Sport: War & Dead Water

For the third time in nearly half a century, the Annual Regatta of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association will not be held on the Hudson off Poughkeepsie. Reasons: 1) the shortened college year makes it advisable to hold the races before June 15, until which time the river’s tidal conditions are unfavorable; 2) the spectators’ observation cars have been dismantled; 3) most of the competing crews row on dead water, and their athletic associations, deprived of observation-car revenue, want to avoid the expense of the ten days’ training necessary to acquaint their oarsmen with the Hudson’s tricky currents.

This year’s probable site: Syracuse’s Onondaga Lake.