Rowing FAQs

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If you are new to the sport of rowing or just want a refresher, the guide below will give you the basics.

Events

Events are divided into two disciplines: Sweep rowing and sculling, and two categories within those: lightweight and open.

Sculling and Sweep Rowing

Athletes with two oars – one in each hand – are scullers. There are three sculling events: the single – 1x (one person); the double – 2x (two persons); and the quad – 4x (four rowers).

Athletes with only one oar are sweep rowers. Sweep boats may or may not carry a coxswain (pronounced cox-n) to steer and be the on-the-water coach. In boats without coxswains, one of the rowers steers by moving the rudder with his or her foot. Sweep rowers come in pairs with a coxswain (2+) and pairs without (2-), fours with a coxswain (4+), and fours without (4-) and the eight (8+), which always carries a coxswain. The eight is the fastest boat on the water. An elite-level men’s eight is capable of moving almost 14 miles per hour.

The pairs and fours with coxswain are sometimes the hardest to recognize because of where the coxswain is sitting. Although the coxswain is almost always facing the rowers in an eight, in pairs and fours the coxswain may be facing the rowers in the stern or looking down the course, lying down in the bow, where he or she is difficult to see.

Athletes are identified by their seat in the boat. The athlete in bow seat is No. 1. That’s the person who crosses the finish line first (which makes it easy to remember – first across the finish line is No. 1). The person in front of the bow is No. 2, then No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No.7, and No. 8, a.k.a. the stroke seat.  The stroke of the boat must be a strong rower with excellent technique, since the stroke sets the rhythm and number of strokes per minute the rest of the crew must follow.

Lightweight and Open Weight

An athlete of any weight can enter the open categories, although the average woman in an open race will approach 6′ in height and an average open weight man will reach 6’6”.  Lightweight Men cannot weigh more than 160 pounds and the average weight in the entire boat cannot exceed 155 pounds.  Lightweight Women cannot weigh more than 130 pounds and the average weight in the entire boat cannot exceed 125 pounds.

Lightweights row the same events as open weight athletes, except that other than the men’s Lightweight 8, they do not carry coxswains, so there is no lightweight 2+ or 4+.

The Race

All events at the FISA World Championships and Olympic Games are 2,000 meters, or approximately 1.25 miles.  The racecourse is divided into six lanes and each 500-meter section is marked with buoys.

The race begins with all boats aligned at the start in the lanes they’ve been assigned.  Individuals in each lane hold the stern of each boat steady while an official, known as the aligner, ensures that each boat is even with the others and squarely facing the course.

Each crew is allowed once false start; two means disqualification.  If within the first 100 meters there is a legitimate equipment breakage (i.e. an oar snaps in two), the race will be stopped and restarted with repaired equipment.

The stroke rate (the number of rowing strokes per minute that a crew is taking) is high at the start – maybe 45 to 50 for an eight; 38 to 42 for a single scull.  Then the crew will “settle” into the body of the race and drop the rating back – 38 to 40 for an eight; 32 – 36 for a single.  The coach and the way the race is going determine when the crew will sprint but finishing stroke rates of 46+ in the last 200 meters aren’t unheard of.  However, the higher stroke rates are not always indicative of speed.  A strong, technically talented crew may be able to cover more water faster that a less-capable crew rowing a high stroke rate.

Unlike canoe/kayak competitions, rowers are allowed to leave lanes without penalty, so as long as they do not interfere with anyone else’s opportunity to win.  An official follows the crews to ensure safety and fairness.

Despite the exhaustion of the race, the crew will row for 5 to 10 minutes afterwards to cool down. In rowing, the medals ceremonies include the shells.  The 3-medal winning crews row to the awards dock, climb out of their shelled and receive their medals before rowing away.

The Stroke

The whole body is involved in moving a shell through the water.  Although rowing tends to look like an upper body sport, the strength of the rowing strokes comes from the legs.

The stroke is made up of four parts: Catch, Drive, Finish, and Recovery.  As the stroke begins, the rower is coiled forward on the sliding seat, with knees bent and arms outstretched.  At the catch, the athlete drops the oar blade vertically into the water.

At the beginning of the drive, the body position does not change – all the work is done by the legs.  As the upper body begins to uncoil, the arms begin their work, drawing the oar blades through the water.  Continuing the drive, the rowers move their hands quickly into the body, which by this time is a slight “layback” position, requiring strong abdominal muscles.

During the finish, the oar handle is moved down, drawing the oar blade out of the water.  At the same time, the rower “feathers” the oar – turning the oar handle – so that the oar blade changes from a vertical position to a horizontal position.  The oar remains out of the water as the rower begins recovery, moving the hands away from the body and past the knees.  The body follows the hands and the sliding seat moves forward, until, knees bent, the rower is ready for the next catch.

Oars

Oars move the boat through the water and act as balancers.  Sweep oars are longer than sculler’s oars and have wooden handles instead of rubber grips.  The shaft of the oar is made of extremely lightweight carbon fiber instead of the heavier wood used years ago.

The popular “hatchet” blade – named because of its cleaver-like shape – is about 20 percent larger than previous blades.  Its larger surface area has made it the almost-universal choice among world-level rowers.

The Boats – Sculls and Shells

All rowing boats can be called shells.  Rowing boast with scullers in them (each person has two oars) are called sculls.  So all sculls are shells but not vice versa.  Originally made of wood (and many beautifully crafted wooden boats are made today), newer boats – especially those used in competition – are made of honeycombed carbon fiber.  They are light and appear fragile but are crafted to be strong and stiff in the water.

The smallest boat – the single scull – is approximately 27 feet long and as narrow as 10 inches across.  The eight boat is the longest at 58 feet.

The oars are attached to the boat with riggers, which provide a fulcrum for the levering action of rowing.  Generally, sweep rowers sit in configurations that have the oars alternating from side to side along the boat.  Sometimes, most typically in the 4- and 4+, the coach will rig the boat so that 2 consecutive rowers have their oars on the same side in order to equalize individual athlete power.

Race Watching

The crew that is making it look easy is most likely, the one doing the best job.  While you are watching look for:

• Continuous, fluid motion of the rowers. The rowing motion shouldn’t have a discernible end or beginning.
• Synchronization – Rowers strive for perfect synchronization in the boat.
• Clean catches of the oar blade.  If you see a lot of splash, the oar blades aren’t entering the water correctly.  The catch should happen at the end of the recovery, when the hands are as far ahead of the rower as possible.  Rowers who uncoil before they drop the oar blades are sacrificing speed and not getting a complete drive.
• Oar blade feathering, when the blades are brought out of the water.  The oar blades should all be moving horizontally and should be close to the water and at the same height.  It is not easy, especially if the water is rough.
• The consistency of speed.  Shells do not move like a car – they are slowest at the catch, quickest at the release.  The good crews time the catch at just the right moment to maintain the speed of the shell.

Rowing looks graceful, elegant, and sometimes effortless when it is done well.  Do not be fooled.  Rowers have not been called the world’s most physically fit athletes for nothing.  A 2000 meter rowing race demands virtually everything a human being can physically being to an athletic competition – aerobic ability, technical talent, exceptional mental discipline, ability to utilize oxygen efficiently and in huge amounts, balance, pain tolerance, and the ability to continue to work when the body is demanding that you stop.

More Race-Watching Tips

• Race times can vary considerably depending upon the course and weather conditions. Tailwinds will improve times, while headwinds and crosswinds will hamper them.
• If a crew “catches a crab”, it means the oar blade has entered the water at an angle instead of perpendicularly.  The oar blade gets caught under the surface and will slow or even stop a shell.
• A “Power 10″ is a call by the coxswain for 10 of the crew’s best, most powerful strokes.  Good coxswains read the course to know how many strokes remain for their crew to count down to the finish.
• Crews are identified by their oar blade design.  The USA blades are red on top and blue bottom, with a white triangle at the tip.
• It does not matter whether you win an Olympic medal or do not make the finals – each crew still carries their boat back to the rack.
• Coxswains from first-place boats worldwide are thrown into the water by their crews.
• Coxswains do not and probably never did yell “stroke! stroke!”  Similar to a jockey, their job is to implement the coach’s strategy during the race.  In addition, they steer and make the crew aware of where they stand in the race and what they need to do to win.

Rowing Quick Facts

• Rowing is one of the original sports in the modern Olympic Games.
• Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, was a rower.
• Rowers were the third largest U.S. delegation (48 athletes) to the Olympic Games in 2000.
• Eight-oared shells are about 60 ft. long – that is 20 yards of a football field.
• Rowing was the first intercollegiate sport contest in the United States.  The first rowing race was between Harvard and Yale in 1852.
• Physiologically, rowers are superb examples of physical conditioning.  Cross-country skiers and long distance speed skaters are comparable in terms of physical demands the sport places on the athletes.
• An eight, which carries more than three-quarters of a ton (1,750 pounds), may weigh as little as 200 pounds.  The boats are made of fiberglass composite material.
• Singles may be as narrow as 10 inches across, weigh only 23 lbs, and stretch nearly 27 feet long.The first rowing club in the U.S. was the Detroit Boat Club, founded in 1839.The first amateur sport organization was a rowing club – Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Navy in 1858.
• From 1920 until 1956, the USA won the gold medal in the men’s 8 at every Olympic Games.
• The first national governing body for a sport in the U.S. was for rowing.  Founded as the National Association for Amateur Oarsmen in 1872, it was changed in 1982 to the United States Rowing Association.
• Yale College founded the first collegiate boat club in the U.S. in 1843.
• FISA, the first international sports federation, was founded in 1892.
• Dr. Benjamin Spock, the famous baby doctor, was an Olympic rower in 1924 and won a gold medal in the men’s eight boat.  Gregory Peck rowed at the University of California in 1937.
• Physiologists claim that rowing a 2,000-meter race – about 1.25 miles – is equal to playing back-to-back basketball games.

Ten Insights to the Sport of Rowing

1. Rowing is a total body workout. Rowing only looks like an upper body sport. Although upper body strength is important, the strength of the rowing stroke comes from the legs. Rowing is one of the few athletic activities that involves all of the body’s major muscle groups. It is a great aerobic workout, in the same vein as cross-country skiing, and is a low-impact sport on the joints.2. Rowers are probably the world’s best athletes. Rowing looks graceful, elegant, and sometimes effortless when it is done well.  Don’t be fooled. Rowers haven’t been called the world’s most physically fit athletes for nothing.  The sport demands endurance, strength, balance, mental discipline, and an ability to continue on when your body is demanding that you stop.

2. There are two basic types of rowing: sweep rowing and sculling. In sweep rowing, athletes hold one oar with both hands. In sculling, the athletes have two oars on in each hand.

3. The boat.  Although spectators will see hundreds of different races at a rowing event, there are only 6 basic boat configurations. Sweep rowers come in pairs (2s), fours (4s), and eights (8s).  Scullers row in singles (1x), doubles (2x), and quads(4x). Sweep rowers may or may not carry a coxswain, there person who steers the boat and serves as the on-the-water-coach.  All eights have coxswains, but pairs and fours may or may not.  In all sculling boats and sweep boats without coxswains, a rower steers the boat by using a rudder moved with the foot.

4. The categories. Rowers are categorized by sex, age, and weight.  Events are offered for men and women, as well as mixed crews containing an equal number of men and women.  There are junior events for rowers 18 or under or who spent the previous year in high school, and there are masters events for rowers 27 and older.  There are two weight categories: lightweight and open weight.

5. The equipment. Today’s rowing boats are called shells, and they are made of lightweight carbon fiber.  The smallest boat on the water is the single scull, which is only 27 – 30 feet long, a foot wide, and 30 lbs. Eights are the largest boats at 60 feet and a little over 200 lbs.  Rowers use oars to propel their shells.  Sweep oars are longer than sculling oars, typically with carbon fiber handles and rubber grips (although some sweepers still prefer wood handles). Sculling oars are almost never wood.

6. The crew.  Athletes are identified by their position in the boat.  The athlete sitting in the bow, the part of the boat that crosses the finish line first, is the bow seat or No. 1 seat.  The person in front of the bow is No. 2, then No. 3, and so on.  The rower closest to the stern is that crosses the finish line last is known as the stroke seat.  The stroke of the boat must be a strong rower with excellent technique, as the stroke is the person who sets the rhythm of the boat for the rest of the rowers.

7. SPM not MPH.  Rowers speak in terms of strokes per minute (SPM), literally the number of strokes the boat completes in one minute’s time.  The stroke rate at the start is high – 38-45, even into the 50s for an eight – and then “settles” to a race cadence typically in the 30s. Crews sprint to the finish line, taking the rate up once again. Crews may call for a “Power 10″ during the race – a demand for the crew’s most intense 10 strokes.

8. Race watching.  The crew that’s making it look easy is most likely the one doing the best job.  When watching a race, look for a continuous, fluid motion from the rowers; synchronization in the boat; clean catches, i.e. oars entering the water with little splash; and the boat with the most consistent speed.

9. Teamwork is number one. Rowing isn’t a great sport for athletes looking for MVP status. It is, however, teamwork’s best teacher. The athlete trying to stand out in an eight will only make the boat slower.  The athlete trying to stand out in an eight will only make the boat slower.  The crew made up of individuals willing to sacrifice their personal goals for the team will be on the medal stand together. Winning teammates successfully match their desire, talent, and blade work with one another.

Glossary of Rowing Terms

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.

BOW-COXED BOAT: A shell in which the coxswain is near the bow instead of the stern.  It is hard to see the coxswain in this type of boat, because only the coxswain’s head is visible.  Having the coxswain virtually lying down in the bow reduces wind resistance and the weight distribution is better.

BUTTON: A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock.

COXSWAIN: The coxswain’s responsibilities include steering, strategy, and motivation. Must weigh at least 100-110 pounds.

CRAB: Upsetting action caused by turning of oar blade in water so that release is either forced or impossible to make. Some crabs result in an oarsman being thrown out of a shell.

DECK: The part of the shell at the bow and stern that is covered with fiberglass cloth or a thin plastic.

ERGOMETER: Rowers call it an “erg.” It is a rowing machine that closely approximates the actual rowing motion.  The rowers’ choice is the Concept II, which utilized a flywheel and a digital readout so that the rower can measure his “strokes per minute” and the distance covered.

FISA: Short for Federation Internationale des Societes d’Avrion.  The international governing body for the sport of rowing in the world, established in 1892.

GATE: The bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar in place.

GERMAN RIGGING: A different way of setting up which side of the boat the oars are on in a sweep boat.  Instead of alternating from side all the way down, in a German rigged boat, two consecutive rowers have oars on the same side.

HEAVYWEIGHT: An oarsman, sculler, or crew, which is too heavy to qualify as a lightweight entry. Usually an individual weighing over 150 and 155 lbs., depending on regatta classifications. International

LIGHTWEIGHT: An oarsman, sculler or crew, which weighs 155 lbs or under. Canadian rowing allows 155 lbs for lightweight classification, breaking down into 135,140 and 155-pound events. International lightweight classification calls for the average weight of the crew to equal 150 pounds or 67.5 kilos. Women’s lightweight crews weight of the crew equal 150 pounds or 67.5 kilos. Women’s lightweight crews weigh in at 125 pounds.

OAR: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do not use paddles.

PORT: Left side of shell, facing forward (from stem forward, stroke, 6,4, and 2).

POWER 10: A call for rowers to do 10 of their best, most powerful strokes. It’s a strategy used to pull ahead of a competitor.

RATE OR RATING: Rate or Rating: Number of strokes per minute being rowed by crew. This usually carries in a race from 42 to 50 on the start, 34 to 40 in the body, and 40 to 48 at the finish.

REPECHAGE: The second-chance race that ensures that everyone has two chances to advance from preliminary races since there is no seeding in the heats.

RIGGER: The triangular shaped metal device that is bolted onto the side of the boat and holds the oars.

RIGGING: Adjusting and altering accessories in shell such as outriggers, boot stretchers, tracks, sliding seats, etc. sometimes the accessories themselves.

RUN: The run is the distance the shell moves during one stroke.  You can figure it out by looking for the distance between the puddles made by the same oar.

SCULLS: Smaller counter part of sweep oar used in singles, doubles, and quads.

SHELL: (eight-oared shell) – A boat built for racing; usually 61 feet long, 24 to 26 inches wide at widest point (approximately at No. 4 seat) and tapering to either end; weights fully rigged, 250-260 pounds; skin is of cedar, single or ply, approximately 3/16 or an inch thick.

SLIDE: The set of runners for the wheels of each seat in the boat.

STARBOARD: Right side of shell, facing forward. Oars on the starboard side of a standard rigged boat are Bow, 3,5, 7.

STERN: The rear of the boat; the direction the rowers are facing.

STRAIGHT: Refers to a shell, without a coxswain (i.e. a straight four or a straight pair)

STRETCHER OR FOOTSTRETCHER: Where the rower’s feet go.  The stretcher consists of two inclined footrests that hold the rower’s shoes.  The rower’s shoes are bolted into the footrests.

STROKE: Oarsman in No. 8 seat, farthest astern facing coxswain, who sets beat for rest of crew to follow; also style of rowing.

STROKE COACH: A small electronic display that rowers attach in the boat to show the important race information like stroke rate and elapsed time.

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 coxswain. Eights always have a coxswain.

SWING: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed.