Introduction

Rowing is a highly developed and popular sport in many countries. It combines a graceful spectacle with sharp competition. The field of play takes place in a natural scenic environment, such as a lake, river or a canal, which adds to the allure of rowing. Watching the sport once, either in person or on television, turns almost anyone into an avid fan of the sport.

The long and narrow boats, the colourful oars, the synchronised crews - ranging from one to eight athletes - are all ingredients for a very successful mix. This combination creates an exciting sport to watch and cheer on for spectators.

Rowing is an endurance test that finishes at a speed of up to 10 metres a second. Crews cover the middle 1000 metres at about 40 strokes per minute, but, over the first and last 500 metres, shift up a gear to as many as 47.

Understanding Rowing

While traditional Rowing boats were wooden, the majority of modern ones are made of fiberglass or plastic.

Their width ranges from 59.7 to 62.2 cm, and their length from a minimum of 8.2 m (for the single sculls category) to a maximum of 19.9 m (for the eight with coxswain boats). Their weight ranges from 14 to 96 kg respectively, while the oars have an average length of 2.98 m (in the sculls category), and 3.82 m (for sweep rowing).

Rowing races cover a distance of 2,000m in river, canal or lake-type competition venues in six lanes. Crews qualify through predetermined rounds, namely the preliminary round (heats), the repeat round (repechages), the semi-finals and the finals. The "A" final determines the first six places and the runners-up "B" final determines the next six rankings, namely 7th to 12th positions. The number of rounds per event depends on the number of crews taking part.

The races take place under the supervision of umpires, who are members of the Jury for every event. The jury members are placed at various locations on and off the competition course, such as the starting line, where the races begin under the supervision of the aligner and the starter; along the course of the race in the competition lanes under the supervision of umpires; the finishing line with the finish-line umpire; the identity verification stage of the crews before their embarkation onto the boats; the weighing-in of the athletes; the weighing-in of boats; and, in general, in all areas directly related to the competition, the athletes and their equipment.

Olympic Categories of Boats

There are two categories of rowing competition boats:
Sculling, in which the athletes hold one oar in each hand:

Sweep rowing, in which the athletes use one oar with both hands:

1. Pair (2-)
2. Four (4-)
3. Eight (8+)
4. Lightweight four Men (LM4-)

Athletes categories

In Rowing there are two categories of athletes:

1. Open: (open to all athletes, regardless of their weight)
2. Lightweight: In this category men cannot weigh more than 72.5kg and women cannot exceed 59kg, while the average weight of the crew cannot exceed 70 and 57kg respectively.

Coxswains: The minimum admissible weight of a coxswain, irrespective of boat or event category, is 55kg for men and 50kg for women.

The age group categories of athletes are as follows:

1. Youth - men and women (up to 18 years old)
2. Men's and women's B (19 to 22 years old)
3. Men's and women's A (over 23 years old)
4. Veterans (over 27 years old, provided that they no longer compete in the men's or women's A category).