C M YK Template:SARATOGIAN_Master
Scholastic Rowing Association of America
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT OF THE SARATOGIAN
Rowing for dummies
It takes more than pulling on an oar to win a regatta. The Saratogian explains the components of an eight boat. Crews like this will contest the
Scholastic Rowing Association of America’s National Championships today and tomorrow at Fish Creek on Saratoga Lake.
ENGINE ROOM
ften overlooked, the middle four seats in a
O traditional eight boat are called the
“engine room” or “power plant,” as they
supply the brawn to rocket a racing shell toward
the finish line.
“You generally put people in there who are
skilled, but are also known as being strong on
the oar,” Saratoga Rowing Association girls var-
sity coach Eric Catalano said. “All you want
them to think about is pulling. You want to sim-
plify it as much as possible.”
“My favorite is racing in the middle of the
boat,” SRA engine room rower Thora Olsen said.
“You feel the people moving in front of you and
behind you so it just feels like you’re going fast.”
While not considered a specific “pair” in the
boat, the engine room has their own form of
bonding and relying on each other.
“At practice, we joke about it because the mid-
dle never sits out (during rowing drills),” Brown
said. “When someone isn’t here, we miss them,
we miss the power, and you have a rhythm with
the eight girls.”
STROKE PAIR
he two rowers immediately in front of
T the coxswain are called the stroke
pair.
This is the rhythm section of a boat, set-
ting the pace for how fast the crew will place
and remove their oars from the water.
“They need to be dynamic,” Saratoga
Rowing Association girls varsity coach Eric
Catalano said. “Not just the catch and the
finish, but they need to know how to acceler-
ate and how it will translate back through
the boat.”
“I like how we have a little more control
over the race,” SRA girls junior eight stroke
seat rower Lizzy Fitzhenry said. “If every-
one’s not together, it’s really, really hard.”
The stroke pair helps dictate when a boat
needs to pass its competitors in adjacent
lanes.
“When you get your leg drives together it
just feels really strong and powerful,”
Fitzhenry said. “You can feel the rhythm
and it’s great.”
Catalano looks for a type of rower to place
as a stroke pair.
“You have to find a really good racer,”
Catalano said. “The racing is what counts.
In the end though, you have to have all the
pieces.
“At the high school level you can have a
stroke seat help you win races,” Catalano
said. “But in the Olympic final you need all
eight to be like rock stars.”
COXSWAIN
oss, signal caller, and captain of the ship are all
B names for a coxswain — the athlete who sits in
the racing shell and calls out rhythms, encour-
aging the rest of the crew to pull harder than their
competitors.
“A good coxswain is a coach whose most important
job is steering the boat,” Saratoga Rowing Association
girls varsity coach Eric Catalano said. “Off the water,
they are a center point for the boat. They get water for
the crew, look after the rowers, is their advocate and a
coach’s eyes and ears.”
Saratoga girls junior eight coxswain Isabel Price is
back with a headset after injuring her back over the
winter.
“I miss an oar, but this is the second best thing,” she
said. “I motivate, correct the rowers during practice
and steer straight. I like motivating them and seeing
them win, just being part of the team.”
“If I need to be relaxed and calm I can adjust my
voice for that. If I have to motivate it up I can do that
too,” Price said. “I know what they like and what they
don’t like. Sometimes I mention things, more what
they like, not what they don’t like.”
But a coxswain is more than just a motivational
speaker.
“They can multitask,” Catalano said. “They run all
these practices, get the teams on and off the water and
translate what I say.”
Capsuls by Stan Hudy. Photo by Eric Jenks.
Design by Andrew J. Bernstein and Erin McNamee.
FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
OTHER TYPES OF SHELLS
hile the long eight boats represent the highest level of coordi-
W nation among a crew, spectators on Fish Creek at Saratoga
Lake today and Saturday will also see athletes in four person
(quad), two-person (double), and single boats.
While the eight boats use sweep oars, with each athletes pulling on
one oar, quads are set up with either sweep oars or sculling oars, in
which each athlete pulls on two oars. Doubles and singles always use
BO W PAIR
he bow pair resides in the front of the
T racing shell, making them the first to
cross through the finish line, but also
putting them in charge of keeping the boat
in balance for its best performance.
“I want them to be more technical,”
Saratoga Rowing Association girls varsity
coach Eric Catalano said. “There is a lot of
control in the bow. How they carry their
hands can set the boat.”
It’s also challenging to maintain balance
as the boat races up the water.
“In general, the coach puts the two peo-
ple that he or she thinks would help set the
boat most,” said Caroline Blackington, half
of the bow pair in the Saratoga Rowing
Association Girls’ Junior Eight boat. “The
bow pair is more technical, so most of the
time it’s up to us to hold down, rush, and set
the boat, balance it.”
While challenging, it’s not impossible.
“It’s not that hard,” Jill Perkins, the other
half of the bow pair, said. “Once you’ve
rowed that long, you get used to it and
watch the person in front of you and every-
one follows each other.”
The bow pair also has a line on their com-
petitors, and any lead the boat may or may
not have.
“You can see out of the corner of your eye
where they are and if you’re in front,”
Perkins said. “That’s even better because
you don’t even have to look out to see
them.”
But, to avoid distraction, the rowers are
taught only to look ahead.
“You sort of go with the mentality of
blacking out, separating your mind from
your body,” Blackington said. “Your mind
blanks out and your body does all the work.”
RIGGING & OARS
he rigging and oars play an important role
T within any racing shell; they move the
boat forward and keep it upright. Without
oars, the shell’s contents — namely the rowers
— will wind up in the water.
“One of the major pieces of rigging is load and
angles; they are tied together,” Saratoga Row-
ing Association girls varsity coach Eric Catalano
said. “An oar acts like a lever — not like a see-
saw, but more like a pry bar.
“When you place a blade in the water you pull
on the handle and the boat actually moves past
that point,” Catalano explained. “The shorter
your end (oar handle) the heavier and harder it
is going to be to pull past that point.”
He notes that the principle is the same as that
which means it’s easier to loosen a bolt with a
bigger wrench than a small one.
According to Catalano, coaches will often use
a standard set of measurements for each class
of rowers — with rowers of different ages using
different length oars.
“It’s the safer thing to do,” Catalano said.
“But, there is speed to be found in the right
arrangement for your crew.”
Oars
Oars range in length from 11.5 to 12.5 feet, and
get attached to the rigging when on the water.
Changing the rigging can make the rowers
more comfortable, and is done utilizing a special
system on each shell.
“They can still obtain the same rating
(strokes per minute), but add a level of comfort,
said coach Eric Catalano
In addition, different sized and shaped blades
effect how the boat moves.
“The more surface area on the blade, the
heavier the load, so you don’t need a longer
oar,” Catalano said. “The length of the oar helps
with balance.”
He said the balance is similar to a pole used
by a tight rope walker.
“Without the oars the boats will flip, the same
with the tightrope walker,” Catalano said.