Facts about Rowing

"ATTENTION!!" Cries the Starter before he/she raises the red flag above his/her head. Then the next thing you hear is "GO!!" You pull really hard on your oars to cross the finish line first.

Sound like fun? We think so! Here are some interesting facts about rowing:

People have been rowing for hundreds of years. In the 1700s there are reports of oarsmen being used to move a battleship in Greece! People who row like to be called oarsmen because they use oars to move their boats. There are many different kinds of rowing boats here are some pictures of the different kinds.

This boat is called a 'Single Shell' because only one person is in it and they use two sculling oars.
This boat is called a 'Pair's Shell' and two people row in it. They use one "sweeping oar" each. Sometimes there is a coxswain in the boat too but he/she doesn't row.
This boat has two people rowing in it and is called a 'Double Shell.' Each person uses two oars and sometimes there is a coxswain in the boat too.
This boat is called a 'Quad Shell' and four people row in it. They each use two oars. Sometimes there is a coxswain in the boat too.
The 'Four's Shell' has four people rowing in it and they each use one sweeping oar. There is sometimes a coxswain in the boat as well.

This is an 'Eight-oared Shell,' there are eight people rowing in this boat and there is always a coxswain directing the boat.


Now lets learn about the roles people play in rowing.

First of all there are the oarsmen, the people who row. They move the boats using their muscles. Everyone has muscles. Take your arm and lift it up in the air. See? You have lots of muscles, with some practice you could be a rower! When there is more than one oarsman in a boat they are called a crew.

Next there is the coxswain. The coxswain is a person who doesn't weigh very much. They make sure the boat goes in a straight line. They also talk to the people rowing and encourage them to go faster. When Mark Fawcett was 12 years old he was a coxswain. You probably remember his success in snowboarding at the Olympics.

At the big races there are many people who are involved with the planning and making sure everything goes well. We're going to learn about a few of those people.

The 'Aligner' is one of the judges at the start of the race. His job is to make sure everyone is at the starting line before the race. He also makes sure none of the boats are ahead or behind the others.

The 'Starter' is the person who begins the race. He yells "Two Minuets!!!" to the rowers before the race, which means they need to get in their places to start the race. After two minuets the Starter calls "Roll Call." "Roll Call" is a lot like what your teacher does at the beginning of class to make sure you are there. The Starter calls out the names of the rowing crews and then if everyone is ready he raises a red flag above his head. He drops the flag when he yells "GO!!!" That is when the race begins.

The judges at the end of the race are called "Finish Judges" they are in charge of determining who wins the race. Some times they use cameras if the race is really close.

The 'Referee' is like the Principal of your school, everybody looks up to him/her and he/she has the final say in everything. The referee follows the oarsmen during the race and makes sure everything goes ok. If he thinks that one of the crews started before another he stops the race and has them start again.

The 'Weigh-in Official' is a person in charge of weighing everyone. When rowers decide what race to enter they choose the type of boat that they row in and then they choose a weight. Each race is divided by how much a crew weighs. On the day of the race each crew needs to be weighed and if there is a coxswain he/she needs to be weighed too.

Lots of people are involved with rowing and you can be too! There is a youth "Learn To Row" Program that is run at the Kennebecasis Rowing Club every summer. Rowing takes a lot of work and practice but it is a lot of fun too!