8 +: 14 entered 1. USA 2. ITA 3. GER 4. GBR 5. HUN 6. SUI A titanic contest, with nothing in it from start to finish. The Swiss, the Italians, the Germans; all led at one stage or another. 800 metres from the finish, the American eight was still last. A tremendous spurt took them to the front. The students from Washington University in Seat- tie had intended to race without their vests, but the start er had waved the rulebook at them. They put their vests back on, and went on to triumph. August 11th 1937 — Amsterdam 40th FISA congress Present: 31 delegates from 12 federations met at the “de Hoop” club. The proposal made by the USA federation to start races with a pistol was passed, but not unanimously. The affiliation of a single British federation was still be ing examined. The NARA and the ARA were having dis cussions. Both the plan put forward by the U.S. federation to estab lish FISA world championships, and the decision on the German proposal to set up women’s European champi onships were deferred until 1941. The payment of expenses to the competitors in the Euro pean championships had become too heavy a burden on the host federation, and was cut by 50%. The subscrip tion for 1938 was to be 225 Swiss francs. August 13th—15th 1937 — Amsterdam 3 7th men’s European championships A new course had been built. It was 2,260 metres long and 62 metres wide. The depth throughout was 2 metres. This stretch of water - the Bosbaan - was a mar vellous example of an ideal artificial rowing course. The banks were even throughout the whole length, with only one or two landmarks. For the championships, cables had been suspended above the course every 250 metres. To these cables were attached red balls, yellow squares and green triangles, all made of wickerwork. These balls, rectangles and triangles identified the lanes for the scullers or the crews, according to whether there were four, three or five in the race. Behind the start, cor responding balls, rectangles or triangles were fixed on tall posts. They served as steering markers for the cox swainless crews and scullers. Extending platforms were installed for the fixed starts. Comfortable shelters were built for the oarsmen and the starters. At the finish, the facilities in the boat park and in the changing rooms were first-class. The boats and oars were housed as if in the most modern boat-house which a club could possi bly build. All the interior walls were tiled in white. Each national team had its own showers and lavatories. The grandstand was well positioned, giving everyone a good 84 view without their having to stand up. Beneath were the press facilities, the post-office, the toilets, a huge restaur ant and rooms for regatta administration. This was a perfect course, although, with its featureless banks and its dead water, it must have seemed endless to the oarsmen. A reasonably strong wind produced small waves in all directions, making rowing extremely difficult. The services of a qualified boatman were available to all the competitors whose boats needed urgent repairs. Dur ing practice, it was possible to follow the crews by bicycle or car on one side of the course over its entire length. Admission prices Grandstand and “paddock” enclosure: 1st day,l. 50 Dutch florins; 2nd day, 1 florin; 3rd day, 2 florins. Three-day tickets, 3.50 florins. Entry to the course: 1st day, 0.25 florins; 2nd day, 0.25 flo rins; 3rd day, 0.50 florins. Eliminators and repechages The eliminators took place on August 13th, watched by a mere handful of spectators in a strong head-wind. On the following day, for the repechages, the wind, although still strong, was a following one. 4 +: 9 entered El: 1. NED 2. YUG 3. AUT 4. HUN 5. TCH Eli: 1. ITA 2. DEN 3. GER 4. FRA RI: 1. DEN 2. HUN 3. FRA 4. TCH RII: 1. GER 2. AUT 3. YUG 2-: 8 entered El: 1. DEN 2. ITA 3. FRA 4. NED Eli: 1. GER 2. SUI 3. HUN 4. YUG RI: 1. SUI 2. FRA 3. YUG RII: 1. ITA 2. HUN 3. NED lx: 8 entered El: 1. POL 2. ITA 3. DEN 4. NED Eli: 1. AUT 2. SUI 3. GER 4. FRA RI: 1. SUI 2. FRA 3. DEN RII: 1. GER 2. ITA 3. NED 2 +: 8 entered El: 1. ITA 2. NED 3. FRA 4. HUN Eli: 1. GER 2. SUI 3. POL 4. YUG RI: 1. FRA 2. NED 3. YUG RII: 1. POL 2. SUI 3. HUN 4-: • 7 entered El: 1. SUI 2. GER 3. NED - YUG (Not rowed out) Eli: 1. HUN 2. DEN 3. FRA R (2 qualified): 1. GER 2. NED 3. DEN 4. FRA 2x: 8 entered El: 1. GER 2. SUI 3. HUN 4. TCH Eli: 1. ITA 2. FRA 3. BEL 4. YUG RI: 1. HUN 2. FRA 3. YUG RII: 1. SUI 2. BEL 3. TCH
