HOW TO TAKE A STROKE

One of the most difficult skills in rowing is the ability to take a proper stroke within the shell. If this is not achieved, it can cause the boat to do many wild and wacky things. There are basically four main components to a single stroke and they are described in more detail ...

The Catch

The catch is the point of the stroke where the blade enters the water. At this point the rower needs to reach 'up and out' for the catch. This means that the rower takes the blade and reaches 'up' which will bury the blade and 'out' which means get a longer stroke.

The Drive

Once the blade has been buried as a result of the catch the rower can start the next phase of the stroke which is the drive. In order to move the boat, a rower must drive with his/her legs against the foot stretchers to pull the blade through the water. The best way to teach younger rowers is to explain that the larger muscle of the body are the strongest and therefore we want to use the largest muscles first and the weakest muscles last. This means that your begin your drive with the legs, open at the hips, and finish with the arms.

The Finish

After the drive, you move straight into the finish. The rower should be leaning slightly back and the handle should come straight into the body slightly below the tit. Then the rower should push down on the handle as far as the navel, this downward motion allows the blade to come out of the water. When going quickly, this motion completes a small semi-circle from the tit to the navel. In order to make this easier, the rower feathers the blade. When an oar blade is feathered, it is parallel to the surface of the water.

The Recovery

After the finish is complete the rower moves into the recovery. The rower should think of the recovery as exactly that a recovery ! The hard work has been done and you are taking a quick breather before the next drive. During the recovery, the rower sits up from the finish, and moves slowly back up the slide towards the catch. As the rower then approaches the catch, he/she feathers the oar blade back so that the blade is perpendicular to the surface of the water.

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