there? One can safely say no
foreigners would have been seen there.
The winner at the ordinary Henley re-
gatta will have no Importance as COM
pared with the winner at the Olympic
Henley, and one cannot ask an oarsman
to make journeys to England twice in
one month. 1 am therefore astonished
at the feeling that seems to have been
aroused in Belgium at the Henley com
mittees decision, the more so as 1t Is
quite certain that the Belgian holders of
any object in going to defend 1t in 1908.
The Grand Challenge has twice been
won by our countrymen, and that Is
enough for the time being. Before we
the ordinary regatta) we may we'll wait
until the Englishmen come in their turp
to take part in our regatta, and l have
reason to believe that this will come
abour sooner than people think. we Will
consider what course to take with regard
to future entries at Henley, but for the
present let us not occupy ourselves with
anything except the Olympic regatta at
the end of July, where the cream of the
whole rowing world will take part. and
where Belgium owes it to herself to be
largely represented. Besides, the decision
of the Henley committee datesfrom May
4, 1907, two months therefore before the
last regatta, and all that can be said
against the Englishmen is that they did
rot at that time inform the Belgian oars
men. That, however, does not in any way
affect the intrinsic propriety of the de-
cision. which I find quite reasonable, and
also in conformity with our own best
int rests. OSCAR GREGOIRE.
Though the decision of the stewards
does not appear to have been known to
NJ Gregoire. it was known to the Belgian
oarsmen who competed at Henley in
1907, as the resolution was the subject
of conversation at Henley previous to
the regatta between some members of
the Belgian crew and several of the re-
gatta stewards"
If Mr. Gregoire is content with the
action of the Henley stewards American
oarsmen generally feel that it is pretty
easy to satisfy him.