It is almost a bore to write about Harvard crew, because a long time ago the Crimson got into the habit of beating any other college crew in the country. Harvard heavyweight varsity oarsmen have not lost a collegiate race since 1963.

The question always seemed to be not whether Harvard would win, but by how much. This spring's racing was typical--there was always open water between the Crimson varsity and its nearest competition when the flag fell at the finish line.

But in a very important way, 1968 is an atypical year. From all indications, Harvard's varsity eight will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Mexico City.

In 1964, Harvard lost to the Vesper Club of Philadelphia at the 'Olympic trials, and Vesper went on to win a gold medal for the United States at Tokyo.

But this year, it looks like Harvard will triumph at the Olympic trials which are to be held at Long Beach, Cal., July 12-14.

The Crimson main competition will probably come from the University of Pennsylvania, and to a slightly lesser extent, Vesper. West Coast crews have registered generally weak showings this year. The strongest crew on the Coast appears to be the University of Washington, and Stanford and UCLA have both come within a boat-length of Washington.

JV Penn Might

Pennsylvania has beaten Vesper by three-quarters of a length in racing this spring. Vesper even fell before the might of an extremely strong Penn JV in that regatta.

But twice this season Harvard has beaten Penn convincingly. The first time by two lengths in the Adams Cup Regatta at Annapolis, and again at the Eastern Sprints by slightly over one length.

The race which Penn rowed against Harvard at the Sprints last May 11 gives a better indication of the Crimson's relative advantage. In the Adams Cup the week before, Penn exploded at the starting line and took a lead of three-quarters of a length immediately.

But they had over-extended themselves in the attempt to break Harvard at the start, and by 500 meters gone, Harvard was coming on strong, grinding down the Penn oarsmen.

Pennsylvania followed a more cautious strategy. Harvard fell slightly back but soon recovered the lead. It was a close race even at the 1000-meter mark.

Complete Control

After that point the Crimson Eight took complete control. As the two shells pounded toward the finish line and made ready for the final sprint, it was Harvard by three-quarters of a length.

All other crews had fallen far behind as Harvard and Penn took the cadence up to 38 beats per minute, then higher to 40 and 41.

The Crimson steamed away, lengthening the gap to two seats of open water at the finish.

This impressively powerful performance by Harvard casts doubts over the possibility that Penn can catch the Crimson before the Olympic trials a month from now. Quite clearly Pennsylvania has mustered its best; and quite simply, it was not enough.

Pennsylvania, Vesper, and Harvard have been negotiating about the possibility of racing each other before all three head West early in July to train for the trials near Los Angeles. So far no firm date has been set.

Harvard faces another contest before the trials begin: the 103rd annual Harvard-Yale Race. "The Boat Race," as it is known to more traditional buffs, is the oldest intercollegiate athletic contest of any kind in the United States.

Gruelling Course

The Varsity races over a gruelling four-mile course on the Thames River in New London, Conn. The JV race is three miles; the freshman, two miles. Harvard should win all three contests in the Regatta, though Yale might make a strong showing with its junior varsity, which finished a length back of the Crimson at the Worcester Sprints a month ago.

Joe Burke, heavyweight coach at the University of Pennsylvania, has suggested that Harvard might be hurt in Olympic Competition by having to train for a race over such a long distance.

All international competition is raced over a 2000 meter course. This year the normal mile and three quarters distance for heavyweight crew was shortened to 2000 meters, a half-mile reduction. Burke's oarsmen will be competing in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship regatta on the same day as the Harvard-Yale race.

The IRA's bring together crews from the entire nation, and thus provide a good test of relative national strength.

But Harvard and Yale insist on remaining aloof from that test, a policy which has generated mild irritation among Harvard fans who would like to see the Crimson racing with real competition, especially in these high-glory years of Harvard Crew. Pennsylvania is favored to win the IRA's again this year, as it did last year.

After the Yale Race, the Harvard Senior Varsity will choose four of its oarsmen to enter the four-with-cox class at the Olympic trials. Stiff competition can be expected from the so called Olympic Development Clinics located at M.I.T. in the East, and Seattle, Wash., in the West. Sterner challenges, however, will probably grow out of the losing eights, which will split up to try to take the four-with-cox berth.

After losing to Vesper in 1964, Harvard split its varsity and won the right to represent the U.S. at Tokyo in this class. Harvard won the consolation race among the "four-with," which did not make it to the Tokyo finals.

Should Harvard lose to Vesper or Penn in the eight-man shell class this year it would split up and go with the four-with-cox prize again.

The main difficulty experienced by the Crimson varsity heavyweights this year has been a slow start. Harvard literally has never been able to jump its rivals off the starting line in any race this spring.

The Crimson fell behind by as much as three-quarters of a length in all contests except the Worcester sprints, and only began to come back after a quarter of the race was over. This recurring pattern caused concern. After the Adams Cup Race, Harvard began using a lower-cadence start, which seems to work better.

Who Will Be Strong?

It is difficult to tell exactly who will be strong in Mexico City during the October games. But Harvard Heavyweight Coach Harry Parker expects West Germany's Ratzeburg Boat Club, famous for its extremely high stroking cadence to be dangerous, along with last sumer's international champion from New Zealand. Parker also rated East Germany and Russia as very tough.

Harvard's 1968 Lightweight crew, which had caused some concern before the season started, showed its mettle after the racing began. The lights registered triumphs so stunning and spectacular as to almost defy description.

None of the five Crimson light-weight crews suffered defeat during the 1968 racing.

And more than this--no Harvard lightweight crew ever passed under the finish flag with less than an open-water margin of victory over its nearest rival.

Thus, the leightweight crew have turned in truly phenomenal performances since last spring.

Lightweight Coach Bo Andersen, who is retiring this year, said "As we drew into the racing season, I looked at the squad and thought we had the potential for a good boat." He added, "Some of the oarsmen have great capacity but not all eight of them, I thought."

Trounced M.I.T.

Andersen said he began to realize his crew was extremely strong two weeks into the season, after it trounced M.I.T. by three lengths. M.I.T. had been thought to be one of the strongest lightweight crews.

The varsity lightweights have scheduled extensive racing against international competition which will climax with their bid for the Thames Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta in England, July 13.

Harvard's lightweight varsity last won the Thames Cup at Henley in 1966.

For a while, there was talk of entering the lightweights in the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, normally reserved for heavyweight oarsmen. This plan assumed most heavyweight competition would be training for the Mexico City Game and would therefore skip the Henley Regatta.

But is was finally decided that to enter the Grand Challenge Cup would be a little bit too cheeky. So it will be the Thames.

The Lightweights also entered the American Henley Regatta at Philadelphia, June 8. Competition centered on the Penn Junior Varsity Heavyweights, which had been only two-tenths of a second back of their varsity in the three-boat race with Vesper. Cornell and Penn, the other two leightweight powerhouses in the East, also sent their varsities.

Royal Dutch Regatta

This Saturday the lightweight varsity flies to Amsterdam, Holland, where it will begin training for the Royal Dutch Regatta on the famous Bosbaan Canal Course, June 29-30. This regatta generally attracts major international crews in the Elite Eight event, which Harvard has entered.

After Amsterdam the Harvard lightweights will fly directly to England where they will prepare for the Henley trial heats, which take place July 10. On July 6 they will enter races at Reading, upstream from Henley. The Reading events are raced over a course of only about a mile and Andersen called it "a nice little tune-up regatta" in preparation for Henley.

The Royal Henley Regatta is famouts in international rowing for the top-light crews it attracts here, and for its tradition-laden gala festivities. Doughty old gentlemen, biazered in their school colors, return by the thousands here to watch the shells race up Henley's narrow, twisting course on the Thames River.

Shells from Isis and Mosley Boat Clubs (Oxford and Cambridge) are expected to be Harvard's main challengers for the Thames Cup.

The lightweight varsity's main difficulty this year has been precisely the opposite of their heavyweight counterparts.

The lights have exhibited an extraordinary ability to start fast, and to break (beat, to the laymen) the other shells immediately after the race begins. What concerns Andersen is their tendency to lose speed as the race wears on. Andersen has clocked his crew over each segment of a race, and the times increased. He calls this drop-off in speed "a bit excessive."

On the Ball

He is doing something about it. The lightweights have gone to Red Top in New London where the heavies are training for the Yale Race. Practicing over greater distances should increase the lightweights' endurance. Having a heavyweight shell along side of them during a race should also increase their capacity to put-out in order to maintain a constant speed down the course.

In other racing this spring, Harvard's heavyweight JV fell only before the extremely strong and precisioned machine of Penn.

Freshman Heavyweight Coach Ted Washburn took an unusually small and light squad and turned it into a gutsy, scrappy crew whose will-to-win constantly amazed observers. Like the JV, however, it succumbed twice to Penn, which put a brute-boat on the water that averaged some fifteen pounds heavier than the Harvard frosh.

The heavyweight varsity boatings: Paul Hoffman, cox, Art Evans, stroke; Curt Canning, captain and 7; Andy Larkin, 6; Fritz Hobbs, 5; Scott Steketee, 4; Steve Brooks, 3; Cleve Livingston, 2; and Dave Higgins, bow.

The lightweight varsity boatings: Brian Sullivan, captain and cox; Joe Bracewell, stroke; Bill Braun, 7; Rob Wolff, 6; Ken Moller, 5; Fred Fisher, 4; Jim Garrity, 3; Bob Baker, 2; and Chris Cutler, bow.