ROWING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12418, 30 July 1902, Page 3

ROWING.

Mr F. S. Kolly, the Australian who won tlio Diamond Sculls at. Heifay, is n Svduey iiattve, mid hn* just turned 21. lie is

strong and active for his ago, and has won honours at Oxford. Kelly ju£t missed selection in tho Oxford crow of 1900, being then ninth man iu the crcw. In the samo year lie stroked tho Eton College crcw to victory at the Henley regatta. The Diamond Sculls at Iftnley, the great- amateur event o( the year, was more than usually difficult this year, for not only was England strongly represented, but America sent two tillusually good men in C. S. Titus, the amateur champion of tho Uniteil State, and Seholes, who defeated Titus recently at a race on the Harlem River. A much-discussed subject at a recent meeting of tho New South Wales Rowing Association was the question of the inclusion of the manual lahourer to the rank of amateur. Tho Now South Wales Rowing Association i > tho only rowing body in Australia- which puts the bar on the manual labourer. There is no distinction of this kind drawn by any other athletic body in tho Commonwealth. After a lengthy discussion the motion was put to the meeting, and resulted in a division of 10 to 9. As a two-thirds majority was not secured -the motion was non-effective. A special meeting has been called to alter the rule to read ".1 majority" in place of tho words "two-thirds," making it read, "if approved by a majority of those present, Ghall be embodied in the rules." Tho arguments against the introduction of tho manual labourer were not corispiouous by any wealth of intolligonoo, a? tho following will show:—One Now South Wales delegate declared that it was the energy of clerks, otc., which had made tho association what it was. From the social point of view, lie know that his club only wanted to associate wttll poople whom t-liey wished to meet, flie manual labourer jvn-s not the sort of man you always wanted to bo bumping up against. Rowing was_ tho eloanest of all sports, and it was e.ean because of the absence of tho manual ■ labourer, who had introduced the professional clement into cycling and. other sports. In any case, he did not think the manual Libourer wanted to row, and as a class they had not shown sufficient energy to wajrant consideration " I H. Pearce, one of tho Australian profes-. sional scullors in England, who, it was recently reported, intended to return to Alts--10 eIK ' °f 'lie year, challenged £ Phelps, one of (he most promising of the English scullers, to race him over the J.hame3 championship course for £100 aside. Phelps had liqard that Pearco was no slower than liis follow Australian, George xowns, the champion of tho world, and declined the overture, but intimated that if J. oarcc would conccdo him eight seconds in a milo or 10 scconds in two miles he would be aoeopted