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Show I ! BEMTTKi SEVERE LABOR Much Work but Little Glory for Man Who Defends Rowing Prestige of His Alma Mater. CHEERED DURING RACE AND THEN FORGOTTEN I Individual Members of Big College Boat Crews Seldom Sel-dom Widely Known or Long Remembered. By Tribune Special Sport Service. YORK, June 10. The big regatta re-gatta which will be staged at Pough-kccpsie Pough-kccpsie next Saturday recalls what a knowing- man once .said: "A college oarsman is the superlative of aelf-sacrifice. Throughout the year he spends every leisure hour fn conditioning himself. During the two or three months of the real Training reason he grinds away at his heart-breaking task. "And then comes race dav, when he is nheerad for twenty minutes and then , forgotten forever." No truer words ever were spoken. Football Foot-ball players bask in the spotlight for nearly two months; their praises are chanted throughout the land; their pictures pic-tures adorn hundreds of sporting pags It is the same with the rah-rah bare-ba bare-ba tiers. But with an oarsman it is far different. If his praises are sung it is collective chant; there are no individual he roes among oarsmen. Those who have followed col!cgiate affairs af-fairs for a decade can te'l vou the names of all the brightest stars that flashed on the hasebull or football fields, but it. is iloubtful If one person In a hundred thou-m thou-m nd ra n na me t lie m en whose bra wn v arms have propelled the shells in the big regattas during the past few rears. Football players are compelled to do pome rather strenuous training, but their task is a vacation compared with that of an oarsman. Day after day the oarsman must go out onto the river, rain or shine, in chill or in strength-sapping sunshine, tuy go through his grind. He sometimes must arise at 4 or n o'clock in the morn-V morn-V ing. as the coach directH. so as to take advantage of a traffic-less river. During th final two weeks lie is out on the river, sometimes three times a day, zlp-plnsr zlp-plnsr along for as many miles as (he coach thinks advisable, sometimes eight or ten miles a day. Aching Muscles. And always when he does his rowing, he must stroke whatever speed the coach directs. Oftentimes the practice spins are ji, as strenuous a s that on ra-e day. At 11 night the oarsman monies back, lircd and 'il? fieiuently with aching muscles. The next Jay be would like to rest but there Is no rest for him. Tie must keep on at his conditioning task keop at It until the dav of the race. All during the latter part of the training season the oarsman must live fl life Hkp that of a, h nn it. lie is is kept on a. strict diet and he must maintain regular hours. If the college is giving ft few "hops," or if tome other affairs are being be-ing arranged which the oarsman would like io take fn, be must for net them. They are not for him. Such gaieties are frowned upon by the coaches. As the climax comes race d;iy. The oarsmen, in their shells, go to. the starting start-ing mark, almost unknown individually. The spectators know the different crews because of the different colors thatare I painted on the oar bludes. But not" one person in every JO, OHO that watches those r;i cos rrni Id name the complete makeup of en eh crew. The oarsman loses pelf and becomes merely a part uf the shell in which he bits. A pistol ciacJis and the boats are a"BV, The end of thir -journey Is four milt" distant and it usually takes twenty twen-ty minutes to negotiate that stretch of wte The oarsman dips his blade into the water and pulls clips and pulls. Hp averages two strokes to the minute, and before his Journey is over ha must pull t'A0 Mud) strokes pull with every bit of power that is in his aims and his shoulders. shoul-ders. The Lcng Grind. Four miles twen ty minutes dipping, pulling, dipping, pulling, and every pull saps the splendid strength of the young-fit young-fit er. who is going through this agfnv ni':rpy tu add further honor and glory to the rowing history of his alma mater. There is no snort in the world that usft3 up a man's vitality as does rowing. Tlmo and again during the years that have gono some of the boys in the, shells ha ve pulled their heavy blades until nil their young strength had been used up; pulled when every stroke was agony and torture. They have tried to stick it out until the end of those four miles, but sometimes one or another has collapsed--dropped his oar and crumpled up in his . "f sew t . And tho reward for this Is a few cheers : that may or may not reach him as the, shells sweep down tho river; a few cheers as he bends his buck and arms to the grueling tnsk that is before them; a few more j-is tho shell swishes down the si rerun and a final volley at tho finish, If his boat wins the race. AnJ then he is forgotten forever. |