same was the case for the Austrian federation (1,450 ac tive oarsmen). Sweden’s request to resign from membership was granted. The specification for an international course was drawn up. The length remained a straight 2,000 metres. The course should be sufficiently wide to accommodate at least three crews at the start. If the depth of water was not the same for all competitors, there had to be a minimum depth of three metres. Those courses which could not guarantee fair racing conditions because of their width, the wind, etc., could not be said to satisfy FISA’s require ments for a championship course. In cases where eliminating heats were necessary, these should be ar ranged so that an oarsman should not be required to race more than once a day in the same crew. Each boat should have a lane with a minimum width of twelve metres over the whole length of the course, from start to finish. The number of crews starting in any one race should be no more than six. If the course did not occupy the whole of the surface area of the water, as on lakes, for example, it must-be marked out on both sides at 250 metre intervals. If a spectator boat followed the race, it had to remain behind the umpires’ launches. Starts were to be marked by fixed buoys. The start and finish fines should be precisely indicated. August 10th—12th 1934 — Lucerne 35th men’s European championships The discovery of the Rotsee course was a great moment in the history of FISA. Hitherto this small lake, situated just outside Lucerne, had remained virtually undisco vered, even by Swiss oarsmen. The national champion ships had been held there in 1933. It was a discovery of great future significance. The setting is idyllic: rural and alpine, yet a mere seven minutes away from the town’s central station. The lake is approximately 2,400 metres long and 100 metres wide. The course is perfectly straight. There is sufficient room for six crews abreast, with enough space along the banks on either side for crews going to the start and training. In a field halfway down the course are the boat-houses, the changing rooms and all the necessary facilities. A small stream supplies the lake with water. The outflow is controlled by a tiny sluice-gate. The lake has neither commercial traffic nor current. It is completely closed in. Its beauti ful banks are covered with pine forests and fringed with chalets. The lake’s only inhabitants are a few swans. These were placed in large protective cages during the regatta. A special train with ten of the latest type of carri ages and two others, one with a bar and the other a restaurant, followed the races from start to finish. Eliminators and repechages The first two crews in each eliminator qualified for the fi nal. The others went to the repechages. In the lx, 2 + 80 and 4-, the first two in the repechage went directly to the final, as did the winners of the two repechages for the 8 + . 4 + : 11 entered El: 1. HUN 2. YUG 3. GER 4. NED 5. BEL 6. ESP Eli: 1. ITA 2. SUI and FRA 4. POL 5. TCH The Swiss scratched from the final, allowing the first two in the repechage to qualify. R: 1. GER 2. POL 3. TCH 4. NED 5. BEL 6. ESP 2-: 8 entered No eliminators lx: 9 entered - 8 started El: 1. SUI 2. POL 3. YUG 4. ESP Eli: 1. GER 2. FRA 3. ITA 4. TCH R: 1. ITA 2. YUG 3. ESP - TCH failed to start, hav ing arrived late. 2 +: 8 entered El: 1. HUN 2. FRA 3. POL 4. SUI Eli: 1. ITA 2. NED 3. BEL 4. ESP R: 1. POL 2. SUI 3. BEL 4. ESP 4-: 8 entered El: 1. SUI 2. ITA 3. FRA 4. YUG Eli: 1. GER 2. HUN 3. NED 4. POL R: 1. FRA 2. NED 3. YUG 4. POL 2x: 5 entered No eliminators 8 +: 11 entered EL 1. ITA 2. DEN 3. FRA 4. NED 5. BEL 6. ESP Eli: 1. HUN 2. SUI 3. GER 4. YUG 5. TCH RI: 1. YUG 2. TCH 3. FRA 4. NED RII: 1. GER 2. BEL 3. ESP A champion’s thoughts on the Rotsee Hans Schoechlin, that fine Swiss oarsman, wrote, shortly before the arrival in Lucerne of the competitors for the 1934 European cham pionships: “Rotsee, little jewel, you are the answer to our long-held hearts’ desire. Like a precious pearl in its shimmering shell, like the Sleeping Beauty, you lie hidden among verdant hills in the very heart of our beloved motherland! Rotsee! Catching sight of you for the first time, coy beauty, how will our foreign friends react, at tached to us as they are by the fine bond of the International Rowing Federation? Rotsee! I can easily picture the surprise, the delight and the enthusiasm engendered in your visitors by your peaceful charm! But what will be their later reaction, when they have seen and ap preciated the deep calm of your water - that superb blue-green mir ror, which no inclement weather can tarnish; when they experience the reassuring feeling that no wind, no storm, can affect the results, that the winner will owe his victory solely to his prowess and not to the fickleness of fate or chance?”
