6.

U.S. Rowing is a main rowing organization in the U.S.

Winning a race is always a very exciting moment for a crew.

Each team has different designs and colors on their oars to help visitors pick out their favorite team while they are racing on the water.  These black and yellow oars belong to St. Andrew Rowing Club in Roswell, GA.

5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVmMd7FdAA

Ever wonder how rowing really works?  Here is a video about technique on the erg ad in the boat.

4.

Rowing can be very painful.. Rowers are motivated by the coxswain during the race, but also watch many videos as a team before races.  Here is a very motivational video about rowing. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmZmKsL5eE

3.

     Rowing is commonly mistaken for some other water sport, such as canoeing or kayaking. When ever I tell a classmate or friend that i do rowing, they make an awkward hand gesture.  "Oh, you row?  Like this?"  I often just laugh, and announce that it's too complicated to explain.  Because most of the time, it is.
     As someone who often explains the sport to novice rowers, I am aware that it takes a long time to grasp the full technique of the rowing stroke, and even longer to incorporate the power into it.  A rowing shell consists of 8, 4, 2, or 1 rower, and often, a coxswain.  A coxswain steers the boat and motivates the rowers during races and gruesome workout pieces.

     Rowing shells have speakers through out the entire boat.  They are connected through the boat.  At either the bow or stern is the coxswain seat.  The coxswain connects their cox-box to the boat through a wire.  This will allow the coxswain to see how long the rowers have been rowing, how many strokes they have taken, and the stroke rate of the boat.  The connect a headset with a microphone to this contraption, allowing their voice to be easily heard from bow to stern.  I know the job of a coxswain sounds easy, and physically, it usually is.  As a coxswain, I can tell you it is mentally challenging and keeps you on the edge of your seat, literally

    

 

      This is a diagram of a rowing shell.  Rowers row backwards, making port, starboard, bow and stern different from sailing and other boating activities.  Each seat has a number, and the oars generally alternate directions.  The boats are very long.  They have a sliding seat which the rowers sit on, and kick off of a foot stretcher, with connected shoes to take a stroke.

2.

     Practicing rowing is just as hard as rowing on the water is.  It is hard to determine how well a person is doing, aside from technique, while they are on the water.  Rowing teams have land days, which can make or break a rower's place in the line ups.
     Of course, on land days, athletes run.  Running for rowing is crucial, because the legs are the first muscle used in each stroke.  A rower with strong legs will out-pull a rower with strong biceps, because of the way each stroke is taken; legs, back, then arms.
     Another land day workout include the dreaded ergometer. To first-time athletes, the erg typically seems "fun" in a way.  But as the workouts progress, technique of the athlete improves, and comprehension of the workout increases, the erg becomes the worst enemy of every rower.
 
  
     This simple machine looks like every other work-out machine.  And to those looking for just a work out, it may be.  But to an athlete on a rowing team, this is what determines your fate at each race.  Coaches can't see how hard a rower is actually pulling when the team practices on the water.  On the erg, it gives you exact numbers, and the lower an athlete gets their split, the lower they want it to go.  In rowing, once a goal is reached, you give yourself a new goal.

 1:29.8.  That's the average split on this rower's piece.  It means they took one minute, and twenty-nine seconds to pull 500 meters.  The number in the top right corner, 45, is the average stroke rate.  That means they take 45 strokes per minute.  Of course, the athlete who had accomplished this must be an experienced rower, because the split is very low, and takes years for one to achieve.

      Rowers all come together each spring for erg sprints.  The picture above is of Atlanta Junior Rowing Club and Saint Andrew Rowing Club, at the annual Georgia Tech erg sprints.  This event kicks of the Southeast spring rowing season each year.  It is probably one of the most dreaded events in the sport, but one of the most exciting as well. 

1.

 

This blog is about rowing.