While less hardy College athletes passed yesterday afternoon at subterranean squash or second-story ping-pong, seven Crimson crews scoffed at the cold river wind and the occasional snow flurries to launch their first outdoor practice of the '47 season in the Charles.

"We're hitting the river just about on a par with other years," said Coach Tom Bolles as he clambered aboard the launch which would carry him to where he could get a closer view of his charges. "But it's only practice until after spring vacation. As far as I'm concerned, they're all just candidates for the Varsity right now."

The fact that a few of the men Bolles was counting on after their showing last fall appeared in the first two boats on the river yesterday indicates, however, that the coach does not tell all he knows. Apparently he has his eye on Captain Bim Chanler, Mike Scully, and Lou Cox, all of whom rowed last spring and who took positins in the nominally number one boat.

Four Varsity shells pulled away from the Newell deck, all told, while three Freshman heavy crews also maneuvered on the Charles during the course of the afternoon.

Although intensive training has only been underway for the past ten days, Bolles has had his boys working out informally all winter in the Newell indoor tank where artificial currents simulate natural rowing conditions. Practice on the Charles will still emphasize form and style until the second week in April when Bolles will start using the stop-watch.

In most sports, the opener can be considered a tune up for subsequent engagements. But this year an oddly arranged schedule puts the pressure on the Varsity eight from the outset. Besides facing a Big Three rival--Princeton--and M.I.T. on April 26, Bolles' crew will be making its only appearance of a five regatta schedule before the home crowd.

If last year's efforts are to serve as any criterion of what Crimson bank-standers can expect, the Varsity has a harder pull ahead than tugging an II-foot sweep through the water. The lone victory in '46 was sweet, however, as they left a Yale crew far behind on the Charles.