The Great Catch

1
The Great Catch

• Ragy Ragheb
• Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

2
The Presentation Course

• History/Background
• The Old Oar
• The Competitive Oar
• The Organized Oar
• The Boats
• The Stroke
• The Big Race
• The Finish

3
The Old Oar

• Galley
• War vessels (25th BC 4th AD)
• Ancient Egypt (Nile River) and Roman Empire
  (Mediterranean)
  
• Greeks 2000 years ago
• Oar against the boatside
• Oar against fulcrum more effective than paddle.
• Primarily transport goods
• Natural competitive instincts lead to racing

4
The Competitive Oar

• Club and School activity beginning early 19th
  cent. And then later in USA.
  
• Organized racing began in 1820s in Oxford and
  Cambridge
  
• 1839 present Henley Regatta
• 1830s1860s Australia and Canada popularized
  rowing with most of Europe and USA
  
• 1851 --Harvard and Yale first race
• 1872 --First open amateur regatta
• Fall Head Racing, Spring and Summer Sprints, and
  Winter Indoor Training and Racing
  
• All ages, fitness and experience levels

Hansa Dortmund rowing to win the Grand Challenge
Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta

5
The Organized Oar

• Fédération Internationale des Sociétés DAviron
  (1892)
  
• Amateur Rowing Association
• Nederlands Rowing Association
• Italian Rowing Federation
• First events
• Crews of two, four, and eight
• Olympic for men 1900
• Olympic for women 1976

6
The Different Boats

• Sweeping (two hands)
• Sculling (one hand)
• Single (1X)
• Pair with coxswain (2)
• Pair without a coxswain (2-)
• Double (2X- or 2X)
• Four (4 or 4-)
• Quad (4X or 4X-)
• Eight (8 or 8)

7
The Stroke

• Catch
• Stroke
• Leg push
• Body swing
• Pull
• Finish
• Outset
• Recovery
• Stretch
• Bend
• Slide

8
The Big Race

• The Sydney International Regatta Centre
• Opened in 1996, 40 miles from Sydney in Penrith
• 2.3 km competition course with warm-up lake
• 30,000 spectators

9
I row