Rowing Lingo

  • Rowing, or sweep rowing, is with only one oar per rower.
  • Sculling, is with two oars per rower, one in each hand.
  • Blades or Oars are used to move the boat through water. Rowers can have one or two, depending on whether they are Sweep or Sculling.
  • Stroke Rate is the number of times your oar goes in the water per minute. Thirty-five strokes per minute is considered high, while 18 strokes/minute is low.
  • The bow is the front of the boat (and crosses the finish line first in a race). Rowing is the only sport where competitors go backwards to move forwards.
  • The bow seat is the rower seated at the front of the boat.
  • The stroke seat is the rower seated at the back of the boat who sets pace for the crew. Stroke crosses the finish line last (except in a coxed boat where the cox sits at the back of the boat).
  • “The catch” is the point at which the oar's end enters the water.
  • “Catching a crab” is when a rower loses control of the oar, doesn’t remove it from the water at the end of the stroke and the oar acts as a brake; something you try to avoid when rowing.
  • An erg is an indoor rowing machine used to help rowers stay fit and complements on-water rowing.
  • A coxswain (cox) steers the boat, instructs and energizes the crew.
  • The cox uses the ‘cox box’, a microphone system in the boat, to communicate to the crew.
  • Regatta is a sporting event with a series of boat races.
  • Boats:
  • Sculling boats include: the single (1x), the double (2x), and the quad (4x)
  • Sweep boats include: the pair (2-), the coxless four (4-), the coxed four (4+) and the eight (8+).