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Crew
QI
rew, or rowing, has
seen an
Increase In interest In
the
past few years.
Each boat
can hold two, four,
six,
or eight
people. Some are designed to
hold an additional crewman, the
coxswain. The coxswain steers
the boat and gives commands to
direct the timing of the oar
strokes.
Racing boats are lighter and fas–
ter than ordinary rowboats and
are called shells. There are var–
ious sizes and shapes of a shell. A
single shell may weight .30
pounds or less. An eight shell may
be 60 feet long, 2 feet wide, and
weigh about 285 pounds.
The unique part of the sport is
the people. Waking up early in the
morning to train for an event that
lasts approximately 7 minutes
over a distance of 2000 meters
takes a lot of patience. Training
for crew takes a tremendous
amount of physical endurance.
They train both on land and on
water to build this endurance.
Their land training consists of run–
ning, weight-training, and climb–
Ing bleacher stairs. They also
spend time on the ergometer, a
stationary rowing machine, which
helps them with technique and
timing.
After training, they have a short
preseason in the fall. This con–
sists of local meets and traveling
to other schools. The regular sea–
son follows the same format, Just
that they race in the spring. At this
time, little information is available
for crew. We wish them the best of
luck during their season.
Being
In sync Is the key to being a fast
boat.
These
two
ladies crew members
show by their faces how much they
like early momlngsl
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