
There are many reasons I suppose.
One view ...
`Karen rowed for what the venerable American shell builder George Pocock called `the symphony of motion.' As dawn breaks over the river, the shell is lifted from its rack out into the morning. On another rack the oars hang ready to be greased and slipped into the locks. Then, awakened to the river and the feel of the oars, the oarsmen blend in fulfilment of the shell. The symphony is not of competition. It is the synchronous motion over water, the harmonic flexing of wood and muscle, where each piece of equipment and every oarsman is both essential to, and the limit of motion itself.'
- The Shell Game (Stephen Kiesling)
And yet another view ... from an article by Brad Lewis in whichhe describes his feelings near the end of the singles final racethat would determine who would represent the U.S. in the 1984Olympic singles competition:
'I led by three or four feet, with Biggy (John Biglow) surging closer on each stroke. I hated him in those last few seconds; he was the only reason my guts were being strewn over the water like an oil slick ... I pressed one last time, and looked at the finish-line flagman. In that instant the flag jumped down and then up. The up stroke, identifying the second place finisher, was for me. John Biglow was the victor. I stared into the green-brown water watching my bloody soul drop through the depths, slowly rocking back and forth, occasionally glinting in the light, and then finally disappearing.'
- from ROW magazine `Death at the Single Trials'
The boats (or shells) are basically of two types and reflectthe two forms of rowing---sweep rowing and sculling. In sweep rowing each rower handles a single oar (about 12.5 ft or 3.9 m long) in sculling a rower uses two oars, or sculls, (each about 9.5 ft or 3 m long). The word shell is often used in reference to the boats used because the hull is only about 1/8" to 1/4" thick to make it as light as possible. These shells are also rather long and racing shells are as narrow as possible while recreational ones can be rather wide. Most shells today are made of composite materials such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, or kevlar. A few manufacturers still build wooden boats.
Each rower has his back to the direction the shell is moving and power is generated using a blended sequence of the rower's legs, back and arms. The rower sits on a sliding seat with wheels on a track called the slide.
Each oar is held in a U-shaped swivel (oarlock) mounted on a metal pin at the end of a rigger. The rigger is an assembly of tubes that is tightly bolted to the body of the shell.The exception to this are some european recreational boats called "inriggers" which have the oarlock attach directly on the gunwale. The subtypes of rowing shells are classified according to the number of rowers in the shell.
In the US, the women have an individual max only; no average. In some regattas in the US (usually head races late in the season) these limits are increased by 5 lbs.
A rowing shell is usually built with a particular weight class of rower in mind. Until just recently the Olympics effectively had only HWT classifications.
Starting with the rower at `rest' and legs fully extended with the oar blades immersed in the water perpendicular (well ... almost) to the water's surface.
What are the usual racing distances and divisions?
The races have separate divisions---Men's (M), Women's (W), heavyweight (HWT) or open, lightweight (LWT) etc., then divided up into 8+'s, 4+'s, 1x's, 2x's and so on. So for a typical regatta you might see separate races scheduled for M8+, W8+, M4+, W4+ down (or up---depends on your cup of tea) to W1x and M1x. There may be separate heavyweight and lightweight divisions that would require a weigh-in for the lightweights some time before the start of the regatta. You may also see divisons according to experience (novice, varsity), age (junior and masters) ,and skill level (senior A, B, Elite, etc.)
The standard international racing distance is 2000 meters (preferably straight) and the courrse usually has six shells racing against each other in their separate designated lanes which may or may not be marked by buoys. These races can take anywhere from 5 1/2 to 8 1/2 minutes depending on boat class, weather conditions, water current and the physical condition and experience of the rowers.
Other racing distances are 1000 meters for the older guys and gals (Masters) and 1500 meters for the Junior age division (high school). A description of the starting procedures is in a separate following section. Also, there is a match style (i.e. races with two boats head to head in a single elimination format for each division) racing at a some regattas. The Henley Royal Regatta in England comes to mind.
From J. Wangermann: The standard regatta format in the UK at club level is two-lane elimination, normally over four rounds. The reason is that all the rivers in the UK are far more narrow and twisty than in the US (e.g. the Cam, Isis, Avon, Thames above London) etc. For similar reasons, the length varies. Many regattas are two day affairs, the first day being a sprint over 500 or 600m, the second day being a long-distance affair of 800-1500 m.
(a brief description from R. Chen)
Crews are expected to be at their starting stations two minutes before the scheduled time of the race. Once the boats are locked on, the judge at start will supervise the alignment process. When all crews are level, the Starter will then poll the crews by calling their name. When all crews have been polled, the Starter raises a red flag, and says; "Attention!". After a clear pause the starter shall give the start by dropping the red flag quickly to one side and simultaneously saying: "GO".
In windy conditions, the Starter may dispense with polling the crews and use a "quick start". Here, the starter says "Attention!" and if no crew responds, immediately raises the red flag and gives the starting commands. In a FISA regatta, once the red flag is raised in a quick start, hands are no longer recognized, but in the US, the Starter will still recognize hands.
In the US, the procedure of last resort is the `countdown start.' The Starter dispenses with further polling, and counts down "5-4-3-2-1 Attention! GO!" Once the countdown starts, hands are not recognized, and the crews should use the five second countdown to point their boats.
Crews can be assessed a warning for a false start, for being late to the start, or for traffic rules violation. A crew that receives two warnings in the same race is excluded from the event.
If a crew breaks equipment in the first 100 meters of the race, it should stop rowing and signal to the umpire, who will then stop the race. Broken equipment under FISA and USRA rules does not include a crab (fausse pelle) or jumped slide.
Once the race has begun, the Umpire (Referee in US or Canada) follows in a launch. He/she will instruct a crew only to avoid a foul or safety hazard. If a crew is about to interfere with another crew, the umpire will raise a white flag, call the crew's name, and drop the flag in the direction where the crew should move. If a crew is about to hit a known obstruction (such as a bridge abutment) the umpire will raise a white flag, call the crew, and yell "Obstacle!" or simply "Stop!" If the umpire needs to stop the entire race, he will ring a bell or sound a horn, wave a red flag, and call out "Stop!" if necessary.
A crew that wishes to protest the race must raise a hand after it crosses the finish line and lodge the protest with the umpire. This must be followed by a written protest accompanied by $25.00 USD (50 Swiss Francs internationally). A jury will decide the protest after a hearing. If the hearing goes in the favor of the protest then the $25.00 is returned.
These races , which are generaly held in the fall (US) or early spring(Europe) are about 2.5-3 miles long and the boats are started in their respective divisions separately at 10 second intervals. These things are usually conducted on a river with an ass ortment of bridges and turns that can make passing quite interesting.
Note: (from M. Mccrohan): The Heads here (in Ireland) are at the start of the year, between January and the end of March, and are the long distance races that give an indication of the effectiveness of the winter's stamina training. (Remember we do not have to contend with frozen rivers etc. during the winter.) Most of our heads would be from 2-5 miles long. Our local Head here in Galway is 3.5 miles, and is held on St. Patrick's weekend ...
(As someone pointed out, this is the Cambridge version, but it should do just to get an idea of what bumps racing is about.)
The bumps are a way of racing eights. It all basically comes from rowing on a river which in most places is only just wide enough for two boats to pass.
The basic idea is simple: you get a division of 17 (or 18) boats who start in a column with 1.5 lengths of clear water between them, and when the start gun goes the aim is to bump the boat in front by making up enough distance for physical contact between the two boats. The two boats involved in the bump drop out of the race by pulling in to the side of the river and leaving the course clear for anyone behind (if the boat behind a bump catches the boat in front of a bump this is an overbump).
In the next day of racing the two crews swap start positions. There are 4 days of racing in each set of bumps, and positions are held over from year to year. Divisions are raced in reverse order (i.e. worst first) and the crew ending top of a division (because it started there and successfully `rowed over' the whole course, or because it bumped the crew who started head (top) of the division) gets to row as the 17th boat in the next division so if they bump there they move up a division the next day. The aim of the whole thing is to end up top of the 1st division `Head of the River', or to go up four places (i.e. a bump each day).
What do most rowers prefer and what does CRASH-B stand for?
`The ergometer simulates the physical demands of rowing, packaging the pains with none of the amenities that make it worthwhile ...'- from Kiesling's The Shell Game.
Most rowers use the Concept II rowing ergometer, but several other brands exist. Other brands prefered by rowers are the "Water Rower" which claims to closer simulate the feel of rowing on water and the RowPerfect. Obviously ergometers don't float, but the Concept II is probably the primary off season training device for rowers. Concept II's latest, and most common model is the Model C, but many of the older models, Model B, still exist.
Going from the `lightest' to the `heaviest' settings:
Large gear wheel/vent completely closed lightest Large gear sheel/vent completely open | Small gear wheel/vent completely closed | Small gear wheel/vent completely open heaviest
The newer Model C settings has just one vent adjustment that ranges from 1 to 10. Setting 4 is equivalent to the lightest setting of the Model B.
Most rowers include weight workouts in their training programmes.
The penultimate event of the ergometer racing season in the winter months. It's also referred to as the World Indoor Rowing Championships and is held in Cambridge/Boston area in mid February. The usual 'distance' (as measured on an electronic monitor) is 2000 meters and the winning times range from ~5:50(open men) to ~8:00 (women coxswain).The prize for a winning time is a claw hammer.
A little history from G. Knauth:
CRASH-B stands for the Charles River All-Star Has Beens, a pseudonym coined by the founders, members of the 1980 US Olympic Rowing Team. The pseudonym coined by the founders was Charles River Association of Sculling Has-Beens, later changed I'm told so as not to put off sweep rowers.
CRASH-B is an organization, headed by Kurt Somerville, that plans and runs the regatta, which takes place at Reggie Lewis Athletic Ctr. & Indoor Track, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA. Concept-II supplies the ergs and brings winners of satellite regattas to the CRASH-B Sprints. Community Rowing of Boston helps sell the ergs at a $50 discount when the regatta is over. For current information about CRASH-B and sattelite regattas, check Concept II's Website.
This is by no means meant to be complete.
Assault On Lake Casitas by Brad Lewis.
The Shell Game by Steve Kiesling.
The Amateurs by David Halberstam.
The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging by Mike Davenport.
The Complete Steve Fairbairn on Rowing by Steve Fairbairn.
Complete Book of Rowing by Steven Redgrave.
Rudern: GDR text of Oarsmanship by Dr. Herberger.
High Performance Rowing by John McArthur.
Rowing Against the Current : On Learning to Scull at Forty by Barry S. Strauss.
Mind over Water : Lessons on Life from the Art of Rowing by Craig Lambert;
Textbook of Oarmanship : A Classic of Rowing Technical Literature by Gilbert C. Bourne
The Art of Sculling by Joe Paduda(Editor) and Les Henig (Contributor)
The Book of Rowing by D. C. Churbuck
Thomas Eakins : The Rowing Pictures by Helen A. Cooper
Rowing : The Skills of the Game by Rosie Mayglothling
Rowing Fundamentals by John A. Ferriss
Rowing x-pert - an exhaustive rowing bibliography from Germany
Magazines
USRowing Magazine
201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 400
Indianapolis, IN 46225
Regatta
Amateur Rowing Association (see below)
6 Lower Mall
Hammersmith, London
W6 9DJ
Rowing
Freepost
Esher, Surrey
KT10 0BR
Ph: (0372) 467098
Independent Rowing News
PO Box 831, 4 West Wheelock St.
Hanover, NH 03755
Fax (603) 643-0606
Email: info@rowingnews.com
Who can I contact for more information?
Just about every major or not so major city I know of in Europe and in the US has at least one rowing club where a person can learn how to row. You don't have to have rowed in college to get involved in rowing. As a matter of fact a substantial percentage of currently active rowers never rowed in high school or college. Any of the National organizations listed below.should be able to provide you with with contacting a local club. See also the link to Row2K.com's list of rowing organizations worldwide in the introduction to this page.
United States Rowing Association (USRA)
201 S. Capitol Ave.
Suite 400
Indianapolis, IN 46225
Ph: (317) 237-5656
E-mail:members@usrowing.org
Masters Rowing Association
4 Kelly Drive
Boathouse Row
Philadelphia, PA 19130
877-769-4644
(FAX) 215-232-4778
E-mail:mra@mastersrowing.org
Amateur Rowing Association
--- England (ARA)
6 Lower Mall
Hammersmith
London
W6 9DJ
Ph. (081) 748 3632
Fax (081) 741 4658
Scottish ARA (SARA)
Peter Morrison, 46 Churchill Drive
Bridge of Allan
Stirling FK9 4TJ.
(h)
01786 833029,
(w) 01307 461000
Rowing Australia
3rd Floor, 224 Victoria Rd
Drummoyne, NSW 2047
Telephone: +61 2 9181 5144
Facsimile: +61 2 9181 5025
Rowing New
Zealand
P.O. Box 677br>
New Plymouth, New Zealand
Fax (06)758-0754
FISA (Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron)
3653 Oberhofen am Thunersee
Switzerland
Ph: (41) 33-435053
Craftsbury Sculling Center
(for all experience levels from beginners to advanced scullers)
Box 31-R
Craftsbury Common, VT 05827
Ph: (802) 586-7767
Northeast Sculling and Rowing School
(Bill Miller --- coordinator/director)
P.O. Box 2060
Duxbury, MA, 02331
Ph: (781) 934-6192
Email: email@rowcamp.com
Rocky Mountain Rowing Rowing Center
Lake Dillon
Frisco, Colorado
Ph: (800)766-1477
(970-)668-3174 (local)
Fax: (970)668-3032
E-mail:rowing@themanagers.com
Occoquan Boat Club Summer Camps
(For all experience levels and ages)
Phone: Angela Kerby (703)897-1043
E-Mail: nzl3@aol.com
or Ken shuster (703)525-1942
Charles River Rowing Camps
(Highschool age only)
CRRC, P.O. Box 380441
Cambridge, MA 02238-0441
E-mail: hlparker@fas.harvard.eduor eholeary@fas.harvard.edu
Lake Union Crew (Seattle WA)
(Juniors only )
Telephone:206-860-4199
All American Rowing Camp (Indiana University)
(High Schoolers )
Georgetown Rowing Academy (Washington DC)
(for boys and girls age 13-17)
Tom Sanford, Camp Director,
Mcdonough Gym
Washinton DC 20057
Phone:(202)687-443
E-mail: sanfordt@gunet.georgetown.edu
Nike Rowing Camps
(for boys and girls)
Choose from many university locations throughout the US
phone (800 ) nike camp
Pioneer Navy Rowing Camp, Marietta OH
(for Highschool athletes)
Phone: Coach John Bancheri or Coach Kelli MacCuloch at (740)376-4515
E-mail: bancherj@marietta.edu
Navy Rowing Camp for Girls, United States Naval Academy
(Girls ages 13-18)
Phone (410)293-2419
Row As One, Mout Holyoke College
(Master Women only)
Phone (781)326-4648
Email: rowasone@tiac.net
Three Rivers Rowing Assoc., Pittsburgh, PA
(Boys and girls grades 9-12)
Phone: Meredith Martin (412)231-8772
Brian Pluckrose and Rosie Mayglothling
(residential and non-residential courses, weekly sculling school)
National Water Sports Centre
Holme Pierrepont
Adbolton Lane
Nottingham
NG12 2LU
England
Tel: (0602) 821212