Princeton arrived on the Charles with a crew which used a style very similar to Bolles' an ideally matched crew superbly conditioned, and trained to stroke identically. Belles, on the other hand, had a varsity weeks behind the Tigers on practice, with a number five oar who takes absolutely no layback a bow and seven man who both dip their right shoulders before the catch, an da stroke who rows the lowest beat in the east. Yet the Bolles-coached crew won, has gone right on winning since that race, and probably will continue to do so until the season ends. The answer is the optimum combination of power with form.

East Uses Washington Style

As far as the actual rowing style of Harvard crews goes, there is little these days to distinguish it from most competitors. This is because most eastern colleges now employ coaches trained at the University of Washington, if not actual alumni, who have at least profited mightily from the so-called Conibear-Washington technique.

In the old' days when men were men, it was fashionable to take a heave at the oars. Which left the upper body almost parallel with the water. The principle behind this was that a mighty pull more than offset the waste motion and energy involved. Such fine points as not wobbling the boat or making a smooth recovery were ignored.

The Washington system, on the other hand, concentrates on obtaining a powerful pull by getting a long reach at the beginning of the stroke, and finishing with a slight enough layback so that a quick and smooth recovery is possible.

Almost all crews now employ this technique with minor variations. Even Yale, which for the past two years has been rowing at fantastic beats, sometimes going as high as 45, has now changed its strategy in favor of the lower stroke.

Only slight differences mark a Harvard crew's style from that of any other coached by a Washington graduate, Most crews take an even pull all the way through every stroke, ending with a final tug before removing their oars from the water.

Bolles' oarsmen, on the other hand, start each stroke with a gigantic pull which eases off toward the finish, enabling them to finish their stroke smoothly and shoot their hands back into position for the next cycle with a smooth, even motion.

Speed Between Strokes

Not only does this give the shell a long, fast run between strokes, but it lets the crew pause before the catch rather than at the end of the pull, thereby reducing the possibility of catching a crab.

By the first regatta the mechanics of the sport are an almost automatic process. There is still room for improvement of condition and timing, of course, and there will continue to be right down to the Yale race at the end of June.

The race itself will not involve too much that is new. Ideally, it will follow exactly the same pattern as has been practiced for weeks in time-trials. There is not much that can be done in the last hour except to sweat out the starting time.

However, shortly before the race, Coach Bolles will go over the course (with his coxswain if it is a strange river) and analyze weather conditions to determine whether the time that afternoon will be fast or slow. He then talks things over briefly with his stroke. There is not much to say, because the pattern for the race seldom varies from a pre-established form.

No Peptalks

Bolles never exhorts his crews to deeds of greater valor before a race; first, because he is not that kind of man, and second because he knows that any boy who has plugged up and down the river for who chilly months is going to give it everything he's got no matter what he tells him.