March 30, 2006
With the 2006 Patriot League rowing season underway, it is time to become more familiar with the League's newest sport. The Patriot League added rowing as its 23rd sponsored sport for the 2005 season and it is in its second year of competition.
Like any other sport, rowing has its own language. Below are some common terms and their definitions.
For more information on the sport of rowing visit the official USRowing website, www.usrowing.org.
8+ and 4+: Eights (8+) and fours (4+) are the most common collegiate competitions and the two events held at the NCAA Championships. The plus indicates a coxswain on board.
Blade: The end of the oar which pulls the boat through the water.
Bow: the forward end of the boat which crosses the finish line first; the rower in the seat nearest the forward end of a shell, who typically has a quick catch, stable technique and a shorter arc.
Bow coxed boat: A shell in which the coxswain is near the bow instead of the stern. It's hard to see the coxswain in this type of boat, because only his head is visible. Having the coxswain virtually lying down in the bow reduces wind resistance, and the weight distribution is better.
Bowball: The white ball on the back end of the boat that protects the shell and provides an easy way for the coxswain to see who's ahead.
Bowmarker: The number identifying the lane in which that boat is racing during sprint races.
Button: A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock.
"Catching a Crab": A phrase used to describe what happens when a rower's oar enters the water at an angle rather than perpendicular. At an angle, the oar gets caught under the surface of the water and, depending on the severity of the situation, can cause a boat to lose ground in a race.
Course: Spring races are contested on a 2,000-meter (about 1 - ¼ mile) course. Fall races are typically 4,000 - 6,000 meters.
Coxswain (cox-n): Person who steers the shell from a seat located in the stern of an 8+ or a lying position in the bow of a 4+. Serves as on-the-water coach for the crew.
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's 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.
FISA: Short for Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron. The international governing body for the sport of rowing in the world, established in 1892.
Footstretchers: Apparatus used to bolt a rower's shoes into the footrest to secure positioning.
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 to side all the way down, in a German rigged boat, two consecutive rowers have oars on the same side.
Head Race: The traditional fall regatta, in which boats cross the starting line at full speed in roughly 15-second intervals. The course usually involves navigating three miles of river, around bends and under bridges.
Lightweight: Refers to the rowers, not the boats; there is a maximum weight for each rower in a lightweight event as well as a boat average.
Novice: A rower in the first year of collegiate competition.
Oar: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do not use paddles.
Port: A rower's right side when they are in the boat.
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.
Racing Categories: There are several different events at regattas Typically the Varsity Eight event is the most elite, consisting of a team's best eight rowers. A program's overall speed is usually measured by how well its top 8+ finishes at races.
Regatta: The name of rowing events in which several crews compete.
Repechage: The second-chance race which 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.
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. The more run a boat gets, the faster it is going.
Sculling: Type of rowing where each rower uses two oars. Sculling is not as prevalent as sweep rowing at the collegiate level.
Shell: Boat used in the rowing races. It seats nine people for an Eight (eight rowers + a coxswain) and five people for a Four (four rowers + a coxswain), and ranges in length from 45 feet for a Four to 58 feet for an Eight. Can be used interchangeably with boat.
Sliding Seat: Where athletes sit. It is on rollers, allowing the athletes to use the entire body, including the legs, on each stroke.
Sprints: Used in collegiate competition, this type of race features a course which is 2000 meters long, usually with four to six unmarked or buoyed lanes and a floating or staked start.
Starboard: A rower's left side when they are in the boat.
Straight: Refers to a shell without a coxswain i.e. a straight four or straight pair.
Stern: The back of the boat; the end the rowers face during competitions.
Stroke: 1) a complete cycle of moving the shell through the water; 2) the rower who sits closest to the stern, looks directly and the coxswain in a stern-coxed boat and sets the rhythm for the shell.
Stroke Coach: A small electronic display that rowers attach in the boat to show the important race information like stroke rate and elapsed time.
Sweeping: Type of rowing where each rower uses one oar. This is the typical rowing style for collegiate events. 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.
Swing: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed.
USRowing: The national body that governs rowing in the United States.
Varsity: The collegiate rower who competes beyond the novice level.
