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The Crews.

What the Candidates for the 'Varsity and Class Crews are Doing.

All of the regular crews are daily at work and considerable activity is shown in the preparation for future races. In comparison with past years it may be remarked that more than the average amount of care seems to be expended in the bare rudiments of the motions. Not one of the crews has begun to bend the arms and they all of course row with fixed seats. It would be misleading to try to make any criticism whatever upon the style displayed, for so many things will have to be added to the stroke that before many weeks the appearance of the crews will be entirely changed.

The 'varsity crew is doing a fair amount of work every day and they are coached by Capt. Perkins and occasionally by Adams, L. S. On Friday the first crew rowed as follows: Powers stroke, Rantoul 7, Warts 6, Kelton 5, Vail 4, Jones 3, Porter 2, Cummings bow. The other men were Shaw, Newell, Fitzhugh, Slade, Burling, Earle and Perkins. Kelton '93, who rowed 6 on the crew last year and Fitzhugh '91, who rowed 4 on the '91 crew last year. began training only a few days ago. Fitzhugh made great improvement last year and an equal improvement this year might make a man of his strength into a valuable oarsman.

Capt. Perkins is undoubtedly in a state of considerable uncertainty in regard to who shall coach the crew. At present it does not seem possible to get anybody to coach, and the captain will have to do most of the work himself for some time, though it is not unlikely that Storrow or Keyes may come out and do something later in the season. The men at present are simply doing a little rowing on the weights, going through a little dumbbell exercise and running a short distance beyond Porter's Station. In a short time the crew will begin rowing in the tank.

The tank has been improved a good deal during the fall. Shallow boxes have been put in, and the water will be only eight or nine inches deep. The whole arrangement is made so that the water may move with a freer current. Oars with full blades are at present used and apparently they can be driven faster with the present arrangement than oars with holes in them could be driven in deeper water. Full bladed oars are an advantage in that they are livelier in the water.

The only crew which is at present using the tank is the sophomore. These men are working hard and are occasionally being coached by G. Perry, L. S. They are at a sort of club table at Cranston's which will serve very well as a training table for several months.

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The freshman crew is now doing a good deal of work. They are pretty good looking men as a whole. They seem to be nearly all of the same size and all look healthy and vigorous more so than most freshman crews. They are rowing with straight arms on sliding seats still, but their rowing shows that a good deal of work has been done, for the first crew occasionally rows in fairly good time.

The juniors and seniors have only begun lately and do not seem to have their principal candidates at work. They are doing a little straight arm rowing and running up the Avenue every evening. From present appearances it would seem that the chances are favorable for good class crews and a lively race next spring.

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