About Rowing:
- Where can I read more basic information about the sport of rowing?
- What about practice clothing and racing uniforms?
Learning to Row, Fall and Spring Season:
- Do you have to do the Learn to Row to join the team in the Spring?
- What’s the difference between the fall and spring seasons?
- What’s the same between the fall and spring seasons?
A day in the life of a CRLS crew team member:
- What’s a practice like?
- Do you row every day?
- Does everyone row all the time?
- Do boys and girls row together?
- Can we do other things in addition to crew?
- What if I can’t swim?
Where can I read more basic information about the sport of rowing?
US Rowing has put together a library of sections that include a viewer’s guide, quick facts, a glossary of terms, and much more. Click here to access.
What about practice clothing and racing uniforms?
Practices in the spring will be cold so expect to wear layers and limit the amount of cotton. Windbreakers are very helpful in the beginning of this season. Close fitting clothes are best so they don’t get caught in the equipment.
The students should acquire rowing shorts/running shorts for warmer practices and tights for cold practices. Socks must be worn in the boat. Please bring athletic shoes for running to every practice.
THE SCHOOL WILL PROVIDE UNIFORMS FOR RACING.
Do you have to do the Learn to Row to join the team in the Spring?
No. We also teach new people to row in the spring season. It is strongly recommended that you begin with the sport as soon as you are interested.
What’s the difference between the fall and spring seasons?
FALL
- Season starts warm, finishes cold
- Focus is on technique, team building, overall fitness
- Varsity and JV/Novice teams are often mixed
- Races are ~20 minutes long (3000-5000m)
- Races are time trials
- We compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta
- We compete in the Mass. Public School Championships
SPRING
- Season starts cold, finishes warm
- Focus is on racing 1000m-2000m
- Varsity and JV/Novice teams are separated
- Races are ~6 minutes long
- Races are side by side
- We compete in the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association
- We compete in the Mass. Public School Spring Championships
What’s the same between the fall and spring seasons?
- Racing boats are set in both seasons by Ability, Attitude, and Attendance.
- We put the best in the 1st boat, the next best in the 2nd boat, and so on.
- We generally row 4+ boats (4 rowers and 1 coxswain).
- We have Varsity and JV/Novice (includes new rowers)
- Races can take a couple of hours or all day and are usually on the weekends
- We compete in the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association
What’s a practice like?
Most people walk or ride their bike to the boathouse. Generally, you meet with your coach, go over the practice plan for the day, get your boat out of the building, put it into the water, and go rowing. When done, you clean the boat, put it away and go home. However, it’s likely that practice will also include running, an exercise circuit, stretching, running Harvard’s stadium, erging, etc.
Do you row every day?
Practices are 5-6 days a week. Only high winds, lightning and thunder keep us off the water. On those days, we do workouts on land.
Does everyone row all the time?
It depends. If you’re on the Varsity, then yes, you row every day and race in every regatta. If you’re on the JV/Novice team, we try to put everyone on the water each day, but you may not row every day or race in every regatta.
Do boys and girls row together?
No, but while we do have separate boys and girls squads, we’re all part of CRLS Crew.
Can we do other things in addition to crew?
Sure. But do so with the understanding that if you miss practice, you’ll have missed some things and that will make it harder for a coach to put you into a boat when you come back.
Can I row if I can’t swim?
That’s a big concern and an unavoidable safety hazard. It would be best to have a conversation about your interest in rowing, and how to plan for you to take swimming lessons as soon as possible. As a novice rower, wearing any lifejacket will limit your range of movement. Varsity/Novice rowers are required to know how to swim.
