What are some physical requirements or advantages and disadvantages for Rowing/Crew?

Question

My school has no rowing program and I'm sort of interested in it, I play other sports, if you could tell me any information on Crew/Rowing for beginners that would be great!

Answer 1

send ur email add 2 [e-mail] then il tel u

Answer 2

I just started with the womens crew team at my U and I am definitely getting the c**p kicked out of me by it, but it is fun even if sore muscles aren't your thing.  The people I have met are nice and all around willing to teach me as much as I would like to know about the sport and so far I have had a good time and hope to continue so that the practices will get easier.  I was asked to try out because I am taller than most girls, but I don't think it matters because there are varsity girls that are 5'5" and they can row just as fast as the girls who are 5'10".  It's all about muscle and practice from what I've learned so far and I'd say talk to some people in your recreation/athletics dept to see about starting an intramural or team.

Answer 3

Physical requirements to join as a rowing crew? Well, i think there is no such requirements for a beginner. To being in a team or in any sports a person should have the "PASSION" into it.

Past 5 years back, I heard about Rowing/Paddling from my friend, i was kinda interested in it. Honestly, am not fit and yet am so fat at that time. Guess what am today, am physical fit and healthier than before, i lost tans of pounds too. So in my point of view, anyone certainly can join rowing/paddling if you like sea or river and adventourous!

In term of PROs and CONs, any sports has it. If a person practice and follow the rules and regulations, there won't harm you anys much.

I do not know which "Rowing" you are trying to mention. But am into Canoe and Dragon Boat. Let me know if you want to catch up with me about it. Drop me your email. Thanks. Happy Rowing!

Answer 4

I have rowed for 4 years both at my high school and for clubs. It is one of those sports that you get out of it what you put into it, if you work really hard you will get good. The general physique for a rower is tall and lean, but this isn't a requirement and there are plenty of good rowers in many sizes. It is a great way for beginners to get in good shape and to compete in a really great team sport. For women it is one of the top sports for getting college scholarships and recruitment opportunities, and can be helpful for men, but there are far fewer scholarships as most good rowing colleges are in the ivy leagues. If you are highly motivated and enjoy team sports I would recommend you try it out.

Answer 5

Physical requirements - none really, as long as you aren't 4'2'' and 250 lbs. Basically if you're not as wide as one of the boats, you can do something. There's heavyweight (165+ lbs guys, 145+ women) and lightweights (lower than that); if you're under 130(m) or 120(f) you could cox. Basically if you're petite you'd likely make a good coxswain. Rowers basically power the boat through the water, while coxswains steer the boat and motivate the crew. A good cox can make or break the race by steering a straight course and motivating their crew during a race. The only person that looks the same way as the boat is going (rowers sit backwards).

There's many different boats, for one, two, four and eight people. Sweep boats have one oar per person, with them alternating in the boat. Scull boats have two smaller oars for each person.

Shells for one person = sculls and have two oars. Generally, before getting into a racing shell (the small, skinny ones) you'd row in a "bathtub", which is basically a wider, more stable version of it. It has no steering mechanism, you turn by pulling harder on one or the other side.

Shells for 2 people: double(scull)/pair(sweep). Also often steered by varying pressure on the sides, though can have a steering mechanism attached to the foot of the bowman. Can be coxed, though generally only seen coxless.

Shells for 4: quads(scull)/fours(sweep). Quads are coxless and the bowman steers by a foot mechanism; fours have a cox in the bow (front) or stern (back) of the boat. If the cox is in the back (stern), s/he can see all the rowers; if in the bow (front) then it's easier to steer.

Shells for 8: Octuples (sculls)/eights (sweep). Both have a coxswaain, always in the stern. Long but can go the fastest.

Basically the more rowers in a shell, the faster it can go. However, sweeps are faster than sculls.

Rowing is basically an all-around sport, it trains your legs, abs, arms, back and shoulders as well as giving you cardio strength.

It's a team sport that really brings people together, as a boat must work together to achieve goals, and mutual respect is a must. Whenever in the boat, be serious; although it's a safe sport accidents can happen - if you're not holding your oar while the boat's moving fast, you can catch the oar in the water and possibly fly out of the boat. Also, although it's hard to flip a 4 and especially an 8, it's still possible if everyone's horsing around. If that does happen, don't swim for shore but hang on to the boat.

Although strength is obviously a requirement, good technique is necessary (don't worry, you'll pick it up on the team): Sit up tall, and make sure you learn right the first time.

There's scholarships for both men and women and if you excel, you can get recruited by the Ivies (for example, one guy I know was recruited like this).

Erg tests are the timed tests taken on rowing machines for a set distance, generally over a 2k. The lower the time, the better you did. It shows splits, which are the times to row 500 meters at the current pace. Also, it gets harder and harder to take off seconds as you go down; check the results on crash-b.org for the results for a 2k erg race to get an idea.

I don't know of any disadvantages of rowing besides the fact that it's addicting. I've rowed 3 seasons, am training for a 4th, and plan to keep doing it.

Hope this helps.