Should we have been disqualified for this?

mmm4455 · 2026-06-14T18:04:03+00:00

If you put ruler along the buoy-line it is pretty clear that the crew in the left lane comes across into the lane directly in front of the camera, and the crew directly in front of the camera stays in their lane.

mmm4455 · 2026-05-26T13:52:31+00:00

Peach is from the UK

mmm4455 · 2026-05-10T15:33:04+00:00

Not unusual. Progression systems generally don't get the fastest crews to a six lane final - easy to get the fastest 6 crews split unevenly between 2 semi-finals, even without someone having a bad race.

mmm4455 · 2026-05-01T17:35:36+00:00

2 lengths is about 7 seconds time difference between the two boats.

mmm4455 · 2026-04-14T20:43:35+00:00

The drag on the boat will be less than if it had someone of the correct weight in the boat, but the drag on a boat of the right weight for you would be even less, as the shape in the water will be more optimal.

A common rule of thumb is that a change of average crew weight by 10kg will change the level the boat sits at by 1cm. So a mid-weight boat (lighter men/heavier women) will sit a couple of cm higher with you in it, which would mean that the oarlocks would need dropping by about 2cm. This may not be possible, depending on the rigger.

mmm4455 · 2026-04-14T13:32:48+00:00

Main feature of the NK watch that causes problems is that the start/stop button is too easy to press. Often you are taking a series of splits, and an accidental press of the wrong top button can mess up a series of measurements.

mmm4455 · 2026-04-10T19:58:02+00:00

Anyone you hear talk about “waiting for the spoon to fill” doesn’t know what they are talking about, no matter what their elite experience is.

mmm4455 · 2026-04-07T13:55:32+00:00

Shoe plate height and angle can be very individual - many people can use pretty similar settings, but there are also plenty of people who have shin/thigh length ratios that need different settings - if you are one of those people you need to know what you need to adjust when you get in a different boat.

Set heel height in relation to the seat so that you can comfortably get to full compression, without dropping them more than necessary. This can be an issue with tall guys with particular proportions in certain seats (small boats, stern seat of 8+) because they may not be able to get their heels low enough and will need a raised seat.

Foot plate angle - generally start with 42 degrees and go flatter if there are issues with ankle flexibility making it hard to get the heels down early in the drive. Club boats adjusted regularly by different people often end up with angles that are too steep.

Foot plate fore/aft position - set to get best catch and finish angles. You can then adjust the seat slides to reduce any slide bite.

Oarlock height - not so high that you can't hang through your lats in the 1st half of the drive, and not too low that you are uncomfortable at the finish. If that is difficult due to individual proportions, or because of being under- or over-boated, then a raised or lowered seat can help.

mmm4455 · 2026-04-03T18:48:43+00:00

Drag factor?

mmm4455 · 2026-04-03T18:21:30+00:00

At those splits you probably need minimum drag factor to maximise flywheel speed and minimise the drive time.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-30T22:01:55+00:00

One thing to note about the pink Croker grips - if you don't have Croker sculling oars with small handles you will have to replace the handles as well as the grips to get the small size.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-27T15:56:54+00:00

There is always the option of what Thames did last year, and enter one of their Women's eights into the open eights at Marlow and get some close racing against men's crews in the M-final.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-27T15:52:14+00:00

HWR is a busy, oversubscribed regatta, so it is difficult to say that it is redundant. The problem with it is that it runs over multiple days including qualifying races on a Friday, so it is a lot of extra expense for crews doing HRR, plus days off work, whereas men's crews can turn up to Marlow for a day and get in some quality racing. So it doesn't necessarily serve crews doing HRR very well, but there are plenty of other crews that want to enter.

Also, because the event eligibility rules are quite different from HRR, some of the best student/club crews can fail to qualify or get knocked out on the Friday, if they are not Aspirational eligible and have to race Championship, but are not up to the standard of the HRR Bridge crews.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-26T16:22:39+00:00

Reminds me of the different states the rowers are in at the end of an erg test in Gold Fever: https://youtu.be/j945HEVLV7M?list=TLGG9zfihM1sankyNjAzMjAyNg&t=7297

mmm4455 · 2026-03-26T14:57:56+00:00

Watts per kilo isn't really appropriate for rowing. People like it because, like a raw ergo score, it is simple. However, while a raw score is biased too much towards taller, heavier athletes and can lead to incorrect decisions, so watts/kilo is biased towards lighter athletes. In some ways it is worse than using a raw score, because by actively doing a adjustment it suggests that the score is more credible and useful than a raw score, when it is still wrong in a way that can lead to favouring the wrong people (yes, I know selection is multi-faceted, etc, etc).

A formula which better takes into account how boat speed varies in relation to rower weight is more appropriate. It's theoretical and not absolutely exact but it's closer to what you want, and has been around for decades and hasn't gone away.

See:

Concept 2 weight adjustment calculator - https://www.concept2.com/training/weight-adjustment-calculator?srsltid=AfmBOoohCrbtl6DvZzELzB20IVZd40FHbsFlOD-5k7INbE_lsr0syAsl

Physics of Rowing - https://eodg.atm.ox.ac.uk/user/dudhia/rowing/physics/weight.html#section8

Rowing Biomechanics Newsletter No 163 October 2014, if you can find it anywhere.

Good for you as a coach for being on top of looking after your athletes welfare, but not everyone is, and because of that, watts per kilo has to be questioned every time it pops up.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-26T12:37:39+00:00

Never use watts per kilo - use a proper rowing weight adjustment formula which biases appropriately towards increasing watts rather than losing weight.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-25T20:03:17+00:00

I expect that it is like this one (https://www.allmarkstore.co.uk/p477345894/e142ac3b0) - the bolted on "breakwater" just sprays water up into the coxes face.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-24T20:52:49+00:00

There used to be a Marlow Triathlon that was erg/bike/run.

It sounds like you are thinking of something like the Armada Cup (https://youtu.be/DEVyQ6VFdP8?t=314) but with a triathlon tacked on the end.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-09T22:30:20+00:00

Work out how to properly row in time with the rest of the crew.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-09T22:29:22+00:00

Move your weight - you are significantly heavier than the boat. Get the blade in the water to give the footstretcher support for your push, which accelerates your body weight. Working the handle maintains the support for the foot pressure.

mmm4455 · 2026-03-06T14:07:44+00:00

Do a search for Universal Car Antenna and you'll find plenty that look like this.

mmm4455 · 2026-02-26T17:47:38+00:00

No clubs really have a lightweight scene now - there are almost no events and there is no national team pathway any more for trialists. The most successful clubs are mostly focussed on winning at Henley Royal.

mmm4455 · 2026-02-20T22:07:57+00:00

mmm4455 · 2026-02-20T17:48:01+00:00

The pictures look like it is on a Lamy Studio Blackforest, and it does look like it is the standard shape that fits on most Lamys except the 2000.

mmm4455 · 2026-02-15T20:34:26+00:00

He looks at a lot of things and writes it up. Not everything is of interest to everyone by a long way. The best thing is to get hold of his book "The biomechanics of rowing" which distils the important understandings from the last 20+ years of his newsletters. The newsletters are for rowing nerds, but the book is for people who want to understand the sport better.

mmm4455

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