The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-06-22

sistance to the water which offsets the
slight advantage gained from the i
stronger sweep of the legs. But this
point is debatable George Hodgson
of Canada, the Olympic 400 and 1900
meter record holder, uses and advo-
Gates a spread of about thirty inches.
The thrash between scissors is also
adjusted to the pace being held, but In
inverse ratio. That is, the drives are
fast, energetic and comparatively wide
in sprinting, slower, less vigorous and
narrower as the journey increases in
length, until they become no more than
gentle flutter. This is the general
rule, of course, subject always to the
laws of personality. 1t is for every
man, or his coach, to ascertain Just
how much energy he can devote to the
leg drive.
Until quite recently the trudgeon.
crawl was confined entirely to Ameri-
can swimmers, but its value is now
being recognized in foreign countries.
In a book just published by the
Amateur Swimming Association of
Great Britain, ]. G. Hatfield of Mid
dlesbrough, the worlds one mile record.
holder, writes about it:
81 have adopted the trudgeon-crawI
and believe it is eminently suited for
distance swimming. First, because the
movements are all natural; second, be
cause the arms and legs undertake
their fair proportion of the work; third,
because while the legs perform a
double stroke there is not undue fatigue
owing to different muscles being
brought into play; fourth, because
breathing is effected without the
slightest difficulty or strain, the nat
ural roll of the body offering ample
opportunity for q full inspiration at no
detriment to speed"
Hodgson, the mentioned Olympic
champion, also swims a stroke which
comes under the heading of the trudg.
eon-crawl, although it is generally class.
ed as pure trudgeon. In fact, he al
lows his legs to cross after performing
the regulation scissors, relaxes them
| for an instant, then sweeps them back
With some force, thereby getting an.
other propelling drive. This return
kick takes the place of the prescribed
thrash. The same principle exactly.
One is frequently asked by young
| swimmers how many strokes should
be taken per minute, and the question
is unanswerable for the obvious rea-
| sons that the number varies materially
| With the individual and with the dis
| lance in sight. However. the worlds
| greatest miller, Hatfield, tells us that
he completes each full cycle of move
ments in about two seconds, when
! swimming further than half a mile.
and this may convey to the new re-
| cruit an idea of the wanted timing
And now, before closing, a word
| about the prevalent belief that in all
varieties of crawl it is advisable to
breathe at every second, third or fourth
stroke.
How this strange idea ever gained
the strong hold it has one fails abso-
lutely TO understand. Not only is con
slant oxygenatiOn of tie lungs indis
! pensable in physical effort of any Kind
but more especially is it necessary in
swimming, for when the air is not
renovated frequently the call for it be
comes so imperative that the swimmer
lifts his head for it with jerk and
breaks the balance of the body, there
by causing a sudden check
Developing swimmers should make
it their rule to breathe always ateyery
stroke. and most racing men will profit
by doing the same. except possibly al
fifty yard sprinting. 1t is impossible
to attach too much Importance to the
point.