THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN ROWING The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 10, 1939 -3°, +30° to -5°, 0-10, 0-10, 0-10, 40 spm Joe Burk in 1939, in his own words: 1. Sculls are just entering the water, blades perpendicular to surface. Slide is all the way forward, body hunched slightly forward. Arms are practically straight, with wrists arched slightly. I keep my legs together, but most scullers open them, letting the body go between for greater reach. Power is applied even before blades are immersed completely. 2. The arms are bent at the elbows to get the blades anchored. Arms are doing most of the work as slide hasn’t gone back very much and body angle hasn’t changed appreciably. Until the blades are im- mersed completely and have thereby met their fullest resistance, the forearms carry most of the strain in order to conserve the power of the body for the main pull. 3. Every muscle is now in play, as I begin to pull on full pressure. Slide has been driven back to the point where the full power of the legs is applicable. Back is almost perpendicular, in its strongest position. Wrists are arching more, in order to keep the blades perpendicular in the water. 4. The arc of maximum power is now at its end. Wrists have reached their maximum arch. Body has passed the perpendicular stage, and the slide is just short of completion. The hands have overlapped. So close is the clearance of the hands that I have to wear a glove to avoid knocking the skin off my right hand. 5. The entire stroke has been completed, and the wrists are being turned down during the extraction of the blades from the water. There is very little layback, for the more layback, the deeper the boat dips in the water, cutting down the speed. Leg drive is finished. The swirl at the end of the stroke is an index to the amount of power applied. 6. Blades are now being feathered, which cuts down on wind resistance, minimizes the danger of catch- ing a crab, and is an aid in balancing the shell. Arms, legs and back have completed their work, all three having finished their work simultaneously. The recovery is starting. “Gallagher hoped that we might com- pete together in the double in the 1936 Olympic Trials two years hence, but I had other plans, and that was to row in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania Graduate Eight, which was a strong crew.”1996 1996 Burk, personal correspondence, 2005 547
