Everything You Need To Know About Rowing & Why It’s Right For You
Being a zero-impact sport, rowing is ideal for keeping fit as you get older.
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With the World Cup coming to an end, let’s take our eyes off the ball, stop counting boundaries and learn the nuances of rowing.
A race session in this sport, which lasts maximum 8 minutes, is extremely demanding, physically and mentally, and calls for a combination of aerobic and anaerobic energy. Rowing is rated by some as the 5th toughest sport, ranking after decathlon, marathon, boxing and water polo.
Like cricket, it is a British legacy, unlike cricket not a spectator sport. Rowing is not to be confused with boating, a leisure activity. On a lake, the pleasure ride you take is boating. Racing craft gliding to a set rhythm, powered by able-bodied athletes, is rowing.
What are the different types of boats?
In India, the popular categories are the single sculls, double sculls, pairs, fours and eights. The last three can have an extra crew member for steering, known as the coxswain.
The racing shell is quite narrow. Width of a boat varies from 1 foot to 2 feet, while the length can range from 27 feet to 62 feet.
What are the race lengths of a rowing event?
1000 metres or 2000 metres depending on the age category. Sprint events are limited to 500 metres.
At which locations in India can one learn to row?
Rowing training is offered by two types of bodies. There are rowing clubs across India which were established at various stages over the last 175 years, located at Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.
Further to the founding of the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) in the late 70s, we have rowing centres under the aegis of its affiliates at Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Pondicherry, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Roorkee, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Ranchi, Imphal, Patna, Bhopal, Lucknow, Haridwar and across Kerala.
In addition, Sports Authority of India offers rowing training at Alleppey, Cuttack and Port Blair.
Two locations deserve a special mention: Army Rowing Node at Pune, which has state-of-the-art infrastructure for hosting national events; Sri Ramachandra Water Sports Centre, at Porur, Chennai, with a man-made rowing course and in-house expertise in sports science, sports medicine and nutrition.
What is indoor rowing?
This is a recent development. Using ergometers, which are hi-tech rowing machines, participants can row in an indoor environment, such as school, college or even a mall. Propelled by RFI, this format is gaining popularity in locations that do not have access to a rowing course.
Who can row? Is there a specific type of person who can do well at rowing?
Almost anyone can. Average height and weight for one’s age, keen sense of discipline, and the willingness to devote time are essentials. Starting young, say from age 12 or 14 is recommended and upto 22 years is fine. Parental support, especially for younger entrants, would be an advantage.
What are the rowing events held in India?
The mother of all events for clubs is the ARAE Regatta, organised annually by the Amateur Rowing Association of the East, a consortium of rowing clubs in India and Eastern countries.
For state bodies, it is the National Rowing Championship that counts, and often those who excel at this event are picked for next level training, for consideration in India colors.
How much does it cost to learn rowing in India?
Surprisingly very less. Most of the legacy clubs I talked about earlier have a limited intake of “Student Members” at an affordable monthly subscription. If you are joining the same club later in life as a Rowing Member, the fee bracket would be different. State bodies, by constitution, are established to promote the sport at the state level. They do not charge the trainees, except minimal annual charges for membership of the association.
What are the benefits of rowing?
Peak physical fitness is the biggest plus point. The sport can make the weak strong, the strong stronger. It is incorrect that rowing requires strong arms, the boat is primarily propelled by leg power. The rower is seated on a slide that moves forward and backward. The energy transfers from legs to shoulders and arms, and thereby to the oar.
Any pre-requisites?
Being a water sport, knowledge of swimming is a must. You must be in good health, and not have any physical or mental condition that prohibits you from undertaking vigorous activity.
The best part of the sport?
Training. To prepare for a competition, a crew or sculler will train for more than 3 months, on land and on water. Land training includes medium distance running, wind sprints, light weights and circuit training.
Based on height, weight and overall build, and judging the mental ability of the participant, the coach will slot the rower as a lone sculler, double sculler, pair partner or as member of a fours crew. Lightweight and not so tall rowers are ideal for the role of coxswain, if they have the ability to steer straight and coax the crew to fight to the finish.
Is there life after competitive rowing?
Certainly. The rower can continue to be associated with the sport, off the water. Examples that come to mind are many, and for want of space I am mentioning only a few of my contemporaries or immediate seniors: V Sriram, my rowing mate from the 70s, represented India and later served as secretary general of Rowing Federation of India.
My first trainer, Abraham Kandathil, served as National Coach, while the second, Chacko Kandathil, is a well-known administrator and coach at the state and national level. My mentor, (Late) Borun Chanda, was a founder member of the RFI. Brigadier KP Singh Deo, who represented Orissa in the late 70s, served several terms as president of RFI; Capt. Girish Phadnis of West Bengal, former merchant mariner, is currently Secretary General of RFI; Col Pravin Uberoi, Arjuna Awardee, was coach of the Army team for over two decades and served as Consultant to Sports Authority of India.
Good rowers become highly successful in other careers too – Maj Gen VK Bhatt, Lt Gen Vishwambhar Singh, Maj Gen Amin Naik (Arjuna Awardee), and Maj Gen Ajay Kumar Chaturvedi rowed for Corps of Engineers before rising in the ranks and retiring as distinguished and decorated officers of the Indian Army.
What makes rowing a good healthy exercise?
Being a zero-impact sport, rowing is ideal for keeping fit as you get older. Worthwhile to mention here that a senior rower diagnosed with diabetes some years ago has managed to avoid insulin treatment through regular rowing and running in his mid-60s.
Even while benefits of rowing for the young and old are apparent, the reader may still wonder – why take up any sporting activity at such peak levels? Will not a weekend game, a daily gym routine, or morning run do?
Well, we all have our fitness choices and pastimes. You could hang out with collegemates, roam around malls, browse the internet, or chit chat at a coffee shop. A better way to lead life, a better way to balance your academic or professional avocation, is to choose a sport and pursue it to perfection.
I recommend rowing.
(R Chandramouli (@chandra790) is a former national champion in the sculls, pairs and fours events (1978, 1979, 1980). He holds a Masters Degree in Mass Communications from Oklahoma State University and has served as a journalist in the United States. His interests include writing short stories, long distance running and motivating those over 40 to keep fit.)
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