check: the interruption or braking of the boat's forward momentum. Things that cause check during a race include poor bladework, rushing the slide, and hitting the front stops.

check it (down): command to brake lightly. Blades are square and partly buried. Boat is slowed, not stopped. Used in landings, turning, before starts, etc.

digging: The blade is too deep in the water during the drive. This really affects the set, and it's hard to get a crisp finish. Sometimes seen with skying. The blade should not be entirely buried in the water during the drive, but rather remain at the same depth as when the squared blade is just floating (no hands on the handle).

feathering: Rolling the blade with your inside hand (hand closest to the blade) so the blade is parallel to the water, concave upwards. This is done at the start of the recovery, and the blade is slowly squared again before the end of the recovery. Feathering makes rowing easier especially in windy, choppy conditions because the blade doesn't slap the waves as much and because air resistance on the blade is decreased.

hanging at the catch: A pause in a rower's rhythm as s/he is about to drop the blade into the water. This happens when you rush the slide and get to the top before the other rowers, and then your blade just hangs in the air while you wait for everyone else. Hanging at the catch means you're rushing the slide more than you need to and thus slowing the boat, it's inefficient because you're wasting energy hurrying, it throws off the "swing" or unified movement of the other rowers, and also makes it very hard to catch with the other rowers.

hold water: command to Brake hard! Blades must be square and buried, oars held tightly to break the boat's momentum. Very important for emergency situations, also used before starts, etc.

missing water: This happens when you don't raise your hands as you come up to the catch, but jam the oar in the water when you're already at the top (front) of the slide. When you do it right, you see water splashing behind your blade. When you do it wrong, the first part of your stroke is actually out of the water, and you lose a lot of power -that's your strong leg drive you miss out on, which is why this is important. Don't worry about slowing the boat with your little backsplash - worry more about not missing water.

rushing the slide: Coming up the slide too quickly and/or accelerating up the slide. The recovery should be a slow deceleration, and rushing the slide creates momentum in the direction opposite to the where the boat is going. Whether or not you bounce on your legs or hit the front stops at the top (front) of the slide, rushing the slide slows the boat. Use your legs to brake the recovery. Rushing also wastes energy; it's better to pull hard twice (and relax/breathe during the recovery) than to pull hard three times in the same time (and spend even more energy hurrying up the slide, and slowing the boat by rushing on top of that) - you wouldn't last very long aerobically, and you're not being efficient. If the stroke rating is fast, bring up the rating in the water by pulling harder, and concentrate on keeping the recovery smooth and decelerating. It's ideal to have the recovery take twice as long as the drive (this is having a good ratio).

set: the side-to-side balance of the boat. The boat should be balanced always, no rocking, and no consistent leaning down to one side! Different oar heights either in and out of the water, poor rhythm, not having simultaneous catches and finishes, and not leaning properly around the rigger all affect the set. Balance drills can improve the set. With an ideal set, you should theoretically be able to balance an egg on the gunwale.

set (the boat): command to Balance the boat. Generally used when rowers are not rowing, but sit relaxed with both hands on the oar as it floats feathered on the water. Each rower setting the boat is actively maintaining a constant oar handle height, thereby keeping the set/balance of the boat steady and centered. Rowers' body leans (or lack thereof) also affect the side-to-side balace. Sometimes all rowers are setting, other times only some rowers set. If someone is rowing behind you while you're setting, move your seat up to avoid getting hit in your back. Rowers also "set" the boat when they pause or weigh enough and let the boat run with oars in the air - the oars and bodies are again used to balance the boat so it doesn't rock side-to-side or run with either port or starboard side down.

skying: The blade is too high off the water. This strongly affects the set of the boat, and may lead to digging besides. Usually seen at the end of the recovery, when the rower lowers the hands as s/he comes up to the catch, sometimes in too bent-over a position (when tired). The rowers should instead sit up more, and raise their hands into the catch.

shooting the slide: Starting the drive with your rear end first (not the center of your back), leaving your shoulders in back behind initially. This ends up being a quick jerk of the seat backwards, a result of a too-explosive leg drive and not moving the blade through the water as your legs push. This is very wasteful of your powerful leg drive, puts your back in a very inefficient position for transferring leg drive to driving the blade, may strain your lower back, and even causes the boat to "check" or jerkily slow down. [The checking the action/reaction of the boat to go in the wrong direction resulting from the jerky movement of your butt (and nothing else) in the right direction.] The drive should have a firm start, but be controlled and smoothly accelerating all the way through. Think of the oar handle and the seat being joined by a bar that maintains a constant distance between them during the first part of the drive.

square: the blade is perpendicular to the water. "Rowing square blades" is rowing without feathering during the recovery.

tea-bagging: pejorative slang. Just dipping the blade in the water during the drive, applying little or no effort to move the boat forward. This is basically going through the motions of rowing without doing any work. The cox and others can tell if you're tea-bagging because there won't be a puddle left on the water after your blade leaves it. Rowers who pull hard will leave a large puddle behind their finish; tea-baggers are basically dead weight and better replaced with rowers who make an effort.

weigh enough ("weigh nuf"): command for rowers to Stop! Usually given with a 2-stroke warning, as in: Weigh enough in two! [rowers know what's about to happen] ONE, [said at catch; rowers complete one full stroke] TWO! [said at second catch; rowers complete this second full stroke, end at arms away, blade squared, boat balanced]. Generally after this, the cox will tell rowers And down, and the rowers feather and set the boat. (Saying "and down" sometimes depends on the cox - some coxes prefer that rowers automatically set after weighing enough, even though "weigh enough" implies arms-away, not down. Whatever the cox's policy, it should be clear and consistent.)

In an emergency, the command is Weigh enough, hold water! and you should stop whatever you're doing and hold water.

General rowing terms:

Blade: the flattened portion at the oar's end. Also can refer to the entire oar, including the blade end.

Blisters: What you get when you grip the oar too tightly, especially when it's wet. Band-Aids come off while rowing; try athletic tape or New Skin, both from CVS.

Bow: front of the boat (seat #1).

Bow pair: seats # 1-2, important for balance. Also: bow four (seats 1-4).

Catch: The position of the body when the hands and seat are furthest forward (the oar is dropped into the water and you begin to pull).

Coxswain ("cox'n"; cox): the person who steers and gives commands to the rowers; usually seated in the back of the boat facing forward.

Drive: The work portion of the stroke, when you are pushing with your legs, and pulling with your back and arms.

Ergometer (erg): a device that measures work. The rowing machine (for example, the Concept II Indoor Rower) is also called a rowing ergometer because it measures your work output while you row.

Eights: boats with 8 sweep rowers and a cox.

Finish: The position of the body when the seat is at the back end of the slide and the handle is close to the body, having just completed the drive. (this is when you take your oar out of the water.)

Foot Stretchers: In the boat, the part which supports your feet.

Forward Body Angle: The forward position of the upper body during the recovery and at the beginning of the drive.

Gunwale ("gun'l): the upper side edge of the boat.

Hypercompression: Excessive leg compression (hyperflexion of the knee) before the catch, defined as when the seat comes within 6 inches of the heels or when the shins go beyond vertical (leaning too far forward).

Layback: The position of the upper body at the finish of the stroke. The upper body should lean slightly backward, up to 10 degrees back from vertical.

Newell: The Harvard men's boathouse, across the river to the right of the Anderson Bridge (JFK). The tank sessions are held here; please act appropriately, since we are their guests.

Oarlock: square ring with hinged gate on end of rigger; holds oar in place. Left to loosen, right to tighten. Keep closed whenever possible.

Pace: A measure of the effort put into each stroke. On the water, all you know is a SPM rating. The ergs can display pace in terms of how long it would take you to row 500 meters ("splits").

Paddling: Rowing very easily with low stroke rate and low intensity, a restful pace.

Piece: The term used to describe a work segment, such as a "2-minute piece." Pieces may be defined in either time or distance.

Port: the left side of the boat from the coxswain's view (forward); the oar sticks out to a port-rower's right.

Race Pace: The effort you could maintain for an entire race distance. Note: your race pace for 500 meters will be quite different from your race pace for 2000 meters. Harvard intramural races are generally 1500 meters for the A boats, 1000 meters for the B boats.

Ratio: The ratio between the time spent on the drive part of the stroke and the time spent on the recovery. Ideally, spend more time on the recovery than the drive (up to 2x more).

Rating: Number of strokes per minute (SPM).

Recovery: The non-drive part of the stroke, when you are moving the oar handle and then the body from the finish back to the catch position.

Rigger: metal "arms" extending from the boat to support each oar/oarlock.

Rudder: small plastic flap for steering the boat. Mounted on skag. Controlled by strings on side of cox; push right string forward to go right, etc.

Sculls: boats (singles, doubles, etc.) using two oars per person.

Shell: boat, hollow, with sliding seats for up to eight rowers and riggings for their oars. The intramural program uses "eights," or 8-person shells with one oar per rower ("sweep" rowing).

Ship in/out: drawing the oar in across the boat (so the blade is in by the oarlock), or extending the oar all the way (so the blade is out in the water)

Single: a one-person boat (scull). The cox must be watchful for singles (and other boats) on the river to avoid collisions.

Skeg: Fixed plastic piece beneath boat for stabilization (keel). Rudder is mounted on it. Also called a fin. The skeg (incl. rudder) can break off in shallow water - be careful!

Slide: The rail upon which the seat slides.

Split: The work output measured at set distance or time segments during a piece. The erg can be set to display your 500 meter split for each stroke, also called the "pace."

SPM: Strokes per minute. Usually a 28-32 SPM rating is ideal for a race.

Starboard ("starburd"): the right side of the boat from the coxswain's view (forward).

Stern: back of the boat, where the coxswain sits facing the rowers.

Stern pair: seats # 7 and 8. Also: stern four (seats 5-8).

Stroke: 1) the basic rowing motion, comprised of the catch, drive, finish, and recovery. 2) the rower in the #8 seat, who sets the rating and rhythm for the boat, and generally is the only rower permitted to speak while on the water.

Sweep rowing: rowing with one oar per person (usually in fours or eights).

Swing: The action of the upper body as it pivots at the hips during the drive, swinging from forward body angle through perpendicular to the layback position.

Tanks: A large practice room in the Newell boathouse, with a makeshift boat for 8 people and water running along the sides for you to row in. Great for coaching.

Weigh Enough: command to stop rowing.