THE SPORT OF ROWING Rowe & Pitman These stills were taken from a “cinematograph” of the last strokes of the final of the 1897 Grand Challenge Cup, which was won by two feet by New College, far lane, over Rudi Lehmann’s Leander Club, near lane. Considered a model English Orthodox crew by Rowe & Pitman, New College was visibly a Classical concurrent Schubschlag crew. Per Frame 6, so was Leander. Frame 1 shows the moment of entry for New College. Note the shoulder reach past the outside knee and the +30° body angle forward achieved even in the final spurt. With perhaps two strokes to go in the race, C.K. Philips, the 5-seat, was looking over at Leander. Frame 2 came right after the first. Backsplash is evident throughout the New College boat. The crew had begun the stroke with backs, legs and arms. After looking out in the prior frame, Philips has missed water at the entry, so his back swing was far ahead of his mates. In Frame 3, time has passed, and New College has now swung to the finish, displaying elegant English Orthodox -45° layback. In Frame 4, the New College recovery has already taken place, and they are shown here backsplashing their next entry. Leander, in the near lane, shortly after their own backsplash entry, also displays coordinated, concurrent leg drive and back swing. In Frame 5, Leander was back at full reach for its next stroke. The boat was clearing its puddles. Guy Nickalls, the 6-seat, was late and had dropped his head. In Frame 6, the very next frame of the movie, the Leander backs and legs had begun to move. directions, from the ideal they shared with Warre. [Warre] took the oar and delivered, secundum artem,790 prolonged blow with instant force at the 790 literally “according to the art” Bourne: “[While tubbing,] often the ‘mighty and beginning of the stroke sustained through the stroke with a force unwavering and uniform’ to show us how to do it.”791 “His maxim, oft repeated, was ‘work comes from the stretcher [i.e., the leg drive],’ and he clearly perceived that, if the sharp catch at the beginning of the stroke is 791 Bourne, qtd. by Fletcher, p. 276 208
