Rowing Cycle Terms
- Stroke - One full motion to move a shell. It is also used as a term referring to the stern-most rower who sits nearest the coxswain.
- Catch - The start of the rowing cycle at which the blade enters the water. It is accomplished by an upward motion of the arms only. The blade of the oar must be fully squared at the catch.
- Feathering - The act of turning the oar blade from a position perpendicular to the surface of the water to a position parallel to the water. This is done in conjunction with the release.
- Release - A sharp downward (if any) motion of the hand which serves to remove the oar blade from the water and start the rowing cycle.
- Recovery - Part of the rowing cycle from the release up to and including where the oar blade enters the water.
- Squaring - A gradual rolling of the oar blade from a position parallel to the water to a position (almost) perpendicular to the surface of the water. This is accomplished during the recovery portion of the rowing cycle and is done in preparation for the catch.
- Drive - That part of the rowing cycle when the rower applies power to the oar. This is a more (or less) blended sequence of applying power primarily with a leg drive, then the back and finally the arms.
- Finish - The last part of the drive before the release where the power is mainly coming from the back and arms.
- Rating - Also known as stroke rating and is measured in SPM (strokes per minute), literally the number of strokes the boat completes in a minute’s time. The stroke rate at the start is high – 38-45, even into the 50s for an eight – and then “settles” to a race cadence typically in the 30s. Crews sprint to the finish, taking the rate up once again. Crews may call for a “Power 10” during the race – a demand for the crew’s most intense 10 strokes.
- Crab - "Catching a crab" refers to a problem encountered by a rower when his or her oar gets "stuck" in the water, usually right after the catch or just before the release and caused by improper squaring or feathering. The momentum of the shell can overcome the rower's control of the oar, sucking the oar into the water and causing the handle of the oar to go over the rowers head. In extreme cases, the rower can actually be ejected from the shell by the oar.
- Check - Any abrupt deceleration of the shell caused by some uncontrolled motion within the shell; an interruption in the forward motion of the shell.