Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against
each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the
type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the
reaction forces on the
oar blades
as they are pushed against the water. The sport can be both
recreational, focusing on learning the techniques required, and
competitive where overall
fitness
plays a large role. It is also one of the oldest
Olympic sports. In the United States, high
school and
collegiate
rowing is sometimes referred to as
crew.
Basics
Toronto rowers in a coxed
four.(4+)
While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing backwards
(towards the
stern), and uses the
oars which are held in place by the
oarlocks to propel the boat forward (towards the
bow). This may be done on a river, lake,
sea, or other large body of water. It is a demanding sport
requiring strong core balance as well as physical strength and
cardiovascular endurance.
Whilst the action of rowing and equipment used remains fairly
consistent throughout the world, there are many different types of
competition. These include endurance races,
time trials, stake racing,
bumps racing, and the side-by-side format used in
the
Olympic games. The many different
formats are a result of the long
history of the sport, its development in
different regions of the world, and specific local requirements and
restrictions.
There are two forms of rowing:
- In sweep or
sweep-oar rowing, each rower has one oar, held with both
hands. This can be done in pairs, fours and eights. Each rower in a
sweep boat is referred to either as "port" or "starboard", depending on which side of the boat
the rower's oar extends to. Usually the port side is referred to as
stroke side, and the starboard side
as bow side; this applies even if the
stroke oarsman is rowing on bow side and/or the bow oarsman on
stroke side.
- In sculling each rower has two
oars (or sculls), one in each hand. Sculling is usually
done without a coxswain, in quad, double or
singles. The oar in the sculler's right
hand extends to port (stroke side), and the oar in the left hand
extends to starboard (bow side).
Anatomy of a stroke
The two fundamental reference points in the rowing stroke are the
catch, where the oar blade is placed in the water, and the
extraction (also known as the finish or the release) where the oar
blade is removed from the water. The rower begins by placing the
blade in the water at the catch, after which he or she applies
pressure to the oar while simultaneously moving the seat towards
the bow of the boat by extending the legs. After the legs have been
fully extended, the rower then extends the back towards the bow of
the boat and then finally pulls the arms towards his or her chest.
The aforementioned stages of the stroke where pressure is applied
to the blade through the water comprise the drive of the stroke.
After the drive has been completed, the rower then pushes down on
the oar handle (or oar handles if the rower is sculling) to remove
the oar from the water at the release. Following the release, the
rower rotates the oar to cause the blade of the oar to become
parallel to the water, (a process referred to as feathering the
blade). After feathering, the rower begins the recovery phase of
the stroke in which the arms, body, and finally the legs and seat
are moved towards the stern of the boat. Once the rower has reached
the end of the recovery, he or she squares the blade (making it
perpendicular to the water), and then repeats the stroke again,
beginning with the catch.
Rowing propulsion
Rowing is a cyclic (or intermittent) form of propulsion in which
the quasi steady-state the motion of the system (the system being
comprised of the rower, the oars and the boat), is repeated
regularly. In order to maintain the steady-state propulsion of the
system without either accelerating or decelerating the system, the
sum all the external forces on the system, averaged over the cycle,
must be zero. Thus, the average drag (retarding) force on the
system must equal the average propulsion force on the system. The
drag forces consist of aerodynamic drag on the superstructure of
the system (components of the boat situated above the waterline),
as well as the hydrodynamic drag on the submerged portion of the
system. The propulsion forces are the forward reaction of the water
on the oars while in the water. Note also that the oar can be used
to provide a drag force (a force acting against the forward motion)
when the system is brought to rest.
Although the oar can be conveniently thought of as a lever with a
"fixed" pivot point in the water, the blade moves sideways and
sternwards through the water, so that the magnitude of the
propulsion force developed is the result of a complex interaction
between unsteady fluid mechanics (the water flow around the blade)
and solid mechanics and dynamics (the handle force applied to the
oar, the oar's inertia and bending characteristic, the acceleration
of the boat and so on).
Distinction from other watercraft
The distinction between rowing and other forms of water transport,
such as
canoeing or
kayaking, is that in rowing the oars are held in place
at a pivot point that is in a fixed position relative to the boat,
this point acting as a fulcrum for the oar to act as a
lever. In flatwater rowing, the
boat (also called a 'shell' or 'fine boat') is narrow to avoid
drag, and the oars are attached to
oarlocks at the end of outriggers extending from the sides of the
boat. Racing boats also have sliding seats to allow the use of the
legs in addition to the body to apply power to the oar. Like racing
kayaks or canoes, most racing shells are inherently unstable. The
rowing boats require oars on either side to prevent them from
rolling over.
Fitness and health
Rowing is one of the few non-weight bearing sports that
exercises all the major muscle groups, including
quads,
biceps,
triceps,
lats,
glutes and
abdominal muscles. Rowing improves
cardiovascular endurance and
muscular strength. High-performance rowers
tend to be tall and muscular: although extra weight does increase
the drag on the boat, the larger athlete's increased power tends to
be more significant. The increased power is achieved through
increased length of leverage on the oar through longer limbs of the
athlete.
Rowing is a low impact activity with movement only in defined
ranges, so that twist and sprain injuries are rare. However, the
repetitive rowing action can put strain on
knee joints, the
spine and the tendons of the forearm, and
inflammation of these are the most
common rowing injuries. If one rows with poor technique, other
injuries may surface, including back pains.
History
Even since the earliest recorded references to rowing, the sporting
element has been present. An Egyptian funerary inscription of 1430
BC records that the warrior
Amenhotep
(Amenophis) II was also renowned for his feats of oarsmanship. In
the
Aeneid,
Virgil
mentions rowing forming part of the funeral games arranged by
Aeneas in honour of his father.
In the 13th century,
Venetian
festivals called regata included boat
races among others.
The first known ‘modern’ rowing races began from competition among
the professional
watermen that provided
ferry and taxi service on the
River
Thames in London. Prizes for wager races were often offered by
the London
Guilds and
Livery Companies or wealthy owners of
riverside houses.
The oldest surviving such race, Doggett's Coat and Badge was first
contested in 1715 and is still held annually from London Bridge
to Chelsea
.
During the nineteenth century these races were to become numerous
and popular, attracting large crowds. Prize matches amongst
professionals similarly became popular on other rivers throughout
Great Britain in the nineteenth century, notably on the
Tyne. In America, the earliest known race dates
back to 1756 in New York, when a pettiauger defeated a Cape Cod
whaleboat in a race.
Amateur competition in England began towards the end of the
eighteenth century.
Documentary evidence from this period is
sparse, but it is known that the Monarch Boat Club of Eton College
and the Isis Club of Westminster School
were both in existence in the 1790s. The
Star Club and Arrow Club in London for gentlemen amateurs were also
in existence before 1800.
At the University of Oxford
bumping races were first organised in 1815 when
Brasenose
College
and Jesus College
boat clubs had the first annual race while at
Cambridge
the first recorded races were in 1827.
Brasenose won Oxford University's first Head of the River and claim
to be the oldest established boat club in the world.
The Boat Race between Oxford University and
Cambridge University first took place in 1829, and was the second
intercollegiate sporting event (following the first Varsity Cricket
Match by 2 years). The interest in the first Boat Race and
subsequent matches led the town of Henley to begin hosting an
annual regatta in 1839.
Founded in
1818, Leander
Club
is the world's oldest public rowing club.
The second oldest club which still exists is the
Der Hamburger und Germania
Ruder Club which was founded 1836 and marked the beginning of
rowing as an organized sport in Germany. During the Nineteenth
Century, as in England, wager matches in North America between
professionals became very popular attracting vast crowds. The
Detroit Boat Club was established
as the first rowing exclusive club in 1839 in the US.
In 1843, the first
American college rowing club was formed at Yale
University
. The
Harvard-Yale Regatta is the
oldest intercollegiate sporting event in the United States, having
been contested every year since 1852 (excepting interruptions for
wars).
FISA
FISA, the
“Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron” in French (or the
English equivalent International Federation of Rowing
Associations) was founded by representatives from France,
Switzerland, Belgium, Adriatica (now a
part of Italy) and Italy in Turin
on 25 June
1892. It is the oldest international sports federation in
the Olympic movement.
FISA first organized a
European Rowing Championships
in 1893. An annual
World
Rowing Championships was introduced in 1962. Rowing has also
been conducted at the
Olympic Games
since
1900 (cancelled at the
first modern Games in
1896 due
to bad weather).
Equipment
Racing boat (often called "shells") are
long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order
to reduce drag to a minimum. They usually have a fin towards the
rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to increase the
effectiveness of the rudder.
Originally made from
wood, shells are now
almost always made from a
composite
material (usually
carbon-fibre reinforced
plastic) for strength and weight advantages. FISA rules specify
minimum weights for each class of boat so that no individual will
gain a great advantage from the use of expensive materials or
technology.
There are several different types of boats. They are classified
using:
- Number of rowers. In all forms of modern
competition the number is either 1, 2, 4, or 8.
- Position of coxswain (also referred to as
cox). Boats are either coxless ("straight"), bow-coxed (also called
bowloaders), or stern-coxed.
Although sculling and sweep boats are generally identical to each
other (except having different riggers), they are referred to using
different names:
- Sweep: coxless pair (or straight
pair) (2-), coxed pair (2+), Coxless four (or straight four) (4-), coxed four (4+), eight (8+) (always coxed)
- Sculling: single scull (1x),
double scull (2x), triple scull (3x)
(very rare), quad scull (4x), octuple
scull (8x) (always coxed, and mainly for juniors and
exhibition)
- Sweep/Sculling: Queep, 2 scullers and 2 sweepers (very rare)
Randan 1 sculler and 2 sweepers (very rare)
With the smaller boats, specialist versions of the shells for
sculling can be made lighter. The riggers in sculling apply the
forces symmetrically to each side of the boat, whereas in sweep
oared racing these forces are staggered alternately along the boat.
The sweep oared boat has to be stiffer to handle these unmatched
forces, so consequently requires more bracing and is usually
heavier - a pair (2-) is usually a more robust boat than a double
scull (2x) for example, and being heavier is also slower when used
as a double scull. In theory this could also apply to the 4x and
8x, but most rowing clubs cannot afford to have a dedicated large
hull which might be rarely used and instead generally opt for
versatility in their fleet by using stronger shells which can be
rigged for either sweep rowing or sculling. The symmetrical forces
also make sculling more efficient than rowing: the double scull is
faster than the coxless pair, and the quadruple scull is faster
than the coxless four.One additional boat is the 'Queep', a coxed
or non-coxed shell. The bow and stroke positions have a set of
sculling riggers and two and three have a sweep set. These shells
have been used in the UK and recently at a club in Victoria BC,
Canada.
In addition to the 'Qreep' the "Trop and the "Coxed Trop" are
become more main stream. They are mainly rowed in central Canada.
The Trop shell consists of three people where the bow has a pair of
sculling oars, and 2,3 each a sweeping oar. A Coxed Trop is the
same configuration as the trop plus a coxed seated at the stern of
the boat.
Many adjustments can be made to the equipment to accommodate the
physiques of the crew. Collectively these adjustments are known as
the boat's
rigging.
Steering
Single and double sculls are usually steered by the scullers
pulling harder on one side or the other. In other boats there is a
rudder, controlled by the coxswain, if
present, or by one of the crew. In the latter case the rudder cable
is attached to the toe of one of their shoes which can pivot about
the ball of the foot, moving the cable left or right. The steersman
may row at bow, who has the best vision when looking over their
shoulder, or on straighter courses stroke may steer, since they can
point the stern of the boat at some landmark at the start of the
course. On international courses landmarks for steersmen,
consisting of two aligned poles, are provided.
Oars
Oars are used to propel the boat. They are long (sculling:
250–300 cm; rowing 340–360 cm) poles with one flat end
about 50 cm long and 25 cm wide, called the blade.
Classic oars were made out of
wood, but modern
oars are made from
synthetic
material, the most common being
carbon
fiber.
An oar is often referred to as a "blade" in the case of sweep oar
rowing and as a "scull" in the case of sculling. A sculling oar is
shorter and has a smaller blade area than the equivalent sweep oar.
The combined blade area of a pair of sculls is however greater than
that of a single sweep oar, so the oarsman when sculling is working
against more water than when rowing sweep-oared. He is able to do
this because the body action in sculling is more anatomically
efficient.
Colours
The "spoon" of oars is normally painted with the colours of the
club to which they belong. This greatly simplifies identification
of boats at a distance.
Indoor rowing
A row of ergometers
Ergometer rowing machines (colloquially
ergs or
ergo) simulate the rowing action and provide a means of
training on land when waterborne training is restricted, and of
measuring rowing fitness. Ergometers do not simulate the lateral
balance challenges, the exact resistance of water, or the exact
motions of true rowing including the sweep of the oar handles. For
that reason ergometer scores are generally not used as the sole
selection criterion for crews, and technique training is limited to
the basic body position and movements. However, this action can
still allow a comparable workout to those experienced on the
water.
Indoor rowing has become popular as a sport in its own right with
numerous indoor competitions (and the annual World Championship
CRASH-B Sprints in Boston) during
the winter off-season.
Boat storage and boathouses
Racing boats, usually together with oars, riggers, and other
equipment for rowing, are stored in specially designed storage
areas — or boathouses. These usually consist of a long two story
building, in which the boats are stored on 'racks' (horizontal
metal [usually] bars) on the ground floor with a large door at one
end which most probably leads out to a pontoon on the river or
lakeside. Other equipment is stored around the boats. Upstairs
there is usually a gym, bar, an area for relaxation, etc. or very
rarely more storage (due to difficulties transporting cumbersome
rowing equipment upstairs). Boats are conveyed to competitions on
special trailers accommodating up to 20 boats.
Competition
Rowers may take part in the sport for their leisure or they may row
competitively. There are different types of competition in the
sport of rowing. In the U.S. all types of races are referred to as
"regattas" whereas this term is only used in the UK for
head-to-head races which take place in the summer season. Time
trials occur in the UK during the winter, and are referred to as
Head races.
Rowing is unusual in the demands it places on competitors. The
standard
world
championship race distance of 2,000 metres 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.
Side by side
Most races that are held in the spring and summer feature
side by side racing also
called a regatta - all the boats start at the same time from a
stationary position and the winner is the boat that crosses the
finish line first. The number of boats in a race typically varies
between two (which is sometimes referred to as a 'dual race') to
six, but any number of boats can start together if the course is
wide enough.
The standard length races for the Olympics and the
World Rowing Championships is
2,000 m long, 1,500 m - 2,000 m for U.S. High School
races on the east coast and 1,000 m for Masters rowers (rowers
older than 27). However the race distance can and does vary from
'dashes' or 'sprints', which may be 500 m long, to races of
marathon or ultra-marathon length races such as the '
Tour du Léman' in Switzerland which is
160 km, and the 2 day, 185 km Corvallis to Portland
Regatta held in Oregon, USA. In the UK, regattas are generally
between 500 m and 2,000 m long.
Two
traditional non-standard distance races are the annual Boat Race between Oxford
and Cambridge
and the Harvard-Yale Boat Race which cover
courses of approximately four miles (roughly 6.5 km).
The
Henley Royal Regatta is
also raced upon a non-standard distance at 1 mile,
550 yards (2,112 meters).
In general, multi-boat competitions are organized in a series of
rounds, with the fastest boats in each heat qualifying for the next
round. The losing boats from each heat may be given a second chance
to qualify through a
repechage. The World
Rowing Championships offers multi-lane racing in heats, finals and
repechages. At Henley Royal Regatta two crews compete side by side
in each round, in a straightforward
knock-out format, with no
repechages.
Head races
Head races are
time trial / processional races that take place
from autumn (fall) to early spring (depending on local conditions).
Boats begin with a rolling start at
interval of 10–20 seconds, and are
timed over a set distance. Head courses usually vary in length from
2,000 m to 12,000 m, though there are longer races such
as the
Boston Rowing
Marathon.
The
oldest, and arguably most famous, head race is the Head of the River Race, founded by
Steve Fairbairn in 1926 which takes
place each March on the river Thames in
London
, United Kingdom. Head racing was
exported to the United States in the 1950s, and the Head of the Charles Regatta held each
October on the Charles River in
Boston,
Massachusetts
, USA
is now the
largest rowing event in the world.
These processional races are known as 'Head Races', because, as
with bumps racing, the fastest crew is awarded the title 'Head of
the River' (as in 'head of the class'). It was not deemed feasible
to run bumps racing on the Tideway, so a timed format was adopted
and soon caught on.
Time trials are sometimes used to determine who competes in an
event where there is a limited number of entries, for example the
qualifying races for Henley Royal Regatta, and "rowing on" and
"getting on" for the Oxford and Cambridge
Bumps races respectively.
Bumps races
A third
type of race is the bumps
race, as held in Oxford (known as Torpids and Summer
Eights), Cambridge (known as the Lent
Bumps and the May Bumps), between the
London medical and Veterinary schools (the United Hospitals Bumps)
on the Tideway
and at Eton College and Shrewsbury School
(which are the only schools in Britain to continue
this tradition). 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 overtakes or makes physical contact with
the crew ahead, a
bump is awarded. As a result damage to
boats and equipment is common during bumps racing. To avoid damage
the cox of the crew being bumped may concede the bump before
contact is actually made. The next day, the bumping crew will start
ahead of any crews that have been 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 Universities hold bumps races for
their respective colleges twice a year, and there are also
Town
Bumps races in both cities, open to non-university crews.
Oxford's races are organised by City of Oxford Rowing Club and
Cambridge's are organised by the
Cambridgeshire Rowing
Association.
Stake races
The stake format was often used in early American races.
Competitors line up at the start, race to a stake, moored boat, or
buoy some distance away, and return. The 180° turn requires mastery
of steering. These races are popular with spectators because one
may watch both the start and finish. Usually only two boats would
race at once to avoid collision. The Green Mountain Head Regatta
continues to use the stake format but it is run as a head race with
an interval start. A similar type of racing is found in UK coastal
rowing, where a number of boats race out to a given point from the
coast and then return fighting rough water all the way.
World championships and Olympics
The
Olympic Games are held every four
years, where only select boat classes are raced (14 in
total):
- Men: quad scull, double scull, single scull, eight, coxless
four, and coxless pair
- Lightweight Men: coxless four and double scull
- Women: quad scull, double scull, single scull, eight, and
coxless pair
- Lightweight Women: double scull
At the end of each year, the
FISA holds
the World Rowing Championships with events in 22 different boat
classes. Athletes generally consider the Olympic classes to be
"premier" events and are more interested in rowing in these than at
the World Championships. During Olympic years only non-Olympic
boats compete at the World Championships.
Rules of racing
There are many differing sets of rules governing racing and these
are generally defined by the governing body of the sport in a
particular country. In England and Wales this is the
British Rowing, Australia this is
Rowing Australia and the U.S. USRowing sets
the rules. In international competition the rules are set out by
the world governing body
FISA. The rules may vary slightly but are generally very
similar. The main notable difference between British Rowing rules
and FISA rules is that coxes are not required to wear buoyancy aids
in international events governed by FISA, whereas they are required
to wear one at all times under the British Rowing rules.
The crew
In all boats, with the exception of single sculls, each rower is
numbered in sequential order, low numbers at the bow, up to the
highest at the stern. The person seated on the first seat is called
the bowman, or just 'bow', whilst the rower closest to the stern is
called the 'strokeman' or just 'stroke'. There are some exceptions
to this - some UK coastal rowers, and in France, Spain, and Italy
rowers number from stern to bow.
In addition to this, certain crew members have other titles and
roles. In an 8+ the stern pair are responsible for setting the
stroke rate and rhythm for the rest of the boat to follow. The
middle four (sometimes called the "engine room" or "power house")
are usually the less technical, but more powerful rowers in the
crew, whilst the bow pair are the more technical and generally
regarded as the pair to set up the balance of the boat. They also
have most influence on the line the boat steers.
In most levels of rowing there are different weight classes -
typically "open" or "heavyweight" and lightweight (discussed
below). Competitive rowing favours tall, muscular athletes due to
the additional leverage height provides in pulling the oar through
the water as well as the explosive power needed to propel the boat
at high speed. Open or heavyweight rowers of both sexes tend to be
very tall, broad-shouldered, have long arms and legs as well as
tremendous cardiovascular capacity and very low body fat ratios.
Olympic or International level heavyweight male oarsmen are
typically anywhere between 6'3" and 6'9" (190 cm to
206 cm) tall with most being around 6'6" (198 cm) and
weighing approximately 225 lb (102 kg) with about 6 to 7% body
fat. Heavyweight women are slightly shorter at around 6'1"
(180 cm) and lighter than their male counterparts.
Lightweights
Unlike most other non-combat sports, rowing has a special weight
category called
lightweight (Lwt for short). According to
FISA, this weight category was introduced "to encourage more
universality in the sport especially among nations with less
statuesque people". The first lightweight events were held at the
World Championships in
1974 for men and
1985 for women. Lightweight
rowing was added to the Olympics in
1996.
At international level the limits are:
- Men: Crew average 70 kg (154 lb) - no rower over
72.5 kg (159.84 lb)
- Women: Crew average 57 kilograms (125 lb) - no rower
over 59 kg (130 lb)
Olympic lightweight boat classes are limited to:
- Men's double (LM2x)
- Men's four (LM4-)
- Women's double (LW2x)
At the junior level (especially in the United States), most
regattas require each rower to weigh in two hours before their
race; they are usually given at least two chances to make weight.
For juniors in the United States, the lightweight cutoff for men is
155–160 lbs; for women, it is 130 lbs.
Women
For most of its history, rowing has been a male dominated sport.
Although
rowing's roots as a sport in the modern Olympics can be traced back
to the original 1896 games in
Athens
, it was not
until the 1976 Summer Olympics
in Montreal
that women were allowed to participate — well after
their fellow athletes in similar sports such as swimming, athletics, cycling, and canoeing.
Despite its male domination, women's rowing can be traced back to
the early 1800s, and an image of a women's double scull race made
the cover of
Harper's Weekly in
1870. The 19th Century Cornish rower
Ann
Glanville achieved national celebrity; her all-women crew often
winning against the best male teams. In 1927, the first rowing
event for women between Oxford and Cambridge was held. For the
first few years it was an exhibition, and it later became a race.
Ernestine Bayer, called the "Mother
of Women's Rowing", formed the Philadelphia Girls Rowing Club in
1938.
In 1954, the first women's events were added to the
European Rowing Championships.
In 1988, the first
Henley Women's
Regatta was held. Henley Royal Regatta first included a women's
singles event over the full course in 1993, followed in 2000 by
eights (now
Remenham Challenge
Cup) and 2001 by quadruple sculls (now
Princess Grace Challenge Cup).
On April
27 1997, one of the last bastions of rowing was breached when, at
an Extraordinary General Meeting, Leander Club voted to admit women as members. This rule
met a condition imposed by
UK Sport and
qualified Leander to receive a £1.5 million grant for
refurbishment from the Lottery Sports Fund.
At the international level, women's rowing traditionally has been
dominated by Eastern European countries, such as Romania, Russia,
and Bulgaria, although other countries such as Germany, the
Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand often field competitive teams.
The United States also has had very competitive crews, and in
recent years these crews have become even more competitive given
the surge in women's
collegiate rowing due to
Title IX. Because Title IX mandates equal
money spent on men's and women's sports, rowing is particularly
useful due to the extremely high costs of equipment per athlete.
Therefore, many schools open a rowing program only to women to
financially counteract the prevalence of men's sports. In the
United States, it is important to note that Women's Rowing is a
NCAA sport, while Men's Rowing is not (although some colleges stick
to the guidelines set forth by the organization).
Adaptive athletes
Adaptive rowing is a special category of races for those with
physical disabilities. Under FISA rules there are 5 boat classes
for adaptive rowers; mixed (2 men and 2 women plus cox) LTA (Legs,
Trunk, Arms), mixed intellectual disability (2 men and 2 women plus
cox) LTA (Legs, Trunk, Arms), mixed (1 man and 1 woman) TA (Trunk
and Arms), and men's and women's AS (Arms and Shoulders). Events
are held at the World Rowing Championships and were also held at
the
2008 Summer
Paralympics.
Terminology and event nomenclature
Rowing events use a systematic
nomenclature for the naming of events, so
that age, gender, ability and size of boat can all be expressed in
a few numbers and letters. The first letter to be used is 'L' or
'Lt' for lightweight. If absent then the crew is open weight. This
can be followed by either a 'J' or 'B' to signify junior (under 19
years) or under 23 years respectively. If absent the crew is open
age (the letter 'O' is sometimes used). Next is either an 'M' or
'W' to signify if the crew are men or women. Then there is a number
to show how many athletes are in the boat (1,2,4 or 8). An 'x'
following the number indicates a sculling boat. Finally either a +
or - is added to indicate whether the boat is coxed or
coxswainless.
Some events will use an experience rating to separate races. In the
UK boats are classed as "Elite", "Senior", "Intermediate 1/2/3" or
"Novice", depending on the number of wins the athletes have
accumulated. Masters events use age ranges to separate crews of
older rowers.
Examples:
- M8+ or 8+ men's eight (Always coxed. Sometimes written
as 8o for "8-oared".)
- W4- women's coxless four (or "straight four")
- LM2- lightweight men's coxless pair
- BM1x men's single sculls under age 23
- JW4x junior women's quad
- Masters WC2x masters women's double sculls with average
crew age between 43-50
- Mixed Masters 8+ coxed eight with 4 women and 4 men as
rowers and a coxswain of either gender
See also
- International Rowing Federation events
- College/university rowing
- Categories
Notes
- Leander Club: Home Page
- Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club
-
http://www.sense-of-place.co.uk/AnnGlanville/previewFlash.html
External links
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