Newer Is Not Necessarily Better
In rowing, the measure of performance is the time it takes to cover 2,000 meters or the average speed a rower achieves over that distance.
Performance depends on a combination of factors: physiology, psychology, anthropometry, technical and tactical skill. Also crucial—equipment.
The history of rowing is marked by innovations in boats and oars that have enhanced performance. Outriggers made it possible to build narrower, lighter boats, and carbon-fiber oars made them lighter and stiffer, while new blade shapes reduced air resistance.
In the 1950s, with the so-called standard blade, which was long and narrow, 2K race times were around 7:30. With the introduction of the Macon blade, a symmetric tulip-like shape that was much wider, race times improved immediately by about 10 seconds and trended toward 7:10 until 1980.
With sliding-rigger single sculls, race times dropped suddenly to about 6:52 and remained fairly constant at this level even after sliding-rigger boats were banned following the 1983 season.
In the first few years after so-called big blades were introduced in 1992, winning single-sculls rowers at the Rotsee Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, reduced race times to under 6:40. Since 2010, however, victors in the single-sculls race have been finishing in about 6:45.
This coincides with the findings of Valery Kleshnev, a Russian sports scientist and biomechanics expert who has compiled race results showing that international performance in all boat classes appears to have stagnated since 2010. Which is surprising, since equipment has continued to evolve and oars and boats have continued to improve.
While innovations in equipment can make a boat go faster, often the best way to increase speed is to improve training and use your existing equipment correctly. Invest in a training camp or hire an experienced coach for a weekend. Or send the club coach to a coaching conference to learn the latest oar science and how to rig boats properly.
Volker Nolte, an internationally recognized expert on the biomechanics of rowing, is the author of Rowing Science, Rowing Faster, and Masters Rowing. He’s a retired professor of biomechanics at the University of Western Ontario, where he coached the men’s rowing team to three Canadian national titles.
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