| Blade |
the end of the oar/scull that is in the water (wide and flat). Most blades are painted with a team or country pattern in the organization's designated colors. |
| Bow |
the front of the shell, OR the person who sits nearest the bow of the shell. |
| Button |
keeps the oar/scull from slipping through the oarlock. |
| Catch |
the oar blade entering the water as the stroke begins. |
| Coxswain |
the person who directs the boat, either sitting in the stern or reclining in the bow. Coxswains are typically small and light but must meet a minimum weight. They act as the on-the-water coach and steer person (has no oar). |
| Crab |
when the rower fails to extract the oar from the water at the finish of a stroke, causing the handle to come in contact with him/her in the body or pull him/her overboard. |
| Deck |
the areas of a shell at the bow and stern that are covered with varnished fiberglass cloth or, more recently, with a thin plastic material. |
| Ergometer |
Called an "erg" by rowers, the ergometer is a rowing machine that is designed to imitate the actual rowing motion. |
| Feathering |
turning the oar blade parallel to the water during the recovery, lessening wind resistance. |
| Oarlock |
the piece that holds the oar in place at the end of the rigger |
| Port |
left side of the shell -if facing forward in the boat. Note that rowers face backward, coxswains face forward. |
| Power 10 |
a call for rowers to do 10 of their most powerful strokes, a strategy used to make a move and pull ahead of, or hold off, a competitor. |
| Puddles |
swirls of water created by the movement of the oars. |
| Pull through or Drive |
when the legs go down as the body opens up, levering the boat forward. |
| Rating (or beating) |
the number of strokes taken in a minute. |
| Recovery |
when the rower's body moves toward the stern in preparation for the next stroke. |
| Repechage |
a second chance race. Boats that fail to advance to the next round can qualify for repechage. Typically, winners advance to the next round. |
| Rig |
the arrangement of the rigger to the boat. |
| Rigger |
the triangular-shaped metal bar bolted onto the side of the boat, holding the oars in place. |
| Shaft or Loom |
the mid-section of the oar/scull (thin and round). |
| Shell |
racing boat. |
| Sling |
a support for the boat when it is on land being rigged or prepared for rowing. Slings often look like a modified camp stool, with a metal or wood frame and a canvas cradle. |
| Split |
time for each of the four 500-meter segments of the race. |
| Starboard |
right side of the shell -if facing forward. |
| Stern |
back of the boat. |
| Stroke |
two meanings, a part of the rowing action OR the person sitting at the stern who sets the pace for the rest of the crew. |
| Swamped |
a boat is swamped when it is full of water and can't be rowed. |
| Swinging |
a crew in perfect unison. |
| Understroke |
to row at a lower stroke rate, but with greater efficiency, than a rival boat. |
| Washing |
giving another boat a wash with churned-up water. |
