Members of the regatta committee of the Southern Rowing Association, which will hold its initial event on the James River on June 17, have definitely declined to abandon the proposed race course for one lower down the stream. Those in local rowing circles familiar with conditions here assert that the change is a long step toward the success of the regatta and the abandonment of the upper course in favor of the straight reach of the James River running south from the bend at Fulton is highly approved. It had been proposed to have the race start below the City Wharf and finish near the Seaboard Air Line Bridge. The idea of holding the regatta on the "upper course" was arrived at when two members of the regatta committee from Baltimore came to Richmond a month ago and were taken down the James in a motorboat. The fact that the use of the "upper course" would make it necessary to row all the race around a right-angle bend was overlooked. Likewise, it was overlooked that a majority of the races would be contested by "junior" oarsmen who have never won a race and who are, consequently, inexperienced. 