ROWING TERMINOLOGY
Don’t know one of the acronyms used on this site?
Don’t understand a particular bit of rowing terminology?
Never fear. The glossary here contains all of the rowing terms you need to know.
| Boat Types/ Event Naming | |
| 1x | Single Scull – 1 sculler |
| 2x | Double Scull – 2 scullers |
| 4x | Quadruple “Quad” Scull – 4 scullers |
| 4x+ | Coxed Quadruple “Quad” Scull scullers plus cox |
| 2- | Pair (without a cox) 2 rowers |
| 4- | Coxless Four (without a cox) 4 rowers |
| 4+ | Coxed Four (with a cox) 4 rowers |
| 8+ | Coxed Eight (with a cox) 8 rowers |
| U17 | Under 17 years of age |
| U19 | Under 19 years of age |
| U21 | Under 21 years of age |
| U23 | Under 23 years of age |
| Open (O) | Open to all competitors |
| Para | Para events Open to competitors living with a disability and classified according to the Rowing Australia Rules |
| Club | Club events Open to competitors who are members of the same club |
| Sprint | Sprint events over 500metres |
| Rowing Terminology | |
| Back it | To row in reverse to manoeuvre the boat to a desired position |
| Backsplash | Water splashed back towards the bow by the blade as it enters the water. |
| Blade/Spoon | The part at the end of the oar which goes into the water. |
| Bow | The front end of the boat |
| Bow Ball | A 5cm rubber ball fitted to the bow of the boat as a safety device. A compulsory fitting. |
| Bow Number | A alpha-numeric number that each racing crew has attached to their bow to identify their race (the alpha) and their lane number (the numeric). |
| Bow seat | The rower closest to the front or bow of a crew boat when looking towards the bow. |
| Bowside | The right or starboard side of the boat when looking towards the bow. |
| Catch | The catch is the front end of the stroke where the oar is placed into the water |
| Catching a crab | A “crab” is when the oar get stuck in the water and impedes the progress of the boat. |
| Check it | Is when the crew, or some members of the crew put their oar into the water and hold it still to stop the boat from moving |
| Collar / Button | A wide plastic ring placed around the sleeve of an oar. The button stops the oar from slipping through the oarlock. |
| Cox box | A brand name, but also a common term used for a speaker system that the coxswain uses to be heard throughout the boat. it can also show stroke rate, boat speed and time etc to the coxswain. |
| Coxswain or Cox | The person who is responsible for steering a coxed boat and making race calls around strategy. Not all boats have a cox. The cox may either sit in the stern of the boat or lie down in the bow of the boat. The cox faces the direction the boat is going. |
| Distance | All races except Sprint events are over the Olympic distance of 2,000 metres. |
| Drive | The part of the stroke where the oar is in the water |
| Easy or Easy Oar | To stop rowing |
| Ergometer, Ergo or Erg | An indoor rowing machine |
| Events/Races | Each event will be conducted over a number of elimination rounds, e.g, heat, repechage, semi-final, finals, |
| Feather | When the oars are turned so the blade is parallel with the water |
| Finish | The end of the drive where the oars are released from the water. |
| Foot Stretcher | Apparatus for holding the feet firmly in the boat. |
| Lightweight | Lightweight rowers need to meet certain weight requirements to race. |
| Rating | The number of strokes taken per minute |
| Recovery | The part of the stroke where the oar is out of the water, when the rower is moving forward to the catch. (the beginning of the stroke) |
| Repechâge | A second race given to crews which do not progress in the draw past the heat, a second chance to progress. |
| Rigger | An attachment to the side of the boat which holds the oar. |
| Sculler | A rower who rows with two oars, one in each hand. |
| Seat number | A rower’s position in the boat counting up from the bow. In an eight, the person closest to the bow is “bow,” the next is 2, followed by 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and finally “stroke.” |
| Slide | Runners that guide the rower’s seat during the stroke. |
| Splits or Split time | The time it has taken a crew to row a specified distance usually 500metres |
| Square | When the blade is at right angles to the water |
| Stern | The rear end/ back of the boat |
| Stroke | The entire movement of the oar going through the water, finish and recovery and going back in again |
| Stroke (Seat) | The rower closest to the stern of the boat. |
| Strokeside | The left or port side of the boat when looking to the bow. |
| Sweep | Rowers who row with one oar / boats where each rower has one oar |
| Wash | The wake from another boat |
| Washing out | Where the blade comes out of the water during the drive |