What To Look For In Rowing
Appraising a crew is perhaps the most difficult role that the expert has to play in sports. However, according to the rowing experts, four major factors determine the run of a shell. These are: coordination, strength, endurance and determination.
Naturally, an excellent run, the distance a shell is propelled by one stroke cycle, is the effect sought by all crew coaches. So, the first thing to perceive is whether a crew makes its shell move, that is, whether it has a good or a poor run.
Coaches will say that there are a lot of good crews, but many of them row differently, that is, their form varies. However, they all agree that the good crews have excellent coordination. If the crew's coordination is off, the boat won't run. Look and see if all eight hit the catch together before the blades start the stroke. That is, do their blades all enter the water together? Also, watch the bodies of the crew to see if they all move in unison, or if there is a break. The former naturally spells results while a lack of uniformity means an additional check, therefore retarding the run. All good crews have power and drive, for it takes a certain amount of horsepower to move a given weight through water, and of course, the athletes must be in top physical condition in order to keep their strength and skill for the entire race. Crew coaches look for tall athletes because they can apply their long legs through a longer arc, getting a longer reach. However, size is not everything, especially if the individual has other prerequisites: coordination, strength, endurance and determination.
The Boats and CrewsPeople with only one oar are sweep rowers. Sweep rowers come in pairs, fours and eights and may or may not carry along a coxswain (pronounced coxn), who is the on-the-water coach and steerperson. The normal configuration of a sweep boat has oars alternating from right and left, or starboard and port. A four with coxswain (4+) a.k.a. a coxed four or a four with is four people with one oar each, plus a coxswain. An eight (8+) is eight people with one oar each, plus a coxswain. Eights always carry a coxswain. The eight is the fastest boat on the water. An elite (Olympic level) men's eight is capable of moving 13 mph.
Field of PlayCompetition usually takes place within two to seven lanes on a 2,000 meter rowing course, and sometimes other distances, e.g. 500 meters to four miles. Each lane is 13.5 meters wide. Another type of race, a head race, is generally held in the fall (U.S.) or early spring (Europe) and is about 2.5 to 3 miles long, with the boats started in their respective divisions separately at 10 second intervals. These races are usually conducted on a river with an assortment of bridges and turns that can make passing quite interesting.
The AthletePhysically, rowers resemble collegiate basketball players, tall, but not bulky. When you watch the sport, you might get the impression that upper body strength is most important, but actually, the legs are of equal significance, since that's where the stroke begins. Physiologically, rowers are superb examples of excellent conditioning. They have to be. Few sports are as physically demanding to the entire body as rowing. Only cross-country skiing and long distance speed skating ask as much from an athlete. And, since rowing a mile and a quarter in approximately six minutes places huge demands on the body's aerobic system, rowers utilize oxygen better than most other athletes.
The SportRowing is a deceiving sport to watch. The motion is so fluid, so smooth and so seemingly effortless that the agony on the athletes' faces near the end seems out of place. The last 500 meters of the race are excruciating. The energy is all gone. The muscles are burning. The body is well into oxygen debt. But the mental discipline remains, and the athletes continue, straining to synchronize each motion, and mentall counting strokes to the finish. The cross-country skier and the distance speed skater know well the pains of athletic endurance. But the skier and the skater compete alone. Only the rower has an additional burden, the knowledge that his performance affects those who sit in front and behind him. It is also a sport steeped in tradition and unabashedly proud of it. Coxswains from first place boats are still thrown in the water after the race by their teams. Winning crews earn their competitors' shirts literally off their backs. And it is a puzzling sport. seeming on the surfaceto offer little in return for the large investment it demands. Yet presidents of corporations, Rhodes Scholars and magna cum laude graduates respond, when asked what they most remember about the college years, "I rowed."
