ROWING NOTES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 427, 19 November 1930, Page 4

ROWING NOTES

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"TANIWHA." )

Last week’s meeting of the Wanganui Rowing Association was one of the largest gatherings of delegates that the Association has had f° r some time. Various matters wore discussed, the most important features of which have already been reported. The motion that either the Jury Cup regatta or the Aulsebrook inter club regatta (for eight-oared contests) be held on Boxing Day was left open for discussion at a further meeting of the Association.

It might be here suggested that club issues should not be introduced at these meetings, but should be left outside on the mat. The delegates to the Association are chosen by the respective clubs in the interests of rowing and it would be well to keep this fact steadily in mind.

The Wanganui Club. A visitor to the Wanganui shed on Saturday afternoon was heard to express appreciation at the active interest taken in the club this year. He especially eulogised the committee for the manner in which they were attending to the running of the club, and comnfended the neat appearance of the shed itself. It is gratifying to note the interest taken bv old and young members alike. Mr P. Evans, the chib’s valued president, is keeping well in touch with af fair’s and his advice is always readily accepted. Messrs H. W. Cooper, S. Cass and Barclay (recently elected a vicepreident) are also taking a helpful interest. Mr Cooper, in his position as starter has kept up his reputation in the handling of the rwent qjub races. The Youths’ Four on Saturday in defeating the Collegiate crew won this event from School for the first time in four years and are to be congratulated. The Collegiate crew were somewhat disappointing. but perhaps it was their day off and they will fulfil the promise shown to morrow morning at Aramoho. Clav and his crew have plenty of room for’ improvement and with the large number of vonths in the shod there will he keen competition to obtain a seat in the vonths’ regatta crow. Stroke still errs bv swinging as he pulls throng . and bow's hands arc very sluggish and should be pushed out twice as fas . Three should take a full stroke and two guard against “skying- at the catchy Form shown bv novices training lor the Dustin Fours is fairly good and rnanv of them would do well to pay careful attention to the advice g lvc , n - The committee met last night- for the second time during the present season. One of the chief items of debate was in connection with the programme of c uh racing It has been suggested that the club hold an “At Home” before Christmas. Aramoho Boating Club. The standard of rowing produced by the competition for the Mitehell Fours during last week was of a fairly good standard and several close finishes re suited in much enthusiasm. Training has now commenced for the Tesla lours, racing for which trophy will commence on Monday w eek. The Senior Four crew has now commenced serious training for regatta racing and members are intending to practice daily-, consequently they have ‘withdrawn from all club events, lhe Aramoho selection of regatta crews was s nnewhat simplified by the fact that manv of last year’s crews are still intact. However, the crews arc not definitely those to represent their club and anyone meriting a seat in a crew will

be* encouraged. Aramoho arc generous in their number of entries in regattas as a rule, following the principle of giving as many members as possible an interest in the racing. “Tod” Sloan is once again back among the up-riverites and his coaching work is greatly valued. It was his coaching of the present Senior Four as a heavyweight maiden crew that started a progressive career. A crew that will have a full list on regatta day will be the heavyweight maidens, who arc entering for that race and the junior lightweight event. Then with the exception that two will take the stroke’s seat and J. Harrison will fill No. 2 seat the same crew will compete in the youths fours. Rather a full programme for one afternoon! Several crews will, it is expected, compete at the New Plymouth regatta on New Year’s Day. Union Boat Club.

Activities at the light blues’ shed lie mainly in the direction nr intensive preparation and coaching for club events and the regattas which will call for attention later on in the season. Careful tuition is being accorded the novices and this should be repaid in full meas ure later on.

Criticism of crews which was commenced last week is continued in this budget, and the hints and suggestions should prove helpful. Penn’s crew is very lifeless. r lhe stroke could infuse more ginger into his crew by getting his oar faster through the water, and also a faster catch. At present, he has a distinct pause. 'There is slowness of hands away right throughout the boat and the whole crew are finishing too low. This fault should be particularly watched because without a hard finish oarsmen get no run out of the boat between strokes. Kiddie’s Crew.—This crow appears to have a lively boat. Stroke is over reaching and occasionally he shoots his slide. If he does not try to roach out beyond the strong position it will help him to hold his slide. Three is rowing a strong oar but is very srow at getting his hands away. Two has improved a good deal on last year’s form. His main fault now is that when his stroke quickens up he badly snoots his slide. Bow. who is a flyweight, pulls a good oar for his size. He would do a great deal better if he did not wring his elbows so much at the finish of the stroke. The right thing is to just let the elbows go free, so that one *nn bring the oar right through at a level that gives the greatest pulling power. It is wrong to got below that level by keeping the elbows closely into the side, or to get above that level by wringing the elbows and having them almost in line with the shoulders. This fault is prevalent among the oarsmen, both old and new, and coaches should point out immediately when any member errs.

D. Thompson’s crew are a nippy crowd, but the stroke and three are not bringing the oar in as far as it will go, thereby cutting the stroke short. It is correct to sop the hands go away with a snap, but one must finish the stroke first. Two and bow are rowing short forward. This is probably caused by the stroke slipping the finish, thereby causing them to be late coming forward and having to drop in before they are out to the correct position with the body. Cotterill’s Crew.—Three is dropping his hands before finishing the stroke. This gives him a very ugly finish and upsets the rest of the crow. Two is rowing well but would improve if ho

livened up the catch, stroke often get ting in before him. Bow has very little body swing, being quite content to rely on his arms. It should be remembered that at every stroke one’s arms are getting weaker, but if one works pendulum fashion and makes the body do the work as much as possible, rowing will become a great deal easier. Traill’s Crew. —Three would improve if he went back further at the finish of the stroke. Two has the style of a typical fisherman and every time he finishes a stroke he almost jerks his head off. Besides being wasted energy, this is also unnecessary, and instead of help ing the boat along, this mighty jerk is only hindering it. Bow is improving with every row. His one fault is not pulling through on the same level. Gallery’s Crew.—This crew up to date looks a likely winner of the Novice Competition, but may not improve as much as some of the other crews within the next two weeks before racing. Three is swinging away from his oar at the finish, and also meets his oar with a little jerk forward. Two keeps very bad time. This is no doubt caused by the fact that his eyes arc everywhere but in the boat. Bow is swinging away from his oar at the finish, and should also come off the feather sooner. Right throughout the boat the finish is too low. This tends to give tno crew very little driving power. The most glaring fault with the novice crews is that they will not turn the oar over soon enough for the catch. The result is that when they go to catch the water the oar jambs in the poppet. This is overcome thus: As soon as one gets the hands away and the arms arc straight one must start to turn the inside wrist over, and keep on turning it over gradually until he is out to the position at which he catches the water.

J. Cotterill has been selected maiden sculler to represent the light blues at forthcoming regattas. He represented the club in this event at the Wanganui Regatta two seasons ago. Considering the adverse water conditions and the fact that he had just taken up this branch of the sport he did very well to finish in second place. Since then Cotterill has greatly improved and he showed very fine form last season by winning the handsome Lind Challenge Cup.

Home of the crews have been very careless when getting in and out of the boats. Strokes should use strict super vision and instruct their men how to get in ami out of the boat properly. When the boat comes in to the pontoon on the stroke side, the stroke should instruct two to get out and hold the rigger down. Next, unship three side. When this is done he should order bow to get out, then three and lastly get out himself, two holding the rigger down all the while. When the boat comes in with the bow side to the pontoon the procedure is the same except that bow gets out to hold his rigger down hard. When getting into the boat strokes must insist that the members of their ciews step in on the centre board.

Body-Swing. To deal with the various points of control is beyond the scope of a single article, but it is possible to touch upon one of the major points, viz., the body swing (writes “Slide” in the Poverty Bay Herald). The novice is told from the commencement of his initiation that he has to swing the body in time with the stroke, and too often he assumes that he is swinging the body when he is morelv’ sliding up and down on the seat. The body swing is a definite movement in which the shoulders start well forward of the hips, and finish well back of them. The longer the arc described by the shoulders, the more effective the oarsman will be. in general, though this is subject to the qualifiea tion that the swing-back should not go so far as to make the recovery difiicult. It is on the reach forward that inches can be added to the effective swing, and it is in this respect that many oarsmen —and not only novices—are prone to err. Too often one sees the shoulders dropped forward in the effort to increase the roach, which should come only from the further bending at the hips. Just as the body-swing is one of the prime features of oarsmanship, so is the straight back the very essence of the body swing. A homely ami oft-used illustration of the value of a straight back is provided by the normal action in lifting a heavy weight off the ground; the average man, in taking the weight, naturally straightens his back as a preliminary to the heave. If his shoulders arc sagged forward, he simply must lift them before he can make his strength effective. So it is in handling an oar before the bodily strength of an oarsman can be made effective, his shoulders must be square and his back straight. There is this difference between lifting a weight and taking a stroke with an oar, that there is no time for a preliminary squaring of the shoulders in the latter operation. To make the most of his weight, as should be his object, the oarsman must be ready, at the moment when he reaches his full forward reach, to start the stroke; if he is not ready, the most earnest effort on his part will not enable him to got his weight on the oar in the proper manner. Therefore, the back must be straight and the shoulders set square as the body swings forward; the bending is done from the hips, and not in a scries of tiny angles along the spine. Those in charge of crews should do their utmost to impress upon novices by illustration and argument, the importance of this feature. Coming under the head of the bodyswing, also, is the management of the 1 slide, and here again the budding oars man should carefully guard against a tendency of slackness. There is a right wav and a wrong way to manage the slide, and the right way is only mastered after a good deal of concentrated effort. The basic principle is to keep the slide in proper relation to the movement of the shoulders, anil not to ]et it shoot away the moment the weight goes on the oar. At the start of the stroke, the seat is full forward; when the bodyswing is half way through its arc. the seat should be half-way the slide; and when the swing is complete, the seat should be. just touching the rear end of the slide. All intermediate

stages of the shoulder movement and the seat movement have their distinct relation, too. and when an oarsman has assimilated this fact and mastered its application, he will be in a fair way to becoming proficient in the sport of rowing. The rest will come easily.