Technique and Common Faults
On the water: The British Rowing webpage contains photos and descriptions of what we are aiming for at each part of the stroke. Once the basic separation of hands-body-slide has been grasped, it is important to pay attention to what the hands are doing.
Most common faults have well-known corrections…the only hard part can be putting the knowledge into practice, but your coach/cox should be able to help you! Sometimes video analysis is very helpful in letting you see what you are actually doing, which may be quite different from what you think you are doing. Speak to your coach or crew coordinator if you think this would be helpful.
You can find many videos online illustrating good (& sometimes bad!) technique online, for example:
- an annotated animation of the rowing stroke
- annotated video of sculling technique
- SpannerSpotter has high definition and slow motion videos from selected events on the Cam (mostly University bumps, but occasionally other races)
- Strokecycles offers a great way to study the action of various world-class rowers & scullers
On the erg: Technique for the erg (rowing machine) is fundamentally similar to that used in the boat, as illustrated and described by British Rowing. The Concept2 website has lots more information, including illustrations of some common faults and advice on how to correct them.
