case of six there would be two heats of three, with the two winners going forward to the final. For seven entries there would be two heats, one of four and one of three, the last crew in each heat being eliminated. The German delegate, Georg W. Buxenstein, put forward the idea of setting up a committee of three members to deal with problems arising throughout the year. It was to be many years before this proposal was adopted. The starting procedure was modified. After having checked that the crews were ready by asking, “Mes sieurs, etes-vous prets?” the starter was to give the order to start by saying, “Partez!” at the same time lowering his flag. This could be accompanied by a pistol-shot. If the starter was not satisfied that the start had been fair, he could, during the first twenty seconds of the race, recall the crews to the start. The signal to stop a race, whether given by the umpire or the starter, was to be the waving of a flag and the ringing of a bell. The umpire would have a white flag, and the starter a red one. The question of a dead heat was clarified as follows: in the case where two or more boats crossed the fine simul taneously, a deciding race would be ordered by the um pire or the jury. In future, the central committee of FISA would act as jury at European championships, which they would run in accordance with the FISA Rules of Racing and Regulations for championship regattas. Be fore racing began, the committee would select the um pire, the starter, if necessary, and the finish judge. The draw for stations would take place, as before, during the FISA congress. Each national federation would submit an umpire’s name and, for each race, the umpire, prefer ably one whose country did not have a crew competing in that race, would be chosen by lot. The decisions of the umpire or of the jury would be final as far as the material facts of the race were concerned. Appeals would be allowed only in the case of decisions which contravened the international Rules of Racing. Any such appeal would be judged by the committee of the host federation organising the regatta, and had to be accompanied by the deposit of a sum of money, the amount of which would be determined by the national rules of the country involved. The addition of the coxswainless pair-oar boat class was turned down, and that of the coastal gig was deferred. Long-distance races would be at least eight kilometres in length. The subscription for 1914 was raised to 300 French francs. Georg W. Buxenstein, the president of the Ger man federation, announced that the 1914 European championships could only take place at the beginning of August, to accommodate the wishes of the German Em peror, who had expressed his desire to be present. War did not seem imminent! 36 August 28th 1913 — Ghent 21st men’s European championships The rowing clubs in Ghent, (“Royal Club Nautique,” “Societe Royale du Sport Nautique” and “Regates Gan- toises”), with the support of the city, of the organisers of the universal exhibition, and of the national federation, undertook the organisation of the regatta. The course, from Terneuzen to Langerbrugge, was on the splendid 95 metre wide maritime canal. Although it was not en tirely straight, it was virtually so, as the curve was very slight. On either bank, a road allowed the races to be fol lowed from start to finish. Only the umpire’s car and two press vehicles were allowed on the left bank of the canal, which was closed to the public. The start, the 1,000 metres, the jury and the competitors’ enclosure were all connected by telephone. This enclosure, sited near the Yacht Club, included a huge tent for the boats and the accompanying facilities. The delegates and the finish judge were installed on a house-boat decorated with flowers and bunting. On the bank was a platform for an orchestra, and nearby were telephone and telegraph fa cilities for the despatch of reports, a bar, etc. All-in-all, an excellent set-up. Stretched across the canal at the start was a cable with ropes dangling from it. This system was not considered entirely fair, but it had to be thus, in ord er to allow the passage of several cargo-boats, especially on the first day. The boats could not be aligned as ac curately as when they were held by the stern. At last, the German federation was competing in the Eu ropean championships. It was remarkably strong, since it comprised 393 active clubs and 34 bodies or associa tions, concerned solely with regatta organisation. Berlin and its surrounding area alone had 84 clubs with a total of 9,095 members, 947 boats owned by the clubs, and 1395 privately owned by the club members. Ten main boatbuilders provided the enormous stock of German rowing equipment. The races The eliminating heats (E) on August 23rd lx: 6 entered El: 1. GER 2. FRA - SUI (Not rowed out) Eli: 1. ITA 2. BEL - NED (Not rowed out) 8 +: 7 entered EL 1. GER 2. SUI - NED, BEL (Not rowed out) Ell: 1. ITA 2. FRA - HUN (eliminated) The finals on August 24th 4+: 5 started 1. SUI 2. GER 3. FRA - ITA, BEL (Not rowed out) The Swiss led from start to finish with a strong rhythm in the English style, neither flexible nor elegant, but per fectly effective.
