A Sculler's Field Guide

Companion Tool A

How to Watch Rowing Video

Watch the same race five times. Get five different lessons.

The five passes

  1. The whole boat

    Watch the boat as a single object. Don't look at the rower. Is the hull running smoothly, or does it check between strokes? Does it sit level, or rock? The boat is the scoreboard — what it's doing is the answer to whether the rowing is good.

  2. The hands

    Just the hands. Are they level on the recovery? Do they rise smoothly to the catch, or jab up? Do they tap down cleanly at the finish before feathering? Hands are where balance and bladework both live.

  3. The body & slide

    Just the seat and torso. When does the slide start moving on the recovery — is it after the hands clear the knees, or before? When does the body change angle? Is the torso still during the leg drive, or does it whip open early?

  4. The blade

    Just the blade in the water. When does it enter — quick and vertical, or slow and slanted? Is it fully buried through the drive? When does it come out? Look at the puddle behind: clean and round, or splashy and torn?

  5. The rhythm

    Close your eyes and just listen for a stretch. Many race videos have on-water audio — the catch sound, the seat, the breathing. Count the beats. Is the drive distinctly shorter than the recovery? Where's the silence? The pause between strokes is what you're listening for.

The trick that levels you up

Side-by-side viewing. Open his own erg or boat video on one side and a Drysdale clip on the other. Run both. Do the five passes on each. The contrast is the lesson — it's how a visual learner sees what to fix without anyone telling him.