Rowing (sport)

Rowing, often referred to as crew in the United States, is a sport with origins back to Ancient Egyptian times. It is based on propelling a boat (racing shell) on water using oars. By pushing against the water with an oar, a force is generated to move the boat. The sport can be either recreational - focusing on learning the technique of rowing, or competitive - where athletes race against each other in boats. There are a number of different boat classes in which athletes compete, ranging from an individual shell (called a single scull) to an eight-person shell with coxswain (called a coxed eight).

Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 18th century when races were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom. Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies. Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of "boat clubs" at the British public schools of Eton College and Westminster School. Similarly, clubs were formed at the University of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815. At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827. Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time; in England Leander Club was founded in 1818, in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University.

Sport

Sport (UK) or sports (US) are all forms of usually competitive physical activity or games which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing entertainment to participants, and in some cases, spectators. Usually the contest or game is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a tie game; others provide tie-breaking methods, to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of such two-sided contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, each against all with one winner.

Sport is generally recognised as activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition, and other organisations such as the Council of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports. However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports, although limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports.

Rowing

Rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that rowing requires oars to have a mechanical connection with the boat, while paddles are hand-held and have no mechanical connection.

This article deals with the more general types of rowing, such as for recreation and transport rather than the sport of competitive rowing which is a specialized case of racing using strictly regulated equipment and a highly refined technique.

Types of rowing systems

In some localities, rear-facing systems prevail. In other localities, forward-facing systems prevail, especially in crowded areas such as in Venice, Italy and in Asian and Indonesian rivers and harbors. This is not strictly an "either-or", because in different situations it's useful to be able to row a boat facing either way. The current emphasis on the health aspects of rowing has resulted in some new mechanical systems being developed, some very different from the traditional rowing systems of the past.

University of Warwick Boat Club

The University of Warwick Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Warwick. The men's team is colloquailly known as the Warwick Rowers. The club was founded in 1966 and currently has over a hundred members. It rows out of a boathouse on a 3.5 km stretch of the River Avon, Warwickshire. It caters for all levels of rowers from novices to experienced oarsman, and boasts previous members such as Oxford University Boat Club member and Boat Race winner, Ben Ellison and Olympian Tom Solesbury.

Facilities

The club's facilities include sixteen Concept2 ergos and a Concept2 dynamic ergo, kept in the on-campus sports centre. The club's men's 1st VIII currently rows in a 2008 wing-rigged Empacher and the women's 1st VIII currently rows in a 2011 Janousek. The club owns three further eights, three fours and numerous small boats.

The club trains out of a recently rebuilt boathouse on a 3.5 km stretch of the River Avon south of Warwick Castle.

Warwick Graduate Boat Club