CREWS OF SIX UNIVERSITIES PREPARE FOR COMING SEASON

Actual training has begun among the oarsmen of the larger colleges, East and West. Official rowing is now going on at Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse, Leland Stanford Jr., and California., and will start soon at Yale, Pennsylvania and the University. One of the great questions of the coming season is whether Syracuse will be invited to participate in the annual Poughkeepsie regatta and perhaps the greatest change in the situation since last year is the practical retirement of Charles E. Courtney as active coach at Cornell.

Tigers Work on Machines.

The Princeton crews have recently been called out and the men have been put to work on the machines. Dr. J. D. Spaeth will again be the faculty coach. The schedule will include the annual races with Yale, Cornel and the University, and the triangular race with Columbia and Pennsylvania. All these races will be of two miles, for Coach Spaeth is one of those who opposes the four-mile race because of the strain on the contestants.

About 50 university and 60 freshmen candidates reported, of whom five are veterans from last year's successful eight. These are Captain Cochran, Paul, McCann, Delanoy and Savage.

Captain Collyer, of the Cornell squad, will also be the coach of his oarsmen under the general supervision of Courtney. The latter's illness, however, will prevent his being more than a coach in name so that Collyer will be practically in complete charge of rowing at Ithaca. It is still a question whether he will continue at stroke, in which position he rowed as captain of the 1916 eight, or whether he will devote his entire time to coaching.

Besides the annual race with the University, Cornell's only other rowing events will be the triangular race with Yale and Princeton and the Poughkeepsie regatta. The four--veterans available in addition to Collyer are Brower, Cushing, Nerlus and Bacon, besides the coxswain, Kephard. Last year's second and freshman squads were composed of dependable material which should greatly strengthen the first crew.

Four Eights at Poughkeepsie.

There is a strong probability that whether or not Syracuse is included as one of Poughkeepsie participants next June there will be at least four eights entered. All of the three large Western universities, California, Leland Stanford, Jr., and Washington, have signified their willingness to enter the Eastern classic if they succeed in winning the Western championship. Leland Stanford, Jr., took second place in the 1915 regatta, and Washington made a good showing on the Hudson a few years before.

Dr. Paul Withington '09, who is director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin, is endeavoring to re-institute intercollegiate rowing as a sport at the Western college and the prospects tend toward the resumption of the sport in 1918. The faculty of the university abolished intercollegiate rowing two years ago so that crew work has since been kept alive by interclass and intercollegiate events.

Winter crew work is going on at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the first time in its history. Heretofore fall and spring rowing on the river has been the extent of the training at Tech., but with 50 candidates reporting last October and with the new location of the Institute near the river, rowing has been given a boom as a popular sport. As this winter rowing is a new departure, its future success or failure depends on the support it gets this year, and the present indications are that, although it breaks in on hockey and track, its future is assured.

Class crews will first be started and later an eight will be picked to enter the spring regatta annually held by the university crew management. Whether any outside races will be held is still a matter of doubt, but whatever events are scheduled will be short races as it is intended to make a gradual beginning of rowing at Technology.

Rowing Expenses Heavy.

The great expense of rowing is considered by many to the scarcely worth the results obtained by participation in the sport. As there is always a large deficit greatly in proportion to the receipts this loss has top be made up by loyal graduates. The advantage of an amateur coach is one in which the University is alone, for in most of the other colleges professionals take charge of their crews. In spite of this advantage, the University's rowing expenses were larger than those of Yale, Princeton and Pennsylvania last year. The figures for last spring follow: Rcpts.  Expenses  Loss Harvard,  $6,567.37  $28,156.88  $21,689.51 Yale,  5,369.01  24,627.92  19,258.91 Princeton,  1,979.88  4,229.88  2,250.00 Penn.  -  9,794.79  9,974.19 Totals  $13,916.26  $66,808.77  $53,892.61

The enormous total of nearly $53,000 loss in the rowing expenses of but four universities is greatly increased by the addition of those all the other institutions in the country which support crews. It is possible that Columbia may give up the sport owing to the unwillingness of the graduates to stand the expense.

The enormous total of nearly $53,000 loss in the rowing expenses of but four universities is greatly increased by the addition of those all the other institutions in the country which support crews. It is possible that Columbia may give up the sport owing to the unwillingness of the graduates to stand the expense.