Girls and Athletics / Giving a brief summary of the activity, rules and method of administration of the following games in girls' schools and colleges, women's clubs, etc.: archery, basket ball, cricket, fencing, field day, field hockey, gymnastics, golf, hand ball, ice hockey, indoor base ball, rowing, soccer, skating, swimming, tennis, track athletics, volley ball, walking, water polo, water basket ball.

by Unknown

Racing

The racing stroke is the same, except that for the four and eight-oared crews each oarsman pulls one oar, known as a “sweep,” holding it in both hands—the inside hand at the end of the oar, the outside hand a hand’s breadth away. The boats used for racing are known as “shells,” especially made for the purpose. These have sliding seats and are equipped with either oar-locks or thole pins (according to the belief of the coach) and stretchers, or boards against which the feet rest. When the body is forward, the sliding seat is forward toward the bow; as the pull is starting, the seat comes back until the body is back, then it moves forward as body swings forward.

In racing, the shell is steered by a coxswain, who sits in the stern facing the oarsmen and holds the lines which guide the rudder. This is very important, since she tries to choose the best and most favorable course. She must observe all conditions closely. She alters the course as little as possible, taking care not to jerk or in any way interfere with running of the boat. She also judges the stroke, that is, when the stroke should be faster or slower.

The stroke oar is the most important position in the boat, since all the others time their strokes according to hers, either faster or slower, according to the necessity.

Above everything necessary in racing is a good coach, who watches carefully for any signs of fatigue or over-exertion. It never pays in the long run to overdo. The crew should work smoothly, harmoniously and with perfect mastery of the stroke. This can be obtained through the supervision of the coach, who criticises the individual and the whole. In arranging a crew the heavier girls are in the center, the lighter at either end; the coxswain should be as small and light as possible, thus not adding much unused weight.

In the single and double sculls—that is, boats rowed by one or two oarsmen—an oar is grasped in each hand. The sculler steers by pulling evenly on both oars for a straight course, or more strongly on one or the other oar for a variation of the course.