Rowing is propelling a boat by means of oars. The purpose can be transportation, recreation or sport. In the United States as a high school or collegiate sport it is sometimes known as crew. There are two forms of rowing: sweep rowing, where each rower has one oar, and sculling,where each rower has two oars.
Rowing sport
Rowing is a speed sport in narrow wooden or composite boats, where the athlete sits on a sliding seat above the water level and faces backwards, using oars to move the boat. This may be done on a river, a lake, or on the sea. Sweep rowing involves one oar per rower while sculling involves two oars per rower. Rowing boats can be coxed (steered and commanded by a coxswain) or coxless (also known as "straight").
Racing boats (usually called "shells") are long and narrow in order to reduce drag to a minimum. This makes them unstable and liable to tip. Being able to balance the boat while putting maximum effort into the oars is therefore an essential skill of rowing. Originally wooden, now carbon fiber, racing shells are now almost all composite at the top levels of competition.
Rowers may take part in the sport for their leisure or they may competitively row. There are different types of competition in the sport of rowing. Regattas that are held in the spring and summer are called "sprint races" in the US and are generally rowed six boats at a time on a multi-laned course. Regulation length races are 2000 m long, however occasionally the distance will be 1000 m, or some intermediate distance dictated by the local body of water. Dashes (sprints in the UK) are 500 m long. The boats start at the same time from a stationary position and the winner is the boat that crosses the finish line first.
A head race is another type of regatta rowers can compete in, which take place from fall season to early spring (depending on local conditions). Boats begin with a rolling start at intervals of 10-20 seconds, and race against the clock. Distances can vary from 2,000 m to over 12,000 m. Examples of Head races are the 3 mile (4,828 m) Head of the Charles in Boston MA in October and the 4 1/4 mile (6,840 m) Head of the River Race on the Thames in London in March.
A third type of race is the bumps race, as held in Oxford University and Cambridge University. In these races, crews start lined up along the river at set intervals, and all start at the same time. The aim is to catch up with the boat in front, and avoid being caught by the boat behind. If a crew catches up with the crew ahead of them, and a bump is awarded, both crews pull to the side of the bank and take no further part in that race. However, the next day, the bumping crew will start ahead of the crew that was bumped. Bumps races take place over several days, and the positions at the end of the last race are used to set the positions on the first day of the races the next year. Oxford and Cambridge hold bumps races for their respective colleges twice a year, and there are also Town Bumps races in both cities, open to all crews. Bump races are very rare in the United States.
Rowing is unusual in the demands it places on competitors. The standard race distance of 2,000 m is long enough to have a large endurance element, but short enough (typically 5.5 to 7.5 minutes) to feel like a sprint. This means that rowers have some of the highest power outputs of athletes in any sport. At the same time the motion involved in the sport compresses the rowers' lungs, limiting the amount of oxygen available to them. This requires rowers to tailor their breathing to the stroke, typically inhaling and exhaling twice per stroke, unlike most other sports such as cycling where competitors can breathe freely.
The relative obscurity of rowing has helped it develop an introspective atmosphere, where long hours, early mornings on the river, and the physical pain of the event are the price of being a part of the rowing community. The intense focus of top rowers on their sport is unusual even by the standard of similarly excellent competitors in other sports.
One piece of equipment commonly used when training for rowing, the 'indoor rower' or 'ergometer', has become popular as a sport in its own right.
History
Rowing boats (or similar vessels) have been around for centuries, but before the 18th century, there is little mention of boat races. In the 13th century, Venetian festivals called regata included boat races among others. Nowadays, rowing competitions are still called regattas (with a second 't' added).
The first modern rowing races, in the second half of the 18th century, were races between watermen on the River Thames in England. Subsequently, rowing became extremely popular both as an amateur and professional sport, often with thousands of spectators for events. From the first University Boat Race between Oxford University and Cambridge University, student rowing has become increasingly popular. In the Anglo-Saxon world, there is also a sizeable school rowing community. The Harvard-Yale race is the oldest intercollegiate sporting event in the United States.
Rowing today is governed by the FISA, which has organized World Championships since 1962. Rowing has also been conducted at the Olympic Games since 1900 (cancelled at the first modern Games in 1896).
Strong rowing nations include the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Germany, Australia and Romania. Well-known rowers of recent years include Sir Steve Redgrave (UK), who won Olympic golds in five successive Olympics in the coxed four, coxless pair and the coxless four; Matthew Pinsent (UK), who won golds in four successive Olympics, two with Redgrave in the coxless pair and two more (once with Redgrave) in the coxless four; Rob Waddell (New Zealand) and Xeno Müller (Switzerland), opponents in the single sculls; Ekaterina Karsten (Belarus) in women's single sculls; and Kathrin Boron (Germany) in women's double sculls and quadruples.
Competition format
At World Championship level, sculling races for both men and women are:
- quadruple scull (four rowers)
- double scull (two rowers)
- single scull (one rower)
and sweep oar rowing races are:
- coxed eight (or eight)
- coxed fours
- coxless fours (or straight fours)
- coxed pairs
- coxless pairs (or straight pairs).
There are also lightweight men's races in all of the aforementioned classes except the coxed pair and four, and lightweight women's races in the single scull, double scull, quadruple scull, and straight pair. A lightweight men's crew must average 70kg (154.32 lb), with no one rower over 72.5kg (159.84 lb), and a lightweight women's crew must average 57kg (125.67 lb), with no one rower over 59kg (130.07 lb). All races are held over 2000 metres.
At the Olympic Games, not all of these events are rowed. Olympic events for men are the quadruple scull, double scull, single scull, eight, straight four, and straight pair; for lightweight men, the straight four and double scull; for women, the quadruple scull, double scull, single scull, eight, and straight pair; and for lightweight women, the double scull. Rowers generally take less interest in rowing the non-Olympic events at World Championships, as the Olympic events are considered the "premier" events.
At national, regional and local levels, Masters rowers (those 27 and up who have not won major competitions in the last year) generally race over a 1000-meter distance.
In general, rowing competitions are organised in a series of rounds, with the fastest boats in each heat progressing to the next round. The losing boats from each heat may be given a second chance to qualify for the next round through a repechage.
One stroke
- The stroke begins with the oar out of the water with the blade feathered, or in other words parallel to the water. The rower has legs straight and body upright, and arms straight in front.
- The rower leans the body forward ( i.e. toward the stern) slightly while keeping the oar level and legs straight.
- The rower bends the legs, bringing the seat forward ( i.e. toward the stern) on its rollers, while the oar remains level.
- The blade of the oar is turned 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the water.
- The blade is quickly inserted into the water. This is called the catch.
- The rower levers the boat past the tip of the blade by the action of straightening the legs while the body remains leaned forward and the arms remain straight. This is called the leg drive.
- The rower continues pushing with the legs while the body leans back ( i.e. towards the bow ) and begins to draw the blade handle(s) towards the body.
- The rower completes the leg drive plus backwards lean and pulls the oar to the chest by bending the arms. This is called the draw.
- The rower pushes the oar handle down such that the blade comes out of the water. This is known as the release.
- The oar is turned 90 degrees such that the blade is parallel to the water.
- The arms are pushed out in front of the body until they are straight.
- The body is returned to the upright position, and now the position is identical to the starting position.
Rowing terminology
The Athletes
- Bow
- The rower in the front (i.e. the direction the boat is moving while rowing) of a multi-person shell. In coxless boats, often the person who keeps an eye on the water behind him to avoid accidents.
- Bowcox
- The rower seated in the bow seat who is also resposible for steering the boat's course. This person does not actually row the boat, but simply guides the cadence of the other rowers and steers. They face looking in the direction of travel in a seat partically enclosed in the bow of the shell.
- Bowside
- (UK) Starboard side.
- Coxswain
- The person in the sternmost position of a coxed boat (normally); responsible for steering and race strategy.
- Engine room
- The middle rowers in the boat. In an 8-person shell, this is generally seats 3, 4, 5 and 6. They are generally the biggest and strongest rowers. Because they are situated in the middle, their technique doesn't have to be as perfect as the others.
- Port
- A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the port side.
- Starboard
- A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the starboard side.
The Boats
- Eight
- a shell with 8 rowers, one oar apiece. Always with coxwain because of the size of boat.
- Four
- a shell with 4 rowers, one oar each. more often seen with a coxwain.
- Octuple
- a shell having 8 rowers with two oars each. Rarely used except by Juniors in the UK.
- Quad
- a shell having 4 rowers with two oars each. it is more common to be "coxless" or without a coxwain.
- Scull
- To row with two oars (per rower), or a shell designed to be sculled.
The Commands
- "Easy oars"
- To stop.
- "Hold it/her up"
- (UK) Stop the boat.
- "Hold it/her hard"
- (UK) Emergency stop.
- "Let it run"
- To stop rowing after a given piece of on the water rowing length, but to put the handles of the oars either to the gunwhales or out in front of the rower, in such a manner that the oars are parralel to the water yet not touching it. This allows the boat to glide for a distance leaving no paddle wake in the water.; "On the square" : to row without feathering the blades on the recovery.
- "Weigh-enough"
- The command to stop. (American)
- "Power 10"
- the command to take 10 strokes at more than full pressure. Used for passing and gaining water in a race. (sometimes "Power 20" or "Power 30")
The Equipment
- Backstop
- (UK) The sliding seat position closest to the boat's bow.
- Bow ball
- An essential small, soft ball no smaller than 4 cm diameter securely attached to a rowing or scullnng boat's bow. Primarily intended for safety but also useful in deciding which boat crossed the finish line first in very close races.
- Cleaver blade
- Modern oar blades that have a more rectangular hatchet-shaped. (also hatchet blade)
- Coxbox
- Portable voice amplifier; may also optionally incorporate digital readouts displaying stroke rate, boat speed and times.
- Erg
- Short for ergometer: a rowing machine.
- Footplate
- The piece of the boat to which the rower's feet are attached, either by tying their actual shoes (sneakers) in, or (more often) by putting their feet into a permanently-attached pair of sneakers.
- Frontstop
- (UK) The sliding seat position closest to the boat's stern.
- Gate
- (UK) Term for an oar lock.
- Gunwales
- (pronounced: gunnels) The top rib of the shell.
- Hatchet blade
- Modern oar blades that have a more rectangular hatchet-shaped. (also cleaver blade)
- Launch
- A motorboat used by rowing instructors, coaches or umpires.
- Macon blade
- Traditional U-shaped blade.
- Oar lock
- The rectangular lock at the end of the rigger that holds the oar in place while allowing it to pivot and lock in the square or feathers position.
- Rigger
- The triangular frame that hold the oarlock away from the gunnel to optimize leverage (there are several styles of riggers).
- Shell
- The boat used for rowing.
- Slides
- Hollow rails upon which a rower or sculler's sliding seat will roll.
- Smoothie
- A blade design in which the face of the oar blade is smooth, without the traditional central spine.
- State room
- The space between the gunwales.
- Stretcher
- (UK) An adjustable footplate.
The Stroke
- Catch
- The part of the stroke at which the blade enters the water.
- Crab
- A rowing error in which the blade is pushed under the water and becomes caught in the flow of the water past the boat, referred to as 'catching a crab'. This always results in slowing the boat down, and can even lift a rower out of the shell or make the boat capsize (unlikely).
- Feather
- To turn the oar so that its blade is parallel with the water (opposite of square).
- "Keel"
- the balance of the boat. Good keel means that the stability of the boat is good. "keep keel" is a command often heard from the coxwain when the boat starts to sway.
- Rating
- the number of strokes executed per minute by a crew. (also stroke rate)
- Ratio
- the relationship between the time taken during the propulsive and recovery phases of a rowing or sculling action.
- Split time (split)
- Amount of time it takes to row 500 meters. Displayed on all ergs.
- Stroke
-
- one complete cycle through the process above
- the rower in the stern of a multi-person shell, whose timing is followed by the other rowers.
- Stroke rate
- The number of strokes executed per minute by a crew. (also rating)
- Square
- To turn the oar so that its blade is perpendicular to the water (opposite of feather).
Miscellaneous
- Seat race
- A method to compare two rowers in fours or eights. Two boats race against each other once. One rower from each boat switch positions, and the two boats race again. Relative performance in the two races is used to compare the abilities of the two rowers.
- Pot
- A tankard awarded as a prize to each member of a winning crew.
Nomenclature
The following short nomenclature is often used to indicate the type of boat:
- The prefix indicates the type of event
- M - men's (usually only used for lightweight men's events)
- W - women's
- L - lightweight
- B - under 23
- The number of crew members (excluding cox).
- A "x" indicates a sculling boat.
- The last character shows if the boat is coxed (+) or coxless (-).
Examples:
- 8+ men's coxed eight.
- W4- women's coxless/straight four
- LM2x lightweight men's double sculls
- B1x men's single sculls under 23