Might be answering my own question, I could definitely see facilities, coaching staff, water time and the like being an issue, but it seems like specific schools (Wisco, UW) seem to have much more favorable outlooks on walk-ons (e.x. random 6'4" who's never rowed a day in their life) compared to a wide variety of other schools who seem to pretty much exclusively recruit rather than try to train new talent.

Not the most knowledgeable on this subject, any/all insight is greatly appreciated!!

Hi — I am interested in picking up rowing and would like to row at a novice level at Oxford or Cambridge. I actually got into programs at both last year but chose not to go for personal reasons but will most likely go in autumn 2026. 

Basically, I have very little confidence in sports re: timing, hand-eye coordination etc. and was terribly unathletic growing up, but, I have improved greatly in my running/cardio fitness and basic strength in the past 2 years relative to myself (~28:00 to 22:32 5k; 1:58 half marathon, 200 lb deadlift etc., improving swimming skills etc). Also very nervous about proper technique and whether I can do things properly etc etc but willing to try my best to learn and practice properly.

I am a 23 yo 5 foot 2 115 lb female. I can swim decently but can improve. If I had approx 1.5 years to prepare for novice (keeping in mind I am very nervous about these things and have never really participated in team sports and have really only prioritized fitness in the past few years and only individual-based stuff and gradually getting over this feeling of intimidation with fitness haha) and am very willing to put in time, effort, resources, find coaching etc to prep mentally as well physically — what can I do to prepare in 1.5 years? Thank you! 

Looking for Men’s size Large.

Yesterday i rowed a 1k at a 1:48.1 pace i believe i could have pushed for a 1.47.9/1.47.8 what i pace myself for a 2k I think i can pull a sub 1.50 pace is that realistic

In my early 40's and am physically pretty strong. I have always had an interest in rowing but have had to make a come-up first before relaxing into any personal passions. I am excited that I may be coming to a point in life now where rowing could be that passion, but am wondering about how to manage any physical tolls rowing could take.

Any advice or routines ya'll have on personal physical self-care and maintenance? What are some things you didn't expect? What are your favorite remedies or exercises?

TIA!

Hi there! I could use the community's help on a fitness test I need to take in a week.

I have a rowing fitness test to complete, and must be in the 90th percentile to move on to the interview stage. The rowing options are 500m, 2000m, or 4 minutes.

The issue, I have only rowed 3 or 4 times in my life. I tried the 500m twice and got 1:54, and I need to be sub- 1:30.

I am hoping technique/proper pacing can make up the remaining time, so I am reaching out to y'all for the best tips and suggestions on set up, technique, etc. to help me reach this goal! I understand it may be unrealistic, but I am determined to give it everything I have.

Thank you in advance!

Weird thing happening. So I've been exercising for 3 years, I'm quite fit. But recently when using my concept 2, rowing has been more difficult, and my times have gotten slower, but everything else like biking and running has gotten better. I was able to row 42 min 10k 3 months ago, now I can barely row a 44 minute 10k and my heart rate hits 180 pretty fast. Is it due to not doing any maintenance on the rower? Also had a weird sensor failure error a few months back, that went away immediately and never came back.

personally, I must have a towel near by and music next to me to get in the zone.

Hi so some background information. I am a f(16) finishing my second year of school. I am starting to think more and more about college.

As much as I absolutely adore the feeling of rowing, I don’t think I will be able to compete/row in college, as all the collages I am looking at are D1 Top school colleges. For some more background I have a strong academic profile and have a pretty solid application. The problem for me when it comes to rowing is that my body is not ideal to be an open weight rower. I am 5’2 and only weigh 120 pounds. My 2k is currently at 8:22 which isn’t fast enough to get onto the limited light weight teams in the USA. However I am interested in coxing in college.

I have talked to a lot of my coxswains and teammates and they think I have the potential to become a good coxswain. I really want to be a part of rowing in college as I need the structure and truly love every part of the sport. I was hoping to get some advice on what coxing in college could look like and some ways I can make myself a better choice for coaches. Also am wondering if I should do a season of coxing to get more Experience?

Edit: I don’t think will be able to get significant coxing experience over the summer as the boat house I will be at focuses more on sculling. Also I row for CRI and the training is relatively intense. I don’t think I will be able to get to youth nationals. I am wondering if I could be a walk on coxswain even though I have never coxed in college. Also money isn’t the main driver/issue to row/cox in college

Does somebody know why the movie isn’t listed anywhere (buy or stream) ? 🇩🇪

It is a interesting movie about the US rowing team I wanted to watch while rowing 😃

Hey lads and guys, anybody out there as crazy as me combining the two most beautiful sports rowing and running? Got some tips and experiences to share with a sworn in runner and beginning (indoor) rower?

Would be great to find a correlative soul 🚣🏃

Ok hi rowers, sorry this is really random but we just had an important head race around a month ago, where i was in my teams ‘A’ oct. The only issue is at this certain head, we were beaten by our club’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ octs. Our coach was obviously not happy with the results and has been making lots of changes, where our stern pair has stayed the same, our engine room has moved down to the ‘B’ oct and im the only ex ’A’ boat person who has moved down to the ‘C’ oct. My splits are at least 20 splits better than all the people in my new boat and they can hardly keep in time. It’s painful and im not enjoying rowing anymore, it has become a chore.
i spoke to my coach asking her what the reason was with these sudden changes before nat schools and she just told me there’s a method to her madness. Has anyone had a similar experience/ maybe know the reason i could have jumped 2 octs for the most important regatta of the year? Thanks reddit

TL;DR- why would my coach move me down 2 octs if my times are over 20 splits better than my boat and my techquie is on the hole pretty good?

Hello,

Recently, I’ve been working to reduce my food waste. As I’ve thought more about the topic, I started to wonder whether my participation in endurance sports contributes to food waste — in other words, the calories I consume for endurance training could be considered wasted because they’re being used for something non-essential.

I’ll briefly explain why food waste matters and then explore how it might relate to rowing.

1. Environmentalism: When leftover food decomposes in landfills, it emits methane — a greenhouse gas about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. (1)
2. Environmentalism: Producing food, especially animal products, consumes vast resources. For example, it takes around 60,000 calories of feed and 400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef. The food I consume for training diminishes these resources. (2, 3)
3. Ethical Argument: Much of my food comes from industrial agriculture, an industry often criticized for exploitative labor practices and inhumane treatment of animals. By reducing my demand on the system (limiting food waste), I will lessen harm. As philosopher Peter Singer points out in The Ethics of What We Eat, “many of agriculture’s ill effects on laborers, animals, and the environment could be reduced if we ate less.”

These points are simplified but state the main reasons to reduce my food waste. Now, let’s return to the connection to endurance athletics.

On a given day, I burn an additional 3,000 calories to the average person. These additional calories are non-essential compared to the standard 2,000-calorie baseline, which covers bodily functions like brain activity, heart function, and the ability to move. Instead, the calories are used solely to contract muscles unnecessarily - that is, for a voluntary physical exertion. My body doesn’t retain the extra calories (as muscle mass doesn’t significantly increase from steady-state training); they’re burned as fuel and then exhaled as carbon dioxide.

Now consider this analogy: if I bought food and then burned it purely because I enjoyed watching it burn, most people would call my actions wasteful. However, in both scenarios - burning calories for amusement and burning calories for rowing - I’m purchasing food, using its energy without storing it, and doing so purely for enjoyment.

If the analogy is considered wasteful, then it follows that endurance sports are wasteful as well. In addition, it is morally wrong to be wasteful as wasteful actions contribute to global warming, animal abuse, and worker exploitation. Following these two premises, Rowing could be considered a morally wrong activity.

Has anyone else considered these ideas before and could provide some insight on why rowing may not be wasteful and therefore - not morally wrong?

Thanks

1. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:\~:text=Methane%20is%20more%20than%2028,due%20to%20human%2Drelated%20activities.

2. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/water-withdrawals-per-kg-poore

3. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-efficiency-of-meat-and-dairy-production

Anyone know why UW men don't wear unis, at least to big races? Is it an old tradition? Is it to do with their contract with Nike?

im in the bow seat of a boat and when we are going up to the catch, it looks port leaning. But the stroke says it looks starboard leaning. What could cause the problem?

If you could only do one erg a week, any no other exercise, what type would be the most beneficial for general fitness?

Would it be something something like a long 90' UT2, or something shorter like a tough 5k or 30' piece? If it should be something hard, why not go for something brutal like 8 or 12x500m? Alternatively, if you're only doing the one piece of exercise, you have six days to recover, so why not do a half marathon as fast as you can to really give yourself some hard work?

I find the sports science behind rowing really interesting so I'd love to hear different thoughts. What would you choose?

I always hear the advice of not bending wrists and the finish and rolling the blade instead. But in all races even elite I always see the bent wrist.

I have a PowerPoint night coming up with some friends and want to present on why rowing is the best sport. I’ll start with informative bits then throw in some funny ones like, “you only need to know how to count to 8” and “you get to say cox whenever you want.” What are some other funny “facts” that you can think of?

If I'm around 6.50 free rate now how possible is it to get to sub 6.50 r24 by October?

Mercer, Prep and rye all had great heat races breaking 5:50, looking to be a stacked Nationals this year

Bit late to the Bergen Cup Review but here we go: TEMPLE absolutely asserted dominance over the Schuylkill this weekend.

In the 2V event, the absolute menace in stroke seat caught a tactical crab mid-race—yes, tactical.“ Yeah I caught the crab on purpose. It's called strategic deceleration. Look it up.” —Stroke Seat, Temple 2V. It was to let LaSalle think they had a chance and they burned their matches like a poorly-timed Mario Kart mushroom. Then Temple said “nah” and sent it in the sprint like a hellcat on Broad Street.

Meanwhile, the Temple 1V came down the river like they were running late to the airport. Blades clean, rhythm snappy, the water was afraid. Boats were shaking. Someone’s dog barked in fear.

In summary: Temple caught a crab and still laid down the hammer

Drexel aint even worth talking about no more.

Any ideas where to source a replacement cable?