Rowing Terminology
Blade: The oar, also the end of the oar which is placed in the water.
Boathouse: A building used for storing boats.
Buoy: A floating marker that is sometimes used to lay out a course.
Bow: The forward section of the boat. The first part of the boat to cross the finish line. The person in the seat closest to the bow, who crosses the finish line first.
Bow coxed boat: A shell in which the coxswain is near the bow instead of the stern. It's hard to see the coxswain in this type of boat, because only his head is visible. Having the coxswain virtually lying down in the bow reduces wind resistance, and the weight distribution is better.
Bowball: A rubber ball that protects the boat against damage in case of a collision.
Bowman: The number 1 seat in the bow.
Button: Or collar. A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock.
Catch: The moment the blade first enters the water
Check: An unwanted motion of the boat when it appears to momentarily stop in the water.
CLAM: Clip-on Load Adjusting Mechanism (C.L.A.M.). A device that slides on and off the shaft of an oar to quickly adjust the inboard of an oar or scull. Adding one C.L.A.M. increases the inboard by 1 cm, decreasing the load you feel on the oar(s).
Cox Box: Now a generic name for a battery powered, small amplifier that allows the coxswain to communicate with the crew and also gives the coxswain stroke rate information.
Coxswain: Person who steers the shell and is the on-the-water coach for the crew.
Collar: Or button. A plastic ring that keeps the oar from slipping through the oarlock.
Crab: A stroke that goes bad. The oar blade slices the water at an angle and gets caught under the surface. The blade is not fully feathered before leaving the water. This results in the blade being stuck in the water, severely slowing the boat down and throwing off the set. This term is from the claim that “a crab grabbed the blade and wouldn’t let go.” Crab is also used to describe when a rower’s blade jams in the water and he/she finds it impossible to get the oar out of the water at the end of the pull-through.
Crew: The term crew is used in American schools and colleges to designate the sport of rowing. When outside of the academic sphere, then the sport is known as rowing. The British and European universities and schools have rowing clubs, not crew clubs. When you use the term crew, you do not need to use the term team. To say crew team is redundant.
Deck: The part of the shell at the bow and stern that is covered with fiberglass cloth or a thin plastic.
Drive: The part of the rowing cycle where the rower applies power to the buried blade.
Double: A shell with two scullers. Sometimes designated as a 2-
Eight: A shell with eight rowers and a coxswain. Symbol is 8+
Erg(ometer): Rowers call it an "erg." It's a rowing machine that closely approximates the actual rowing motion. The rowers' choice is the Concept II, which utilizes a flywheel and a digital readout so that the rower can measure his "strokes per minute" and the distance covered. Used for training and testing. A link can be found on the Links page.
Feathering: Turning the oar blade flat during te recovery to lessen wind resistance.
Fin: Or skeg. A small flat appendage located along the stern section of the hull which helps stabilize the shell in holding a straight course.
Finish: The oar blade leaving the water at the end of a stroke.
FISA: Short for Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron. The international governing body for the sport of rowing in the world, established in 1892.
Foot Stretcher: An adjustable plate to which a rower's feet are secured.
Four: A boat with four sweep rowers.
Full pressure: the top level of exertion of which a rower is capable.
Gate: The bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar in place.
German rigging: A different way of setting up which side of the boat the oars are on in a sweep boat. Instead of alternating from side to side all the way down, in a German rigged boat, two consecutive rowers have oars on the same side.
Gunnels: Or gunwales. The top edges of the shell. The riggers are bolted into them.
Gunwales: Or gunnels. The top edges of the shell. The riggers are bolted into them.
Hatchet: A very common type of oar blade that is somewhat square.
Heavyweight: A rowing category where there is no maximum weight.
Hull: The outside skin of the boat.
Inboard: The distance from the end of the handle to the blade-side face of the collar or the C.L.A.M.. The greater the inboard, the lighter the oar or scull will feel in your hands, and the lighter the load will be when pulling through the water.
Insert: The plastic bushing fitting on the top and bottom of an oarlock.
Jumped Seat: The unpleasant event that happens when a rower slips off his seat while rowing.
Jumped Slide: When the seat comes off of it’s slides.
Keel: The center line of the shell.
Launch: To put the racing shell into the water OR the boat which the coach uses to follow the crews.
Lightweight: Refers to the rowers, not the boats; there is a maximum weight for each rower in a lightweight event as well as a boat average.
Megaphone: A device formerly used to communicate between coxswain and crew. With the advent of the cox box they are seldom used.
Oar: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do not use paddles.
Oarlock: The D-shaped device at the end of the rigger in which the oar rests. There is a locking gate at the top to keep the oar in place.
Outboard: The distance between the tip of the blade-side face of the collar or C.L.A.M.. The greater the outboard, the heavier the oar of scull will feel and the greater the load in the water will be.
Pair: A boat with two sweep rowers
Port: Left side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of the movement.
Port-rigged: A shell rigged so that the stroke oar (#8) is a port oar.
Power 10: A call for rowers to do 10 of their best, most powerful strokes. It's a strategy used to pull ahead of a competitor.
Puddle: The effect in the water caused by the movement of the oar, particularly at the end of the stroke.
Racks: Wood or metal structures in the boathouse used to hold the shells.
Ready-All, Row: Starting command for most races
Recovery: The time between drives, when the blade of the oar is traveling through the air.
Repechage: The second-chance race which ensures that everyone has two chances to advance from preliminary races since there is no seeding in the heats.
Rig: The art/science of setting up a boat for an individual.
Rigger: The triangular shaped metal device that is bolted onto the side of the boat and holds the oars.
Rudder: The device used to steer the shell.
Run: The run is the distance the shell moves during one stroke. You can figure it by looking for the distance between the puddles made by the same oar.
Sculls: One of the two disciplines of rowing -the one where scullers use two oars or sculls.
Set-up: Balancing the boat as it is rowed. A boat is “set-up” when all the oars are equidistant from the water.
Shell: Can be used interchangeably with boat. The racing boat.
Single: A one person shell.
Skeg: Or fin. A small flat appendage located along the stern section of the hull which helps stabilize the shell in holding a straight course.
Sky: The effect of lowering the hands too much and causing the oar to be too high off the water at the catch.
Slide: The set of runners for the wheels of each seat in the boat.
Slings: Collapsible/portable frames with straps upon which a shell can be placed.
Spacing: The actual distance between the puddles of all the rowers.
Split: The time a crew takes to complete a 500 meter segment of a race.
Squaring: Term describing the turning of the oar from horizontal (feathered) to vertical (squared) blade position.
Stakeboat: The small, anchored boat that is used to hold the shells in place before the start of a race.
Starboard rigged: The stroke (#8) is rowing from the starboard side.
Starboard: Right side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of movement.
Stern: The rear of the boat; the direction the rowers are facing.
Straight: Refers to a shell without a coxswain i.e. a straight four or straight pair.
Stretcher or Footstretcher: Where the rower's feet go. The stretcher consists of two inclined footrests that hold the rower's shoes. The rower's shoes are bolted into the footrests.
Stroke: The #8 rower who sits closest to the stern. The stroke sets the rhythm or cadence for the boat; others behind him must follow his cadence.
StrokeCoach: A small electronic display that rowers attach in the boat to show the important race information like stroke rate and elapsed time.
Strokerate: The number of strokes per minute. In a race, usually between 34 and 38 strokes per minute.
Strokewatch: Used by the coxswain to measure the strokerate.
Sweep: One of the two disciplines of rowing -the one where rowers use only one oar. Pairs (for two people), fours (for four people) and the eight are sweep boats. Pairs and fours may or may not have a coxswain. Eights always have a coxswain.
Swing: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed.
Tanks: An indoor training device that consists of a row of rowing seats between two tanks of water. Rowers can actually “feel” their strokes in the water duplicating the actual experience in a shell.
Track: Metal grooves that keep the seat wheels on a straight line.
Wash: Wake turbulence caused by the motion of the boat through the water.
Weigh-Enough: A coxswain command to have all rowers stop rowing.
Win: What every rower tries to do! These are a few terms that you will hear from your young rower. Once you attend a few regattas and listen to your child and their rowing friends, you will become familiar with most of these definitions.
Boathouse: A building used for storing boats.
Buoy: A floating marker that is sometimes used to lay out a course.
Bow: The forward section of the boat. The first part of the boat to cross the finish line. The person in the seat closest to the bow, who crosses the finish line first.
Bow coxed boat: A shell in which the coxswain is near the bow instead of the stern. It's hard to see the coxswain in this type of boat, because only his head is visible. Having the coxswain virtually lying down in the bow reduces wind resistance, and the weight distribution is better.
Bowball: A rubber ball that protects the boat against damage in case of a collision.
Bowman: The number 1 seat in the bow.
Button: Or collar. A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock.
Catch: The moment the blade first enters the water
Check: An unwanted motion of the boat when it appears to momentarily stop in the water.
CLAM: Clip-on Load Adjusting Mechanism (C.L.A.M.). A device that slides on and off the shaft of an oar to quickly adjust the inboard of an oar or scull. Adding one C.L.A.M. increases the inboard by 1 cm, decreasing the load you feel on the oar(s).
Cox Box: Now a generic name for a battery powered, small amplifier that allows the coxswain to communicate with the crew and also gives the coxswain stroke rate information.
Coxswain: Person who steers the shell and is the on-the-water coach for the crew.
Collar: Or button. A plastic ring that keeps the oar from slipping through the oarlock.
Crab: A stroke that goes bad. The oar blade slices the water at an angle and gets caught under the surface. The blade is not fully feathered before leaving the water. This results in the blade being stuck in the water, severely slowing the boat down and throwing off the set. This term is from the claim that “a crab grabbed the blade and wouldn’t let go.” Crab is also used to describe when a rower’s blade jams in the water and he/she finds it impossible to get the oar out of the water at the end of the pull-through.
Crew: The term crew is used in American schools and colleges to designate the sport of rowing. When outside of the academic sphere, then the sport is known as rowing. The British and European universities and schools have rowing clubs, not crew clubs. When you use the term crew, you do not need to use the term team. To say crew team is redundant.
Deck: The part of the shell at the bow and stern that is covered with fiberglass cloth or a thin plastic.
Drive: The part of the rowing cycle where the rower applies power to the buried blade.
Double: A shell with two scullers. Sometimes designated as a 2-
Eight: A shell with eight rowers and a coxswain. Symbol is 8+
Erg(ometer): Rowers call it an "erg." It's a rowing machine that closely approximates the actual rowing motion. The rowers' choice is the Concept II, which utilizes a flywheel and a digital readout so that the rower can measure his "strokes per minute" and the distance covered. Used for training and testing. A link can be found on the Links page.
Feathering: Turning the oar blade flat during te recovery to lessen wind resistance.
Fin: Or skeg. A small flat appendage located along the stern section of the hull which helps stabilize the shell in holding a straight course.
Finish: The oar blade leaving the water at the end of a stroke.
FISA: Short for Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron. The international governing body for the sport of rowing in the world, established in 1892.
Foot Stretcher: An adjustable plate to which a rower's feet are secured.
Four: A boat with four sweep rowers.
Full pressure: the top level of exertion of which a rower is capable.
Gate: The bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar in place.
German rigging: A different way of setting up which side of the boat the oars are on in a sweep boat. Instead of alternating from side to side all the way down, in a German rigged boat, two consecutive rowers have oars on the same side.
Gunnels: Or gunwales. The top edges of the shell. The riggers are bolted into them.
Gunwales: Or gunnels. The top edges of the shell. The riggers are bolted into them.
Hatchet: A very common type of oar blade that is somewhat square.
Heavyweight: A rowing category where there is no maximum weight.
Hull: The outside skin of the boat.
Inboard: The distance from the end of the handle to the blade-side face of the collar or the C.L.A.M.. The greater the inboard, the lighter the oar or scull will feel in your hands, and the lighter the load will be when pulling through the water.
Insert: The plastic bushing fitting on the top and bottom of an oarlock.
Jumped Seat: The unpleasant event that happens when a rower slips off his seat while rowing.
Jumped Slide: When the seat comes off of it’s slides.
Keel: The center line of the shell.
Launch: To put the racing shell into the water OR the boat which the coach uses to follow the crews.
Lightweight: Refers to the rowers, not the boats; there is a maximum weight for each rower in a lightweight event as well as a boat average.
Megaphone: A device formerly used to communicate between coxswain and crew. With the advent of the cox box they are seldom used.
Oar: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do not use paddles.
Oarlock: The D-shaped device at the end of the rigger in which the oar rests. There is a locking gate at the top to keep the oar in place.
Outboard: The distance between the tip of the blade-side face of the collar or C.L.A.M.. The greater the outboard, the heavier the oar of scull will feel and the greater the load in the water will be.
Pair: A boat with two sweep rowers
Port: Left side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of the movement.
Port-rigged: A shell rigged so that the stroke oar (#8) is a port oar.
Power 10: A call for rowers to do 10 of their best, most powerful strokes. It's a strategy used to pull ahead of a competitor.
Puddle: The effect in the water caused by the movement of the oar, particularly at the end of the stroke.
Racks: Wood or metal structures in the boathouse used to hold the shells.
Ready-All, Row: Starting command for most races
Recovery: The time between drives, when the blade of the oar is traveling through the air.
Repechage: The second-chance race which ensures that everyone has two chances to advance from preliminary races since there is no seeding in the heats.
Rig: The art/science of setting up a boat for an individual.
Rigger: The triangular shaped metal device that is bolted onto the side of the boat and holds the oars.
Rudder: The device used to steer the shell.
Run: The run is the distance the shell moves during one stroke. You can figure it by looking for the distance between the puddles made by the same oar.
Sculls: One of the two disciplines of rowing -the one where scullers use two oars or sculls.
Set-up: Balancing the boat as it is rowed. A boat is “set-up” when all the oars are equidistant from the water.
Shell: Can be used interchangeably with boat. The racing boat.
Single: A one person shell.
Skeg: Or fin. A small flat appendage located along the stern section of the hull which helps stabilize the shell in holding a straight course.
Sky: The effect of lowering the hands too much and causing the oar to be too high off the water at the catch.
Slide: The set of runners for the wheels of each seat in the boat.
Slings: Collapsible/portable frames with straps upon which a shell can be placed.
Spacing: The actual distance between the puddles of all the rowers.
Split: The time a crew takes to complete a 500 meter segment of a race.
Squaring: Term describing the turning of the oar from horizontal (feathered) to vertical (squared) blade position.
Stakeboat: The small, anchored boat that is used to hold the shells in place before the start of a race.
Starboard rigged: The stroke (#8) is rowing from the starboard side.
Starboard: Right side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of movement.
Stern: The rear of the boat; the direction the rowers are facing.
Straight: Refers to a shell without a coxswain i.e. a straight four or straight pair.
Stretcher or Footstretcher: Where the rower's feet go. The stretcher consists of two inclined footrests that hold the rower's shoes. The rower's shoes are bolted into the footrests.
Stroke: The #8 rower who sits closest to the stern. The stroke sets the rhythm or cadence for the boat; others behind him must follow his cadence.
StrokeCoach: A small electronic display that rowers attach in the boat to show the important race information like stroke rate and elapsed time.
Strokerate: The number of strokes per minute. In a race, usually between 34 and 38 strokes per minute.
Strokewatch: Used by the coxswain to measure the strokerate.
Sweep: One of the two disciplines of rowing -the one where rowers use only one oar. Pairs (for two people), fours (for four people) and the eight are sweep boats. Pairs and fours may or may not have a coxswain. Eights always have a coxswain.
Swing: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed.
Tanks: An indoor training device that consists of a row of rowing seats between two tanks of water. Rowers can actually “feel” their strokes in the water duplicating the actual experience in a shell.
Track: Metal grooves that keep the seat wheels on a straight line.
Wash: Wake turbulence caused by the motion of the boat through the water.
Weigh-Enough: A coxswain command to have all rowers stop rowing.
Win: What every rower tries to do! These are a few terms that you will hear from your young rower. Once you attend a few regattas and listen to your child and their rowing friends, you will become familiar with most of these definitions.
And In: Gently set the shell into the water
Down to waist, ready, down: On the 2nd "down", roll the boat toward the water to waist level.
Get an inside grip: Get a solid grip on the inside of the shell (on a rib).
Hands On: Get a grip on the shell and be ready to lift it.
Hold Water: The command given by the coxswain to have the rowers place their blades horizontally in the water to stop the shell quickly. Also, “check it down.”
Push it out: Push the shell out over to the water.
Toes to the edge: Move so that your feet are at the edge of the dock.
Turn and face the bow: Still holding the shell in the same spot, turn and face the bow (assumed other) end of the shell.
Up and overhead, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", put one hand on each side of the shell, push the shell overhead and center yourself beneath it. Lock your elbows!
Up to shoulders, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", lift the boat to rest on your sholder.
Up to waist, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", lift the boat to waist level.
Walk it forward: Start walking straight ahead.
Weigh enough (sounds like "wane off"): In all rowing situations, this means stop, doing anything such as rowing, walking, etc.
Down to waist, ready, down: On the 2nd "down", roll the boat toward the water to waist level.
Get an inside grip: Get a solid grip on the inside of the shell (on a rib).
Hands On: Get a grip on the shell and be ready to lift it.
Hold Water: The command given by the coxswain to have the rowers place their blades horizontally in the water to stop the shell quickly. Also, “check it down.”
Push it out: Push the shell out over to the water.
Toes to the edge: Move so that your feet are at the edge of the dock.
Turn and face the bow: Still holding the shell in the same spot, turn and face the bow (assumed other) end of the shell.
Up and overhead, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", put one hand on each side of the shell, push the shell overhead and center yourself beneath it. Lock your elbows!
Up to shoulders, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", lift the boat to rest on your sholder.
Up to waist, ready, up: On the 2nd "up", lift the boat to waist level.
Walk it forward: Start walking straight ahead.
Weigh enough (sounds like "wane off"): In all rowing situations, this means stop, doing anything such as rowing, walking, etc.