Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on river, lakes, sea, or other large body of water, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the athletes levering the boat through the water with oars. The sport can be both recreational, focusing on learning the techniques required, and competitive where overall fitness plays a large role.

 

Whilst rowing, the athelte 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). It is a demanding sport requiring balance as well as physical strength and cardiovascular endurance.

 

The standard race length for the Olympic Games and the World Rowing Championships is 2,000 meters, 1,500 meters for U.S. High School races and 1,000 meters for Masters rowers (rowers older than 27).

 

Rowing is unusual in the demands it places on competitors. The race distance of 2,000 meters 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 rower’s lungs, limiting the amount of oxygen available to them. This requires rowers to tailor their breathing to the stroke, typically inhaling and exhailing twice per stroke, unlike most other sports such as cycling where competitors can breathe freely.

 

There are two forms of rowing. In “sweep” or “sweep-oar” rowing, each rower has one oar, held in both hands. This is done in pairs, fours and eights. Each rower in a sweep boat is referred to either as “port” (aka “strokeside”) or “starboard” (aka “bowside”), depending on which side of the boat the rower’s oar extends to.

 

In “sculling”, each rower has two oars (one in each hand). “Sculling” is usually done in doubles, quardruples, or singles without a coxswain. The oar in his or her right hand extends to the port side, and the oar in his or her left hand extends to starboard.

 

Oars are used to propel the boat. They are long (250-300 cm) poles with one flat end about 50 cm long and 25 cm wide, called the “blade”. 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. Classic oars were made out of wood, but modern oars are made from synthetic material – the most common being carbon fiber.

In flatwater rowing, the racing boat is also called a “shell” or “fine boat”. The “shell” or “fine boat” is long, narrow, and semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag to a minimum. Originally made from wood, it is now almost always made from a composite material – usually carbon-fiber reinforced plastics for strength and weight advantages.