Rowing Technique Pocock Classic Cedar Single Racing Shells

Pocock Classic Cedar Single Racing Shells
Rowing Technique
by Jim Buckley
8/22/11

The rowing style taught by Frank Cunningham and Stan Pocock is characterized by a catch in which the legs drive the feathered blade into the water, "one cut" through the drive, a finish where pressure is kept on the oar with arms and shoulders while the rower's head and body are already changing direction, fast hands away to mid-slide and then decreasing slide speed for a long run before the next catch. This technique is well explained in Frank's book, The Sculler At Ease.
Steve Fairbairn, "the father of modern rowing" and admired by Frank and Stan, thought that milage made champions. He wasn't too concerned with style, especially the stilted artificial English Orthodox style. Fairbairn taught rowers to concentrate on blade work and the body will take care of itself. Frank wrote an interesting article on the subject, "A Dialogue with Steve and Stan", in which he notes that Stan had not read Fairbairn. In fact, says Frank, George Pocock told Stan not to read any books on rowing because they were all written by college men who were amateurs and really didn't know how to row as well as professional rowers!
Many college and younger Masters rowers, however, emphasize different techniques characterized by squaring the blade before the catch and not feathering until after the release. In a search to explain and justify these techniques, here are some comments and links:
Stan Pocock said, when I asked him at the 2003 Wooden Boat Festival about the picture of the Russians falling apart in the 1960 Olympic straight four race, that it was the way they rowed. When pressed he said they were the first crew he ever saw rowing with squared blades. Then, to his horror, the Americans began imitating them and Stan chastised them first for watching the other crews and then (worse) copying them. "Its a nice trick" said Stan, but it's hard to keep it up in unison when you're tired. Then it's a lot of unproductive up and down motion. "The Pocock style was successful because you naturally fell into it when you were tired and so could keep it up" he said.
Steve Fairbairn's "dreamy style" posted by Göran R Buckhorn, complete with comparisons in some old Swedish rowing books.
George Pocock - Notes on the Sculling Stroke
Rowing Technique - The Mike Spracklen Method - Mike Spracklen, current national team coach for the US men's sweep team.
Rowing Technique for Coaches - Catch, Drive, Release and Recovery. A series of four practical workshops including aims, teaching points, common errors, and fault correction exercises. Adair Ferguson, Sports Development Officer, ACT Rowing Association
Rowing Faster by Volker Nolte, 2005. Recommended by John Van Blom.
Dr. Valery Kleshnev analysis of the rowing stroke withimprovements by John Robinson and an explanation by Jim Buckley
YouTube, especially Rowing Technique by Flip Luisi animated basics.
World-champion sculler Charlotte Hollings shows you how to use your legs.
And many more (none that I saw showing proper catches and finishes that Frank would approve).
Lake Washington Rowing Vidios
With Frank Cunningham.
Bottom Line: "Rowing styles differ in where emphasis is placed." writes Mike Spracklen. Everyone admires the fluid motion of a winning sculler or rower and the purists seem to be able to show how these elite rowers illustrate the "correct" style.
As if to contradict all this, here is a guy with a computer who says style is unimportant: "To those steeped in the conventional wisdoms, heretical though it may seem, coaching somehow to optimize momentum exchange is probably an empty art." http://www.atkinsopht.com/row/rowrpage.htm
And a system for rowing efficiently while facing forward, The Front Rower
Now, envision this: The Sequential Stroke
What's faster - an eight or a quad, a men's single or a womans double? The 2004 Olympic results.
Sculling style - the world's best scullers at the Silver Skiff Regatta in Turin IT. Here are some sequential pictures of the sculling technique.
YouTube:
Rudertechnik Germany Hamburg RCB Eric Johannesen U23 Worldchampion 2008.
Level Drive Carlotte Hollings, US gold medalist.