Boat positions

Last updated November 28, 2023

In the sport of rowing, each rower is numbered by boat position in ascending order from the bow to the stern (with the exception of single sculls). The person who is seated on the first seat is always the 'bow', the closest to the stern is commonly referred to as the 'stroke'. There are some exceptions to this: Rowers in continental Europe number from stern up to bow (not in the Netherlands, there numbering is also from bow, no.1, to stern , no. 8 in an 8). Certain crew members have other informal titles and roles. Stroke seat in most cases is responsible for keeping pace for the boat, while the coxswain is responsible for the steering of the boat.

Rowers

Examples are given for the largest common boat, the sweep oar eight (which is always coxed), but the same principles apply to smaller boats, sculling boats, and coxless boats.

Stern pair

The "stroke" is the rower closest to the stern of the boat and usually the most competitive rower in the crew. Everyone else follows the stroke's timing - placing their blades in and out of the water at the same time as stroke. The stroke can communicate with the coxswain (when in a stern coxed boat) to give feedback on how the boat feels. During a race, it is the stroke's responsibility to establish the crew's rate (number of strokes per minute) and rhythm. (In coxed boats, the coxswain will assist the stroke in establishing the rate). Because of the great responsibilities, the rower in the stroke seat will usually be one of the most technically sound members of the boat, capable of setting a good rhythm. The stroke is typically the best rower in the boat.

Boat positions within an 8+ shell. BoatPositions.png — Boat positions within an 8+ shell.

The next rower ('seven' in an eight) sits directly behind stroke and is typically both fit and skilled: this rower acts as a buffer between the stroke and the rest of the crew. They closely follow the rhythm set by the stroke and help transmit this rhythm to the rest of the boat, and particularly to the rowers rowing on the same side as seven, since rowers tend to look at the blades on their side of the boat to check their timing. If the stroke increases or decreases the stroke rate it is essential that seven follows this change so that it is translated to the rest of the crew. Number seven usually watches the back of stroke so that they can time when to move up the slide and copy their rhythm. The job of seven is to emulate the rhythm of the stroke.

Middle crew

The middle rowers of a crew (numbers 2 and 3 in a four/quad, and 3, 4, 5 and 6 in an eight) are normally the most powerful and heaviest rowers, colloquially known as the Fuel Tank, Engine Room, Power House, Big Watts or Meat Wagon.^[1] The boat pitches and yaws less in the middle, and the rowers there have less effect on these movements, being closer to the centre of mass and centre of buoyancy. Therefore, the rowers in the middle of the boat do not have to be as technically sound or reactive to the movements of the boat, and can focus more on pulling as hard as they can.^[2] It is common practice among crews to put the most technically proficient rowers at the bow and stern and the physically strongest and heaviest rowers in the centre.

Bow pair

The rower closest to the bow of the boat, is usually called either "bow" or the "bowman".^[3] In coxless boats, the bow is often responsible for giving calls to the crew. The bow pair of bow and "two", who are the two rowers closest to the boat's bow, are more responsible for the stability (called "set") and the direction of the boat than any other pair of rowers, and are often very technical rowers. The bow of a stern-coxed boat is subject to the greatest amount of pitching, requiring the bow pair to be adaptable and quick in their movements.

Boats that are bow coxed rely on communication between the bow and the cox - as the cox cannot see boats coming up from behind. The bow pair tend to be the smallest of the rowers in the boat. In an 8 boat, bow pair, strength wise, is where the weaker rowers seat. Although weaker, they have some of the best technique out of the whole boat.

Steering

In coxless pairs, double sculls, quadruple sculls and coxless fours, one of the rowers will be designated to steer. He or she will control the rudder using lines attached to the toe of one shoe, which pivots around the ball of the foot. The rower who steers is chosen according to experience and the nature of the course on which the boat is rowing: bow has a clear view ahead when looking over one's shoulder, whereas stroke may be able to steer well on a straight course by pointing the stern at a reference point. A rower steering in the middle of a four or quad is not uncommon, since bow and stroke have other duties already.

Boat rigging

Traditionally a boat is organized so that alternate rowers row on port and starboard (or strokeside and bowside), with stroke on port side (having their blade to their own right) (strokeside). This is sometimes reversed, so that stroke is on the other side (having their blade to their own left); such a boat is usually described as 'bow rigged'. This is often on the basis of the abilities of the available personnel, to allow putting an experienced starboard side (bowside) rower in the stroke seat, for example but it is the norm for UK coastal rowers where racing is done clockwise around buoys. The eight in the illustration at the top of this article is rigged strokeside. If the eight were bow rigged, the oar for the stroke (number 8) rower would be on the other side of the boat (bowside or starboard).

There are other options, and in particular in fours the middle pair may row on the same side: this arrangement means that there is less yawing of the boat through the water throughout the course of the stroke, making it more efficient. The two rowers in the middle, rowing in a 'tandem', need to be well matched and synchronised to make this work (i.e. avoid clashing blades), and the bow person, rowing with a significant gap between them and stroke on their side of the boat, also needs to be able to adapt to the larger space in front of them. Recently around half of finalists in World Cup and World Championships regattas have been rigged with a tandem middle pair, though it is less common at lower levels of competition. Occasionally eights are rigged with one or more tandems: several rigs are possible.

Coxswain (cox)

Related Research Articles

Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.

Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its oars may be referred to as sculls and a person rowing it referred to as sculler.

Rowing has been part of the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1900 Games. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. Lightweight rowing events were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.

In watercraft, a racing shell is an extremely narrow, and often comparatively long, rowing boat specifically designed for racing or exercise. It is equipped with long oars, outriggers to hold the oarlocks away from the boat, and sliding seats. The boat's long length and semicircular cross-section reduce drag to a minimum. This makes the boat both fast and unstable. It must be balanced by the rowers to avoid tipping. Being able to balance – or "set" – the boat while putting maximum effort into the oars is therefore an essential skill of sport rowing.

In competitive rowing, the following specialized terms are important in the corresponding aspects of the sport:

A bowloader or bow-coxed shell is a racing shell in which the coxswain lies semi-supine in the bow, as opposed to the normal seated position at the stern.

In a rowing crew, the coxswain is the member who does not row but steers the boat and faces forward, towards the bow. The coxswain is responsible for steering the boat and coordinating the power and rhythm of the rowers. In some capacities, the coxswain is responsible for implementing the training regimen or race plan. Most coaches cannot communicate to boat/coxswain, so the coxswain is the "coach" in the boat. A coxswain is necessary in the first place because the rowers sit with their backs to the direction of travel.

A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars.

Conrad Christian Robertson is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Boats used in the sport of rowing may be adjusted in many different ways according to the needs of the crew, the type of racing, and anticipated rowing conditions. The primary objective of rigging a boat is to accommodate the different physiques and styles of rowing of the crew in such a way that the oars move in similar arcs through the water, thus improving the crew's efficiency and cohesiveness.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coxed four</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coxless four</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain.

A coxed pair, abbreviated as a 2+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain (cox).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eight (rowing)</span> Boat class used in competitive rowing

An eight, abbreviated as an 8+, is a racing shell used in competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox".

In rowing, the bow is the rower seated closest to the bow of the boat, which is the forward part of the boat. The other end of the boat is called the stern, and the rower seated there is called the stroke. In a bow-coxed boat, the coxswain is closest to the boat's bow, but the rower closest to the bow is still considered the "bow."

In rowing, the stroke is the rower seated closest to the stern of the boat. In the United Kingdom, the "stroke side" is the port side of the boat, because sweep rowing boats are usually rigged such that the stroke is on the port side of the boat.

Sweep rowing is one of two disciplines of the sport of rowing. In sweep rowing each rower has one oar, usually held with both hands. As each rower has only one oar, the rowers have to be paired so that there are equal numbers of oars on each side of the boat. In the United Kingdom, rowing generally refers to sweep rowing only. The term pulling was also used historically. In the other rowing discipline, sculling, each rower holds two oars, one in each hand.

An octuple sculling shell, often simply called an oct and abbreviated as an 8x or 8x+, is a racing shell used in the sport of rowing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stern sculling</span> Rowing technique

Stern sculling is the use of a single oar over the stern of a boat to propel it with side-to-side motions that create forward lift in the water. The strict terminology of propulsion by oar is complex and contradictory, and varies by context. Stern sculling may also simply be referred to as "sculling", most commonly so in a maritime situation. In fresh water, and particularly in sport rowing, sculling is use of two oars on either side of the boat by each person, in contrast to sweep rowing, whereby each boat crew member employs a single oar, complemented by another crew member working on the opposite side with their oar.

References

↑ "How the eight works". 2006-03-27. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
↑ "Who sits where in a rowing eight?". British Rowing. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
↑ "Capital Crew Boosters". Capital Crew Boosters. Retrieved 2022-02-03.

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[1] "How the eight works". 2006-03-27. Retrieved 2022-02-03.

[2] "Who sits where in a rowing eight?". British Rowing. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-03.

[3] "Capital Crew Boosters". Capital Crew Boosters. Retrieved 2022-02-03.

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