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Fix It Friday: five drills, five purposes, straight from the research.Fix It Friday, straight from Kleshnev’s drill list...
10/22/2026

Fix It Friday: five drills, five purposes, straight from the research.

Fix It Friday, straight from Kleshnev’s drill list.

Five drills, five purposes.

Rowing with feet out: stretcher pressure and a fast arm drive at the finish.
Late squaring of the blades: stops feathering in the water and builds balance.
Arms with shoulders: shoulder and arm coordination.
Quarter slide, fast trunk: push the stretcher through the heels with glutes and hamstrings, drive the trunk fast and horizontal.
Catch, legs only: fast blade placement and a quick kick through the toes using the quads.

Try new drills with your coach nearby, especially in a single.

Which one does your coach make you do the most?
Drop the number below. 👇

The Forgotten Era of Professional RowingLong before football and baseball dominated the American sports landscape, rowin...
10/21/2026

The Forgotten Era of Professional Rowing

Long before football and baseball dominated the American sports landscape, rowing was the undisputed king of athletics. In the late 19th century, professional crew races on rivers like the Harlem and the Hudson drew tens of thousands of spectators, rivaling the massive crowds seen at modern stadiums today.

This archival image from 1888 captures an elite professional eight on the Harlem River. From bow to stroke, the lineup features iconic oarsmen of the era: Fred Plaisted, Albert Hamm, Peter H. Conley, Jack Largan, Wallace Ross, Jacob Gaudaur, George Bubear, and George Hosmer. Keeping time in the coxswain seat is James Pilkington, a massive figure in the community and owner of The Golden Oar saloon near Harlem's Boathouse Row.

Back then, professional rowing wasn’t funded by corporate sponsors or television ads. It was fueled entirely by high-stakes gambling. The immense pressure and influx of money eventually caused the sport's downfall, as top rowers began taking bribes to throw races for profit. This corruption opened the door for the rise of amateur, university-level rowing, leaving the original professionals to be mostly forgotten by history.

With legalized sports gambling now seamlessly integrated into modern mainstream athletics, it makes you wonder: Could professional rowing ever make a serious comeback?

🙌 A massive thank you to Golden Oars community member and dedicated Rutgers Crew historian Michael Ellegaard for sharing these rare primary archives!

Before the biggest race of their season, the coach told them a story about fighting in the shade.In Ron Irwin’s novel Fl...
10/21/2026

Before the biggest race of their season, the coach told them a story about fighting in the shade.

In Ron Irwin’s novel Flat Water Tuesday,
a fictional coach gathers his crew by a boathouse window
before the biggest race of their season.

He walks them through the course on a blackboard,
then points to the rival crew carrying their boat to the dock.

And he tells them the old story of the Spartans at Thermopylae.
Told that the enemy’s arrows would blot out the sun,
the Spartans replied that they would fight in the shade.

Then he reminds his crew
that they have practiced in snow.

The best pre-race talks are short.
They give you somewhere to stand.

What is the best thing a coach ever said
before a race? Drop it below. 👇

Every December, crews push off from San Sebastian on La Gomera in the Canary Islands, aiming for Nelson’s Dockyard in En...
10/21/2026

Every December, crews push off from San Sebastian on La Gomera in the Canary Islands, aiming for Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, Antigua. It’s the World’s Toughest Row, about 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, unsupported.

The numbers: around 1.5 million oar strokes. The standard pattern is two hours rowing and two hours resting, around the clock, though crews can choose longer stretches. Rowers burn more than 5,000 calories a day by most estimates (sources range from 4,500 to over 6,000) and lose on average around 12 kg over the crossing. A desalinator turns seawater into drinking water.

The records: The Four Oarsmen crossed in just under 30 days in 2017, and Dutch rower Mark Slats set the fastest solo crossing at 30 days, 7 hours and 49 minutes in the same race. In 2023, 98 rowers set out in 38 boats, and 37 crews completed the crossing.

Rowers, would you try it? Tell us below.

Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s comfortable. Not because anyone’s watching at 5 AM.Every rower has a reason. May...
10/20/2026

Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s comfortable. Not because anyone’s watching at 5 AM.

Every rower has a reason. Maybe it’s the sound of eight blades hitting the water at the same moment. Maybe it’s the crew that showed up when you didn’t think you could. Maybe it’s the quiet on the water before the sun comes up, or the feeling of a boat that finally runs.

Whatever yours is, it got you out of bed, down to the dock, and back for another session. The people who row know it can’t be explained to anyone else.

I row because ______.

Yes, rowing boats were once made of paper.In 1867, George Waters of Troy, New York, had a question: could a whole boat b...
10/20/2026

Yes, rowing boats were once made of paper.

In 1867, George Waters of Troy, New York, had a question: could a whole boat be made from paper? His father Elisha ran a paper box factory, so he had the material. George moulded sheets of manila paper over a wooden shell, varnished the result, and ended up with a hull with no seams from stem to stern. The racing shells had a skin about 1/12 of an inch thick. The design was patented in 1868.

And it worked. According to Waters’ son, a Cornell crew rowing a paper six beat twelve other crews in wooden boats at Saratoga Lake in 1875, then swept the 1876 Centennial Regatta. By 1875, the family firm was described as the largest boat factory in the United States.

So why did paper disappear? Wooden builders caught up on weight, speed and price. The paper needed resurfacing again and again, and a factory fire hit the business. By the 1890s, paper boats were mostly forgotten.

But the idea survived. A light shell built over a mould with a seamless skin is exactly how modern composite boats work. The paper shell was an early version of it.

Which would you trust more at the start line: a paper shell or a carbon one?
Tell us below.

10/20/2026

When the start sequence is going perfectly... until it isn't!

We really appreciate .kuwahara for sending us this highly relatable clip, proving that the water always keeps us humble.

Breaking down the footage, the piece actually starts beautifully. He launches off the line with explosive power, showcasing incredible acceleration and a sharp, engaged leg drive. However, just as the boat is picking up serious speed, the starboard blade fails to extract cleanly at the release, resulting in a massive, boat-stopping crab.

The handle gets ripped backward, the momentum instantly dies, and the shell rocks—but the best part of this video is his reaction. Taking it in stride and laughing it off is the true mark of a seasoned sculler. No matter how elite your technique gets, the river will always find a way to remind you who is in charge!

When was the last time you caught a boat-stopping crab during a piece? Drop your funny stories below.

In a pair, pulling the same is the mistake.Pair rowers, this one is for you.Kleshnev’s analysis of why a pair twists:The...
10/20/2026

In a pair, pulling the same is the mistake.

Pair rowers, this one is for you.

Kleshnev’s analysis of why a pair twists:
The stroke and bow rowers do not have the same lever
on the boat’s centre.
At the catch, the bow rower’s lever is longer.
At the finish, the stroke rower’s is.
In the middle of the drive, they are equal.

Pull identically and the boat rotates.

His answer:
Stroke applies more force at the catch.
Bow applies more force at the finish.
And the stroke rower’s average force
sits about 5% above the bow’s.

Rowing a pair well is not about pulling the same.
It is about pulling so you cancel each other out.

Stroke or bow? Drop your seat below. 👇

Rowing after 40 isn’t a comebackit’s the sweet spot. 🚣✨While other sports take a toll on your knees and back, rowing giv...
10/20/2026

Rowing after 40 isn’t a comeback

it’s the sweet spot. 🚣✨While other sports take a toll on your knees and back, rowing gives back what it takes out. The water absorbs the impact, leaving you with pure, low-strain cardiovascular power and core strength. But the real secret of Masters rowing?

Technique always trumps raw power. Smart timing, a razor-sharp catch, and boat feel matter far more than brute strength,which is why experienced rowers only get faster with time. Add in 5:00 AM glassy launches, the rhythmic glide of a boat in sync, and a crew that becomes family... it’s no wonder rowers stay in the sport for decades.

The True Definition of a Champion: Olaf Tufte’s Legacy 🚣‍♂️❤️Seven Olympic Games, two gold medals, and decades of relent...
10/20/2026

The True Definition of a Champion: Olaf Tufte’s Legacy 🚣‍♂️❤️

Seven Olympic Games, two gold medals, and decades of relentless grit—yet what truly defined Olaf Tufte wasn’t the silverware. It was his heart.

When accepting the Thomas Keller Medal—rowing’s highest individual honor—the Norwegian sculling legend didn't talk about his podium finishes. Instead, he welcomed every single person who has ever picked up an oar into his world: "If you pull an oar, you're a rower and you're a part of my family."

To the global community, Tufte wasn’t just an icon on the water; he was the big brother of crew athletes everywhere. A true champion who proved that greatness is measured by what you give back to the sport.

To everyone pulling an oar out there today: Welcome to the family. What does the rowing community mean to you? Let us know below! 👇

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