A STUDY OF STYLES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 131, 26 February 1908, Page 8

A STUDY OF STYLES.

[BY Mehcuby.] , To thoso, like myself, who had only, known tho champion ns an amateur, the improvement of his methods in the boat must come as a revelation. In fact,', the alteration.'is not so much in the nature of-an improvement as an entire change"; He seems to have taken his old-time' system to picces and remodelled it entirely, and tho result makes as finished an exhibition as tho most confirmed stylist could wish for.

Most of us remember the one-time long reach forward over the closed , knees, the almost vicious grip of the water, the hard drivo, and the somewhat clumsy recovery with the hands, which seemed to bo pushed out again almost without any drop. Wei), these characteristics seemed 1 to liavo ..disap<.' pen.red, though, of course, the hard grip ana drive ara still thero; 'but thcro is "now a continuity about" the movements'that stems to weld into ono harmonious and apparently effortless whole. Tho reach is afe long', but tho body now comes down'between tho knees, which makes the effort of reaching out less apparent, and causes the slido and leg work to fit together as one easy motion. The hands, too, now coma down and out from a high .finish, .with .a .wrist jwtifin..that brings the.

blades out beautifully, square and clean. Altogether Webb may now be written down as a sculler of the polished as well as of the vigorous order. \

These remarks are based on his form shown for the first two miHs, after which the prettiness altered to giro way in a degree to the old doggedness., Perhaps it was then that the hard grind was beginning to tell 011 the style, or perhaps it was that a sense of security causcd a-certain slackness, but from tho steamer it was certainly apparent that. the champion was gradually losing his cleanness at the catch and his tenseness of body coming up on tho slide'. . At the threo-milo this latter condition became much more marked,' so much so that at'times tho body almost 1 appeared to "wobble," which gave rise to the opinion on the boat that he was more distressed than his opponent. The trouble, I dare say, was more apparent than real, and I am quite prepared to beliovo. that there was.'a very serviceable stock of reserve force in waiting in case of need; but there still appeared to me to bo this blemish'oh the' slide work for-

ward :• that. the letf ; shoulder dipped, ■ "and the head fell over with it, and that somo of the stiffness' and , present in tho work in the . first-stages-had departed... Still Webb's exhibition of tho art of boat propulsion was-one that did. heart; good to witness, and one that' will bo. ono of my pleasantest memories for yeara to come. TRESIDDER'S STYLE. , On liis.arrival at the, starting point, and while tho preliminaries were' being settled, Tresidder reeled off several pipe-openers that were .-'greatly appreciated by those to whom lie was; a stranger; arid who wished to obtain an idea as to his stylo and methods/ The first characteristic to' strike me was the extraordinary distance to ivhiohhe carried his feather. His- blades remained flat almost, to tho actual moment of Catching, iwhen thoy came off the feather so suddenly' as to give one the'impression' of " slicing." This, was particularly ' the' case with tho right iscull, and the impression was'borno' out by the fact tho blado frequently took the water .with a splash. ' • The next peculiarity that" was evident was the crouch : with which .'the Australian got his commencement, and the, consequent losing of tho slide at this part of tho stroke. , Local rowing men will recogniso this peculiarity better, perhaps, when T say that at the moment of getting his ■ hold off tho water, Tresidder's position reminded mo; to a .marked. dogree, of A!. T.'.Cendall, of the Star Boating Club. 7. - - ', At this point, too, the' contrast, between tho two competitors was very great;.as challenger's, catch quite .lacked the crispness that characterised " Webb's, a ."difference which no doubt was one result ,of 'the', lateness of the feathering.- : • •!, ■ , Another very;.' noticeablo' ieaturo J was the 'distance .with which : the . strokp .was pulled 'through with . the hands,, which wero brought right past the body and, dropped amiosfc. to tlio lirps with a peculiar pigeonw.ng action, which' certainly-' brought the blades well clpar of the 'water,. though at

times .again the'right scull seemed at fault, in failing to come out'.quite cleanly. To return to tho "beginning" of tho stroke. "Once the blades were buried, howover, the driving-power, became very apparent, and tho' leg-drive, though a trifle late, owing to; the above-mentioned slipping away of the slide, was very powdrful. • The feature of the. Australian's rowing, however, that took* my fancy tho. most was the splendid Klea of; balance and control given by his body work when coming forward,' and it is ovidently this' portion, of his work that .makes him' the waterman he is credited with being. • To . sum up, Tresidder impressed one as being a sculler who could go on with , tho game steady, powerful oweep. and drive for

milo_ after milo, through rough, and smooth, getting just so much paco from, his boat and no more, but lacking crispncss-and dash, and what is generally known as-the "ginger'' of his younger opponent. It is to this lack that his failure was due.