Rowing Techniques

While there may be number of styles of rowing, whether names are applied such as Western, Eastern, European or International, they can also be as infinite as the number of coaches trying to carry out their ideas of specifics to produce winning crews and the number of oarsmen who have to adapt to their own physical or mental abilities. Yet there are, with the passage of the years, very evident changes that can be argued without possibility or probability of resolvement. Whether or not a style or feature is worthy of adoption by others, considering the multitude of other factors that can have an equal or superior effect, cannot be left to the fact of winning or losing even though there surely is that tendency or right.

Development of shells and accessories determined many changes in style. Lightening and slenderizing of boats brought about the use of outriggers. The use of a sliding seat resulted in the lengthening of the stroke and slowing the rate. The swivel lock permitted the oarsmen to concentrate on power rather than oar control. And the addition of a coxswain relieved the rowers of maintaining a direction. Though some of the changes created other offsetting problems of weight, balance or complexity, there was a net improvement in speed which, in the final analysis, was the objective of the whole business.

Rowers of any era, usually a span of a few active years in the case of college oarsmen though much longer in the case of those who have continued in club activities, become accustomed to certain styles or things and any deviation seems awkward or less desirable by comparison. The sliding seat permitted the greatest length of stroke, from a reach with the body in a fetal position to a layback with the body horizontal as in the English or Eastern orthodox but is that better than the short sit-up-straight style that brought victory to the Western crews decades ago? The physiques of the rowers did make a difference as well as the changing efficiency with angularity of a blade in the water and the number of strokes permitted per minute.

Until the Ratzburg dominance shells were rigged alternately port and starboard from bow to stern, either port or starboard stroked dependent on the presence of a strong stroke oarsman who could do beat with a starboard our though almost universally the stroke had to adapt to the port arrangement. But to offset the torque of all starboard or port oars, depending on whether port or starboard stroked, being nearer the bow with a tendency to swing the bow to that side at the catch, there are arrangements that theoretically offset that unbalance.

While there can be many different arrangements of outriggers to accomplish this purpose of equalization, two are worthy of note. In the German configuration, #2 and #3 are on the same side, whether port or starboard rigged, with #3 being grouped with #2 to oppose #1. With the German success this innovation was of course tried by others wishing to take advantage of any gimmick that would perhaps also give them an edge. The Italian version went even further and grouped #3 with #2, #5 with #4 and #7 with #6 whether port or starboard rigged. This of course resulted in the bow and stroke oars being on the same side in all cases and moved a blade or blades towards the bow.

Another obvious alteration in technique is the position of the hands on the oar. It is a law of physics that in a Class I lever the greatest work is done with the force applied at the greatest distance from the fulcrum. And in rowing the hands were once both at the extreme end of the oar grip, though different individuals allowed adjustments that avoided interference felt comfortable. But the recent past has apparently brought about a separation of apparently up to about a foot, which to those accustomed to the earlier style seems most awkward and ineffective. It has always been that the hand toward the lock grips the oar to provide the feathering action, while the outside hand concentrates on transmission of power and adjusts it grip to the angularity of the oar in the lock. But with the inside hand a foot toward the lock the body has to adjust by twisting or the arm adjusted by bending the elbow, thereby creating less effective action. For a "reductio ad absurdum" approach imaging the inside hand moved another foot toward the lock and contemplate its effect on feathering, body position and work applied to the blade by the hand. One arm action on paired oars is normal but a one armed sweep is quite unusual.