Trinity College Rowing Technique The Recovery The objective is to get from the finish position to the catch position with the minimum of effort and with minimum disruption to the boat s speed and balance. This is achieved by: 1. Maintaining a constant handle speed during the recovery. 2. Letting the boat come to you. The handle speed is determined by the speed at which the boat comes to you once you are on the slide. The hand speed therefore needs to be anticipated so that once on the slide, the handle speed does not need to be changed in order for the boat to come towards you at its natural rate. 1. The hands are pushed away until the arms are straight but relaxed and not locked out. 2. The handle moves horizontally. The body swing continues the movement of the handle past the knees. The transition from hands away to body over needs to be smooth and does not change the speed of the handle. 1. The body pivots forwards from the hips and the weight comes onto the feet. Just before the body rocks forward far enough for there to be tension in the hamstrings, the knees break. Once the knees break the seat starts to roll, the movement of the boat towards you pushes the knees up and the heels rise naturally feel for pressure in the balls of the feet. To get full return and full length from the boat, the muscles for leg extension must remain relaxed until the catch there is no deceleration into the catch. The slide is taken at a constant speed. The movements are in sequence but start before the completion of the previous movement. Approach to the Catch The objective is to achieve an optimum position for the application of power and good forward length. This requires preparation during the recovery. Pressure on the feet starts to increase as you come towards the catch position. Back position remains unchanged using core muscles. Note the following points: 1. Head High- encourages good posture for body and spine 2. Chest against thighs- Rotation should be centred around the hip joint, not the upper or lower back. 3. Pressure on toes increases as you roll forwards 4. Shins vertical- strong position for the quadriceps 5. Relaxed but alert- poised like a cat ready to spring
Placement The arms and hands should extend along a horizontal plane out well over the gunnels as the blade angle is increased in preparation for the grasping of the water. 1. The entry of the blade into the water will be accomplished with a relaxation and a slight positive "flick" of the hands and arms while maintaining the back angle (not opening the back to achieve the catch). This allows fast entry of the blade into the water. Square half way down the shins. The Catch The objective is simple: maximise length, minimise splash. As soon as the bottom edge strikes the water, the spoon will move past the boat at 5 m/s. If it takes as much as 0.2 s to cover the blade, a whole metre of length has been lost. Splash is inefficient. Backsplash represents transfer of momentum from the boat to the water, ie lost speed. So there is a compromise between length and backsplash. To cover the spoon quickly, it must be moving downward at considerable speed before it strikes the water. So the upward movement of the handle starts well before frontstops. Ideally, the bottom edge will strike the water at frontstops, and the top edge will be covered at most 0.1 s later, at which point the legs are moving fast enough to accelerate the boat. The final complication is that you need to ensure the spoon doesn t go too deep. So the last part of the catch is to gently arrest the downward motion. 1. As the seat arrives at frontstops, the bottom edge of the spoon should be entering the water so the hands need to be lifting up to the catch before arrival. This results in a small amount of backsplash. 2. The legs work to change the seat direction quickly. The legs remain relaxed until this point so that full length can be achieved and the change in direction can be achieved quickly with bounce. 3. By the time the top edge of the spoon is covered, the oar should have changed direction and should be applying force to the water. i.e. the spoon should be moving faster than the water this results in a larger amount of frontsplash than backsplash. 4. The hands guide the blade into the water. The legs apply the power. The trunk and arms link legs to blade.
The Start of the Drive The legs back and arms must work together progressing from the strongest to weakest in a continuous chain to maximize the force applied to the handle for the duration of the stroke. Legs drive powerfully out of the catch with a minimum of back movement and tension in the upper body. Only the leg muscles are fast enough to match the speed of the boat. The strength of the legs drives the body backwards and the back muscles hold against the legs to transfer this movement to the handle. The leg drive carries the weight of the boat and the body forwards the strength of the legs and torso dictate how fast the boat will go. The boat needs to be accelerated but we need to recognise that there is a maximum force which can be applied to the water before it starts to slip around the spoon creating inefficiencies. It is not therefore wise to jump violently away from the catch. When the legs on their own cannot accelerate the boat further, the back and then the back and the arms must be introduced to keep the boat accelerating. This occurs when the legs are about half way down. The middle of the drive "the most efficient part" All the muscles are working through their middle range and the blade is at its most efficient point in the stroke. Make full use of this advantage by beginning the draw with the arms before midway. The arms must start to draw well before the legs reach the backstops approximately when the body moves though the vertical if not slightly before. The Finish - "send the boat away" Retain pressure on the blade through to the finish by pressing toes on the footstretcher, by using the leverage of the trunk, and by keeping the arms working with the body. Although legs reach backstops before the arms and trunk have finished working, the toes should continue pressing hard to give support with the legs until the blade is extracted. The trunk should be moving towards the bow until the moment before the hands reach the body. (if the arm draw starts too late, this timing will be delayed.) There is only a very short period where the legs are fully locked out and the arms are drawing in on their own. During this period the pressure on the blade decreases and allows the spoon to be extracted and the path of the handle to be controlled around the finish. Extraction The acceleration during the drive carves a hole in the water behind the spoon, and develops a mound of water in front of the spoon. As long as acceleration is maintained to the finish, this hole and the mound will remain. The neater the hole, the more efficient the work output. The blades should be held at the same level through the drive and the draw. 1. At the finish, the blades are extracted cleanly from these carved holes which makes extraction easy. 2. The tap out occurs about 3 inches away from the chest. 3. The tap out is crisp and clean with the blade held square until the bottom edge of the spoon is clear of the water.
Remember that it takes a small amount of time to extract the spoon. As per point 2, you must start tapping down early enough so that the bottom edge is clear of the water by the time you reach backstops. Once out of the water, the handle changes direction quickly but the hand speed away is determined by the constant speed method. The motion of the hands down and away accompanied by the dropping of the inside wrist puts the blade on the feather. Handle Grip Hold the oar with the hands 15-20cm. Turn the blade with the inside hand push the wrist down. Apply power with the outside hand. Relaxed but controlled during recovery. Relaxation Contract only those muscles needed to perform a specific function. This is achieved by relaxation of the hands, arms and shoulders, the areas where tension will be most prevalent. The muscles of the upper body will be more effective if they enter into the catch in a relaxed condition. Muscles will contract instantly when a load is forced upon them. Rhythm The rowing stroke comprises fast movements and slow movements. The essence of good rhythm in the boat is the contrast between them. Done well, a good motion looks smooth, continuous, and unhurried, so it can be difficult to see that contrast. The FAST movements begin with the entry of the blade and continue through the stroke and the movement of the hands away from the body after blade extraction (the finish). The slower movements begin when the hands pass over the knees and continue until the next stroke. The momentum created by the power of the stroke carries the hands down and away from the body when the seat is at the backstops. The body relaxes immediately as the blade leaves the water so there is no interference with this natural free-flowing movement. The seat moves SLOWLY forwards in contrast to its speed during the stroke. The rower prepares by gathering, ready to spring from the stretcher onto the next stroke. The movement of the seat must be faster during the stroke than it is during the recovery. The handle moves at a continuous speed on the recovery and a feeling of rhythm is achieved from moving the hands and swinging the body weight forwards onto the feet together.
Bladework The importance of bladework must be appreciated. Only the blades move the boat, therefore an important part of the technique is the skill with which the blade is controlled. A good blade is described as: 1. A long stroke in the water Minimum loss of reach forward Quickly grips the water Covered throughout the stroke. 2. Utilizes power. Grips the water with minimum loss of leg drive. Works in a horizontal plane Covered throughout the stroke 3. Does not interfere with the run of the boat. Clean extraction Carried forward clear of the water Balances the boat References Steven Redgrave s complete book of rowing Rowing Faster Mike Spracklen http://home.hia.no/~stephens/sprack.htm