BLADE: The end of an oar opposite the handle. The blade is the broad, flat part of an oar that helps the oar lock into the water and leverage the boat.
BOW: The forward section of the boat. The first part of the boat to cross the finish line. The person in the seat closest to the bow (seat “one”), who crosses the finish line first.
BOWBALL: The rubber ball attached to the very tip of a boat to provide protection for both the boat and anything it may bump.
BOW COXED BOAT: A shell in which the coxswain is near the bow instead of the stern. It’s hard to see the coxswain in this type of boat, because only his or her head is visible. Having the coxswain virtually lying down in the bow reduces wind resistance, and the weight distribution is better.
BOW PAIR: In an 8+ boat, the bow pair is the more technical of the rowers. They set up the balance of the boat and have the most influence on the line the boat steers.
BUTTON: A wide collar on the oar that keeps it from slipping through the oarlock. Usually referred to simply as the collar.
CLUB: A rowing program not affiliated with any one school, but rather a region, town, or city.
COXSWAIN: Person who steers the shell and is the on-the-water coach for the crew.
CRAB: A crab occurs when an oar remains in the water at the finish of a stroke and is not removed. Such an occurrence de-stabilizes and often stops the run of a boat. Thought occasionally the mistake of one rower, crabs are most often the result of poor rowing by a crew. See also “run”.
CREW: A boat of rowers, and possibly a coxswain. Also, “crew” can refer to an entire rowing program. Though often said, no one “does crew”. That is like someone saying, “I do baseball team.” Appropriate use of the term would be: “I am on the crew.” Rowers do not “play crew” or “row crew.”
DECK: The part of the shell at the bow and stern that is covered with fiberglass cloth or a thin plastic. Also, the part of a boat between the gunnels on which rowers sit.
DOUBLE: A two-rower boat in which each rower uses two oars.
EIGHT: An eight-oared shell in which each of the eight rowers uses one oar. Also, the eighth seat from the bow, or “stroke” seat. The fastest of all commonly rowed boats. Symbolized as: 8+ (the “+” indicates a cox’n in the boat.)
ERGOMETER: Rowers call it an “erg.” It’s a rowing machine that closely approximates the actual rowing motion. The rowers’ choice is the Concept II, which utilizes a flywheel and a digital readout so that the rower can measure his or her “strokes per minute” and the distance covered.
ENGINE ROOM: In an 8+ boat, the middle four rowers — are usually the less technical, but more powerful rowers in the crew.
FEATHER: Turning the handle of the oars so that the blade is parallel (flat) to the water.
FIN: The triangular shaped piece that extends down from the “hull” to help in the steering and stabilization of a boat.
FISA: Short for Federation Internationale des Societes d’Aviron. The international governing body for the sport of rowing in the world, established in 1892.
FIRST VARSITY: The top fastest combination of rowers and a coxswain in a four-oared or eight-oared boat.
FOOTBOARD: The footboard is the platform against which rowers push with their feet and legs when leveraging an oar to move the boat.
FOOT STRETCHER: The foot stretcher holds the footboard, which hold the shoes.
FOUR: A four-oared shell in which each of the four rowers uses one oar. Also, the fourth seat from the bow. Symbolized as: 4+ (with a cox’n) or 4- (without a cox’n).
GATE: The bar across the oarlock that keeps the oar in place.
GERMAN RIGGING: A different way of setting up which side of the boat the oars are on in a sweep boat. Instead of alternating from side to side all the way down, in a German rigged boat, two consecutive rowers have oars on the same side.
GUNNEL: The side of a boat that is out of water. The sides of a boat that are in the water is the “hull”
HANDLE: The end of an oar, by which a rower grips and manipulates the shaft and blade.
HEAD RACE: A long race (over 2 miles) in which crews are started one at a time. Winners and the place of a crew is determined by the time it takes a crew to cover the course.
HULL: The sides (and bottom) of a boat in the water. The gunnel, or gunnels, are the sides of the boat out of the water.
JUNIOR: A rower 18 years of age or younger.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Refers to the rowers, not the boats; there is a maximum weight for each rower in a lightweight event as well as a boat average.
NOVICE: A new rower who has been rowing less than one year. A novice can be any age or grade.
OAR: Used to drive the boat forward: rowers do NOT use paddles. Paddles are for people who have not figured the mechanical advantage of using a lever, and also one’s entire
body, to move a boat.
OARLOCK: An oarlock is attached to a pin. The oarlock holds the oar against the pin so that together they can act as a lever and fulcrum.
PIN: The pin is held in place by the rigger. The pin is the fulcrum used, with an oar as a lever, to move a boat.
PORT: Left side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of the movement.
PR: “PR” stands for “personal record”. Athletes also use “PB” for “personal best”. PR refers to one’s best time on an erg test of 2000 or 6000 meters.
REGATTA: Regattas feature side by side racing, where all the boats start at the same time from a stationary position and the winner is the boat that crosses the finish line first. The number of boats varies between two (which is sometimes referred to as a ‘dual race’) to six, but any number of boats can start together if the course is wide enough. Standard length for races is 2000 m long. Race distance varies from ‘dashes’ or ‘sprints,’ which may be 500 m long. Multi-boat competitions are usually organized in a series of rounds, with the fastest boats in each heat qualifying for the next round. The losing boats from each heat may be given a second chance to qualify through a repechage.
REPECHAGE: The second-chance race which ensures that everyone has two chances to advance from preliminary races since there is no seeding in the heats.
RIGGER: The triangular shaped metal device that is bolted onto the side of the boat and holds the pin, oarlock and oars.
ROWING: The physical act of moving a boat across water using an oar in an oarlock as a lever. An oar “blade” is placed in the water with oar “shaft” resting in the “oarlock” (and against the “pin”) midway down the “shaft”. With the “pin” acting as a fulcrum, the oar is pulled by the oar “handle”, thereby using the mechanical advantage of a lever and fulcrum system to move the boat. Rowing is NOT paddling; paddling does not employ the efficiency of mechanical advantage.
RUDDER: The rudder steers a boat. It is most often directly adjacent to the fin (or “skag”). The rudder is controlled by the cox, if present, or by one of the crew with a the rudder cable is attached to the toe of one of their shoes which can pivot about the ball of the foot, moving the cable left or right.
RUN: The run is the distance the shell moves during one stroke. You can figure it by looking for the distance between the puddles made by the same oar.
SCHOLASTIC: This term refers to rowing teams whose athletes come from one high school (public or private). See also “Club”.
SCULLING: One of the two disciplines of rowing – the one where scullers use two oars or sculls.
SEAT: The moveable platform on the deck inside a boat on which rowers sit. The moving nature of the seat allows rowers to use their legs as well as their back and arms.
SHAFT: A long, cylindrical part of an oar.
SHELL: Can be used interchangeably with “boat.”
SHOES: Shoes hold rowers feet against the “footboard”.
SINGLE: A boat rowed by one rower with two oars. The slowest of all boats commonly rowed. Symbolized by: 1x
SKAG: See “fin.”
SLIDE: The set of runners for the wheels of each seat in the boat.
SPRINT RACE: A standard rowing race. Like a swimming or track race, crews are placed in lanes next to each other. The crews start at the same time and race in a straight line to the finish. Sprint races are usually 1500m or 2000m.
SQUARE: A blade in perpendicular position to the surface of the water. A blade must be “square” in the water for the oar to leverage and move the boat. A blade that is “feathered”
is good out of the water, but useless in leveraging a boat. See also “feather.”
STARBOARD: Right side of the boat, while facing forward, in the direction of movement.
STERN: The rear of the boat; the direction the rowers are facing.
STERN PAIR: In an 8+ boat, the stern pair are responsible for setting the stroke rate and rhythm for the rest of the boat to follow.
STRAIGHT: Refers to a shell without a coxswain i.e. a straight four or straight pair.
STRETCHER OR FOOTSTRETCHER: Where the rower’s feet go. The stretcher consists of two inclined footrests that hold the rower’s shoes. The rower’s shoes are bolted into
the footrests.
STROKE: The rower who sits closest to the stern. The stroke sets the rhythm for the boat; others behind him must follow his cadence.
STROKECOACH: A small electronic display that rowers attach in the boat to show the important race information like stroke rate and elapsed time.
SWEEP: One of the two disciplines of rowing – the one where rowers use only one oar. Pairs (for two people), fours (for four people) and the eight are sweep boats. Pairs and fours may or may not have a coxswain. Eights always have a coxswain.
SWING: The hard-to-define feeling when near-perfect synchronization of motion occurs in the shell, enhancing the performance and speed.
USROWING: The governing body of rowing in the United States.

Our club is one of the more unique clubs due to the type of rowing that we house out of our boathouse. Many rowing clubs stay as a club through all seasons and therefore kids from all different high schools row together under one name all of the time. (New York State Examples: Westside (Buffalo), Saratoga (Saratoga Springs), Albany (Albany) )

Our club on the other hand breaks up into individual high school teams in the spring. Therefore the H.S. teams provide their own coaches, transportation, and some equipment, while paying a small fee to the Chargers organization to be able to use Chargers oars and rowing shells, docks, coaching launches, and park access. Then the H.S. teams function more as a normal H.S. sport without much influence from the Chargers organization during the spring months from March through May.

Consequently most athletes want to continue rowing in the summer and fall months and the club provides this opportunity under the Syracuse Chargers umbrella. During these months the athletes row as a Charger and participate not under their H.S. school name but rather under the Syracuse Chargers banner. This allows for boathouse camaraderie and for athletes who are devoted to the sport to continue rowing during months where they are not working with their respective high schools. The athletes find great satisfaction in rowing with their spring competition and it really brings the club together as a whole unit during these months.

During the winter months most H.S.’s provide some type of indoor winter training and the masters men and women also provide a winter training program through the Chargers for a small fee.

One of the important differences with these two distinctions is the fact that during the spring the H.S. and the respective booster programs (through the athletes fees) pay for a great deal of the traveling cost including transportation, food, lodging, entry fees, etc. During the summer and fall months athletes are required to shoulder most of these fees. This includes athletes being required to provide their own transportation, lodging if necessary, and any type of food and drink that is required during the regatta. There is not usually a food tent at the regatta site of the Chargers Regattas like you will see during the high school season. It simply is too difficult to organize in such a short amount of time.

Learn-to-Row Programs

A learn to row program is designed for an individual that has no knowledge of the sport of rowing. The program will begin by defining key terminology, showing the athletes the equipment necessary for the sport, and developing an understanding of important safety information while on and off the water. The class will progress from that point to on-the-water technical focus of the rowing stroke. The program will usually last for 8-12 sessions with some type of mini race on the last session day/night.

Adult/Teen Learn-to-Row

This is a Monday and Wednesday night program in the summer with a two-fold focus. The focus for the teen is to prepare them for a potential high school rowing career. The focus for the adult will be to introduce them to the sport while providing an inviting environment and the possibility of continuing on with our Masters program if interested. During the fall there will be an Intermediate Masters program that will be provided for interested individuals who would like to continue on in the sport but are not quite ready to join the masters team.

Youth Learn-to-Row

This is a Monday - Thursday morning program in the summer with a focus on introducing young middle school and late elementary age kids to the sport of rowing. Usually the age group is 10-14 or kids who will be entering grades 5th- 8th grades in the following fall.

Fall Novice Program

This is a Monday and Wednesday late afternoon (after school) program in the fall. The focus is to prepare young athletes for their respective H.S. spring rowing season. That does not mean that you must be enrolled in a H.S. with a rowing program We encourage all freshmen or sophomores in H.S. to enroll in this program if they don’t have much experience in the sport. Most athletes will either have no experience or only one or two Summer Learn-to-Rows.

Race Watching

• The crew that's making it look easy is most likely the one doing the best job. While you're watching, look for continuous, fluid motion of the rowers. The rowing motion shouldn't have a discernible end or beginning.
• Synchronization. Rowers strive for perfect synchronization in the boat.
• Clean catches of the oarblade. If you see a lot of splash, the oarblades aren't entering the water correctly. The catch should happen at the end of the recovery, when the hands are as far ahead of the rower as possible. Rowers who uncoil before they drop the oarblades are sacrificing speed and not getting a complete drive.
• Even oarblade feathering. When the blades are brought out of the water, they should all move horizontally close to the water and at the same height. It's not easy, especially if the water is rough.
• The most consistent speed. Shells don't move like a car – they're slowest at the catch, quickest at the release. The good crews time the catch at just the right moment to maintain the speed of the shell.
• Rowing looks graceful, elegant and sometimes effortless when it's done well. Don't be fooled. Rowers haven't been called the world's most physically-fit athletes for nothing. A 2,000-meter rowing race demands virtually everything a human being can physically bring to an athletic competition – aerobic ability, technical talent, exceptional mental discipline, ability to utilize oxygen efficiently and in huge amounts, balance, pain tolerance, and the ability to continue to work when the body is demanding that you stop.

More Race-Watching Tips

• Race times can vary considerably depending upon the course and weather conditions. Tailwinds will improve times, while headwinds and crosswinds will hamper them.
• If a crew "catches a crab," it means the oarblade has entered the water at an angle instead of perpendicularly. The oarblade gets caught under the surface and will slow or even stop a shell.
• A "Power 10" is a call by the coxswain for 10 of the crew's best, most powerful strokes. Good coxswains read the course to know how many strokes remain for their crew to count down to the finish.
• Crews are identified by their oarblade design. The USA blades are red on top and blue on the bottom, with a white triangle at the tip.
• It doesn't matter whether you win an Olympic medal or don't make the finals – each crew still carries their boat back to the rack.
• Coxswains from first-place boats worldwide are thrown into the water by their crews.
• Coxswains don't now and probably never did yell "stroke! stroke!" Similar to a jockey, their job is to implement the coach's strategy during the race, in addition to steering and letting the rowers know where they stand in the race and what they need to do to win.

The Sprint Race
National, collegiate, worlds, and Olympic sprint competitions are 2,000 meters, or approximately 1.25 miles. The race course is divided into 6-8 lanes and each 500-meter section is marked with buoys. Masters races are 1,000 meters. Often, juniors races are 1,500 meters.
The race begins with all boats aligned at the start in the lanes they've been assigned. Individuals in each lane hold the stern of each boat steady while an official, known as the aligner, ensures that each boat is even with the others and squarely facing the course.
Each crew is allowed one false start; two means disqualification. If within the first 100 meters there is legitimate equipment breakage (e.g., an oar snaps in two), the race will be stopped and restarted with repaired equipment.
The stroke rate (the number of rowing strokes per minute that a crew is taking ) is high at the start – maybe 45 to even 50 for an eight; 38 to 42 for a single scull. Then, the crew will "settle" into the body of the race and drop the rating back – 38 to 40 for an eight; 32-36 for a single. The coach and the way the race is going determine when the crew will sprint but finishing stroke rates of 46+ in the last 200 meters aren't unheard of. However, higher stroke rates are not always indicative of speed. A strong, technically talented crew may be able to cover more water faster than a less-capable crew rowing a high stroke rate.
Unlike canoe/kayak competitions, rowers are allowed to leave their lanes without penalty, so long as they do not interfere with anyone else's opportunity to win. An official follows the crews to ensure safety and fairness.
Despite the exhaustion of the race, the crew will row for five to 10 minutes afterwards in order to cool down. In rowing, the medals ceremonies include the shells. The three medal-winning crews row to the awards dock, climb out of their shells and receive their medals before rowing away.
The Head Race
Head races, which are generally held in the fall, about 2.5-3 miles long and the boats are started in their respective divisions separately at 10 second intervals. They are usually conducted on a river with an assortment of bridges and turns that can make passing quite interesting. The winner is the crew that had the shortest elapsed time between the start and finish lines, with any additional time included for penalties.

Athletes with two oars – one in each hand – are scullers. There are three sculling events: the single – 1x (one person), the double – 2x (two) and the quad – 4x (four).

Athletes with only one oar are sweep rowers. Sweep boats may or may not carry a coxswain (pronounced cox-n) to steer and be the on-the-water coach. In boats without coxswains, one of the rowers steers by moving the rudder with his or her foot. Sweep rowers come in pairs with a coxswain (2+) and pairs without (2-), fours with a coxswain (4+) and fours without (4-) and the eight (8+), which always carries a coxswain. The eight is the fastest boat on the water. A world-level men's eight is capable of moving almost 14 miles per hour.

The pairs and fours with coxswain are sometimes the hardest to recognize because of where the coxswain is sitting. Although the coxswain is almost always facing the rowers in an eight, in pairs and fours the coxswain may be facing the rowers in the stern or looking down the course, lying down in the bow, where he or she is difficult to see.

Athletes are identified by their seat in the boat. The athlete in bow is seat No. 1. That's the person who crosses the finish line first (which makes it easy to remember – first across the line is No. 1 seat). The person in front of the bow is No. 2, then No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8, a.k.a. the stroke. The stroke of the boat must be a strong rower with excellent technique, since the stroke sets the rhythm and number of strokes per minute the rest of the crew must follow.

Summer -
A simple pair of short and t-shirt work the best. I usually tell most people whatever you would go to the gym and work out in is usually acceptable down at the boathouse. Always bring a pair of socks to wear in the boat as your feet will  be in shoes that are already existing in the boat. No baggy clothing or bare-midriff. As you progress in the sport you will probably want to purchase some spandex and a tighter fitting shirt so as to limit restriction and ease of movement.

Fall and Spring -
As it is much colder the main word here is layers. The weather is always unpredictable and you need to be ready for everything. Attempt to keep everything as tight fitting as possible with no baggy clothing that can potentially get stuck in the tracks while rowing. If you are dressed appropriately you will probably take a layer or two off in the boat as your body temperature begins to rise while working-out. Any type of long-sleeve, and full leg spandex is always helpful to keep a  minimum amount of skin exposed.