Rowing Terminology
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Blade |
Flattened or spoon-shaped end of oar or scull; often used as term for oar |
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Bow |
Forward end of boat |
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Bow ball |
Safety ball fitted to sharp stem of racing boat |
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Bowside (starboard) |
All rowers whose oars are in the water on the right hand side of the boat when viewed from the stern |
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Button |
Plastic sheath on oar to prevent it from slipping throught the rowlock; adjustable on modern oars |
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Canvas |
The canvas on fore and aft decks of a boat; in race verdicts, the distance between the bow ball and the bow man's stateroom. |
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Catch |
The part of the stroke when the blade is put in the water |
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Coxswain |
Steers the boat from the seat in the stern or a lying position in the bow |
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Crab |
Occurs when the rower fails to get the oar out of the water at the end of the stroke; can result in the rower being ejected from boat to water |
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Crew |
Rowers who man a boat; American college term for rowing |
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Drive (Pull-through) |
The part of the stroke between the catch and the finish |
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Feather |
To turn the blade parallel with the water surface at the start of the recovery to reduce wind resistance |
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Fin |
Small flat plate perpendicular to the bottom of the boat to aid steering a straight course |
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Finish (release) |
The part of the stroke just befoe and as the blade is taken out of the water |
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FISA |
Federation Internationale des Sovietes d'Aviron; the International Rowing Federation |
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Gate |
Bar across a rowlock to retain the oar |
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Gunwale |
Horizontal plank at the top of the hull running the length of the boat |
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Hands away |
The act of dropping the oar handle at the finish of the stroke so that the blade leaves the water and is feathered at the start of the recovery; sometimes referred to as "out of bow" |
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Inboard |
The distance between the far end of the handle of an oar or scull and the face of the button. THe remainder is called the outboard |
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Length |
The length of a boat (i.e. "They won by one length") |
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Oar |
A lever approximately 12 feet (360cm) long by which the rower pulls against the rowlock to move the boat through the water |
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Puddles |
Whirls left in the water caused by the blade as the rower pulls |
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Rating (beat) |
The rate of stroking, or the number of strokes per minute that a crew is rowing |
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Recovery |
The part of the stroke cycle between the finish and the catchin which the oar is feathered and the seat is returned to the aft end of the slope |
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Regatta |
A competitive event raced in boats |
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Repechage |
A second heat to afford another chance of qualifying to those running second best in preliminary heats |
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Rhythm |
The proportion of time occupied on the recovery to the time taken on the pull through |
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Rigger |
A metal framework or a carbon-fibre reinforced arm to support the rowlock whichis placed approximately 7600 mm fro the centre of the boat |
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Rowlock (oarlock) |
A bracket which swivels on the end of the outrigger to support the oar |
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Rudder |
Steering device attached vertically to the stern or under the hull of a shell |
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Run |
The distance a boat travels in one stroke |
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Sculling |
Using two oars or sculls |
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Shoulder |
Reinforcement structure in the cockpit to support the attachment of riggers |
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Slide |
Parallel rails in which the seat moves on wheels |
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Standard rig |
Uniform alternation of riggers (and therefore oars and rowers) in the boat; the rower inthe seat nearest the stern is usually on stroke side |
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Stern |
The rear or aft of the boat |
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Stretcher |
A frame with straps or shoes to anchor the rower's feet |
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Stroke |
The complete cycle of moving the boat through the water using oars or sculls; the rower seated nearest the stern |
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Stroke side (port) |
All the rowers whose oars are in the water on the left hand side of the boat when viewed from the stern |
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Washing out |
Occurs when the blade comes of the water during the pull-through before the finish |
