The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-04-02
COURTNEY FOR
SHORTER RACES
Noted Rowing Coach Opposes
-Four Mile Varsity Contests.
ARE TOO MUCH OF A TEST.

Cornell Expert Asserts That Present
Severity of Races Is Lowering the
Standards of the Students-VaIuable
Time Wasted In Long Training
Operations, Etc. ...
Charles T.. Courtney, the veteran
rowing coach of Cornell is working
for shorter race at Poughseepsie at
the national regatta. Mr. Courtney is
Of the opinion that preparations for "A
four mile race require crew candidates
to neglect their studies.
Not only in crew but in all intercol-
legiate athletics he feels that the
strain of competition is too great. His
constructive suggestions are that the
Cornell university crew shall not be
called upon to row more than one race
Il year and that freshmen shall not be
allowed to take part in any games or
races during the college year.
In former years, according to Mr.
Courtney, the standing of the crew
men in their studies was invariably
high, but under the stress of additional
work it has been coming steadily
down.
At Il recent alumni dinner the coach
spoke as follows:
Il want to tell you a few things that
j don't believe in.
Il don't believe in Il four mile race.
! never did, and L am unalterably OPP
posed to it for several reasons. One
j. that the average boy can't give the
necessary time from his university
work 10 make proper preparation for
Z fogr mile race. The way l feel. if
we are forced to row four mile races
] would rather bust every crew man
out of the university than to feel for a
minute that l had allowed him to go
into heartbreaking four mile race I'M
prepared.
Only One Big Race.
81 don't believe the varsity crew
should be called on to row more than
one race in season, and l think that
race should be after college closes in
the summer.
Il don't believe that our freshmen
should be allowed to take part in any
intercollegiate games or races during
the college year. l am not prepared
40 say that it is n good thing to allow
freshmen TO row in the races at POUCH
kcepsie, even after college closes il
June.
II believe that if an effort We're made
TO bring n lot of young fellows to Cor
nell who want to get an education an(
who mean TO use their time at the uni
Yersity for that purpose our athletics
would be better taken care of thar
they are now, and the university woulC
turn out better men.
I'VE have arranged at Cornell TO
this year eighty-six games and races
Have you ever stopped to think of tn
amount of time it takes to prepare tn
teams and crew for those games an
races and to play the games and ROY
the races. many of them out of town
Many Athletic Features.
"Sit down some day and figure it IL
and see if the faculty is not justified
saying that if the boys gave more tim
TO their proper work and less time
their athletics the university could tur
out better men.
81 have seen a professor of Sible
college leaving town with a party
students for week to make an impO
tant test somewhere. They We're g
ing to do work which would refe
credit on the university and would
of some permanent good to the humG
race, but didn't see any cheer leade
or brass band at the station to gil
them a sendoff.
"When ] first went to Cornell III
had two. Sometimes we would 10
two races i'm a season, but almost
Narably the races came after cole
closed in June. The crew men sto
very high in their university work.
I'm fact, / have heard Preside
Schurman say that the crew men sto
as high as, if not higher than. ~
other class of students. Today '
have seven races. and the standing
the crew men is gradually going dow
ut makes me hot, because | was
ways very proud of the standing
my boys. / don't believe in piling
so many races. / guess il those m
who sit with their feet on their deS
and arrange those races had to II
the races themselves they would 1
believe in it either"
Ed Custer Sold.
Foreign buyers secured another