Rowing words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 36 words · Step 1 of 2

Basic equipment terms

Boat

The racing boat: a displacement mono-hull at least 7.20 m long, with a minimum weight set by class, for example 14 kg for a single sculls, 27 kg for a double or pair and 96 kg for an eight.

Also called: shell
See also: Single, Double, Eight, Sculls

Oar

The long pole with a flat blade at the end, used to row/propel the boat through the water.

Rigger

The metal frame extending from the side of the boat that holds the oarlock in place.

Also called: outrigger
See also: Boat, Oarlock

Oarlock

The pivot point on the rigger where the oar rests and rotates during rowing.

Slide

The sliding seat rowers sit on, which moves back and forth on rails to allow leg-driven power.

Also called: seat

Coxswain

The crew member who steers and calls the crew, and does not row. A coxswain wearing racing uniform must weigh at least 55.0 kg, and may carry up to 15.0 kg of deadweight to make it up. A coxed crew that finishes without its coxswain is excluded.

Also called: cox
See also: Coxless, Coxswain's role

Boat types

Sculling

Rowing with two oars (sculls) per rower, one in each hand. The sculling boat classes are the single (1x), double (2x) and quadruple sculls (4x).

See also: Boat, Single, Double, Rowing, Boat classes

Sweep rowing

Rowing with one oar per rower, held in both hands. The sweep classes are the pair (2-), coxed pair (2+), four (4-), coxed four (4+) and eight (8+).

See also: Double, Four, Eight, Coxless, Rowing

Single

The single sculls (1x), a boat for one rower with two sculls.

Also called: 1x
See also: Boat, Sculls

Double

The double sculls (2x), two rowers each with two sculls. The pair (2-) is two rowers each with one oar.

Also called: 2x), pair (2-
See also: Sculls

Four

Four rowers. The four (4-) and coxed four (4+) are sweep boats, and the quadruple sculls (4x) is sculling, with a coxed version (4x+) also recognised.

Also called: 4x, 4-
See also: Sculling, Coxless, Sculls

Eight

The eight (8+): eight rowers, each with one oar, and a coxswain. It is the largest racing boat, with a minimum weight of 96 kg.

Also called: 8+
See also: Boat, Coxswain, Coxswain's role

Coxless

A boat with no coxswain. Boat class names show it with a minus sign, as in the pair (2-) and four (4-), and a plus sign shows a coxed boat, as in the eight (8+).

Also called: coxed
See also: Boat, Coxswain, Double, Four, Eight

Race and course terms

Course

The racing course. At the Olympics, World Championships and World Cups it is 2,000 metres straight with six crews racing in separate lanes. Masters racing is 1,000 metres, and other courses can be shorter or longer.

Lane

The lane reserved for a crew. A crew must stay completely in it, including its oars, throughout the race. If it leaves, and interferes with another crew or gains an advantage, it can be sanctioned without warning.

Start

The start of a race, controlled by the Starter. Crews attach to the start pontoon at least two minutes before the start, the Starter calls the roll, says "Attention", raises a red flag or shows a red light, and after a clear pause starts the race with a signal. The Judge at the Start decides whether crews are aligned.

Sprint

The final push of speed and effort near the end of a race.

Regatta

A rowing competition made up of one or more events, split into races, in classes of boats for rowers grouped by sex, age or weight.

Heat

A preliminary race. When there are more crews than lanes, the progression system is used: the best crews in each heat go through by place, and the next fastest by time, to the next round.

Also called: repechage
See also: Progression system

Rowing

The rules define rowing as propelling a boat, with or without a coxswain, by the muscular force of one or more rowers, using oars as levers and sitting with their backs to the direction the boat moves. Rowing on a machine that simulates it also counts.

See also: Boat, Coxswain, Coxswain's role, Sculls

Boat classes

The classes recognised by World Rowing: single sculls (1x), double sculls (2x), pair (2-), coxed pair (2+), quadruple sculls (4x), coxed quadruple sculls (4x+), four (4-), coxed four (4+) and eight (8+).

See also: Single, Double, Four, Eight, Coxless

The ruleWhat are the different boats in rowing?

Finals A and B

The final races. Final A decides places 1 to 6, Final B places 7 to 12, and so on for lower finals.

Technique terms

Stroke

One complete rowing motion, from the catch to the finish.

Catch

The moment the oar blade enters the water to begin a stroke.

Drive

The powerful pulling phase of the stroke, using the legs, back and arms.

Finish

In technique, the moment the blade leaves the water at the end of a stroke. A crew has finished the race when the bow of its boat reaches the finish line.

Also called: release
See also: Boat

Recovery

The relaxed phase after the finish, where the rower slides forward to prepare for the next catch.

Rate

How many strokes per minute a crew is rowing, higher rates generally mean more speed but require more energy.

Also called: stroke rate
See also: Rowing

Feather

Rotating the oar blade flat (parallel to the water) during the recovery to reduce wind resistance.

Catching a crab

A rowing mistake where the oar blade gets trapped in the water at an awkward angle, disrupting the boat's rhythm (sometimes dramatically).

Crew roles

Stroke seat

The rower positioned closest to the stern (back of the boat), who sets the pace/rhythm for the rest of the crew to follow.

Also called: stroke
See also: Boat

Bow

The rower positioned closest to the front of the boat, and also the name for the front end of the boat itself.

Coxswain's role

See coxswain. In a coxed boat the coxswain steers, calls the crew's timing and strategy, and counts as a member of the crew.

Also called: coxswain
See also: Boat, Coxswain, Coxless

Rules and officials

Umpire

The official who follows the race and decides whether crews were in their lanes or interfered with each other. At the end the Umpire shows a white flag if the race was in order and a red flag if not.

False start

Beginning to row, with the boat crossing the start line, after the red flag is raised or red light shown and before the start command. The crew that caused it gets a yellow card, and two false starts mean a red card.

Yellow card and red card

A yellow card is a formal warning, which lapses only when the race is over. Two yellow cards in the same race become a red card, which excludes the crew from all rounds of the event. Disqualification is the most serious sanction and removes a crew from the whole regatta.