ROWING: DEFINITION AND HISTORY
Rowing is the propulsion of a boat to move with the use of an oar. It can either be done as a sporting activity or a recreational activity. Unlike paddling, oars in rowing are attached to the boats using oarlocks.
The act of rowing has been in existence as far back as the human specie have utilised water as a means of transportation. Rowing vessels were first seen over 4,000 years ago and were used as a means of transporting both humans and goods. In ancient Egypt for example, there are records of certain inscriptions in graveyards that attest to the conception that a warrior who went by the name Amenhotep was notable for his expertise in oarsmanship. In the Roman empire, Virgil included rowing as part of the funeral games hosted by Aeneas to honour his father in Aeneid. In addition to this, the Venetian festival of the 13th century known as regatta included boat races along its competitions. Rowing as a practice continued to excel in the Roman period as well as in the dark ages because of the benefits it posed to the trade and economic sphere of life. However, as a sport, rowing witnessed a massive turn around during the Middle ages. Venice as a case study has been the landmark of watercraft development because it is a city built on the Mediterranean Sea. During the fourteenth century, this ancient sport of rowing witnessed a turn around in what was called “The Carnevale regattas”. Here, the rowing teams and individual rowers, competed and raced through the narrow waterways of Venice.
Renaissance England also caught a whiff of the wave of this rowing sport, as the first modern rowing competition can be traced to it. During those times, the guilds sponsored boats to compete in “The Lord mayor’s water procession” that began in 1454.
There have been episodes of rowing being used as a watersport here and there throughout history. For instance, during the middle ages, regatta races were often held by the Italians. During these races, they brought the best rowers and pitted them against each other to leave the best of the best victorious. Another instance comes up in the Great London, where boatmen who offered taxi services along the Thames river often raced one another in exchange for prizes from the London’s guild. Although, as history would have it, there has been no official record of how or when rowing was brought to America. The first recorded race took place in the year 1756, New York harbour. Once it was brought into America, several of the country’s most prestigious colleges seemed intrigued by it and that was how rowing found it’s way into the colleges’ sports programs. So, youths and students of all ages could participate in this exciting watersport. Since the early 1800’s, rowing has become one of the widely played watersports in American colleges. It was mostly featured in intercollegiate events, giving the college students a chance to exhibit their rowing skills. One of the oldest college teams in existence is the Oxford men’s rowing team who began playing in the year 1815. The rate at which rowing spread throughout the colleges was quite fast, and this gave it a strong and permanent foothold in America. The sports then skyrocketed when Yale challenged Harvard to the first intercollegiate boat race in 1852. For several decades, rowing became even more popular than football. Soon, rowing in six and eight oar boats became an extracurricular activity for amateurs in England and the United States. Then, the first open regatta for amateurs was held in 1872.
During the year 1903, the intercollegiate rowing association was formed and became the world’s first scholastic organization to oversee and conduct rowing sports. When rowing became an Olympic sport in 1900, the United States began to showcase its rowing abilities to the world- having series of victories in the first two competitions in 1900 and 1904. Later, the English team won during the competitions in 1908 and 1912. Because of this sudden swerve in victory, the United States decided to take their best college team and have them represent during the Olympic games in 1920. This sudden change seemed to have paid off as the US Naval academy team defeated the English team and took back the victory and gold medal for the US. This achievement led to several gold medal victories for the top US college team for every Olympic games from 1920 to 1948.
Over the years, Australia has witnessed the founding of different rowing clubs with different visions for rowing. For example, the Dragon rowing club which places a high regard for professionalism, creativity and excellence in the development of rowing in Australia. They have organised series of programs that have really promoted rowing. Especially, for the disabled. Launching an adaptive program in rowing for disabled students, they were recognized by the Australian rowing club and were awarded for their good works. Going on to bag different medals in different championship games, they have made their mark in history and have been actively running for 27 years and counting. They were actively involved in different competitive rowing events and did not just take home wins but also memories.
In Competitive rowing, the type of oars used are quite different and more advanced than the regular type of oars. Here, the oar is a shaft of wood with two different ends. One end has a rounded handle, while the other is like a shaped blade. The shafts consist of two halves hollowed out and put together. This is done in order to increase flexibility and to lighten the weight. The blade which is usually a thin broadened surface is either flat or can be curved slightly at the sides and tip in order to give it a firm grip on water. The loom (middle part of the oar) rests in a notch or in between the Thole pins on the gunwale of the boat. This is so that it can serve as a fulcrum and provide balance. The loom is protected from damage by sleeves of leather or plastic. The oars have adjustable metal or fixed leather or plastic collars. All of these aids the rowing vessel to function properly and prevent it from damage.
Rowing was the most popular sports in America 80 years ago but began to experience a huge decline as football and basketball took over. The last century brought a significant drop in rowing programs and scholarships that were being offered by the NCAA. Today, about 91 college programs officially recognize rowing as a sport and the NCAA allows for 20 rowing scholarships to be given out per school. Despite the drop in popularity of this sport, rowing coaches are still on the lookout for young talents to bring this sport back to life. The growth and changes that occurred over time in rowing led to the formation of both local and national organizations to handle, oversee and conduct rowing events and competitions. In 1892, The Federated Internationale des societies d’Aviron (FISA- the International Rowing Federation) was formed. Several events in rowing for teams of eight, four and two and in sculling were established. Since then, up until now, rowing events have been held for both men and women in different countries like the United states, England, Canada, Australia, south wales and so on. In some countries like Australia, rowing is said to have a major role in display of sports and cultural heritage. Which is why it thrives there and is regarded as one of the oldest and best watersports.
Although not as popular as football or basketball, rowing has made its mark in history and is quite an exciting watersport enjoyed by all categories of people from all walks of life.
