The Washington times., 1921-12-19

from West Point. Still, 1t IL thoui
soldiers should not have q crew.
West Points attitude appears to be
tnat rowing u q distinctly naval sport,
ana that the midshipmen would have
e great advantage over the army ca
oets Those who know something Of
crew rowing know that this Is not TIE
case. and that, as a matter of fact, no
coach of crew would wish his oars
men to have anything to do with row.
ing In the heavy cutters, which all
mldshipmen do, though almost entirely
during their first year at the Academy.
It Is true that some of the same
muscles are developed. but those train
ed In rowing the heavy cutters get
more or less set In a stroke which is
entirely different from that used In
seats and "cut-in" row-locks, permit
ting only . short, jabbing stroke. A
youth trained In this stroke has to
unlearn 1t before he can acQuire the
stroke OF the racing shell.
Didn't Always Win.
While the Naval Academy crew has
In the last few years reached q COM
manding position in crew racing. there
have been other seasons when II has
been beaten by the crews of civilian
colleges. The commanding position
held at different times by Yale, Cor
nell and Syracuse shows clearly that
rowing - a general sport and that no
special advantage attaches to the stu
dents Of the Naval Academy. The
Military Academy, with the Hudson ut
its door. has a. fine an opportunity
as any institution of developing strong
crews.
= According to the first reports. West
Point contemplated meeting, after q
few years, the Naval Academy crew
in an annual race. While the Naval
Academy has. for q number Of years,
been anxious to extend the list Of
Academy, 1t Is not thought likely that
this arrangement will be put into
effect for long time. 1t takes a
long time to develop a sport like row.
ing in a college, and the cadets would
not be likely to offer serious opposi-
ton to the midshipmen for many
years. It II altogether probable that
the first meeting would come through
the Army entering some big event,
like the Poughkeepsie Regatta. in
which the Navy was also contes.
j, tant. %,
1t may be noted, that the Naval
Academy athletic authorities were at
one time giving serious consideration
10 the suggestion of meeting the
: Army at one of its own games, polo.
A sailor on horseback Ia considered
. comical opposition, but many of the
midshipmen have had opportunities to
ride before entering the Academy.
and there is no doubt that they could
perform creditably at polo II given
opportunities for practice and In
struction. 1t developed. however,
that the sport was extremely expen-
sive to maintain and only few could
participate in 1t, mounts not being
frrrnished by the Government. as to
INVEST Point f7a 80 So
The discussion of a possible crew
~ West Point has called attention TO
other sports in which the teams Of
the service schools might meet. They
now meet annually In football, base
ball and basketball. There are a num-
ber Of sports in which both engage In
competition with other schols, but the
Naval Academy has been engaged in
most of them for q far longer period
than has the Military Academy, and
has met with much greater success.
However, there might be contests in
several Of them on a very fair basis.
| Lacrosse, soccer, field and track.
boxing, wrestling. fencing. gymnastics
and swimming are all in vogue at
both institutions. Soccer, field and
track and boxing are suggested as
branches In which contests should be
close and doubtful. In soccer and
field and track, the Naval Academy
has met with only moderate success.
Boxing has been q sport In which
other teams are met for only two
years. Therefore, the Navy would
: have no particular advantage.
An annual match between West
Point and Annapolis boxers at the
different weights would be an ath-
letic event Of extreme interest. Some
have feared that 1t would be diff
cult to keep the contestants within
bounds. There II no reason to BE-
lieve this. Matches between tho repre-
sentatives of the enlisted men Of
the army. navy, and marine corps
are conducted regularly and are con-
trolled In satisfactory manner.
Certainly, youths who are preparing
to be officers In these branches of
the service would exercise equal self
y control and be sufficiently amenable
to the rules of the game and the
Judgment of the officials.
The authorities Of both the naval
and military academies are thorough
believers in athletics for the recrea-
Z, tion and development Of their
charges and for the inculcation of
military and officer-like qualities.
Similar systems Of physical training
and athletics are in use at both
Institutions, and an annual match
IN all sports between the schools of
the two branches Of the service
seems a fitting climax for all
schedules.