Regatta Watcher's Guide

About Rowing
Among the most physically demanding sports, rowing at a world-class level requires excellent conditioning. Upper body and leg strength are of equal importance as athletes row 2,000 meters (roughly 1.25 miles) in an average of six minutes, depending on the number of athletes per boat. Brought to the East Coast of the United States from Great Britain in the early 19th century, the sport is rich in sportsmanship and tradition- coxswains of winning boats are thrown into the water and the prize for the winner is literally the shirt off a competitor's back. One, two or four athletes enter the sculling events, in which each athlete uses two oars. Rowers each use one oar in the coxless pair, coxed pair, coxed four and coxed eight events. In these events, sweep oars are positioned alternately on the sides of the boat, or shell (note that one rower in a sweep oars event would result in a boat going around in circles). In the coxed events, a coxswain steers the boat by pulling on wires attached to the rudder and advises the crew on racing tactics. The eight always carries a coxswain and is a remarkable event to watch; the boat is approximately 62 feet long (roughly the distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound on a baseball field) and moves at nearly 15 mph.

Direction of Travel

1-8: Rowers in the boat are commonly referred to by their positions. 1 sits at the very back (the bow of the boat), 2 after him/her, 3 after him/her, and so on. 1 and 2, at the back of the boat, are referred to as bow pair. 7 and 8, at the front of the boat, are referred to as stern pair. The four rowers at the back of the boat are bow four; the four rowers at the front are stern four. 8, at the very front of the boat, is also referred to as the boats stroke (7 and 8 are responsible for setting the boats time, or rhythm).

The Race
At the start, each of the boats may be held by the stern on starting pontoons (stake boats) while the bows are aligned by aligners. Other times, the boats begin with a floating start and are aligned without stake boats. The rower in the bow seat may raise his/her hand to indicate the crew is ready, until the starter conducts a roll call of the crews. After the roll call, the starter raises a red flag, gives the warning command "Attention" and then gives audible and visual signals to start the race. Crews are allowed only one false start, which is called when a crew leaves early or has equipment breakage in the first 100 meters of the race. It is not uncommon for an oar to break, for example. As soon as the crews begin, one or two launches follow, carrying a driver and a judge-referee. The primary responsibility of the judge-referee is to ensure that all boats are racing in safe conditions and that every crew has an equal opportunity to win. Crews are allowed to leave their lanes (in fact, a crew may begin in lane 1 and finish in lane 6) as long as their movement doesn't interfere with another crew's opportunity to win, or does not physically endanger the crew. If a boat is close to interfering with another shell, the judge-referee will direct the crew by calling its name and pointing a white flag in the direction the boat should move to avoid trouble. Judge-referees positioned on the finish line tower or platform determine the placing of each boat, with the assistance of timing and photo-finish equipment. "Winning by a bow ball" refers to the 2-inch rubber tip on a shell's bow that is used to indicate the winner in close races where photo-finishes are used.

What to Look For

The four parts to the rowing stroke- catch (blade in water, knees bent, arms forward), drive (legs straight, arms drawn toward body), finish (oar out of the water, blade horizontal), recovery (body forward, blade turned from horizontal to vertical) - should all flow together in smooth powerful movement. In addition, the following are crucial for top rowers: Continuous motion -- Rowing should be a continuous fluid motion. Synchronization -- Rowers strive for perfect synchronization with crew members. Clean catches of the oar blade -- A lot of splash means the oars aren't entering the water correctly. The catch should occur at the very end of the recovery, when the hands are as far ahead of the rower as possible. Oar blade coordination -- As the blades are brought out of the water, they should move horizontally at the same height, just above water. Consistent speed -- Shells move slowest at the catch, quickest at the release. A good crew times the catch at the right moment to maintain the speed of the shell.
Strokes per minute -- Stroke rates vary from boat to boat, depending on the number and size of the rowers. At the start, the stroke rate will be high (40-44 strokes per minute for an eight, 36-40 for a single). The rate slows down during the middle of a race to 32-36 for an eight and 28-32 for a single. Finishing stroke rates - the sprint over the final 500m- can be as high as 46 strokes per minute.

The Stroke

Catch Parts of a Stroke

Drive

Finish

Recovery

Catch again

1) Catch - the seat should be toward the stern, back and arms straight, arms fully extended, knees deeply bent, shins perpendicular to the water. The rower is folded and ready to uncoil. 2) Drive - straighten legs, slide seat toward bow, pull toward bow with trunk/torso. Keep arms out straight and at a constant level, keep knees between arms. Complete the drive by leaning back and pulling the oars to the abdomen. 3) Finish - leaning back, lift the oar blades with a slight downward push on the handles, simultaneously drop wrists slightly to rotate the oar and feather the blade parallel to the water. 4) Recovery - extend arms forward, slide seat toward stern, bring thighs up to chest. Try to be light on the seat, pushing down slows the forward movement. Ratio: Ratio: the difference between the time taken for the drive and the recovery. The recovery should take approximately twice as long as the drive. This slows the rower down to avoid impeding the forward progress of the shell. Good ratio allows for more run.

Terms
Many of the definitions here are provided in the Regatta Watchers Guide published by Subaru Of America, a Founding Sponsor of the Masters Rowing Association and US Rowing. Crew : the group of people who row a racing shell, as in varsity crew or the sport of racing with racing shells, as in "She went out for crew in her freshman year." Note in both of these instances, the word "team" is understood, but not used. There is no such thing as "crewing" or "crewing practice" or "crewers." Shell: A boat. Usually called either by name (Natulia) or brand and size (Vespoli 4) Sweep: One of the two disciplines of rowing the one where rowers use only one oar. Pairs (for two people), fours (for four people) and the eight are sweep boats. Pairs and fours may or may not have a coxswain. Eights always have a coxswain. Sculls: One of the two disciplines of rowing the one where scullers use two oars or sculls. kok-suhn, but shortened to 'cox.' They are the person in the front of the boat telling you Coxswain: Pronounced kok what to do. Though stereotyped as being short and loud, they are required to not only steer the boat, but also maintain the boat's power throughout a race as well as act as an in-boat coach. Stroke: The rower closest to the stern that every rower watches. They set the pace for the boat. Bow: The forward section of the boat. The first part of the boat to cross the finish line. The person in the seat closest to the bow, who crosses the finish line first. Stern: The rear of the boat; the direction the rowers are facing. Slide: The seat you sit on. It slides forwards and backwards. Oar: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do not use paddles. Blade: Blade: the end of the oar/scull that is in the water (wide and flat). Most blades are painted with a team or country pattern in the organization's designated colors. Feathering: Feathering: turning the oar blade parallel to the water during the recovery, lessening wind resistance. Port: Left side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of the movement. Starboard: Right side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of movement. Rigger: The triangle jutting out the side of the boat that holds your oars. At the end of the rigger is an oarlock that holds your oar.

Button: A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock. Gate: The bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar in place. Footstretcher: A pair of shoes in front of you seat. They can be moved forwards or backwards depending on how tall you are. Gunwale: The side of the boat. It's very thin, which is why we don't play around by the boats. Rib: The supports that run along the gunwale. This is where the riggers are attached, and it's also what we rest the boat on when it's upside down. Stretcher or Footstretcher: Where the rowers feet go. The stretcher consists of two inclined footrests that hold the rowers shoes. The rowers shoes are bolted into the footrests. Slide: The set of runners for the wheels of each seat in the boat. Run: The run is the distance the shell moves during one stroke. You can figure it by looking for the distance between the puddles made by the same oar. Catching a crab : an oar that, at an angle to the water (rather than the ideal perpendicular), gets caught beneath the surface. The oarblade is driven into the stomach and has the potential to toss the rower out of the boat. boat: Novice boat a shell or boat crewed by novices only Novice: Novice having less than one calendar-year's worth of rowing experience. In racing, a novice may row in a varsity boat, but a varsity rower may not row in a novice boat. See Varsity definition, below. Varsity: Varsity having at least one calendar-year's worth of rowing experience. In racing, a novice (less than one year of experience) may row in a varsity boat, but a varsity rower may not row in a novice boat. 10: Power 10 a call for rowers to do ten (10) of their best, most powerful strokes; it's a strategy used to pull away from a competitor. Swing: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed. Ergometer: Rowers call it an "erg." Its a rowing machine that closely approximates the actual rowing motion. The rowers choice is the Concept II, which utilizes a flywheel and a digital readout so that the rower can measure his "strokes per minute" and the distance covered.

Commands
"Way enough": Stop. "Hands on": Put your hands on the boat and get ready to lift it. "Up to waist and up": Lift the boat to your waist. "Up to shoulders and up": Lift the boat onto your shoulder. "Walk it [direction]": Walk with the boat. "Overheads and up": Lift the boat over your head. "Check down": Put your oar perpendicular to the water to stop quickly. "Let it run": Lift your oar out of the water, letting the boat glide. "Back it": Take a stroke backwards. Used when turning around or when fighting a current before a race.

Different Boat Abbreviations

1x Single sculls 2+ Coxed pair 2x Double sculls 4- Coxless/Straight four 4x Quadruple sculls 4+ Coxed four 2- Coxless pair 8+ Eight

Related Links
http://www.usrowing.org/ http://www.concept2.com/ http://www.row2k.com/ http://www.qra.org/visitors/regguide.html http://students.missouri.edu/%7Emurowing/basics.php
Much of this information was gleaned from various sources including from Quinsigamond Rowers Association and US Rowing websites.

Inside the Boat