Year: 1875

The Amateur Rowing Championship


Several of our contemporaries, at loss to
understand the recent easy victory OF four
students in the Atalanta boat over the
famous Beaverwycks and Argonautas, are
just awakening to the fact that the students
are not only the fastest amateur oarsmen
In the country, but can probably peat
all, or all but one, of our fastest profes-
sional crews. Nearly year ago, shortly
after the seemingly brilliant performance OF
the Beaverwycks in seizing the amateur
championship, we called the attention of our
readers to the fact that, genuine as was
the surprise created by these Albany men,
their work was after ALL not fast Diff
hcult as it was, in the absence of any ex-
act measure of the allowance to be given the
four-oar for carrying two oars less than the
university boat and for the turning race
over the straightaway, there was yet little to
justify the conclusion that these differences
would reduce the eighteen minutes thirty
four seconds of the Beaverwycks to the
seconds of the winning Columbians. This
year we see that though older and heavier
and seemingly better seasoned, they are
beaten SO badly that during the home mile
they could hardly be called in the race at all
They have been defeated, too, by four recent
graduates, not one of whom ever sat in
winning university boat, and one of
whom was unknown to the rowing world till
three months ago. No excuse was proffered,
at any rate beforehand, and they were SO de-
cidedly the favorites in the betting that the
foolhardy odds of five to one were offered
and taken on them against the men who have
thus brought them SO hollow q defeat.


In casting about for the causes of this sur
prise, always bearing in mind that the pub
lie opinion which hit so wide of the mark in
the forecasting was evidently not based on the
careful observation and judgment of old row.
ing men, two at least are patent-one, that
the Beaverwycks, and the famous Argo-
nautas as well, erred signally in judgment
in overcoming the first half of the race, a mis-
take that both were old enough to know bet
ter than to make; second that the students
know how to row better than the others.
Our oarsmen are gradually beginning to find
that it requires head as well as a body to
row hard race and win it; that not only
must it be clearly understood beforehand
exactly what must be the stroke and what the
distribution of the power throughout the dis
tance, but there must be the iron resolution to
row just that stroke, and at just that rate of
distribution, till the boats heel is safely over
the finish line, even though it brings the
rover home stark blind. Rough, scratchy
excited work in any part of the contest, with
sound judgment forgotten, can no more win
on Saratoga Lake than at Dollymount. Many
as are the advantages of the amateurs, who,
unlike the collegians, instead of rowing
together for two or three years at most, and
often for not more than one, may remain
together as long as they like, and when there
can be no question as to their maturity
all results so far seem to point to the con-
clusion that the student has made the better
use of his time. The Beaverwycks are very
strong men, and SO are some of the Argo-
nautas. Let them wisely take the lessons of
defeat, and when the last week of next sum-
mer comes around they may regain the posi-
tons they won last year, when it was really
not hard to win, and which they have now SO
completely and surely lost.