STYLE IN ROWING
[To the Editor of TIIE SPECTATOR.]
Sra,—It may possibly be interesting to English rowing dignitaries, in view of the recent controversy as to style, to learn of an American point of view—unfortunately not that of an expert but merely of an oarsman.
It seems to me supremely foolish, when discussing styles of rowing, to consider the likes and dislikes of the spectators. If they want to look on, let them ; but unless the oarsman is to become, as a Roman gladiator, a mere entertainer, we should forget the idler on the bank, and, in judging these opposing styles, consider only the men in the boat : the effect on them physically and especially on their enjoyment of the sport.
To me the most exhilarating thing about rowing in an eight-oared crew has always been the graceful lift and drive of the boat which results from that minute perfection of timing, that measured control of great power only rarely attained in high speed action. Americans have always hated to lose ; and I arn no exception. But the best part of winning a race is the feeling of life and enthusiasm, felt by all equally though not a word has passed, and seemingly shared by the very boat itself as it nears the finish line. No other sport requires such a close and minute co-ordination ; no other art rewards those who have mastered it with such a strong sense of unity and power.
The " Fairbairnites " haven't lost this or they wouldn't be winning races. What's the difference how they look ? There are no prizes for prettiness. The cramped position adopted by them seems to me, however, to be not so easy on the oarsman as the more natural, more nearly upright. When You are gasping for breath and wishing that every stroke were the last, it seems only logical to row as naturally and as easily as possible and still " push the boat." The mechanics of the human body should be carefully considered ; and I must leave this to someone who knows more than I do. But I have found that until you can move no longer, it makes things a little easier to sit fairly straight and keep your chin up. The effort required to do this is never wasted. Over-stiffness is as bad as over-slumping. The happy medium is always right in rowing ; exaggeration of any good thing makes it bad.
If there is nothing to choose between these two styles from either of these viewpoints (which I doubt), then why waste breath over a matter of looks which can only affect the oarsman when he sees himself in pictures ? Grace is power in control ; and every fast crew has it, or it wouldn't be fast. Would that many prominent AMerican crews had as much of it as the
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