Rowing - Crew

Introduction: Rowing is one of the world’s greatest sports enjoyed by students and adults alike. The sport dates back to Egyptian time but really didn’t become popular in western civilization until the 16^th century. Rowing (Crew) in the United States is one of the oldest intercollegiate sports events and has become increasingly popular in public and private high schools.

Rowing (crew) is a water sport, so quite naturally a body of water must be available such as a river, lake or the ocean to train and compete with other schools. Rowing events (regattas) attracts tens of thousands of participants and observers. Rowing and rowing competition develops and improves physical fitness and good health by exercising the body’s major muscles groups, develops team work, and comradeship among crew members and completive schools.

There are several different classes of rowing and rowing clubs that compete in regional, national, and international events. They compete is different size boats, called shells. These racing boats are long, narrow, and semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag. They usually have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to increase the effectiveness of the rudder. Originally the boats were made from wood but modern shells are now almost always made from a composite material. There are several different types of boats that consist of either 1, 2, 4, or 8 rowers. The boats that have 4 and 8 rowers also have a coxswain (Cox) that is in charge of the boats navigation and steering.

The boats are powered oars, referred to as blades. Each rower in four position and eight position boats has a single two handed oar to propel the boat. The oars are 11.15 feet (3.4 meters) long. The nearly 12 foot long oars are cumbersome to handle under the best conditions. The typical boat trailer carries the oars in a haphazard manner in the bottom of the boat. Handling the oars is a constant struggle that often results in damage due to dropping them or striking unintended objects.

A Brewster Academy student (Ben Goldlust), and avid rower for the past four years at Brewster, has invented a handling case (tool) that greatly facilities the storage and handling of rowing oars. Using the single handle carrying case takes the hassle out of handling and storage of the oars. The oar carrying case is shown here is actually used in handling the oars.

Ben’s website, http://www.rowerslife.com/ , provides additional information on the oar carrying case. From the website you can order any number of oar carrying cases to suit your needs. Having witnessed hundreds of rowers struggling with cumbersome oars for several years, I recommend purchasing these oar carrying cases as they will greatly facilitate the handling of oars.

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