Everything you need to know about rowing

Correction / Clarification: In an earlier version of this story, the definitions of port and starboard were given incorrectly. Port is the right side of the boat as seen by the rower looking to the stern and starboard is the left.

From Friday, July 23rd to Friday, July 30th, crews from 80 nations will compete in the Olympic rowing regatta on the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay.

For the first time in Olympic history there is an even number of men’s and women’s competitions – seven each. This means that for a total of 526 rowers, there is an even number of athletes.

Some athletes ride with two oars, others with one. Some will row in a boat alone, others will row in the same boat with eight others. From bow to stern, here’s everything you need to know while rowing at the Olympics.

Rudder directions and route length

Rowing is unique among other sports in that rowers face the start line throughout the race and don’t see the finish line until they cross it. The boat, also called a clam, moves in the opposite direction that the rowers are pointing.

The end of the boat closest to the start line is called the “stern” and the opposite end that faces the finish line is called the “bow”. Coincidentally, the rower closest to the bow of the boat is referred to as the “bow seat”. The seats are numbered from bow to stern, whereby the bow seat is also called “1 seat”. The rower closest to the stern is known as the “stroke seat”. With an eight, the lift seat could also be referred to as an “8 seat”. For a foursome, it could be called a “four-seat” and so on.

“Left” and “right” are referred to as “port” and “starboard” in rowing, but perspective is crucial. “Port” is the right side of the boat from the rower’s perspective towards the stern. “Starboard” is the left side of the boat as seen by the rower.

The Olympic circuit is 2,000 meters long or about 1.25 miles long. The women in the Olympics rode a 1,000-meter course from their introduction in 1976 to 1988. There are six lanes on the circuit and a maximum of six boats can compete in each run. Each 500 meter long section of water is marked by a large buoy.

The seven boats at the Olympic Games

There are seven events for men and women at the Olympic Games. First there are the sweepers – the two without a helmsman, the four without a helmsman, and the eight with a helmsman. Sweep rowers on each stroke with an oar, which usually has a wooden handle. You will usually sit in a configuration where the rudders alternate on either port or starboard.

A boat is a “helmsman” when it has a helmsman (pronounced “helmsman”), the person who is responsible for steering the boat, coaching and motivating the rowers on the water. The eight is the only boat with a helmsman in the Olympic Games. The helmsman usually sits facing the lift seat at the stern of the eight.

Sweep events are indicated by the number of rowers in the boat and either a “+” or a “-” indicating that it is the helmsman or the helmsman. The couple without a helmsman is referred to as “2-“, the four without a helmsman as “4-” and the eight with a helmsman as “8+”. All designations are preceded by an “M” or “W” to indicate “men” or “women”.

Then there are the twos – the single twos, the double sculls, the easy double sculls, and the foursome. Rowers stroke with two oars, which are usually shorter than a sweep oar and have a rubber handle. Skulls do not contain a helmsman, so a rower is responsible for steering the boat with an oar cable attached to the foot.

The symbol “x” indicates that the rowers are rowing in the competition. The single is referred to as “1x”, the double as “2x” and the quad as “4x”. The light double is called either “LM2x” (light men’s double) or “LW2x” (light women’s double).

The Lightweight Double is the same race and boat as the Open Weight Double, but there is a maximum weight for each rower in the boat and a boat average. The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to be the last lightweight rowing games, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will continue until the Paris Olympics in 2024. Light rowing will be replaced by coastal rowing, possibly for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

NEVER MISS A MEDAL: Register now for our Olympic newsletter

WANT BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS IN TOKYO? Sign up for Olympic texts for exclusive access to the games

Racing strategy

If you watch a race on TV from home, you will regularly see a graphic on the broadcast showing the crews’ “beat frequency” on the water. The helmsman can see the flapping frequency of his own boat through an electronic device in the shell called a “control box”. They use this information to guide the rowers through the race.

The stroke frequency is the number of strokes per minute that the rowers perform together in the boat. While the blow looks like a movement that uses only the upper body, the force of the blow is generated by the propulsive movement of the legs.

A team’s stroke rate is usually high to begin with (around eight, 45 to 50 strokes per minute). Then it will adjust to a more sustained beat rate (38 to 40 beats per minute for a figure eight). During the race, the boats can opt for a “Power 10” in which the rowers give their best and hardest 10 strokes to overtake other crews.

Depending on the course of the race, the boats start their final sprint to the finish line. On this distance of typically 200 meters, a crew could return to their initial flapping frequency range. After the bow of each boat crosses the finish line and the race is over, the crews row for five to ten minutes to cool off.