crew had increased. Then, when the crews went past with Italy ahead, the crowd went wild, shouting, ges ticulating, waving hats or other garments. In Italy, people are not afraid of expressing their delight, and their way of expressing it is neither silent nor short-lived. They give vent to their joy unrestrainedly! But is it not better to have spectators responding over-enthusiastically than showing indifference? The five Italians who had won the previous year easily retained their tide. 2-: 4 entered 1. ITA 2. SUI 3. NED 4. BEL The brothers Renzo and R Luigi Vestrini from Leghorn were in total command, towering both physically and tac tically over the reigning European champions, A. Rein hart and W. Siegenthaler. lx: 7 entered - 6 started 1. ITA 2. HUN 3. TCH 4. NED 5. SUI 6. BEL After an incident-free first 1,000 metres, Bernasconi took the lead at 1,500 metres, then had to hold off a recovery by the excellent Hungarian, Bela Szendy, a great hope for the future, of whom his father, the Hun garian federations delegate to the FISA congresses, could be proud. The holder of the title, Schneider, faded after a strong start. He only just managed to avoid com ing last. 4-: 2 entered 1. ITA 2. SUI A close race, but the Italians took the lead, as in the three previous races! 2 +: 4 entered 1. ITA 2. SUI 3. NED 4. BEL The second win of the day for Renzo and Luigi Vestrini, once more beating the European tide-holders, the Swiss pair, Schaedli and Mueller. 2x: 3 entered 1. SUI 2. ITA 3. BEL A rapid first 30 seconds, with Switzerland sculling at 26 and Italy at 24. The Swiss, Bosshard (winning for the 7th time) and Rieder, kept their title, leading from start to finish over the European single sculls champion, Bernasconi, partnered on this occasion by De Col. 8 +: 6 entered 1. ITA 2. SUI 3. POL 4. BEL 5 YUG 6. TCH A small slam for the Italian team, as this eight, from the “Soc. Can. Vittorino da Feltre” gained them their 6th victory out of seven possible wins in these European championships. The Italian boat-builders could also rejoice, since they had built five out of the six winning boats. Only Bernas- coni’s sculling boat had been imported from England. The 4+ boat was the same one as the 4-. The builder had designed two different stern sections, thus requiring the purchase of only one boat plus a third of a boat, and the transport of a single boat - no mean saving for any boat club! A grand official dinner was given in the evening by the “Soc. Canottieri Lario”, followed by a dance. During the speeches, there was a lengthy address in Italian by the all-powerful president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the fascist General Ferretti! The results were then announced and the prizes presented, amid ap plause. “Boat-houses are the monasteries of sport, demanding a whole hearted commitment to work, with no thought for profit or applause, for this is not an ostentatious sport. Rowing is the sport which calls for the greatest integrity and fair play, and any departure from the code of practice laid down by the coach is an act of disloyalty to the other crew-members.” Remy Orban, 1927 April 14th—15 th 1928 — Amsterdam Extraordinary FISA meeting On the 14th, led by Dr. de Vries-Freyens, the president of the Dutch federation, the delegates visited the Sloten rowing course chosen by FISA during the 1927 congress at Como as the venue for the 1928 Olympic regatta. They formed a favourable impression. However, there were problems to be solved, as the width of the canal, 33 metres, would only allow two-abreast racing. On the 15th, at the official opening of the congress, 10 delegates from only 6 out of the 14 federations affiliated to FISA were present. This meant that there were not sufficient numbers to form a quorum, as the statutes re quired the presence of at least half the members. The following arrangements were nevertheless unani mously adopted, and the Dutch federation undertook to apply them: The 1928 Olympic regatta would have days set aside for both preliminary and repechage heats. 1st day: preliminary heats. All crews entered would race. If there were an odd number of entrants, one crew would automatically qualify by me ans of a bye, provided that it covered the course at race pace. 2nd day: repechages. All the previous day’s losers would race again. 3rd day: heats: the first and second days’ winners and those who had been given a bye would race. 4th day: rest day. 5th day: last repechages. For all those who had only lost once during the first three days. Those who had lost twice or lost once in a repechage would be eliminated. 6th day: heats: the winners of the 3rd and 5th days. 7th day: heats: the winners of the 6th day. 8th day: rest. 9th day: finals and race for the two losers of the 7th day, in order to decide the third place. Part 2 65
