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First Competition: March 20th, 2010: Durham Indoor Rowing Trials.  See www.raleighrowing.org for more details.


Rowing Terms

Coxswain Commands

"Backing" A backwards stroke used to turn a boat or back a boat into starting blocks. Coxies will call for picking, touching, or any length of backwards strokes.
"Check it" A command sometimes used to get all oars on starboard or port to hold water causing the boat to turn.
"Number Off" The command the coxie uses to confirm with each rower that they are ready to row. From bow to stern, each rower calls their number when they’re ready.
"Pick it / Picking" A rapid stroke where rowers use only their arms and use minimal pressure. An effective and impressive way to turn a boat when done right.
"Swing it" A command used when carrying a boat to start turning either bow or stern.
"Touch it / Touching" A stroke where rowers use only their arms and back. Used mostly for warm-up or to turn a boat.

Rowing Terms

Body Angle Amount of forward lean of rower’s body from hips at the catch.
Bow Loader A shell with four rowers, each using one sweep oar, and a cox laying down in the bow.
Bowman The rower seated closest to the bow of the boat.
Catch The point in the stroke cycle at which the blade enters the water.
Check Describes an undesirable bobbing motion of the rowing shell at the catch or finish that interrupts the boat’s momentum
Coxed Four A shell with four rowers, each using one sweep oar, and a cox
Coxed Pair A shell with two rowers, each using one sweep oar, and a cox. Rare in North America.
Coxswain (“Cox”) Member of the crew who sits stationary in the boat facing the bow. While the coxswain’s main job is to steer the shell with a tiny rudder he or she also calls the race strategy and helps motivate the crew.
Crab A dastardly accident when a rower loses control of his or her oar. The blade gets trapped in the water by the momentum of the boat and the oar handle flies backwards either over the rower’s head or striking the rower’s chest. In extreme cases the rower can be thrown from the boat.
Double A boat with two rowers where each uses two sculling oars (sculls).
Eights A shell with eight rowers, each using one sweep oar, and a cox.
Feathering The turning of the oar after the blade is extracted making it parallel to the water.
Finish The last part of the drive in the stroke cycle. The point when the rower pulls the oar to the body with the arms and then extracts the blade from the water.
FISA Abbreviation for Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron, the international governing body for rowing established in 1892.
Layback Amount of backward lean of a rower’s body at the finish of the drive. Optimally 15º.
Leg Drive Power applied to the stroke, at the catch, by the force of driving the legs down. Often heard being yelled from the coach boat.
Pair A shell with two rowers, each using one sweep oar. Steered with a rudder attached to a rower’s foot.
Puddles “Footprints” in the water made by the oars. Little whirlpools.
Quad A shell with four rowers each with two sculling oars (sculls).
Rate Number of strokes per minute being rowed by the crew. This usually varies from 42 to 48 on the start, 34 to 40 during the body and 40 to 44 at the finish. Smaller shells do not rate as high as eights and the quads.
Recovery The phase of the stroke cycle from release to catch when the rower is moving towards the stern of the shell in preparation for the next stroke.
Release Part of the stroke cycle when the blade is extracted from the water.
Repechage The “second chance” race given to those crews which fail to qualify for the finals from an opening heat. “Rep” qualifiers move onto semi-finals or finals depending on the number of entries. Used in international racing.
Rigger An attachment to the gunwale to hold the oar in place as it rotates through the stroke. Modern shells use out-riggers that hold the oar away from the gunwale (upper edge of the side of the boat) and provide greater leverage than one would have in a fishing boat.
Rudder Steering device at the stern of the shell controlled through cables and ropes.
Run The distance the shell moves during one stroke. Measured by looking for the distance between puddles made by the same oar.
Rushing the Slide When a crew or rower moves too quickly towards the catch after a rushed finish. Very bad yet very common technique that causes check in the boat.
Scullers / Sculling Rowers who row with two oars each.
Single A shell with one rower using two sculling oars (sculls). One is the loneliest number.
Skying Term used to describe a blade that is too high off the surface of the water during the recovery. The rower’s hands are too low causing an upset to the balance of the boat (the “set”).
Straight Four A boat with four rowers where each uses one sweep oar. One of the rowers steers the boat with a rudder connect to their footstop with cables.
Stroke / Stroke Seat The rower sitting closest to the stern. The stroke sets the rhythm for the rest of the crew to follow.
Sweep Boats in which the rowers each use a single sweep oar. A sweep oar is longer than a sculling oar and has a bigger blade.
Swing That hard-to-define feeling when perfect synchronization of motion occurs thus enhancing performance. When a crew “gels.”
Washing Out When the blade comes out of the water early causing the blade to miss water. The blade should remain in the water from catch to release.