Glossary

Rowers need to be able to communicate quickly and precisely in order to work together safely and effectively. Here are some of the most common terms you'll hear around rowing.

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Directions

Boat directions are always relative to the boat. That way everyone has the same direction, no matter which way they’re facing.

• Bow - The front of a boat

• Port - The left side of a boat

• Starboard - The right side of a boat

• Stern - the back of a boat​​

Roles

All boats have “rowers”. Our 4 and eight seat boats also have “coxswains” (pronounced “cawk-sun”). Rowers have different roles, depending on the type of boat.

• Coxing - steering and leading the boat

• Sculling - rowing with two oars per person

• Sweeping - rowing with one oar per person, alternating between port and starboard.​

Boats

Boats are described in terms of number of seats and oar arrangement.

Medford crew uses 4 sizes of boats; 1, 2, 4 and 8 and compete

• 1x - “single” - one sculler

• 2x - “double” - two scullers

• 2 -   “pair” - two sweepers

• 4x+ - “quad” - four scullers and a coxswain

• 4+ - “four” - four sweepers and a coxswain

• 8x - “oct” - eight scullers and a coxswain

• 8+ - “eight” - eight sweepers and a coxswain

Equipment

• Oar - Long poles with large paddles and an oar lock. Crew oars are specially designed to allow well trained athletes to get the most power.

• Oar Lock - A device which holds the oar in place while allowing it to swing freely. Crew uses specialized oar locks that give the rowers more control than with normal oar locks.

• Hull - The main body of a boat.

• ERG - Competition rowing machines, most commonly the “Concept 2”. These rowing machines allow for more precise adjustments and offer better feedback so competitive athletes can maximize their training.

• Stroke Coach - Computers that give rowers live feedback on speed and pacing.

• Cox Box - The speaker system used by coxswains to communicate with rowers. ​

US Rowing Classifications

Rowers can compete in several categories.

• By Age

  • Juniors - anyone who is younger than 19 or still in high school (all our rowers are in this category).

  • Masters - anyone who is finished with high school and older than 18. 

• By Skill

  • Intermediate - everyone starts here

  • Senior - rowers who have won a qualifying national event at the intermediate level

  • Elite - rowers who have won a qualifying national event at the senior level

• By Weight
  Boats can qualify as “lightweight” if all rowers are light enough.

  • Junior Men - no rower weighs more than 150 lbs

  • Junior Women - no rower weighs more than 130 lbs

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General Boating Terms

• Regatta - A boating competition. Crew regattas usually have several races divided by age, boat type, and gender.

• Head Race - Boats start the race one after the other and are individually timed. These tend to be longer races, 3,000 meters or more, and are held in the fall.

• Sprint Racing - The boats start at the same time and try to cross the finish line first. These are usually shorter races, less than 2,000 meters, and are held in the spring.