THE ROWING STROKE
Cycle of a Stroke
One complete cycle of the catch, drive, release, and recovery. ​
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Catch: The moment the blade enters the water and initiates the drive of each stroke.​
Drive: Portion of the stroke that propels the boat through the water. The drive starts at the catch and ends with the release. The main power from the drive is generated by the rower's legs pushing off the foot-stretchers.
Finish: The end of the drive when the rower removes the oar from the water and then feathers. This is also called the release.
Recovery: The portion of the stroke after the rower releases the oar from the water and returns to the catch position.​​​
​Blade-work
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Rowing oars and blades have specific positions they progress through during a rowing stroke. The blade is square while in the water and feathered during recovery.
​Square
The act of rotating the oar prior to the catch so that the blade is perpendicular to the water.
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Feather
The act of rotating the oar at the finish so that the oar's blade is parallel to the water during the recovery.
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​What Makes Boats Go Faster?
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Speed happens when everything goes right with the power and rhythm of the boat. This happens when there is a good set, timing enables swing, and rowers are taking long and strong strokes at a high stroke rate.
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Set: Refers to the balance of the boat. An unset boat will lean to either port or starboard.
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Swing: The feeling in the boat when all rowers are driving and finishing their strokes together.
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Long Stroke: Move the boat a long way on each full stroke.
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Pull Hard: Pulling with force will make the boat travel further on each stroke.
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Stroke Rate: The number of strokes per minute taken by a crew.
Rowing technique takes years to master. All novices (as well as many seasoned rowers!) will perform rower errors that slow down the boat. Part of learning the sport is diagnosing the error and quickly adjusting the stroke. At the bottom of this page is a list of the most common rower errors.​​​​​
Measuring Progress​
There are key metrics rowers use to measure pace and progress for both athletes and boats.
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Ratio: The relationship between the time taken between the drive and recovery portions of the stroke. A good ratio will have about twice as much time taken during the recovery as the drive.
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Run: The distance the shell moves during one stroke. This can be seen by looking at the distance between the puddles made by the same oar.
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Rating/Stroke Rate: The number of strokes per minute taken by a crew. During the body of the race a crew will maintain a rating in the mid to high 30's.
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Split: The amount of time it would take a rower or crew to complete 500 meters at their current pace. This can be applied to both a crew on the water or a person on an erg.
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2K: The time it takes to row 2000 meters on an erg machine. This benchmark metric is often used to help rowers measure their progress in conditioning and generating power. ​​​​​
​Keep Learning
You will start speaking like a rower after you read all of our rowing overview pages. ​​
Common Rower Errors that Slow Down the Boat​​​​​​
At the Catch: ​​ --Skying: Where the rower drops their hands just prior to the catch. This causes the blade to move higher off the water and will disrupt the set of the shell. --Backsplash: The water thrown back toward bow by the oar's blade as it enters the water during the catch. A proper catch should throw a small amount of water. During the Drive: --Missing Water: Where the rower begins the leg drive before the catch has completed and contributes less to the boat speed than optimal. --Air Stroke: Where the oar's blade is not completely in the water. This results a complete lack of power and a lot of splashing and doesn't move the boat at all. --Digging: When the blade of the oar goes deeper in the water than it should, slowing the boat down.​​ --Washing Out: When an oar comes out of the water during the drive and creates surface wash. This results in a reduction in speed and can disrupt the set of the boat. At the Finish: --Crab: Occurs from a blade work error where a rower is unable to properly remove their oar from the water. A crab can slow down or even stop the boat. In extreme cases a crab can eject the rower from the shell. Usually caused when a rower's blade isn't square to the water. During Recovery: --Rushing: Where the rower moves toward the stern during the recovery before the rest of the crew. This increases the amount of check during each stroke. Also referred to as 'shooting the slide.'  --Check: The reverse momentum resulting from the crews’ body weight moving toward stern during the recovery. Check is unavoidable but can be minimized through proper technique.