Greater Dayton Junior Rowing

History

Rowing in one of the world's oldest sports. The Egyptians were noted for their great feats of oarsmanship, and Virgil described rowing competition as part of Aeneas' tribute to his father in the Aeneid.

Rowing remains the oldest organized sporting competition.  The Doggett's Coat and Badge was first organized in 1715 and still raced to this day. In first intercollegiate athletics to take place between two Universities is the Oxford Cambridge Boat race which was first raced in 1829. In 1839 The Henley Royal Regatta was first organized and remains a fixture for rowing programs to this day. In the United States, Harvard and Yale have been racing their annual boat race since 1852. Additionally, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association was the precursor to the NCAA and was organized 1895.

 In the past 20 years rowing has seen a tremendous resurgence and growth. Clubs have sprung up from coast to coast and Junior Rowing is thriving. In 1992 Greater Dayton Rowing Association was founded and has offered rowing opportunities throughout the area since. 

Equipment and Racing

Rowing takes place in boats called shells. These boats range in size from the 8 which contains eight rowers each with one oar and one coxswain, a small commanding athlete who steers the shell and directs strategy, to the single, which has one rower with two sculling oars. The two disciplines within rowing are sweep and sculling. The shells are constructed from carbon fiber and a honeycomb coring material and are extremely light. Inside the shell each rower has a station or seat. Each area has a a foot stretcher where there are shoes and a seat which slides on a track.

Sweep rowing is done in Eights, Fours and Pairs. The Eight always contains a coxswain while the four and the pair may or may not contain coxswains depending on the event. Sweep rowing is done with sweep oars which are more than 12 feet long. 

Sculling is done in Quads, Doubles and Singles. Sculling oars are shorter in length than sweep oars at around 10 feet. In comparative speed sculling boats per athlete are faster than sweep boats, for example the quad is faster than the four.

Racing typically occurs in two formats, Head Racing and Sprint Racing. 

Head Racing is done over a longer stretch of a waterway typically between 2.5 miles and 5 miles. In Head Racing boats are staggered at the starting line allow gaps between boats. They build speed before the starting line and depart every 15-30 seconds with the hope of passing each other and clocking the fastest time within their class. Head Racing often coincides with Fall and Winter seasons.

Sprint Racing is done over 2000 meter or 1.25 mile course. Typically racing occurs in a side by side format starting from a complete standstill. At regattas, racing happens on bouyed courses which provide 6 lanes for racing in heats, semifinals and finals etc.