Rowing 101

Oct. 1, 2008

NORMAN, Okla.- If you are not familiar with Fall Rowing and Head Races, here is a short brief…

Head Races are different from typical Spring racing…although there will be a short sprint component to the Head of the Oklahoma regatta.

Head races are typically 3-5 miles long and typically start at the Head of the river (upstream) and race downstream.

Boats are started at regular intervals and the clock starts as the bow ball crosses the starting line and stops as the bow ball crosses the finish line.

Once all competitors in a category have completed the race, times are ranked and the fastest time is the winner. Penalties are issued for various infractions such as failure to yield (to a faster crew that is overtaking a slower boat), crossing buoys, passing in no passing zones, etc… These penalties are added onto raw times and can change the outcome of a race.

In contrast, sprint races are usually 2000 meters (2k) – roughly 1.6 miles, the competitors line up at the starting line, 2 to 8 boats across, whichever boat crosses the line first wins, unless there are penalties. There are heats, repechages, semi finals etc… for Sprint Races, depending on the size of the event.

OU will have some of its Varsity squad competing in the following events:

Saturday – October 4th
2:10pm – WO4+ (Women's Open 4 with coxswain)

Sunday – October 5th
8:45am – WO2- (Women's Open Coxless Pair)
9:45am – W1x Collegiate (Women's Collegiate Single Scull)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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