General rowing terms:
Blade: the flattened portion at the oar's end. Also can refer to the entire oar.
Blisters: What you get when you grip the oar too tightly, especially when it's wet. Band-Aids come off while rowing; try athletic tape or New Skin.
Bow: front of the boat (seat #1).Bow pair: seats # 1-2.
Button, or Collar: flat edge on oar sleeve that must stay against oarlock while rowing.
Catch: The position of the body when the hands and seat are furthest forward (the oar is dropped into the water and you begin the drive).
Coxswain ("cox'n"; cox): the person who steers and gives commands to the rowers; usually seated in the back of the boat facing forward.
Drive: The work portion of the stroke, when you are pushing with your legs, then pulling with your back and arms.
Ergometer (erg): a device that measures work. The rowing machine (for example, the Concept II Indoor Rower) is also called a rowing ergometer because it measures your work output while you row.
Four: a boat with 4 sweep rowers and a cox. Eights have 8 sweep rowers and a cox.
Finish: The position of the body when the seat is at the back end of the slide and the handle is close to the body, having just completed the drive. (when you get to the finish, you press down with outside hand to lift blade, THEN feather, THEN hands-away.)
Foot Stretchers: In the boat, the part which supports your feet.
Forward Body Angle: The forward position of the upper body during the recovery and at the beginning of the drive. About 15 degrees.
Gunwale ("gun'l): the side edge of the boat, the only place to hold when lifting the boat.
Hypercompression: Excessive leg compression (hyperflexion of the knee) before the catch, defined as when the seat comes within 6 inches of the heels or when the shins go beyond vertical (leaning too far forward). Avoid this.
Layback: The position of the upper body at the finish of the stroke. The upper body should lean slightly backward, up to 10 degrees back from vertical “into the bow”.
Oarlock: square ring with hinged gate on end of rigger; holds oar in place. Left to loosen, right to tighten. Keep closed whenever possible.
Pace: A measure of the effort put into each stroke. Ergs display pace in terms of how long it would take you to row 500 meters ("splits").
Paddling: Rowing very easily with low stroke rate and low intensity, a restful pace.
Piece: The term used to describe a work segment, such as a "2-minute piece." Pieces may be defined in either time or distance.
Port: the left side of the boat from the coxswain's view (forward); the oar sticks out to a port-rower's right.
Race Pace: The effort you could maintain for an entire race distance. Note: your race pace for 1000 meters will be quite different from your race pace for 5000 meters.
Ratio: The ratio between the time spent on the drive part of the stroke and the time spent on the recovery. Crews spend more time on the recovery than the drive (up to 3x or 4x).
Rating: Number of strokes per minute (SPM).
Recovery: The non-drive part of the stroke, when you are moving the oar handle and then the body from the finish back to the catch position.
Rigger: metal "arms" extending from the boat to support each oar/oarlock. Can also refer to a person who adjusts boats.
Rudder: small plastic flap for steering the boat. Controlled by cables on side of cox or sometimes stroke’s foot. With most boats push right cable forward to go right.
Sculls: boats (singles, doubles, quads) using two oars per person.
Shell: boat, hollow, with sliding seats for up to eight rowers and riggings for their oars.
Ship your Blade: drawing the oar in across the boat (so the blade is against the oarlock), as opposed to “running” your blade, extending it all the way out onto the water.
Single: a one-person boat (scull). The cox must be watchful for singles (and other boats) on the river to avoid collisions.
Skeg: Fixed fin under boat for stabilization. Rudder may be mounted on it. The skeg can break off in shallow water going over rocks or tree trunks - be careful!
Slide: The rail upon which the seat slides.
Split: The work output measured at set distance or time segments during a piece. The erg can be set to display your 500 meter split for each stroke, also called the "pace."
SPM: Strokes per minute. Usually a 26-28SPM rating is ideal for a 5 Km race, or 30-32 SPM for a 2000 meter race. Higher for small crews, lower for large heavyweight crews.
Starboard ("starburd"): the right side of the boat from the coxswain's view (forward).
Stern: back of the boat, where the coxswain sits facing the rowers.
Stern pair: seats # 3 and 4 in a 4+, or 7 and 8 in an 8+.
Stroke: 1) the basic rowing motion, comprised of the catch, drive, finish, and recovery. 2) the rower in the sternmost seat, who sets the rating and rhythm for the boat.
Sweep rowing: rowing with one oar per person (in fours, pairs or eights).
Swing: The action of the upper body as it pivots at the hips during the drive, swinging from 15 deg. forward body angle through perpendicular to the 10 deg. layback position.
Weigh Enough (or Way Enough): command to stop rowing or doing whatever.
Technique-related terms:
air stroke: pulling with the blade not in the water or only partially in the water.
catching a crab: The blade gets "caught" in the water and the oar handle continues toward you, you lie down and let it go over your head, the boat stops, you recover your blade. Crabs are usually caused by technique errors, such as over-squaring the blade so it digs deeply into the water. The best way to avoid crabs is to “float your blade” and trust in the oarlock to put the blade in the correct squared position. To make this happen, use light hands (don’t hold the handle too tightly).
check (putting a check in the boat): the interruption or braking of the boat's forward momentum. Things that cause check during a race include rushing the slide and not getting forward body angle early in the recovery.
check it (down), or check it lightly: command to brake lightly. Blades are held in the water and gently turned to square. Used in landings, turning, before starts, etc.
digging, or “going deep”: The blade is too deep in the water during the drive. This affects the set, and it's hard to get the blade out cleanly at the finish. Sometimes seen with skying. The blade should not be buried under the water during the drive, but rather remain at the same depth as when the squared blade is just floating (no hands on the handle). Hence the command “float your blades.”
feathering: Rolling the blade with your inside hand (hand closest to the blade) so the blade is parallel to the water. This is done at the start of the recovery, and the blade is slowly squared again before the end of the recovery. When the blade is feathered, your wrist will be cocked down slightly. It is important that your wrist is flat during the drive when the blade is squared. Use the thumb under the oar handle to roll it up or feather it.
hanging at the catch: A pause in a rower's rhythm at the time of dropping the blade into the water. Water goes by while you hesitate, called “missing water.” This can happen when you rush the slide and get to the catch before the others. It throws off the "swing" or unified movement of the rowers. If stroke hangs, it is very hard to follow. To avoid hanging the catch, just lift your hands at the end of the recovery and gravity will drop the blade into the water quickly.
hold water, or “check it hard”: command to brake hard! Blades must be buried then turned square as forcefully as possible and oars held tightly to break the boat's momentum. Done in emergency situations.
missing water: This happens when you don't raise your hands as you come up to the catch (to let the blade fall quickly into the water). When you miss water, the first part of your stroke is actually out of the water and you lose a lot of power -that's your strong leg drive you miss out on, which is why this is important. Don't worry about making a little backsplash –if you want to move the boat, worry more about not missing water.
rushing the slide: Coming up the slide too quickly and/or accelerating up the slide. Creates momentum in the direction opposite to the where the boat is going. Whether or not you hit the front stops, rushing the slide slows the boat. Increase the stroke rating by moving the blade quickly through the water, but keep the recovery controlled.
set: the side-to-side balance of the boat. The boat should be balanced always, no rocking, and no consistent leaning down to one side! Different oar heights either in and out of the water, poor rhythm, not having simultaneous catches and finishes, and not leaning properly around the rigger all affect the set. Balance drills can improve the set.
set (the boat): command to balance the boat. Each rower keeps a constant oar handle height, thereby keeping the set/balance of the boat steady and centered. If someone is rowing behind you while you're setting, move your seat up the rails and cradle the oar handle between your knees and your body to avoid getting hit in your back.
skying: The blade is too high off the water. This strongly affects the set of the boat, and may lead to digging besides. Usually seen at the end of the recovery, when the rower lowers the hands as s/he comes up to the catch, sometimes in too bent-over a position (when tired). The rowers should instead sit up more, and raise their hands into the catch.
shooting the slide: Starting the drive with your rear end first (not the center of your back), leaving your shoulders in back behind initially. This wastes the power of your leg drive to move the boat and may strain your lower back. Think of lifting a barbell.
square: the blade is perpendicular to the water. "Rowing square blades" is rowing without feathering.
tea-bagging: slang. Just dipping the blade in the water during the drive, applying little or no effort to move the boat forward. This is basically going through the motions of rowing without doing any work. The cox and others can tell if you're tea-bagging because there won't be a puddle left on the water after your blade leaves it. Tea-baggers are basically dead weight – hence the expression “some rowed, some rode.”
weigh enough ("weigh nuf"): command for rowers to Stop! Usually given with a 2-stroke warning, as in: In two weigh enough! [rowers know what's about to happen] ONE, [said at catch; rowers complete one full stroke] TWO! [said at second catch; rowers complete this second full stroke, end at arms away, blade squared, boat balanced]. Generally after this, the cox will tell rowers And down, and the rowers feather and set the boat. In an emergency, the command is Check it hard, or Weigh enough, hold water! and you should stop whatever you're doing and hold water.
Procedure at the Boathouse
Hands on. Ready to lift, and lift. Ready to go to shoulders, and up. Ready to go overhead, and up.
From overhead, to put on slings with boat upside down: Ready to go to shoulders, and down. Ready to go to waste, and down. To slings, and down.
From overhead, to put on slings with boat rightside up: Ready to roll it, and roll it. Watch the skeg.
Procedure at the Dock
One foot to the edge, ready to roll, roll it. Watch the skeg.
Install blades with handles extending across the dock for stability.
Starbords, run your blades. One foot in, weight in, and down.
Ports, one foot in, weight in, and down.
On return to the dock: Starbords, one foot out, weight out, and up. Ports, one foot out, weight out, and up. Starbords, blades in. Open gates, remove blades. Hands on, ready to lift, and lift (straight to overhead). Walk it up the ramp.