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Balancing an Eight

Balancing an Eight:!
By H.A.P Lap!
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Image credit:! Dror Ottensooser!
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Forward and a personal note:! 2!
Principles - Oar and Boat:! 2!
Principles: Body and Arms:! 3!
Sculling Vs. Sweep balancing:! 5!
Sweep Balancing:! 6!
Conclusion:! 18!
Fun and glide!…! 18
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© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 1 of 18


Balancing an Eight

Forward and a personal note:


This guide is written from the perspective of an oarsman. For those interested in coxing, an
excellent guide for coxing, by Martin Melaver is available at “Basic aspects of a Coxsain”
Ones of my many limitations as a rower is my sensitivity to Balance.
I always prefer a slow, balanced boat than a wobbly one. Much more enjoyable, much more
effective!
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Balance is the first and foremost hurdle to overcome as a crew. More than power, more than
endurance (fortunately, it can be learned)
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Principles - Oar and Boat:
In rowing (both sculling and sweep), we define balance as a state in which
a) Upper body is straight
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Good, balanced Release"

a) The boat is leveled, and


b) The blades are off the water.
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© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 2 of 18


Balancing an Eight

Principles: Body and Arms:


We rowers have to control several parts of our posture in order to obtain Balance:
a) Upper body - Trunk, shoulders, head (sitting tall!)
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Sitting tall, press both your butt cheeks equally"
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b) Lower body - Hips and bottom (are we compensating for tilt? are we pressing equally on the
seat?)
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Instinctive balancing on land"
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Balancing an Eight

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Instinctive balancing on the boat EXACERBATES the tilt!"
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Counter balance to regain a level boat"
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Balancing an Eight

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c) Arms - Are we pressing on the handle to control the oar height?
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Balance in recovery"
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Sculling Vs. Sweep balancing:
There are differences between sculling and sweep, when balancing your boat:
In sculling rowers should balance themselves - by sitting tall and exerting equal pressure on both
handles. Ideally, in recovery phase, blades are OFF THE WATER.
Rowers operate like wire-walkers, using both oars as a balancing pole, and oars’ angular
momentum to compensate for tiny tilts.
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Balancing an Eight

Once the boat tilts to port, we must instantly press on starboard handle, and the boat tilts to that
side, back to a balanced boat.
Once a blade skims water on starboard, we must instantly press on the port handle, and the boat
will tilt back to balance.
In sweep, however, the “balancing pole” is halved, forcing rowers to operate as a team.
Each half pole is given to port and to starboard rowers. Hence, every PAIR should be balanced.
The trouble is, that in sweep, we only feel comfortable when OUR OWN blade is off the water.
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Sweep Balancing:
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a. Altruistic Balancing
Contrary to scullers, sweep rowers must develop a corrective action to their mates’ actions:
Should we feel the boat tilts to the opposite side (regardless of our own blade's hight above
water), we should PRESS a bit the pressure on our own handle, so the boat tilts back to our side,
mercifully raising the other side’s oars above water.
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Do NOT yield to imbalance of the boat"
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b. Timing of the release:
Should one of the oar lift TOO EARLY (short drive), the boat would fall to the same side. Must
release on time!
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© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 6 of 18
Balancing an Eight

c. Ploughing / Digging deep:


Handle height must be controlled in the drive as well (surprise!). Outer hand trajectory should be
a horizontal arc, below the chest, aiming to the same rib every time (check the blue mark on your
rib cage!)
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NOT so!…"
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d. Feathering underwater (No!…):
Some rowers struggle with the timing of the feather, and tend to rotate the blade during the drive.
This causes digging (see above) but also forces the rower to tear the blade off the water, resulting
in momentary tilt to that side. Once such tilt starts, it’s not easy to correct!
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Pull and release your oar squared"
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e. Keeping handle height in recovery:
That’s the most difficult feature of Balanced rowing. Rowers must learn where to point the handle
at the end of the recovery phase - the most unstable part of the rowing stroke, and must draw the
same horizontal arc with their handle, but this time without the comforts of the reassuring
pressure on the blades… (Done properly, this crucial feature of Balance leads to a good
preparation of the blade for entry - the timely squaring / de-feathering.)

© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 7 of 18


Balancing an Eight

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Note handle height “H2”"
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Fast hands away, still keeping “H2”"
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Balancing an Eight

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Gliding slowly… All the while keeping “H2”"
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NOT so!…"
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Top view: “Reaping” arc (external hand at constant “H2”)"

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Balancing an Eight

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If you miss the arc, handle goes ABOVE “H2”, balance lost "
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f. Blade work in the drive phase:
Our aim is to drive the blade as shallow as possible, to max power and improve balance. We
constantly monitor our hands height, not yielding to momentary imbalances.
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Square through the drive AND release"
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Balancing an Eight

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Rotating the blade BEFORE release!
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Worst case : DIGGING!!!"
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Loosing power: Pulling handle down"
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Balancing an Eight

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The short stroke: SLOWWWERRR…!
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g. Blade work errors: The whys
Remember that you shouldn’t look at your own blade (same as looking on a bicycle’s front
wheel). So, as a public service, I disclose common reasons for poor blade work:
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DON’T:! Breaking your wrist rotates the blade"
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Balancing an Eight

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DO:! Pull with a straight wrist, loose fingers"
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DON’T:"Gripping hard…"
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Balancing an Eight

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DONT:" Pulling shoulders instead of pushing legs"
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DON’T:"Hunch"
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Balancing an Eight

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DON’T:"Bend your Elbows"
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DON’T:"Bend inner elbow on the catch"
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Balancing an Eight

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DON’T:"Bend inner elbow on the catch"
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Didn’t I just say: DON’T look aside?…"
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Pulling down LIFTS the blade"
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Balancing an Eight

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See the outer elbow? SHOULD BE UP!"
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Pulling to your chest, raising your elbow at the release prevents most problems"
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h. Awareness and corrective actions:
Rowers can - and should - be aware of boat’s Balance at all times (Idling and turning included.)
Once imbalance detected, be proactive: Check what YOU can do to fix it.
Corrective actions take place during recovery phase.
Driving errors can be corrected only in the next stroke, while recovery errors should be corrected
immediately.
Once you correct for balance, KEEP it for a few strokes: It takes time for the rest of the crew to
realize you have changed your stroke, and to react.
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© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 17 of 18


Balancing an Eight

Conclusion:
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Only a balanced boat can develop timing, power, and speed.
It’s an effort worth taking - A balance boat assures the crew’s progress and enjoyment.
A balanced boat is an attainable (and measurable) goal.
Crew commitment and focus (look! a bird!) are necessary.
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Fun and glide!…
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© 2015 Yoel Frischoff page 18 of 18

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