With thanks to Darwin College Boat Club for their very helpful resource.
General Terms
In alphabetical order:
- Back stops: Where you take the finish, legs flat, sitting back (at the back of the slide), blades should be square and buried in the water
- Blade: Another name for an oar
- Bow: Front of the boat. Bow side = seats 7, 5, 3, and 1 (‘bow’) in an VIII (eight) boat
- Catch: The part of the stroke where the blade is put into the water
- Cox: Person who shouts at you and steers the boat
- Double: Two person boat, both sculling with two blades
- Downstream: Direction out of Cambridge
- Draw: The part of the stroke where the spoon is pulled through the water
- Eight: Eight person boat, etc
- Feathered: Blade parallel to the water
- Finish: The part of the stroke where the blade is taken out of the water
- Four: Four person boat, two sweep-rowing on each side
- Front stops: Where you take the catch on a full slide stroke (at the front of the slide), blades should be square and buried
- Gate: Metal bit at the top of the swivel which holds the blade in place
- Handle: wooden bit of the blade which you hold on to
- Houseboat: normally lined up along the bank, don’t crash into them even if they’re right in the middle of the river
- Inside hand: Nearest the gate (does the squaring and feathering)
- Loom: long stem of the blade
- Outside hand: Furthest from the gate, does the pulling and tapping down
- Pair: Two person boat, one sweep-rowing on each side
- Rating/rate: The number of strokes taken in a minute
- Ratio: The ratio of time pulling the stroke against time sliding on the recovery. For optimal rowing, you should spend longer on the recovery than you do on the draw
- Recovery: Part of the stroke where the rower moves up the slide for the next catch
- Rigger: Triangular metal stays fixed to the side of the boat that carry the blade
- Rudder: Small piece of metal the size of a credit card which your cox uses to steer the boat
- Scull: Single person boat, rower uses 2 oars
- Slide: Each rower sits on a seat which moves on small wheels. These wheels run up and down the slide
- Spoon: painted part of the blade which goes in the water
- Squared: Blade perpendicular to the water
- Stern: Back of the boat (where the cox sits). Stroke side = seats 8 (‘stroke’), 6, 4, and 2 in an VIII (eight) boat
- Tub: Wide bottomed teaching boat
- Upstream: Direction into Cambridge
Common Cox Calls
Mostly in order of when the cox will call them:
- Hands on: All rowers with their hands on the boat, ready to lift
- Lifting on e.g. 3: Lifting on the number called, so if your cox shouts “lifting on 3, 1..2..3 then lift on the 3, not earlier. The whole point of this is to get all 8 people lifting together
- Bow/stroke side under: Whichever side is called will come under/round the boat one at a time until all rowers are on the same side of the boat
- Keel: Turn the boat on its side. There’s not enough space in the boathouse to carry it out level so we have to turn it on its side. If necessary the cox will say which way to turn it (e.g. “Keel towards Cambridge”). Once there’s enough space the cox will shout to bring the boat level again so that it’s easier to carry
- Clear: All of the boat is now out of the boathouse and you can swing round to bring it level with the bank
- Move towards the water: Edge towards the water, feel for the edge of the bank with your toes
- Heads on 3, 1..2…3: Rowers swing boat above their heads, moving to centre underneath the boat
- Put her in/Roll her in: Gently lower the boat into the water, make sure that its far enough out otherwise you smash the rudder onto the bank and it doesn’t work any more
- Stroke side/Bowside Holding: Stroke/bow side hold onto the boat to keep it stable while the others get in
- Bowside in: Bowside get into the boat and first of all get their blades out onto the water to give the boat some stability before the others get in
- Stroke side in: Strokeside can then get into the boat
- Number off from bow: Starting with bow, and going down the boat in order, each rower shouts out their number to indicate that they are ready to row
- Sit/set the boat: Blade feathered/flat on the water, holding the boat steady and level. Sitting the boat is an active process – if the boat is tipped down towards your side, lift your hands, if its tipped up at your side, lower your hands and the boat should come level
- Touch it: Take a very light part-stroke (eg arms only)
- Tap it: A light part-stroke (eg arms and backs only)
- Take a stroke: A full stroke
- Row on: Start rowing until told to stop
- Arms only: Rowing with arms only, no naughty use of your back
- Bodies over/body-lean: Part of the stroke after the arms have ‘gone away’
- Half-slide: Taking the catch halfway to front stops instead of at full slide. Similarly, cox may call ¼ or ¾ slide
- Backing/back it: turn the blade back to front to take a reverse stroke
- Watch your blades: warning from the cox directed at either stroke or bowside to beware that there is an obstacle they may hit. If you hear this warning look around to the side and pull your blade in if necessary
- Look ahead: Shouted at another boat which looks like it may be in your path, warning them to pay attention/get out of the way
- Easy/Easy all/Easy oars/Easy there: Stop rowing but keep your blade off the water, and the boat will drift along
- Drop: Drop the blade flat onto the water after easying, the boat will slow down a bit
- Take the run: Angle the blade against the water to act as a brake, this gently stops the boat
- Hold it up/hold it/hold it hard: This means that you’re about to hit something and an emergency stop is required. Square your blade in the water and hold it there
- Spinning: Turning the boat around. Normally this means stroke side turning their blades to back it down and bow side rowing as normal. Both sides should move up and down the slide together, blades flat on the water when it’s not their turn and then the whole side pulling/pushing together when it is their turn
- Light pressure: Not pulling very hard
- Firm/full pressure: Pulling as hard as possible
- Half pressure: In between (theoretically)
- Tap down: When the rower pushes the handle down to lever the blade out of the water