Rowing101
Rowerv.CoxswainRowersaretheathleteswiththeoars.Acoxswainisthesmall(lessthan110lbsforwomenand120lbsformen)personwhosteerstheboatandmotivatesthecrew.Whileaboatdoesn’tmovewithoutitsrowers,coxswainsarealsoanintegralpartoftheteam.Theymakesuretheircrewsaresafe,gointherightdirection,anduseamicrophoneandspeakersystemthroughouttheboatstomotivateandcoachtheircrews.
SweepRowingv.ScullingTherearetwotypesofrowing:sweepandsculling.Sweeprowingiswheneachrowerhasoneoar,eitherontherightorontheleft.Scullingiswheneachrowerhastwosmalleroars,oneineachhand.
RowingClassifications
Rowingisalife-longsportandisenjoyedbypeopleofallagesandabilities.Someofthecommonageandskilldesignationsare:
• Junior:Enrolledinschool,orunderage19
• Collegiate:Enrolledinacollegeoruniversity
• Masters:Age21+(forsomeregattas,thisisage27orage30).Masters“A”isyoungerthanmasters“B”,andsoon.
• Novice:Intheirfirstyearofcompetition(asajunior)ortheirfirsttwoyearsofcompetition(asamaster)
• Freshman:Afreshmaninschool.Freshmencanbenoviceorskilledrowers.
• Senior:acompetitoratthenationallevel
• Elite:acompetitorforeitherthejuniornationalteam(under19),under23nationalteam,orseniornationalteam(olympic)
WeightClassesTherearetwoweightclassesinrowing:openweightandlightweight.Openweightmeanstherowerscanbeofanyweight.Lightweightmeanstherowersmustbeunderacertainweight.Formen,thisis160lbsandforwomen,130lbs.Thebenefitofhavingweightclassesinrowingisthatweightaffectsnotonlytheamountofheightandmusclethatanathletehas,butalsohowmuchmassanathletehastoadverselyaffecttheaccelerationoftheboat.Lightweightcrewstendtobeslowerthanopenweightcrews,thoughonlymarginally.Lightweightrowingispopularatthejuniorlevelbecausemanyoftheathleteshavenotfinishedgrowingyet.Coxswainshavetheirownweightlimitationsanddonotaffecttheweightclassificationofacrew.
BoatClassesBoatscanseatone,two,four,oreightrowers.Thescullingboatsaresingles(onerower),doubles(tworowers),andquads(fourrowers).Thesweepboatsarepairs(tworowers),fours(fourrowers),andeights(eightrowers).Eightsalwayshaveacoxswains,whereasquadsandfourscanbewithorwithoutacoxswain(calleda“straight”four/quad).Singles,doubles,andpairsdonothavecoxswains.
Whenabbreviated,someofthefollowingsymbolsareused:
• Thenumberofrowersinashellisrepresentedwithanumber
• Coxswainsaredesignatedwitha“+”,whereas“-”meanswithoutacoxswain.Example:4-isastraightfourand4+isafourwithacoxswain.
• Sweeprowinghasnospecialsymbol,but“x”isusedtorepresentsculling.Example:2-isapairand2xisadouble.
VocabularyCrew:Thegroupofpeopleinaboat.Thistermisoftenusedsynonymouslywith“rowing”asatermforthesportingeneral.
Erg:Shortforergometer,thisisanon-landrowingmachine.Itisusefulasateachingtoolfortechnique,anditalsoprovidesanextremelygoodworkout!Itcanbeusedtomonitorindividualprogressinrowing.
Bow:Thefrontoftheboat(thepartthatcrossesthefinishlinefirst)
Stern:Thebackoftheboat
Port:Theleftsideoftheboat(rightsideforarowerwhoissittingbackwards).Portsideisred.
Starboard:Therightsideoftheboat(leftsideforarowerwhoissittingbackwards).Starboardsideisgreen.
Shell:Arowingboat
Hull:Thebottompartoftheboat
Skeg:Thefinunderneaththeboatthatkeepsitmovingstraight
Rudder:Thefinundertheboatthatisusedtosteerandturnstheboat
Rigger:Themetalpiecethatsticksoffthesideoftheboat
Oarlock:Thepieceontheriggerthatholdstheoar
Slide:Thespacewheretheseatisfreetomovebackandforth
Footstretcher:Theassemblyinthebottomoftheboatthatcontainsshoesfortherower
Coxbox:Coxboxesareconnectedthroughouttheboattoaspeakersystemandmicrophonesothecrewcanhearthecoxswain.Coxboxesarealsoconnectedtoamagnetunderoneoftheseatstokeeptrackofthenumberofstrokesperminutethatthecrewtakes.
Bowloader:Aboat(usuallyafour)wherethecoxswainliesunderthebowdeckoftheboat
“Wayenough”:Thecommandgiventoacrewthatmeans“stop!”
Catch:Thepartofthestrokewhenthebladeentersthewater
Drive:Thepartofthestrokewheretheblademovesthroughthewater
Finish/Release:Thepartofthestrokewhenthebladeexitsthewater
Recovery:Thepartofthestrokewheretherowermovesforwardtotakeanotherstroke
Crab:Whenarower’sbladegetsstuckunderwateratthefinish
Feathering:Turningthebladeparalleltothewaterontherecoverytobemoreaerodynamic
Squaring:Keepingthebladeperpendiculartothewater
StrokeRate:Thenumberofstrokesperminutethatacrewtakes
StrokeSeat:Therowersittingthefurthestinfrontofacrew,orthemosttowardthestern.Thispersonsetsarhythmforthecrewtofollowintheirstroke.
BowSeat/Bowman:Thepersonsittingthefurthestinbackofacrew,orthemosttowardthebow.