Just as a sprinter coming out of the blocks can't get to full stride until the third or fourth step, a racing crew can't get to full compression until the boat speed has come up quite a bit. To accelerate from a dead stop requires a few short choppy strokes followed by a longer one until, on the fourth beat, the crew can reach full compression. We use this "half, half, three quarters, full" sequence when starting our races. The following videos show the technique. The first is a practice session from the UT women's eight. You'll notice after their version of the "half, half, three quarters, full" sequence they move directly into a power ten, at 38 strokes a minute. On the 8th stroke of the ten, the coxswain calls for a "shift in two" to alert the crew that the rate will be dropping down quite a bit to 32 strokes a minute. You'll see the recovery markedly slower yet the drive is still just as fast and powerful. The crew then rows at a "paddle" (medium pressure only) and then does some balancing drills. At the 2:00 minute mark the crew rows all square as a testament to their focus even when tired. The end of the piece shows the crew "flying" the boat on the square until the cox calls to feather. An impressive feat for this elite crew.
This next video is that of the ST Bede's U-17 eight. Note the shorter strokes at the beginning, and then the lengthening at the 4th or 5th stroke. Once the crew is in their power 10 note the early roll up of the blades and the simultaneous dropping in at the catch. A nice start.
The 3rd video is that of our MN4 taken on the 29th over spring break. Not a bad attempt but obviously we still need practice on timing.
The last video is that of our WV4 rowing in a qualifying heat at the state champs a couple of years ago. Early in the start sequence there was a missed stroke on the port side causing the boat to veer to port. The cox got the boat back on line and the crew looked good for the first 300-400 meters. Then fatigue set in and the crew failed to make it out of the heat. Yes, technique is important but also strength and endurance!!!
When placing the oar into the oarlock it is important to rowers (and coxswains) to properly secure the gate. An understanding of how the oarlock gate is designed is needed to make sure you are not just closing the gate but actually locking it. Look at the following diagrams.
Diagram #1: The gate is open
Diagram #2: Gate is closing but not all the way down
Diagram #3: Gate is all of the way down, but not screwed in yet.
Note the arrow showing the threaded bolt in the center of the barrel.
Diagram #4: Gate is properly screwed in. Note the very small
gap on the bottom and the threaded bolt coming out of the knurled plastic nut.
So what can go wrong? Suppose the rower started to screw in the knurled nut at diagram #2. The gate might seem to be secured but it definitely won't be, even if the knurled nut is very tight. When rowing, any excess force on the oar may cause the shaft to pop up and break open the gate. The result is that the oar will jump out of the oarlock and the boat will stop. It is very difficult to properly place the oar back into the oarlock while afloat, especially if the boat is in the middle of a race (even a fun race like a 300 m coxswain's race!)
This seems a bit Southern Californian, but visualization techniques can be useful to internalize the rowing stroke. Watch the videos below. The first is from US Rowing showing a starboard rower on the US national team. The second is footage that Coach O'Brien shot on the 23rd. Novices, especially, should note the smooth, relaxed motion of elite rowers. Most novice rowers are too tense and try to force the blade into the correct position. Remember, the oar lock and collar system is designed to have the blade naturally fall into the correct position. Rowers need to relax their shoulders and their grip and feel the oar rolling onto the flats. Rowers should not watch the placement of their blade, but rather the placement of the person in the stroke seat. Coxswains should provide feedback to the crew if an individual is a hair too early or a hair too late. All the blades need to "drop in" simultaneously, each rower needs to apply power at the same instant, and all the blades should release from the water together. It's not a coincidence that our fours are named "Synchronicity" and "σùν χρόνω νίκζ" (which translates from the Greek as "With Timing, Victory).
Also note the horizontal movement of the handle, There are only about a couple of inches difference in handle height between the drive and the recovery. Rowers should not be arching the handle on the drive. At the catch the blade will naturally assume the correct depth, as this is part of the boat's design. You do not need to force the blade down, simply let it drop by "unweighting" the handle.
Coach O'Brien also reminds me that the rowing stroke is a cycle with no "finish," so I'll try to change my terminology to that of Catch, Drive, Release, and Recovery. Once the blade is released from the water the rower immediately begins the recovery with hands away and body preparation. The slide to the coxswain should be controlled. Note how the elite rower moves calmly toward the coxswain -- nothing is rushed. The movement during the drive is aggressive -- you want to apply power to the oar with legs, back, and lastly arms.
During practice if the boat is moving through the water we always initiate the rowing cycle at the release position. If stopped, it is possible to initiate the cycle at a half-slide catch position, similar to what we do at the start of a race. It's not a good idea to, from a dead stop, begin with a full compression catch position since the handles can be easily misaligned.
Backing and spinning the boat are required at the start and the end of races. At the season opener regatta both were severely tested at the finish due to the strong (20mph) tailwind forcing boats onto the causeway.
This blog post is written to help crews understand the required techniques so that when we practice them they will be more effective.
In normal forward rowing, the oar collars and the oarlock are designed to make the blade move most efficiently through the water. Look at the diagram below.
I've drawn the boat with the bow to the left and tried to indicate the stern four rowing normally and the bow four balancing with their blades on the surface. The thing to understand is that no rower needs to look at their oars when the boat is moving forward. With a relaxed grip you will be able to feel the collars resting on their flat sections in the oar locks. If rowing the blade will be perfectly positioned to move through the water efficiently. If when rowing you "catch a crab" and have the blade dive deep or "miss water" and have the blade jump out you are too tense and do not have the collar on the flats. DO NOT look at the oar, but relax your grip and rotate the oar gently to feel the correct position.
In the diagram above you also see the bow four with their blades flat on the surface in a "balancing" position. When the collars are on the flat section in the feathered position, the blade is not actually parallel to the surface but rather angled very slightly so that the water will flow under the blade and the blade will be forced to ride on the surface. Again, YOU DO NOT NEED to look at the balanced position; the blade will naturally assume the correct attitude when you are relaxed and feel the flats on the collar.
Now, when backing, things are completely different! The boat is not designed to row backwards so the blades will not assume the correct angles with respect to the water. Both rowers and balancers will have to look at their blades to place them correctly. Look at the diagram below.
Now the boat is backing and the stern four will be looking at their blades making sure the blades are upside down and are pushing water to the bow. Note that when backing, rowers cannot push with their legs -- the force comes from their arms and back only. Now, since the water is flowing toward the bow, the bow four will have to twist their blades slightly to allow the water to flow under the blade and not on top. This requires conscious effort. The natural flat position of a balance blade has the forward edge higher (see below) and when backing the water would flow above the blade and pull it down seriously hampering the backing effort.
To see what I'm talking about, watch the following piece of video of our WN8 backing into the start platform on Saturday.
With the stern pair backing you want to see the other six blades on the surface of the water. If the blade is under water it creates drag and makes the boat slow and/or turn. During this 60 second clip, various seats have their blades above and under water at various times. All not rowing need to consciously twist their oar so the blade rises above the surface.
Now, in benign conditions (in the lee of the shore with plenty of water downwind) there's lots of room for stops/starts/mistakes/corrections. With Coach O'Brien at hand helping, the crew made it to the start platform without incident.
But consider what happened at the finish. The boat is going full speed with a tailwind and a causeway is directly ahead. No room for error here! Luckily (or unfortunately) we have video of the same WN8 at their finish:
Jess correctly stops the boat with hard checks and then starts to back down. Look carefully at the bow six's blades. Any blade not on the surface is seriously hampering the backing effort. In these conditions, it would probably be best to use the stern four to back out and get well away from the jetty before trying to spin the boat. When spinning, as soon as the boat turns with the wind on the side it will immediately start to drift towards the causeway. With the James River crew nearby, complications arose quickly. Jess had to stop spinning and start backing again but the wind was now on the side and things degraded quickly.
So what was the solution? Probably using the stern four to back and get well away from the causeway before starting to spin. Then to spin quickly, without moving forward, seats 6 and 8 should have backed and seats 1 and 3 should have rowed normally. There is one important consideration, though. Seats 1 and 3 cannot use their legs, only their arms and backs!!! When using legs there will be much more power and the boat will start to move forward towards the hazard instead of spinning in place. Of course, the rudder needs to be hard over to assist with the turn.
This is a skill that we will practice this week: spinning counterclockwise quickly with seats 1 and 3 rowing arms and legs only and seats 6 and 8 backing. We we also practice spinning clockwise with seats 1 and 3 backing and seats 6 and 8 rowing arms and legs only.
On a cold and windy Saturday our crews pulled off one of the better performances in an opening regatta in the history of the team. Of the seven crews entered, we garnered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes, mostly against schools that have been rowing since August (only we, NC, CH, and NA consider crew a single season sport - all the large programs consider crew a three season sport with head racing in the fall, mandatory erging in the winter and sprint racing in the spring,)
Congrats to the W2V4crew of Anne, Christy, Aubrey and Reilly (with Noah driving) on their win against NC, NA and James River.
Our WV8 crew of Claire, Christy, Gabby, Delaney, Reilly, Anna and Nicole (with Jess as the cox) placed 2nd in a five boat heat, 0.1 seconds ahead of River City and ahead of the B boats from NA and Cox.
The 3rd place ribbons were garnered by our WV4 crew of Gabby, Claire, Erynn and Nicole (with Ethan in the cox seat) where the crew finished ahead of the crew from Christchurch School.
Coach O'Brien had a good view of all crews at the start and had the following comments:
1. Good day and well done to all crews. Our coxswains showed a lot of poise under demanding conditions. The boat movement into starting blocks was as good (or better) than any team out there. Presence and situational awareness should be where our coxswain focus in practice. Very good start to the season.
2. Evt 7 M2V4+: This boat works well together. A little disorganized out of the start and first ten strokes. Boat bobbled a little and then settled in. Strong first 300M. Competitive with any of the other crews. I wrote "Gitty" in my notes. Highlights: athletic, natural stroke technique for these rowers. Aggressive connection in the water at the catch. Things we will work on in practice: Rolando getting the most out of the top 1/4 of the stroke (catch to mid leg engagement)--layback is getting better, but still hampers recovery rhythm; Steven working efficiently through the stroke; Sean body preparation and oar placement; John--stroke length and outside arm/leg engagement. Coxswain: race plan, passing information, counting off distance and strokes to finish, knowledge of other boat's position on race course.
3. Evt 8 WN8+: I was quite pleased with how this crew worked together in their first regatta. They stayed together even when boat set wasn't consistent, and showed good confidence in moving out of the start and down the race course. Rowers are still getting used to connecting at the catch, and allowing themselves to relax hands and shoulders and let the rowing stroke happen. This will come with time. Start was a tad messy (some oars not placed consistently), once they were off and going I was impressed with how competitive they are as a unit. Timing (I wrote in my notes), rushing the slide, and stroke length will be the focus areas as we get more strokes in with this group. Aubrey good stroke consistency and will learn to prepare the body out of finish and control slide. Maddie is strong rower and needs to make the most out of leg drive. Margaret is athletic and will want to work on outside arm and wrist alignment and getting comfortable at catch. Reilly is powerful and determined--we'll work on handle position and blade depth to take advantage of that power. Hayley has a natural flowing stroke and good instincts--we need to work on endurance and leg drive. Brittany has all the stroke elements and incredible power potential--we will work on consistent stroke length and staying disciplined in body movement during the excitement of the race. Delaney, another powerful rower in the making. We'll work on not rushing to the catch and aggressive leg drive. Anne showed perhaps the most progress in past two weeks, body swing, oar placement and stroke length was impressive; we will work on getting the most power out of that developing stroke.
Pic by Lily's mom
Seeing the results sheet that I note the WN8 finish time of 6:09.8 would have been a winning time in the other heat. And while it's dangerous to compare times between heats because of varying conditions, it is heartening to see the significant difference between our time and those of the WN8 crews from Maury and First Colonial, two large programs that have been rowing since August. Well done, girls! Now, back to Coach O'Brien's comments...
4. Evt 13 MV8+: Made good strides compared to recent practices. Start was a little inconsistent, but timing got better as they moved through first 20 strokes. When they stay aggressive, they can be in the top tier of the private school teams. Will, great job at stroke, much less wasted movement coming out of finish. Robert has great stroke length and needs to stay aggressive. Leg drive dropped off after 300M and noticeably by 900M. Sean has as much power and desire as I've seen on our team, we'll work on balance, body preparation and movement and rhythm, good changes from practice last week. Evan, I noted "good technique" need more Umphh. Another rower who should realize how much raw potential they can unlock with more work and toughness at the catch and drive. Rolando good timing at catch and needs to match that up through the stroke. He can do a lot if he pushes 30% harder through drive. Very improved in recent practices and it showed in this event. Jonathan gets my most improved at this point in the season award, body discipline and timing were much better, we'll keep working on that. Matt nice full stroke, overall nice rowing for someone still getting used to the boat. With more fundamentals (catch, recovery pace and getting most out of leg drive), he will add much to the boat. John has greatly improved stroke length and needs to keep that going in the race. Getting more power in leg drive will help set the boat and keep bow balanced and tracking straighter. We'll work on that power output. Great progress from last season.
5. Evt 16 WV4+: Good effort from this boat. Gabby showed poise and rhythm in tough conditions. Claire adds power when rowing from either side and helped balance out the boat so port side rowers didn't dominate. Erynn much improved technique and gritty competitor. Nicole wonderful full stroke and precise timing. What I'd like to see out of all these rowers is a longer stroke with more power in that top 1/2 from the catch to where the oar blades are perpendicular to the axis of the boat (think Tiff Wood bending the oar blade). I wrote "scratchy but good start, nice settle and tough through 900M". These rowers are coming along.
Again, looking at the results sheet that I note that our WV4 finish time of 6:19.5 was faster than the finish times of both NA's and NC's WV4 crews, albeit in heat A. It is good to see that we will be competitive against our private school peers when we meet head to head. Well done, girls! The "Tiff Wood" reference is shown on this post from a couple of years ago. Now, back to Coach O'Brien's comments...
6. Evt 25 W2V4+: Impressed me today. On my ref sheet "SOLID :-)" Anna set nice pace at stroke, like to see more leg drive and controlled slide. Christy matched up well with stroke, like to see more body swing and aggression through drive. Aubrey brings natural rhythm to the boat and stroke mechanics that are really improving. Reilly, gave it her all, and we want to capitalize on that energy with clean oar placement and depth throughout the drive.
7. Evt 27 MV4: Good first regatta. Seemed fatigued by 600M. Puddles were much smaller and closer spaced (showing less power through stroke). The fundamentals we noted for future practices in MV8 above apply here. Harder to mask set and power issues in the 4+ and the tough environmental conditions didn't help. We will work on having these rowers attack the practice pieces with more abandon and aggressive strokes. I think top 1/4 drills and reverse pick with straight arms are the areas we hone in on.
Pic by Lily's mom
Coach O'Brien and Erynn's dad also got a 10 second video snippet of the WV8 crew as they went by at the 600m mark. Coach's comments follow.
8. Evt 32 WV8+ Lots of solid effort. Timing and oar placement need to be more precise. Stroke length has gotten shorter compared to previous 200M. The wind also begins to be a factor as all crews are struggling to tap down and clear the finish in between the crests in the chop.
Goods: much more together than early practices. Determined pace for most of the race.
Areas we'll focus on in coming practices: handle height (oar depth), outside hand and upper body placement coming out of the finish, pushing harder on drive and controlling recovery. The potential of this boat is unlimited of they want to put in the work."
Summary. Excellent team effort on a less than optimum day. Those not rowing contributed immensely to our results on the water and should take pride in how the team worked together. I'm excited to work with these rowers in the coming weeks.
The following pics were sent to me by Rolando's dad:
The wind caused lots of problems at the finish with two of or 8's ending up sideways on the causeway, including the MV8:
I'll be adding more pictures as I get them. The video of the WN8 race is below:
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