Tag: rowing

What to wear: Sunglasses

By readyallrow February 20, 2013

Previously: What to wear: Coxswains (women) || What to wear: Coxswains (men) || What to wear: Rowers

Whether you get a cheap pair or splurge on some Oakley M-frames (#freespeed), sunglasses are a worthwhile investment. A great reason to get a cheap pair of sunglasses is so that if they got knocked into the water, it’s not like you just lost a few hundred dollars.

One thing that I’ve seen a lot people, particularly coxswains, wear with their glasses are Chums or Croakies. Croakies actually have little floater things you can attach to your glasses too so that if you do somehow manage to drop them in the water, they’ll at least float until you (or your coxswain) can grab them. If you splurged on a pair of glasses that can make the extra $10 (or less, most of the time) worth it.

Regardless of what glasses you decide to get, two features you’ll want to look for are polarized and hydrophobic lenses. Polarization protects your eyes from the sun’s glare (which we all know can be downright killer on the water) and the hydrophobic feature allows water to bead up and slide off the lens instead of just sitting there and blurring your vision.

For regular rowers, I’d say these are great extras but not necessarily “must-haves” unless you really want them. For scullers and coxswains, who heavily rely on being able to see what’s in front or behind them, definitely look into getting a pair of shades that have those features. Pro tip, your steering will be a lot more effective if you can actually see where you’re going.

Image via // @row_360

Q&A Rowing Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow February 19, 2013

I’ve been injured for about three weeks now – it’s a hip flexor strain that hurts the most toward the end of my drive. Prior to my injury I was doing extra work in addition to our team’s winter training program and really felt myself establishing a good position for spring season. Since I’ve been injured I’ve been taking a few days off, trying to come back and being too hurt to finish a workout and then proceeding to take a few days off again. It’s a cycle. Recently I tried taking longer off but it’s so frustrating to not be able to work out while everyone else can. I couldn’t go to CRASHBs either, which really sucks. I feel like I’m losing all the hard work I put in for months because of this injury. I hope to start to ease back into things in the next few days but we have a 2k in two weeks and I’m terrified I won’t be ready and the work I’ve done won’t show. Then we go to Miami in three weeks. Basically, I’m asking how this sort of setback will affect my fitness level and the work I’ve put into training and how it looks from a coach’s perspective/coxswain’s perspective.

Injuries like this suck. They’re the nightmares of every athlete and coach because everyone knows that one wrong move can kill a season. We’ve all heard the stories of athletes coming back too soon and re-injuring themselves again or worse than they did the first time (prime example was Rob Gronkowski re-breaking his forearm this past season after coming back way too soon). You have to take time off and you have to force yourself to accept the fact that time off now means better things for the future. This is what I said to a question about how much shoulder pain someone should erg through – I think it applies to your situation too:

“It’s better to be safe than sorry. Would you rather miss and have to make up an erg test or would you rather injure your shoulder, be in a ton of pain, and later on find that you’ve exacerbated an injury that is going to keep you out of the boat for a week or two (or longer)? Be smart. Don’t just “row through the pain”. “Row through the pain” is acceptable for a race when the pain is imminent. Abnormal pain is not something you should just go with. Get it checked out and make sure there’s nothing wrong with it before getting back on the erg.”

You need to sit down and talk with your coach before you do anything else. First, make sure he knows about your injury if he doesn’t already. Secondly, explain the extent of it. There’s a 90% chance they’ll ask you what the doctor said so be prepared to tell them. (And seriously, if you haven’t gone to the doctor, GO.) Third, tell them that you went to winter training, did the extra workouts, could feel yourself getting in a good rhythm for the spring, etc. and now you’re worried about how this injury is going to affect your standing when it comes to 2ks, training, etc. Your coach knows you better than I do so in that respect, at least, he’ll be able to give you more insight on what kind of impact this might have.

If you are in relatively good shape, have good technique, etc. I don’t think you’ll take that hard of a hit. Obviously your fitness will decrease a bit, which is natural, but ultimately you’ll take a much bigger hit if you don’t get back to 100% before you start training again. You’re probably going to have a much bigger mental setback than a physical one, which I think you’re already experiencing a little. From a coxswain’s standpoint, it doesn’t really matter because they’re not the one who decides lineups or your standing on the team. They should be there to support you and that’s all.

From a coach’s standpoint, it really depends on the kind of coach you have. In my opinion, when an athlete is injured, the coach has no choice but to accept it and wait for them to heal. Pushing them to come back before they’re ready, guilt-tripping them by making them feel like they’re letting themselves and/or their teammates down, writing off the injury as “not that serious”, etc. are all signs of a not-so-great coach. Since I started coaching I’ve noticed that a lot of the time when someone is injured, the reason coaches are skeptical of the extent is because far too many people mistake soreness as pain or they’re just lazy and don’t want to feel any kind of discomfort at all. Neither of those situations sound like yours, so hopefully your coach recognizes that this is a legitimate issue and responds accordingly. Since you were putting the work in during the off-season and doing the extra workouts, from a coach’s standpoint, I think you’ll continue to be in good standing. Knowing that you were willing to put the work in before reassures coaches that you’ll be willing to do twice the work, if necessary, after and that’s the kind of person we want in our boats.

Make sure you’re stretching (more than you normally would) every day, even on the days when you’re not working out. If you’ve got a foam roller you can use and it doesn’t hurt too much, I’d also add that into your routine. Know your limits and how far you can reasonably go with your injury. You might be able to go 100mph on a normal day but right now you might have to settle for 60. Don’t push yourself too much or you’ll end up re-injuring yourself. Before your 2k, if it feels like you’re still not ready, ask your coach if you can postpone it until you’re closer to 100% so that your time and effort accurately reflects your training and not your injury. When you go to Miami, if it’s possible to switch out halfway through your morning row or something if your hip is still bothering you, see if you can do that. Coaches are almost always willing to work with their athletes but they have to know there’s a problem first in order to help them. Keep your coach in the loop and make sure they know before your test and before you go to Miami if your hip is still an issue.

Like I said before, the biggest setback you’re likely to face is more of a mental one than a physical one. Instead of looking at it like you’re losing all the hard work you put in, look at it instead as all the hard work you put in is what’s going to help you recover faster and be stronger when you come away from this. Your body is in better shape and is becoming more efficient so you’ve already got yourself in a good position for when you come back.

Rowing

An Introduction to Rigging: Pitch

By readyallrow February 19, 2013

Previously: Intro to rigging, spread, and span || Oar length, inboard, and blade profile

Today’s post is going to talk about pitch. There are two types – stern and lateral. Stern pitch, which goes from front to back (aka stern to bow), is the angle that the oarlock pin is set from vertical during the drive. Lateral pitch is the degree of angle that the pin is either to or away from the midline of the boat.

Stern pitch

Stern pitch is a necessary component of rigging because it’s what helps hold the oar’s position in the water during the drive (meaning that it plays a part in ensuring the blade is at the proper depth). Since your blade is not strictly horizontal to the shell while in the water – it’s angled downwards – the pitch of the oarlock is necessary in helping keep the blade buried. 4 degrees is the standard angle, but it can range anywhere from 3-7. Too much pitch (7+ degrees) will cause the blade to wash out at the finish, whereas not enough (less than 4 degrees) will cause the blade to dig in too deep.

Lateral pitch

Lateral pitch creates different degrees of pitch at each end of the stroke. An outward pitch of one degree away from the boat’s midline increases the stern pitch by one degree (keeps the blade buried) and decreases the stern pitch by one degree at the finish (allows the blade to pop out more easily). Pitch here shouldn’t be more than one degree at most – the typical range is between 0 and 1 degrees to avoid creating too much depth on one end and not enough on the other.

To measure both the stern and lateral pitch, you’ll need a pitch meter. The most important part of doing this is making sure your boat is stable and not sitting cockeyed in the slings. It’s not a bad idea once you’ve set it down to go stand at the bowball and look down the boat to ensure it’s level. Set your pitch meter on the gunnel and calibrate it so that the bubble is in the middle of the level. It should read “zero degrees” at this point.

From here, take it out to the oarlock, set it against the face of the oar lock, and adjust it until the bubble is in the middle of the level again. This will tell you the degrees of your stern pitch (remember, 4 is average but it can range from 3-7). To measure lateral pitch, you’ll first have to take the oarlock off the pin so you can get better access to it. Place the pitch meter against the pin and measure the angle away from midline of the boat the same way you measured the stern pitch.

Here’s a video that demonstrates how to do it:

Next week: Rigger height and work through

Image via // @rowingcelebration

College Coxing Racing Rowing Teammates & Coaches

“Baseball bat!”

By readyallrow February 13, 2013

A few weeks ago I went to the What Works Summit coaching conference at CRI and one of the main things I was looking forward to was hearing Kevin Sauer of UVA speak. He was a huge reason why I looked at UVA in the first place when I was applying to schools so to get the chance to hear him talk was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.

He gave two presentations, one on how to make the boat move and then another as part of a roundtable discussion on championship programs. During the roundtable he told this story that, even now, just kind of blows my mind because it’s so awesome.

So, a bit of background to start. UVA won the 2012 NCAA Championship led by the 1st Varsity 8+, which was the first time they’d accomplished that. They’d won NCAAs previously but never with a V8+ win too. After graduating a good class the previous spring (2011), they were now tasked with putting together a boat that could match or exceed the skill level of the rowers they’d graduated. When they came to Head of the Charles in 2011 and won (in a time of 16:11.519, eight seconds faster than 2nd place Radcliffe), he was pleasantly surprised. They weren’t going against the national team since they were training for the Olympics, but they beat the other college teams, which is obviously who they needed to beat. Then, when they went to Princeton Chase and won there too, he started to realize this boat had something.

Now, looking at the competition, Michigan was solid last year. They killed it all season, basically just blowing the other crews they raced out of the water. They only lost twice on their way to a Big 10 Championship and 2nd place finish at NCAAs. When Coach Sauer was telling us this, he started talking about this race that Michigan had against Princeton.

Michigan got out hard and controlled the entire race, winning with a length of open over Princeton and two lengths of open over Brown. He called a team meeting and played this video for the girls, without saying a word from beginning to end. They silently watched it and at the end someone asked, “So, how are we going to beat them?”, to which he replied “I don’t know.” They started throwing ideas out there on what their race plan and strategy was going to be, how they were going to train for this, etc. Everyone’s contributing ideas and he just kind of blurts out “baseball bat”, to which the girls were all … “what??”. And he said “Baseball bat! We’ve just got to keep hitting them and hitting them and hitting them.” At the time, and still now, he said he had no idea why that was what came out of his mouth because it didn’t make sense to anybody, including him.

Part of their strategy was this move that they make at the 1000m mark but because they knew Michigan’s tendencies, he told his coxswain on race-day that if she needed to take it right at the beginning of the race to avoid letting Michigan get away from them, do it. The goal was to not let them get an inch of open water on them, otherwise it’d be all over. Coach Sauer and another coach were following behind the race in the launch and saw that, like they’d predicted, Michigan got out hard and fast. They started to walk, seat by seat, until they were six or seven seats up and he said he was thinking “come on, make the move, gotta go, don’t let them break away, gotta make it now…” and then all of a sudden they started seeing UVA walk until they were even with them.

The other coach in the launch said “You’ve got it. They (UVA) won.” and he said he was thinking this guy was crazy because they were only 750m into the race. BUT, they had won at that point because by making the move and walking on Michigan, they broke them. Michigan couldn’t and didn’t know how to counter it, presumably because it wasn’t something they’d had to deal with all season (which you can look at as either a good thing or a bad thing). UVA ended up winning and the rest is history.

When they got back to the dock, Coach Sauer went up to the coxswain and said “What did you do, what did you call? What’d you say to them to make that move?” and she said “All I said was ‘baseball bat‘.”

That is like … wow. This random thing that he’d blurted out during a team meeting, something that meant nothing to anyone at the time, is what they all internalized to help them win a national championship.

My point with this story goes back to what I was talking about in the question I answered this morning (linked above) but it also touches on a lot of other things too. The moves you plan aren’t always going to happen when you want them to – sometimes you’ve got to do something spontaneous to reap the maximum benefits. The calls you make are important, which is why I try and stress to you guys to say what you say with a purpose. When you’re talking with the coach or your crew, pay attention to what people say – you never know what is going to resonate with people. Baseball bat?? I mean, come on!! That’s such a basic, meaningless term but it became the rallying cry of sorts for this boat. It is your job to figure out what it takes to get your boat to move, so always keep your ears open – you never know when you’re gonna hear the call that changes everything.

Image via // UVA Today

Ergs Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow February 13, 2013

I think this is a basic technique thing, but a lot of people seem to forget to watch their arms when we’re erging because they’re so focused on everything else. I know what the finish looks like but what position would you say the arms/elbows are in at the catch? Also with arms on the erg, should they be going straight in and out? Like should the cord (or whatever it’s even called) be moving at all vertically? If that makes sense?

It’s hard to explain over the internet what it should look like – it’s definitely something you need to see, not read – so my suggestion would be to watch this video. It’s the best one I’ve seen because it really breaks down the stroke and shows what everything should look like. They start with the finish around the 0:56 mark, so if you pause the video there, you can see what her body looks like.

The video I’ve posted below is great because it shows you everything people do wrong. You’ll want to pay particular attention to the 1:10 mark where they demonstrate “chicken wing arms”. The opposite of the chicken wing arms that they don’t discuss is the T-Rex arms. If you look at a T-Rex’s arms (in this super educational photo) you can see that they’re tiny, close to the body, and weirdly bent at the wrists, which if you watch some people on the erg, that’s how they row.

Regarding how the arms should travel, yes, they should ideally be going straight in and out, for the most part. Think of the handle and chain as the oar; if your arms and hands are going all over the place on the erg, what do you think the oar would be doing if you were in the boat? The movement of the chain and hands is a hotly contested topic amongst rowers. Some rowers on the erg pull the handle all the way up to their chests because it makes the stroke longer and the output is a few more meters per stroke than if they’d pulled into their usual targets.

If you watch the video below, see if you can pause it at 0:26. Look at the rower in the bottom right of the screen with the black and red shorts. See how far he’s laying back and how the handle is practically level with his shoulders? Now, unpause it and go back a few seconds so you can watch him take the full stroke. Play from 0:23-0:28 a few times and watch the path that the chain travels. He pulls the handle in really high, which, because he lays back so far doesn’t change the chain height too much, but watch it on the recovery … he shoots his hands down from his chest to his knees as he swings up and then brings them even lower over his feet 0:30 before lifting them back up a few inches at the catch. These are all guys on the Canadian national team so obviously whatever they do works for them but for the sake of demonstrating a different side of the argument, this guy does a good job of making my point.

Personally, I think this style is really inefficient so when I’m trying to explain the stroke I tell people to pull somewhere between the bottom of their rib cage and their belly button and make the small c-turn with the handle to mimic tapping down with the oar handle. I think you should row the same on the erg as you do in the boat because why wouldn’t you? People who say “oh, I don’t do this in the boat” are wrong – whatever bad habits they have on the erg almost always translate into bad habits in the boat.

You don’t want the chain flopping up and down because a) that will break it, b) it’s inefficient, and c) it’s just wrong. I tell people to envision a table or something over their legs that they have to slide their hands across as they come into the catch. Visualizing your hands gliding across something helps them to stay level and avoid lifting their hands up (which in the boat would mean they’re catching before their bodies are actually at the catch), as well as from dropping them down too low which would lead to missing water and rowing it in.

Rowing

An Introduction to Rigging: Oar length, inboard, and blade profile

By readyallrow February 12, 2013

Previously: Intro to rigging, spread, and span

Continuing on with the discussion on rigging, this post will go over the other components of leverage. Last time I talked about spread and span, what they are, how they’re measured, etc. and today we’ll go over oar length and inboard, as well as briefly touch on blade size.

Oar length

Oar length is exactly what it says it is – the total length of the oar. It’s measured down the center line of the oar from the tip of the handle, including the rounded edge on most Concept 2s, all the way to the end of the blade. Concept 2 lists the average length of their adjustable oars as being between 362 and 378cm, depending on what oars you get. Oars used with sculling are shorter and fall between 274 and 292cm.

The longer the oar, the heavier the boat is going to feel and vice versa – the shorter it is, the lighter the boat will feel.

Concept 2 recommends shortening the oars if you have more efficient blades (such as their Fat2), are in a slower or heavier boat, have a long reach or a narrow spread, or when sculling, if the handles overlap too much.

To adjust the oar length on Concept 2s, you’ll need a T20 screwdriver and a Phillips flat head screwdriver. There are two screws – the clamping screw and the adjusting screw. Start by loosening the clamping screw with the flat head screwdriver (don’t take it out though) and once you’ve loosened it, use the T20 to turn the adjusting screw that’s on the end of the handle. Four turns = 1cm. To shorten the oar, turn the screw clockwise and turn it counterclockwise to lengthen it. When you’ve got it to the length you want, re-tighten the clamping screw.

Inboard

The inboard is the part of the oar that goes from the oarlock to the end of the handle. (Outboard is from the oarlock to the end of the blade.) A fairly accepted method of measuring it with sweep boats is to take the spread of your boat and just add 30cm. With sculling, you would calculate the spread, divide by two, and add 6-8cm. Whatever measurement you come up with (usually 112-116cm for sweep and 87-89cm for sculling), measure that amount from the tip of the handle down the shaft. That position is where you’ll place the collars (or “buttons”, as they’re sometimes called), which are what keep the oar positioned against the oarlock and prevent the blade from sliding through.

Moving the collar closer to the end of the handle (shortening the inboard) increases the efficiency of your boat’s rigging but the caveat is that it makes the boat feel heavier. The issue with the boat feeling heavier is that it requires more effort to move, which leads to the rowers getting fatigued faster because they’re exerting more overall energy to power the boat.

One alternative to adjusting the collars, especially if you share oars with other crews, is to use a clam. Clams (or C.L.A.M., Clip-on Load Adjustment Mechanism) clip onto the sleeve in between the collar and the oarlock and are super easy to put on and remove. They’re used to adjust the load without actually making an adjustment to the oar itself. One clam is equal to one centimeter of inboard so the extra length you get from adding one (or several) increases the lightness of the boat.

If oars are shared between crews and the rigging is such that it’s too heavy for the next crew, they can pop on some clams and lighten the load without doing much damage in regards to the efficiency of the rigging. When you’re rowing into a headwind they can also be helpful in moving the boat. As a secondary benefit, they also protect the collars from wear and tear from being up against the oarlocks. row2k also has some good hacks for storing clams too, which you can read about here and here.

If you go here, you can check out a video from Concept 2 where they show how to measure the inboard and if you go here, you can see how collars are installed and adjusted.

Blade profile

Blade size is the last thing that helps create leverage. The larger the surface area of the blade, the more leverage you’ll create and the more efficient the rigging will be but it also results in a heavier boat feel felt by the rowers. As the rower moves the blade through the water, the trajectory of the blade generates the load that they feel. Different blades have different “loading profiles” so where the load is felt can differ depending on what you have (some blades have more resistance at the beginning of the drive, others have more at the end).

As technology has evolved, so too have the designs of the blades. If you look at old pictures of rowers you’ll see the “spoon” blade but as you progress to modern times you’ll see the more commonly used “hatchet” blades, of which Concept 2 has several varieties. (You can read about Concept 2’s innovation with blade designs here.) In the grand scheme of things, blade size has a minimal effect on one’s rigging when compared to other variables and shouldn’t be used to adjust the load felt by the rowers – that should be done by making adjustments to the oar length, spread, span, and inboard.

Next week: Pitch

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Rowing

What to wear: Rowers

By readyallrow February 11, 2013

Previously: What to wear: Coxswains (women) || What to wear: Coxswains (men)

Unlike coxswains, rowers have the benefit of being able to move and don’t need quite as many layers as we do as the temperatures start to drop. Between overheating and limiting their range of motion, they tend to wear only two or three layers (max) compared to our four or five (minimum). There also isn’t that much room in the boat to store excess layers so it’s important that the layers you do you wear are effective at keeping your body at the right temperature, both when you are and aren’t rowing.

Finding gear with material that will keep you warm even when it’s wet is key. The first layer should be a moisture-wicking base layer that’s warm enough to keep your arms and torso from getting too cold but still allows you to move without much restriction. You’ll want to avoid wearing anything cotton as your base layer too since it clings to your body when wet and will just end up making you colder.

The next layer is your insulation layer. This one is a little thicker than the base layer and is there to keep the warmth in when the temps are on the cooler side. The last layer is the wind and water resistant layer that keeps you dry and not totally freezing if you’re out in the rain or snow.

Not pictured but no less important are your cold weather accessories. You can’t wear gloves while you’re rowing but Pogies are a good alternative but I know some rowers who say their hands get really sweaty when they use them (which makes it hard to grip the oar) so they only wear them if it’s below freezing, wet, and/or really windy out. Sock-wise, most of the time you can wear normal socks but as the temperatures drop you might want to upgrade to a warmer pair or even to a pair of waterproof ones. Last but not least, hats – wear one. Hearing and feeling the wind whip through your ears is the worst and they really do go a long way towards keeping you warm when you’re on the water.

Image via // @radcliffecrew

Coxing How To Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow February 6, 2013

If the wind pushes the boat into the grassy reeds, how do you get out of it without being pulled out by a coach? Do you have the side that’s not stuck back? Thanks!

First things first is to tell your boat to be quiet. Everyone is going to have an opinion on the best way to get out of there and there’s a good chance that someone or everyone will be annoyed at the situation. It’s your job to tell them to listen to your instructions because the more at-attention they are, the faster and easier it’ll be for you to get out of there.

The biggest thing here is making sure your skeg doesn’t get broken or bent. If it’s shallow or the weather’s been bad lately (and there’s a lot of debris in the water), you’ll need to listen for any bumps or noises that indicate you might have hit a log. Sometimes they can get caught up in the reeds too which makes it hard to avoid them. Make sure you don’t push it straight down because it’ll just pop right back up and do more damage (possibly catching your fingers in between it and the skeg, which would probably result in some form of bloodshed). If you don’t here any bumps or anything but still find it hard to steer with the strings, you might have to stick your arm under the boat and pull off anything that’s gotten caught around the skeg and the rudder.

As far as actually getting out of the reeds, if you’ve been blown in from the port side, for example, would require some backing mainly from the port rowers. You can have the starboard side assist but it could be hard for them to row if their oar is in the reeds. As soon as rowers (starting from bow pair) start getting clear though, have them row.

To clear your the blades if you’re really stuck in there, I’d feather the blade and just hack back and forth a bit to cut the reeds down a little. I saw a crew do this at a regatta once on the way to the start line and they were out of there in about two minutes. Unless the wind is really bad and negating anything you try and do, I wouldn’t do more than arms and body rowing. This is to avoid swinging the boat to quickly and sharply, which could cause damage to it if you hit something under the surface.

I’d start out with 6 and stroke backing to get your bow pointed towards open water and then have bow and 3 row to swing the bow out. Once your bow pair or bow four are clear of any visible reeds, have them row full slide to get the rest of the boat free. Once you’re clear, quickly put your arm back in to pull off any lingering reeds on your skeg/rudder, get your point, and row on. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a crew get out of a situation like that only to sit idle once they’re clear and then get blown right back into the reeds. You have to get away from them if you want to avoid getting stuck again, so row up a few hundred meters to a spot where it’s clear and then stop if you need to.

Rowing

An Introduction to Rigging: Spread and span

By readyallrow February 5, 2013

When I was in high school I went to a coxswain clinic where Mike Vespoli taught us the basics of rigging and talked about how to measure each variable, what it meant, where to measure from, why it was important, etc. That’s what I’m going to post in this series so that you can get a basic idea of what rigging entails beyond just taking the riggers on and off your boat.

So, why is rigging important? Its main objective is to accommodate all the different bodies in the boat so that when they row, regardless of their size, the oar still moves in the same general arc through the water. The more similar the oar’s trajectory, the more efficient the boat will be.

Here’s what this series will go over:

Part 1 || Spread and span, with videos included that show how to measure them

Part 2 || Oar length and inboard

Part 3 || Pitch, with videos included on how to measure it in your boat

Part 4 || Rigger height and work through

Part 5 || How to rig and de-rig a boat

Part 6 || The tools you need to rig a boat

Going back to physics, when you row you’re using leverage in a lot of different places. One of the reasons why tall people are appreciated in this sport over their vertically challenged counterparts is because the longer you are, the farther you can reach, and the more leverage you can get on the oar to power it through the water and move the boat. Leverage in rigging comes from spread (in sweeping) and span (in sculling), as well as from the inboard and length of the oar, which I’ll talk more about in Part 2.

Spread

A fulcrum is the point about which a lever is supported and pivots. A lever produces force on one end (the load) while pressure is applied on the other (effort). So, when effort is exerted on one end, the lever pivots about the fulcrum to produce a load on the other end. Thinking in terms of an oar, you create leverage by pushing off the foot stretchers, pushing with your legs, pulling with your upper body (to an extent), and driving the oar through the water. The pressure you put on the handle allows it to rotate around the oarlock and move the blade through the water. The “load” is the pressure you feel against the blade from the water. You are moving the load as the oar goes through the water.

So, how does that relate to spread? And what is spread? Spread is the distance from the middle line of your boat to the pin of the oarlock. If you increase the spread it will make the boat feel lighter but your rowing will be less efficient because the fulcrum will be farther from where you’re exerting your effort.

The best analogy I can think of is to think of it like you’re holding a broom strick when you’re sweeping up something on the floor. If you could balance the broom on your hand, the point where your hand sits on the handle when it’s perfectly level would be the fulcrum. Keeping your hands there is where your sweeping will be the most efficient. If you move your hands one way or the other (towards the top of bottom of the handle), the broom will feel lighter and maybe easier to move, but you’re movement isn’t nearly as efficient because you’re not generating enough effort to move the load on the other end. Make sense? Kinda, sorta?

The spread of your boat will be determined by the experience level of your crew, how skilled they are, the size of the boat, etc. It is adjusted by moving the pin either closer or farther away from the boat. If you look at the this picture of an oarlock and rigger, you can see that the oarlock is in a slot that allows it to move back and forth when the bolts are loosened.

Typically, the spread is somewhere between 80-88ish centimeters. To take it’s measurement using a standard tape measure, this is what you do:

Measure from one gunnel to the other and find the middle of that measurement. If it’s 10 centimeters, the middle would be five. Simply divide by two.

Move the tape measure so that the number you just determined, the middle (5, in this case), is sitting on the gunnel. The end of the tape measure should be hanging out over the center of the boat.

Extend the tape measure out towards the oarlock’s pin and measure. That measurement, from the center of the boat to the pin, is your spread.

Mathematically it’d look something like this:

[(Distance from G1 to G2)/2] + (Distance from G2 to pin) = spread

…where G1 = one side of the boat and G2 = the other side, the side that the rigger is on.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating how to measure spread. Remember, spread only applies to sweep boats, not quads, doubles, or singles.

Span

The difference between sculling and sweep rowing is that instead of one fulcrum, there are two. The spread then goes from being from the center of the boat to the pin to being from the starboard pin to the port pin. Similarly to in sweep rowing how moving the pin farther from the boat decreases the efficiency of your stroke, the same is true with sculling. The average distance between pins is usually something like 157-160ish centimeters and is adjusted in the same way (moving the oarlock closer or farther from the boat by loosening and moving the pin).

Measuring the span is fairly simple, but after thinking about it for a second I realized that the “simple” way I was thinking of was wrong. This is something that Dr. Davenport touches on in the video below, which I was actually internally very excited about (“yay, my thinking is on the right track!”). I was thinking that all you’d have to do would be to take your tape measure and measure from one pin to another – very “keep it simple, stupid”. However, that only tells you the distance the two pins are apart – it doesn’t tell you their distance from the center of the boat. They could be 160cm apart, but the starboard oar could be two centimeters further from the center than the port oar, which can mess you up when you get out on the water. So, as Dr. Davenport suggests, to get your span, first determine the spread (distance from the center of the boat to the pin) for each oarlock and then add the two together.

Mathematically it’d look like this:

{[(Distance from G1 to G2)/2] + (Distance from G1 to pin)} + {[(Distance from G1 to G2)/2] + (Distance from G2 to pin)} = span.

And here’s another video showing how it’s done.

Next week: Oar length, inboard, and blade profile

Image via // @ruderklubamwannsee

Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow February 3, 2013

Do you think it’s better for novices to learn how to row primarily one one side rather than switching between port and starboard or do you think it’s good to be frequently switched? I was constantly switched as a novice and now I feel like I really struggle with technique and I was wondering if that could possibly have anything to do with it.

I think the side you’re on is a combination of a few things, one of those being what’s comfortable for you, so while I definitely think that novices should be introduced to both sides eventually they should start prioritizing one over the other. Sometimes you get on starboard and you’re just like “what is this…” because nothing feels right, but when you get on port, everything clicks. You might not be as strong on the other side but the fact that you have some proficiency can really help your coaches out if they’re short on rowers.

What specifically about technique do you struggle with? If you know what it is, go talk to your coach. Tell him that you’re struggling with these things and what are his suggestions for making some technical improvements? Can you possibly spend some time during practice on drills that target your specific concerns? Definitely don’t keep stuff like this to yourself. Having information like this is really helpful for coaches because it lets us know what we need to work on and allows us to point out specific things to be adjusted instead of assuming everything is fine and going out and doing steady state or something.