ACTRA Novice Rowing Program

Adair Ferguson, BSc, BA (Human Mvmt), MSc (Qual)
ACT Rowing Association Sports Development Officer

Canberra, October 2002

This is a 3 module programme for teaching novices the elements of rowing.

Go to:
     Module 2
     Module 3

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ACTRA Novice Rowing Program
Module 1

FAMILIARISATION

Aims

Familiarisation with

1. Boat shed, rules, procedures, coaches.
2. Rowing terms and commands
3. Parts of the boat and oars
4. How to get the boat off the rack, carry the boat and put it in/take it out of the water
5. Correct sequence of body movements in basic rowing stroke.
6. Feel of the boat and the oar in the water.

Activities

1.  Familiarisation with Shed and Equipment

Show novices the shed, the different types of boats (sculls, sweep) and oars. Concentrate on the boats they will be rowing later.

2.  Video

Show the introductory video 'Go Rowing' if available (15 mins).

• Point out the parts of the boat and oars, emphasising similarity to sweep boats (use 'freeze frame' if necessary)
• Emphasise the key parts of the stroke-catch, drive, release, recovery (Teaching points: horizontal movement, head steady)

3.  Ergo

Take students to ergo to demonstrate the correct sequence of movements. Teaching points are:

• the catch-shins vertical, body over, arms straight
• the drive-done primarily with the legs, body opening with legs, arms pull handle straight, start to pull arms in in mid-stroke enabling arms and legs to finish together.
• the release-sit up, but in relaxed posture, leaning back slightly, draw handle to just above bottom of rib cage, squeeze knees as hands pull back to the body, round the back turn without stopping and smoothly away
• recovery-hands away first, then body swinging smoothly over as hands go past knees, then sliding up gently and evenly to 'catch' position. Mention ratio of drive time to recovery time (1:2 approx).

4.  Land Rower

This is useful to teach grip on handle and feel of oar in the water. Guide each student through, and let them practise, the following:

1. Show how blade floats in water, both when square and when feathered (mention use of feathered oar on water as 'outrigger' for extra stability when slowing/stopped).
2. Demonstrate the stroke with square blade. Emphasise grip on oar, lift of hands at catch, height of blade in water (let it float and just pull horizontally), tap down at finish to extract blade), most force is transmitted through outside arm (hand furthest from the rigger).
3. Introduce stroke using squaring and feathering (turning blade with 'inside' hand, i.e. hand nearest rigger). Emphasise flat wrists during drive phase (many will try to row with cocked wrist ready for feathering at end of stroke).
4. Work from back chocks to quarter slide, half slide, three-quarter slide, full slide.

5.  Carry Boat to Water, get into Boat

Instruct and guide students as they pick up and carry boat to water, put oars in the correct sides, step into the boat, sit on seat/push off from pontoon. Each crew member adjusts foot stretcher so outside hand finishes at ribs just inside edge of trunk. Number off when ready (so they learn seat numbering terminology).

6.  In the Boat

Sit with blades flat on water, handles held close to ribs. Check grip (hands spaced about 30 cm apart)

1. Two row at a time, square blades, working from back chocks gradually to full slide. Others leave blades floating flat on water for added stability.
2. Two row at a time, with feathering, working from back chocks gradually to full slide, as before. Others leave blades floating flat on water for added stability.
3. Then bring in more crew members/try different combinations (e.g. 2 rowing with 5, stroke with bow, etc.) as long as there is always at least one pair of rowers 'sitting up' the boat.
4. Finish with whole crew rowing together for a short time, concentrating on following rower in front. Blades in together and out together.

(Teaching points: Try to keep sequence of movements same as on ergo, pushing off feet, using straight arms, horizontal draw. don't worry too much about the finer points of control of the oar at this stage. It is the basic movements that are the most important.)

7.  Take Boat out of Water, Wash, put Boat and Oars Away

Instruct and guide students in the correct boat and oar handling after a row.

8.  Conclusion

Give out any handouts re rowing terms. Advise time of next training session.

Next session repeat steps 5 , 6 and 7 above, with more emphasis on 'whole crew' rowing.

ACTRA Novice Rowing Program
Module 2

TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT-Rhythm

The first set of sessions concentrated on basic sequencing of the stroke, and bladework exercises. The next step is to tackle the rhythm of the stroke, with the major contributing factors being relaxation during the recovery and acceleration during the drive. The crew must be conscious of the fact that all their forces should be directed horizontally, to maximise the boat's forward movement in the water (and not down or up, or in any other direction). Similarly, the crew should seek to minimise forces that disturb or hinder the horizontal forward movement of the boat in the water.

These concepts may seem advanced for novices, but it is nevertheless important to develop them in the earliest stages of rowing so that they become an automatic part of every stroke.

Rhythm, involving acceleration and relaxation, is the foundation of successful rowing, both in a competitive sense and aesthetic sense.

Aims

Development of rowing technique with emphasis on rowing rhythm, with its essential components:

1. Relaxation

2. Acceleration

Activities

Warm Up

1. Cycle, run or ergo (5­15 minutes)

2. Stretching (use introductory video for examples of stretches)

Consolidation of Previous Activities

(Try to give some of the rowers a turn in a single scull or pair ­ , they will have to be closely supervised.)

3. If there were any major problems with the body sequencing work with some of the rowers, try to correct these on the ergo first, as part of the warm up. If it is a problem common to most of the rowers, give a demonstration of the correct sequencing.

4. Work through previous sequence of slide lengths, square blades etc., but more quickly-take only 10­15 minutes to complete. Revise points covered in previous sessions (sequence of movements, pushing off feet, straight arms, horizontal draw), but this time add a special emphasis on the recovery relaxation as part of the rhythm. Get rowers to visibly 'sag', turn into blancmanges, and take tension out of all parts of their bodies (especially neck and shoulders) during recovery.

Sit with blades flat on water, handles held close to ribs. Check grip (hands spaced about 30 cm apart)

(a) Two row at a time, square blades, working from back chocks gradually to full slide. Others leave blades floating flat on water for added stability.

(b) Two row at a time, with feathering, working from back chocks gradually to full slide, as before. Others leave blades floating flat on water for added stability.

(c) Then bring in more crew members/try different combinations (e.g. 2 rowing with 5, stroke with bow, etc.) as long as there is always at least one pair of rowers 'sitting up' the boat.

(d) Finish with whole crew rowing together for a short time, concentrating on following rower in front. Blades in together and out together.

Special Exercises to Aid Relaxation with Respect to Grip on the Oar in the Recovery and During the Stroke

5. (a) 'Play the piano' with the fingers on the oar during the recovery-releases tension, shows there is no need to 'grip' the oar on the way forward.

(b) Rowing (square blades) without thumbs on handle-emphasises the fingers forming a 'hook' during the stroke, forces rowers to let oar float in water as they drive backwards, promotes flat drive.

(c) Row gently using inside hand only (outside hand on hip), feathering

(d) Row firmly (with square blades) using outside hand only (inside hand on hip)-make sure at least two members of the crew are balancing the boat (i.e. not rowing, blades floating on the water) during this exercise.

Explain the Rhythm

Catch phrase: Sting like a bee, float like a butterfly

Rowing is all about moving the boat forward efficiently. The oar blade is planted or 'fixed' in the water. The blade, rather than the swivel, is the pivot point. The power of the legs is transferred to the oar which is used to lever the boat past this pivot point in the water. The swivel is where the power is transferred to the boat hull.

To maximise forward-propelling force on the boat, the leg drive must accelerate or build, during the stroke.

To maximise efficient use of the crew's physical energy, during the recovery the boat must be allowed to run, with minimal disturbance or hindrance to forward motion.

To minimise disturbance to forward motion, the crew must be relaxed during the recovery and slide up to the catch 'in tune' with the speed of the hull. It often helps to think that it is you that stays still in the boat during the recovery and the boat glides up underneath you, rather than you moving yourself towards the stern of the boat.

Remember, during the push, build the stroke so that you sting like a bee at the end, then relax and float like a butterfly as the boat comes underneath you during the recovery.

Exercises to Help the Rhythm

6. (a) Count 'one thousand, two thousand' as you come forward down the slide.

(b) Row VERY lightly at the catch and build to a strong finish (20% catch, 80% finish), then slide VERY slowly during the recovery (maybe even count 'one thousand, two thousand, three thousand'). Intersperse 10 of these exaggerated strokes with 10 normal strokes.

(c) Row with the feet out of the shoes/clogs-forces the idea of a floating recovery with the boat drifting up underneath you.

(d) See how far each crew can drift after one stroke, two strokes, three strokes. Get each crew to count how many strokes they take to cover a certain fixed distance-the lower the number of strokes the better.

(e) Try to maximise the distance between each set of 'puddles' formed by the blades at each stroke.

Rowing Home

On the way back to the shed, practise the 10 exaggerated strokes and the 10 normal strokes, maybe up to ten times. Make a note of any persisting major individual faults (Let me know what they are and I can devise exercises to help correct them)

Take boat out of water, wash, put boat and oars away

Conclusion

7. Give individual/crew feedback. Advise time of next training session.

Next session continue to work on steps 5 and 6 above, with more emphasis on 'whole crew' coordination of each exercise.

ACTRA Novice Rowing Program
Module 3

Consolidation of Technique by Emphasising Balance

Good balance should come from even, smooth technique and steady body control. It is worth spending some time on exercises to enhance balance, as this will also draw together many aspects of good rowing technique.

Aspects of Technique that Influence Balance in Sweep and Sculling Boats-Teaching Points

1. Good body position-straight down centre of boat, head level and steady, hands at even heights. (Swinging the body slightly 'around' the rigger in a sweep boat at the catch is fine-see exercise 4 next section below).

2. Relaxed body on recovery to allow the boat to run smoothly under you-the more relaxed the hands and body, the recovery the smoother the boat will run.

3. In a crew boat, move down the slide exactly together-not just a moment after the person in front starts moving (a very common mistake with novice rowers).

4. 'Horizontal' leg drive with a horizontal draw, imparting a horizontal motion to the boat (rather than bouncing or 'hobby-horsing' it in the water). The smoother and faster the resulting boat run, the easier it is to balance (like a bicycle).

5. No extraneous movements, e.g. shoulders lifting at the catch, slumping at the finish to help get the blade out of the water, or a combination of the two, resulting in a looping draw (up at the catch curving to down at the finish).

6. Relaxed and synchronised catches and finishes. In a crew boat the oars must all go in together and out together (not always easy to achieve). In a single scull the left and right blades must go in together and out together.

Exercises/Techniques to Enhance Balance

1. Show a technique video as an aid in demonstrating to rowers the effects of different hand heights, differences in timing of the catches and finishes, plus showing what it all looks like when done properly.

2. In a crew boat get bow side to lift their hands while stroke siders lower their hands and vice versa, both on the recovery and during the draw, to show how much this can affect the boat. (Try this sitting still, blades off the water, in a side wind. Note how lifting the blades only slightly on the windward side allows the blades to 'catch' the wind and quickly tilt the boat down on the opposite side.)

3. Square blade rowing with blades just above the water on the recovery. For novices this may be best done by rowing with two crew members balancing the boat by letting their oars float (feathered) on the water. This exercise is good for getting hand heights equal, especially on the recovery.

4. In a sweep boat, rowing with the outside hand only (square blades). This emphasises the body swinging slightly around the rigger at the catch. The exercise is less difficult if two crew members 'sit the boat up' (as in 3 above) while the other rowers practise the exercise.

5. As a crew, pausing at various lengths along the slide during the recovery-back chocks, quarter slide, half slide and three-quarter slide. The exercise is very good for getting a crew to move up the slide together, and differences are easily spotted! Very often, different hand speeds away from the finish, leaving the back at different times, and coming up the slide at different speeds cause bad wobbles in the recovery.

Lesson Plan

1. Start with exercise 2 above, alternating lifting and lowering of hands on stroke and bow side to tilt the boat. Concentrate on equalising the hand heights-the same as the rower in front of them, and not leaning to one side or the other (except at the catch, as explained earlier).

(N.B. Hand heights and leaning can be difficult for novice rowers to judge. A cox can be of great value here, as can videoing the crew.)

Teaching point: It is useful to suggest that the rowers hold their heads steady and stare straight ahead at some point on the horizon while still being relaxed on the recovery.

2. Using two of the rowers (rotate which two) to balance the boat, get the rest of the crew to slowly work up the slide (i.e. quarter, half, three quarter, full) with square blades only (this is a combination of exercise 3 above and the working up the slide procedure from earlier lessons). Emphasise, once again. equal heights above the water. The squared blades should just clear the water on the way forward. Get individual rowers to check their heights by actually looking at their blades as they come forward.

3. Practise exercises 4 and 5 above.

4. Finish with whole crew rowing, concentrating on smooth continuous rowing (no stopping or jerks at any time), following the rower in front exactly, with entries and exits to be at exactly the same time. Rhythm can also be re-emphasised (from the last lesson stage), working on clean finishes from everyone and hands way together.

5. Come in, wash and put the boat and oars away etc.

Future sessions should combine elements of Modules 1, 2 and 3 depending on the stage of development of the crew.