Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-08-13

L y
sexes. Some look upon 1t as an agree
able form of recreation to be INDUCED
in for the mere pleasure 1t affords;
others consider it an enjoyable means
OF physical development, to be taken
up for exercise and health; others
again see in ii laurels to be gained by
! testing their speed and endurance
| against worthy rivals. But for one
reason or other it appeals strongly to
all who have acquired aquatic pro-
| ficiency.
We had evidence a-plenty last sea-
SON of the hold it has taken on our
competing swimmers, for large fields
were the rule in all important Mara
thon contests. For instance, thirty
four men and youths bid for honors
in the grueling twenty-five mile race
of the New York Tribune, the longest
ever held in this country; more than
fifty started in the national ten-mile
championship of the Amateur Athletic
Union, run off in the Mississippi river
by the Missouri Athletic Union of St.
Louis. One hundred and one took
part in an event at the same distance
AcdtulOu III Nducdo City.
And almost as great activity was
witnessed among noncompetitors. Men
and women IN every section of tho
United States were daily undertaking
to cover long courses for the sole pur.
pose of the personal satisfaction in
volved and many exceptionally good
performances went to their credit.
Notwithstanding this widespread
popularity, there appears to be some
doubt even in the minds of devotees
of the sport as to the best stroke, or
strokes, to use in water journeys OF
several hours, and now and then one
reads of instructors and prominent
swimmers who still advocate old-fash-
toned styles, such As the breast and
side strokes.
Yet it is hard TO understand, in the
light of past developments, how any.
one can fail to see the advantages to
be derived from the adoption of moo
ern methods.
None will question the fact that the
up-to-date strokes the trudgeon, crawl
and trudgeon- more speed
at the so-called classic distances lin
America from so yards to 10 miles,
for they have furnished all the OBJ
tanning worlds records. Consequently
the only objection which can possibly
be raised against them is that they
are too firing for unusually long trips.
But even such an objection is totally
unwarranted.
1t should be remembered that any
stroke, to permit record-breaking per-
formances, must enable its opponents
to obtain from their natural resources
more efficiency. in both speed and en-
durance, than they could secure from
it's predecessors. 1t would thus be IL
logical to suppose that strokes which
have proved their worth In all round
competition are beyond the ken of any
one.
But there is no need to theorize. One
might cite dozens of cases in which
women and young girls have held the
latest strokes for several hours and
Charles Durborow of Philadelphia
swan the trudgeon continuously for
Ia hours Is minutes when he estab-
lished the American record of 19A
miles of charted course, across tide.
1t is believed by a number of author
tiles on the subject that the plain
crawl, with its narrow, alternate thrash
of the legs, is not as effective as the
trudgeon for distance swimming in
rough water and it must be admitted
that crawlers have so far found it i'm.
possible to maintain an action rapid
and strong enough to drive them
through heavy seas without being bad
ly checked 1t may be, however, that
the youngsters now under way OF de.
velopment will overcome the difficulty
as they grow to maturity. Years OF
practise are necessary to accustom the
human muscles to new movements,
and the crawl is of comparatively re-
cent origin, so that today's adults have
hardly had sufficient time to fit them
selves thoroughly for endurance work.
The rising generation instead has been
trained to the wanted movements al
most from infancy and may fare bet
ter. But this remains to be seen.
1t is probable, all told, that the latest
stroke, the trudgeon-crawl, will even
tually establish its supremacy. The
SiCdlcT ptupSlliuS IOtSO III thC oSiDoOh
kick is obvious, and the speed obtain
ed from it can be maintained at very
small extra expenditure of power by
a gentle flutter of the feet between
kicks, so that it bids fair to super
sede both the mother strokes.
= In training for distance swimming
it is essential to first eradicate all
faults of stroke and then to practise
the correct movements until they can
be performed mechanically.
Few of our endurance swimmers pay
sufficient attention to form. 1t seems
to be the prevalent idea that strength
and stamina are the sole requisites to
succeed Yet it will be readily appre-
ciated that if defective stroke causes
loss of speed and energy over course
of moderate length the double loss will
increase proportionately the father
one goes. .-.. .. e.