Rowing stroke

Last updated October 06, 2024

Man rowing in slow pace typical for long distances

In rowing (sport), the stroke is the action of moving the oar through the water in order to propel the boat forward. The two fundamental reference points in the stroke are the catch where the oar blade is placed in the water,^[1] and the extraction (also known as the 'finish', 'release' or 'tapping down') where the oar blade is removed from the water.^[2] After the blade is placed in the water at the catch, the rower applies pressure to the oar levering the boat forward which is called the drive phase of the stroke.^[3] Once the rower extracts the oar from the water, the recovery phase begins, setting up the rower's body for the next stroke.^[4]

Stages of a stroke

Drive

The drive is the phase from the catch to the extraction.

As soon as the oar blade is placed in the water at the catch, the rower begins to lever the boat past the blade by straightening the legs while the body remains leaned forward and the arms straight. This is called the leg drive.
The rower continues pushing with the legs while beginning to apply additional power by opening up his or her back towards the bow of the boat.
After the rower completes the leg drive, the rower finishes opening up his or her back towards the bow while at the same time using his or her arms to pull the oar(s) to his chest. This is called the draw. First, the shoulders heave, then the elbows bend. Often the shoulder heave is omitted, and power is wasted or lost
The rower pushes the oar handle down so the oar blade comes out of the water.
Just as the oar blade is being removed from the water, the rower rotates the oar handle 90 degrees so that the blade is again parallel to the water. This action is referred to as feathering.
At this point the rower is in the same position as the beginning, torso leaning back, hands drawn in to the body, and legs extended.

Leg muscles are the main source of power in a stroke providing 60%

Recovery

The recovery follows the drive and returns the oar and the rower from the point of extraction to the catch.

Just after the extraction (or finish) with the oar out of the water and the face of the blade parallel to the water (the blades are "feathered"). The rower has legs straight, body leaning back, and arms pulled in so that the oar handle is a few inches from the solar plexus. This is the beginning of what is called the recovery or the slide.
The rower extends the arms fully forward (toward the stern) pushing the oar away from his or her body while, at the same time, keeping the oar at a constant height with his or her legs straight, and torso leaning back.
The rower leans the body forward to around 30 degrees past vertical, continuing to keep the oar level, not bending the knees and keeping the back straight. This stage of the recovery is sometimes referred to as "body prep".
The rower bends the legs, bringing the sliding seat forward (i.e. toward the stern) on its rollers, while the oar remains level.
While continuing to slide the seat forward, the rower rotates the oar handle(s), causing the face of the blade to be perpendicular to the water. This is called squaring or rolling up the blade. This, depending on the rower's technique, begins approximately when the oar handle(s) pass over the ankles.
When the rower reaches the sternmost point of the slide, the end of the recovery, and the shins are vertical, the blade is quickly and smoothly dropped into the water by a slight lifting of the hands. This is called the catch.

Sweep vs sculling

Sweep rowers (one oar per person) and scullers (two oars, one in each hand) have similar stroke styles, with some differences to accommodate the number of oars held by the rower. The most notable difference is that the oar handles overlap in sculling at the midpoint of the drive, and again during the recovery. This requires the sculler to cross one hand over (left over right) and/or in front of the other hand to avoid the oar handles colliding. While sculling is a fully symmetrical movement (with exception of the handle overlap), sweep oar rowing is slightly asymmetrical and many rowers strongly prefer one side to the other.

Also, sweep oar rowers usually feather and square the oar with the inside hand (the one closer to the rowlock), allowing the handle to turn within the outside hand, whose wrist remains flat throughout. This is obviously not possible in sculling, and scullers tend to feather and square by holding the oar handle in the extended fingers when feathered, and rolling it into the palm of the hand to square it, the wrist remaining flat throughout.

The average speed of a boat increases with the crew size and sculling boats are slightly faster than the equivalent sweep boats.

Local differences

The rowing stroke differs slightly depending on location and coaching technique and especially the coach. Differences (especially between experienced rowers) are only marginal and can often only be seen by detailed video-analysis. For example, sometimes the Canadian eight team used a style where the body was swung more during the drive.

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Rowing, often 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 rowlocks, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddle</span> Tool for paddling boats or mixing ingredients

A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end, used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by pushing water in a direction opposite to the direction of travel. It is different from an oar in that the latter is attached to the watercraft via a fulcrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oar</span> Implement used for water-borne propulsion

An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.

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 is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically attached to the boat, and the rower drives the oar like a lever, exerting force in the same direction as the boat's travel; while paddles are completely hand-held and have no attachment to the boat, and are driven like a cantilever, exerting force opposite to the intended direction of the boat.

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:

In rowing, oars are used to propel the boat. Oars differ from paddles in that they use a fixed or sliding fulcrum, an oarlock or rowlock attached to the side of the boat, to transfer power from the handle to the blade, rather than using the athlete's shoulders or hands as the pivot-point as in canoeing and kayaking.

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.

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

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

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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">Human-powered watercraft</span>

Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power or an engine.

PR3 4+ is a Paralympic rowing classification. The classifications were developed and current as of March 2011. In 2017 the designation was changed from LTA to PR3.

<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

↑ The catch ^[usurped]; the last part of the recovery , where the oars are placed into the water.
↑ The extraction ^[usurped]; the end of the drive, where the oars are taken out of the water.
↑ The drive ^[usurped]; when the oars are in the water, and power is applied to move the boat.
↑ The recovery ^[usurped]; when the oars are out of the water, and the preparation for the catch occurs

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[1] The catch ^[usurped]; the last part of the recovery , where the oars are placed into the water.

[2] The extraction ^[usurped]; the end of the drive, where the oars are taken out of the water.

[3] The drive ^[usurped]; when the oars are in the water, and power is applied to move the boat.

[4] The recovery ^[usurped]; when the oars are out of the water, and the preparation for the catch occurs

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