Rowing: The Basics_

We all know a friend, family member, colleague or two who nods politely to the ecstatic rower in the office who proudly announces their seat in the first eight or their win at Henley; and it’s easy to forget that for those out of the loop, we speak a foreign language…

So, for this weeks #FridayThoughts let’s dissect the basics of rowing, so those around us can live their lives a little better informed of the mad world they occasionally peak into.

“Row-ian” – the language of the boathouse

Perhaps the most perplexing part of the rower is the specific language that we use to communicate, from stretchers to blades, our language is varied, but also distinctly beautiful.

• Backstops: The start of the stroke where the athlete sits with their legs flat, holding the oar handles to the sternum.
• Blade: an oar
• Catch: The point of the stroke at which an athlete’s blades enter the water, beginning the Drive
• Cox (Coxwain): a person sat in larger boats that is tasked with steering the boat, and motivating the crew
• Crab: The unpleasant phenomenon where a rower’s blades get caught in the water and are dragged parallel to the boat
• Crew: American term for rowing: or the collection of people rowing a particular boat
• Drive: The phase of the stroke from catch to backstops where a rower transfers energy into the blades to propel the boat
• Ergo: an indoor rowing machine
• Feather: The position of the blade during the recovery where the surface of the blade travels parallel to the sky and water
• Gate: the part of the outrigger that holds the blade in place
• Rate: The number of stroked completed in a minute (often displayed on telemetry as an average for that particular stroke)
• Recovery: the phase of the stroke where the rowers travel in the opposite direction to the movement of the boat in order to reach the catch for the start of the next stroke
• Rigger-Jigger: a double ended spanner used for dismantling/construction of boats for transport
• Square/squaring: The opposite of feathering; used to prepare the blade for the catch
• Stretcher: an adjustable plate (metal or carbon) inside the boat where the shoes are attached

Boat Types

The most common* types of boats found on rivers around the country are “fine” or “racing” shells. These are the types of boat that will carry crews to victory in the Olympics and will be used for all manner of domestic races.

*There are, of course, other types of boat such as gig, fixed seat, and coastal shells, but these are far less prevalent on the waterways of Britain.

Single

The single is the smallest of the rowing shells on the water. Containing just one rower using a rowing technique known as sculling (two oared rowing) most of these boats weight only about 14Kg, are roughly the width of a wellington boot, and require both nerves and muscles of steel to negotiate on a choppy day.

Double

Moving on up in size, the double is another sculling boat, this time containing two rowers. Some variants of this boat include a rudder steered by the foot of one of the athletes on board, though this is more common in larger boats.

Pair

Similar to its two-person partner above, however, the pair is rowed as a sweep boat, i.e. rowed with each athlete using only one, larger oar. This is the smallest of the sweep boats and is widely regarded as the hardest to balance.

Quad

The largest of the sculling boats, the quad contains four rowers and is as quick out of the starting blocks as it is across the line. These boats often produce the most dramatic racing, and mostly found without a cox, although for novices, coxed versions are popular.

Four

The four is most famed for the dynasties it crafts in international racing and comprises four athletes each with one oar. For novices, much like the quad, fours can be found in coxed variants.

Eight

The biggest. The loudest. The icon. The eight is the only boat which always contains a cox, commanding a crew of eight rowers. The eights are the fastest boats on the international scene, and as the blue ribbon event, often define the general rowing ability of a nation.

Racing

Broadly speaking, most races fall into two categories: Head Races and Regattas. Those outside the rowing community are often most familiar with regatta racing, but that’s only half the story…

Head Racing

The Head Race season in the UK runs roughly from September to March, before a brief gap in racing leading up to Regatta Season (See below). Head racing refers to a time trial event where crews race over longer distances – typically around 3K, but in cases up to 50K – and are then ranked according to their overall time.

Some of the most famous examples of Head Racing are the Head of The River Races which see crews racing along the boat race stretch of the river in central London. The Boat Race itself is a halfway house between Head and Regatta racing but is one of the most well-known races in Britain and the world over.

Regatta Racing

May to June is where the regatta races make their home and are the typical rowing race that most think of. Rowed 0ver the standard distance of 2,000m crews usually race 6 a-breast and will often race down the course several times during the regatta in a heat, semi-final, and final.

The most-well known regattas are the Olympics and World Championships, the latter taking place around September, marking the end of the international season. This is alongside events such as Henley Royal Regatta who draw on a different crowd creating not only a sporting spectacle but also one of the social events of the year.

Training

Rowing can be describes as a “strength endurance” sport, meaning athletes must consistently deliver high volumes of power over extended periods. As a result, although rowing training takes many forms, its underlying aim is always one of three goals: Endurance, Strength, or Technique, each explained in more detail below.

Endurance

At the heart of every rower is an aerobic engine that is able to surpass biological imperatives to deliver unthinkable levels of power, and underpinning this is a high aerobic capacity.

This typically means long outings on the water for around 20Km or many hours on the ergo (rowing machine). In more recent years, physiologists have begun suggesting that cross-training can supplement and improve a rower’s aerobic capacity, and such more and more clubs are turning to a more diverse training regimen to include running, swimming and cycling amongst other sports and activities.

Strength

Strength in rowing can be achieved in one of a few ways, including mental resilience. Strength training will begin for most novices for circuit training to include plyometric exercises, as well as high-intensity rowing on land or in the boat. As rowers progress, they will find themselves in the gym developing strong legs, a solid core, and powerful arms to add power to the boat.

Mental strength is far harder to teach but is just as important. Many rowers who find themselves in difficulty later in life say they draw upon the mental resilience they learnt in the sport.

“I’m very very well. There are a lot of positives to take out of it; not least my mindset from the last 20 years or so in the sport will set me up well for rehab.

Pete Reed (Retired Olympian) on suffering a spinal stroke

Technique

What separates a champion from a competitor is often technique, which is why coaches can be found in their natural habitat, arms flailing and throat warbling on the tow-path perfecting their crew’s stroke.

British Rowing advise a long, front-ended stroke to achieve maximum power and speed; it is important to note that clubs and individuals all have their own slight technical variations, which leads to the diversity on the regatta course.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, no one article can summarise the entirety of the rowing world: it is too complex and wonderful to fit neatly into a website page. Instead, we found what we believed to be the most fundamental ideas of our sport to share with the world.

Think we missed something? contact us on our social pages or leave a comment below, and share this article with your non-rower buddies so they too can peak into our world!

Ed Evans

Opinions Editor

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