Balance

Rowing boats have little stability along the longitudinal axis (rolling). The surface area of the relatively small fin hardly counteracts the lateral rolling motion. That makes it important for the rower to maintain balance themselves.

The principles

To understand how a rower maintains balance, it is useful to understand the mechanics involved. Newton's laws play a role here. Newton's first law states that mass does not want to move but prefers to stay in place. Newton's second law states that a light object moves more easily than a heavy object. Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. These three laws combined ensure that when a rower moves their hips laterally, the (heavy) upper body stays in place and the (light) boat rolls underneath the rower. Because rowing boats have little stability along the longitudinal axis (rolling). The surface area of the relatively small fin hardly counteracts the rolling motion. A boat with rowers without core stability will roll randomly to both sides or even wobble violently (rolling). This can be seen by the oarlocks going up and down during the recovery (the boat 'bounces').

---

The degree to which the rower controls their hip movement has three skill levels.

1. Uncontrolled

A novice rower has trouble keeping their hips still. This is easily recognizable by the ends of the riggers bouncing up and down. When a rigger bounces during the recovery, the hips are therefore always the cause. It is important that the rower learns to understand that the boat does not wobble, but that they do. The hip salsa of the rower is the cause and the rolling boat is the result. Not the other way around.

Hip movement to port: the boat rolls and the torso remains vertical.	Starting position: boat (yellow), torso (red) and vertical (blue) are aligned with each other.	Hip movement to starboard: the boat rolls and the torso remains vertical.

A water-free recovery becomes very difficult with a hip-salsa. From the perspective of the boat with blades, it is actually the water that rocks back and forth multiple times during a single recovery. Due to the imbalance, the blades unintentionally touch the water, and the rower falls back on the (safe) Blade-dragging.

2. Basic

A rower with basic hip control essentially keeps their hips still. However, in the event of a balance disturbance, the reflex to keep the upper body (the torso) vertical is still strongly present. The mass inertia of the torso, the large weight difference between the heavy rower and the light boat, and the (reaction) force that the rower exerts on the boat, all play a role. The rower's attempt to keep their body above the boat therefore results in an even more tilted boat.

The boat (and rower) fall(s) over to starboard.	What the rower intends but does not happen: getting the body vertically above the boat again.	What actually happens: the angle of the torso remains unchanged and the reaction force rolls the boat even further over to starboard.

3. Core stability

A rower with core stability keeps their torso permanently in line with the boat. Actually in exactly the same way a mast stands on a sailboat or a cyclist sits on their bicycle. When the upper body rotates along with the boat, the rolling of the boat is counteracted by the mass inertia of the torso. This can only be done by fixing the hips laterally (core stability).

The rower can use their legs to keep the boat in balance. When the boat with the rower falls over to starboard, the knees are moved to port and vice versa.

The boat rolls to port, the rower fixes their hips so that the rower's torso mass counteracts this movement (mass inertia).	Starting position: boat (yellow), torso (red) and vertical (blue) are aligned with each other. See also: Balancing board.	The boat rolls to starboard, the rower fixes their hips so that the rower's torso mass counteracts this movement (mass inertia).

A rower sits in the boat like a cyclist on their bicycle

---

(Learning to) maintain balance

With the hips, a boat can be kept steady, but not set straight. A handle movement is necessary for that. When the blade/blades is/are underwater, the height of the hands/handle determines whether the boat is in balance (lies flat). The position is leading here. This is different when the blades are above water (the recovery). Then it is the impulse that determines whether a boat lies flat. If a handle is quickly pressed down, that rigger will also go down. This can restore balance. Actually, this is similar to the way a tightrope walker balances themselves.

Maintaining balance with the oars is very similar to the way a tightrope walker balances themselves.

Balance can only be taught in boats that allow Cybernetic learning. These are the boats that give the rower feedback when they move their handle(s) vertically up and down. In sculling, these are the Skiff or C1, and in sweep rowing, the coxless pair and the (un)coxed C2. This also implies – and there is insufficient attention to this – that maintaining balance cannot be taught in wherries and scull C-boats. On the contrary. In these boats, the rower learns that it does not matter much how the hands and torso are held. The boat is bulky and heavy and therefore hardly reacts to individual movements.

---

Sculling

A scull boat only lies flat when the hands are kept close under each other. They touch each other twice during every rowing stroke, once during the drive and once during the recovery. See also: Hands.

The torso forms a whole with the boat, like a mast with a ship. The legs help restore balance by pushing the knees the other way.

Scull boats rarely list to starboard and regularly list to port. The reasons for this are the following:

• Handles apart and/or
• Right handle to the hip and/or
• Foot stretcher not set correctly and/or
• Washing out.

The last two deserve some explanation. When the foot stretcher is placed too close to the rower, the handles are kept almost permanently above each other. Because of this, the rower has no room to correct the balance at the finish. If a rower washes out, the hands/handles go in an arc towards the lap. That makes it impossible to bring the right hand up and set the boat back to starboard. See also: Lay side.

A scull boat is:

• set to port by keeping the handles further apart;
• set to starboard by pushing the left handle deeper into the boat before the catch and bringing the right handle up before the finish.

---

Sweep rowing

During the drive, it is the draw height (height of the handles) that determines the balance and keeps the sweep boat flat. During the recovery, it is the push-away depth that determines the balance. So:

• During the drive the balance can be corrected by raising the handle on the side to which the boat is falling. 
• During the recovery the balance can be corrected by pressing the handle a bit deeper into the boat on the side where the boat comes up. 

If the boat hangs or falls at the finish:

• over starboard, then starboard draws higher and port pushes away deeper.
• overport, then port draws higher and starboard pushes away deeper.

If the boat hangs or falls at the catch:

• over starboard, then starboard presses the handle up and thereby the boat straight again.
• over port, then port presses the handle up and thereby the boat straight again.

Related faults and drills

	Lack of core stability (and balance)
	Sculling - Lack of balance in 1x or C1
	Sculling - Lack of balance
	Sweep - Lack of balance
	Lay side
	Battle of the sides

---

	Finish
	Reverse rowing