Rowing

Everything You Need to Know About Rowing

Rowing combines strength, endurance, timing and technique. From recreational sculling to Olympic racing and indoor training, discover how the sport works and what makes rowing unique.

What Is Rowing?

Rowing is a sport in which athletes propel a boat through water using oars. Crews range from a single rower to eight-person boats, with events contested across multiple boat classes and racing formats.

Sweep Rowing vs. Sculling

Competitive rowing is primarily divided by the number of oars each athlete uses.

Sweep Rowing

Each rower uses one oar, positioned on either the port or starboard side of the boat. Sweep boats commonly include pairs, fours and eights.

Sculling

Each rower uses two oars — one in each hand. Common sculling boats include the single scull, double scull and quadruple scull.

Common Rowing Boat Classes

Rowing boats — often called shells — vary according to crew size and whether athletes are sweeping or sculling.

Single Scull — 1x One athlete using two oars.

Double Scull — 2x Two athletes, each using two oars.

Quadruple Scull — 4x Four athletes, each using two oars.

Pair — 2- / 2+ Two sweep rowers, with some classes using a coxswain.

Four — 4- / 4+ Four sweep rowers, raced with or without a coxswain.

Eight — 8+ Eight sweep rowers plus a coxswain who steers and coordinates the crew.

On-Water and Indoor Rowing

Rowing extends beyond racing shells. Indoor rowing has become an important training and competitive discipline of its own.

On-Water Rowing

On-water rowing combines physical power with balance, boat handling, timing and crew synchronization. Conditions such as wind and water can also influence how a boat performs.

Indoor Rowing

Indoor rowing machines — commonly called ergs — allow athletes to train and measure pace, distance, stroke rate, power and workout performance without being on the water.

A Sport With Centuries of History

People have used oared boats for transportation and competition for centuries. Organized rowing developed into a major competitive sport in Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before spreading internationally.

Rowing was included in the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, although bad weather prevented the scheduled races from taking place. Olympic rowing competition began at the 1900 Games in Paris.

Today, rowing is practiced recreationally and competitively around the world, from local clubs and universities to international championships and the Olympic Games.

Explore More Rowing

Continue through RowHail for racing, athletes, training, equipment and rowing tools.

Olympics Olympic rowing history, events and records. Events Major rowing competitions, schedules and results. Athletes Rowers, achievements, records and profiles. Training Technique, fitness and rowing workouts. Gear Rowing machines, monitors and accessories. Rowing Tools Pace, split, watts and training calculators.

Calculate Your Rowing Pace

Use RowHail’s free calculators for pace, split, watts and projected finish times.

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