RowingRelated

A look inside Issue No. 2 of SportUp's Between The Lines magazine A lot has changed since 2010. It's fair to say that the Internet is a different place—the landscape of social media 'disrupted' blogging, just as blogging had disrupted publishing. The sport of rowing has grown online, too. Strange but true: RowingRelated and Instagram got started within days of each other, in October 2010. Since then, I think it's fair to say we've had similar levels of success. (Ha.) But seriously, Instagram, and other social networks, have changed the way we consume media. (You don't need to look any further than  analysis of the U.S. presidential election to find evidence of that.) It has also changed the way that publishers, writers, and artists communicate with their audiences. Which brings me to my main point: This isn't goodbye, and we never left. I referenced Instagram earlier—the network's meteoric rise to prominence carried a lot of people with it. ...

Looking back on Rio Hard as it may be to believe, the Rio Olympics are now done and dusted. Four years of preparation, four years of early mornings, four years of squeezing in an extra session on your ‘off’ day to help pave the way to the podium. It either worked, or it didn’t. One thing is certain — we’re all better for it. But Rio, in many ways, was a dichotomy—in other words, it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. Here’s what I mean.

PBS' American Experience documentary, The Boys of '36 airs August 2nd (Screen capture) Tomorrow marks the airing of the PBS documentary, The Boys of '36 , based on the epic story of Washington's underdogs (okay, underdawgs) who took on the world, and won, at the Olympic Games in Berlin. And, just to get you fully prepared, here are three videos—the first one a look at the first chapter of the documentary; the second, a look at what the current Washington athletes felt about their role reenacting some of the scenes from 1936; and finally, an interview with the filmmakers. If you've not yet read Daniel James Brown's book, The Boys in the Boat , then this ought to make it damn near impossible not to pick it up. The story of Joe Rantz and his crew is, in many ways, the ultimate American story, capturing both the essence of the time and of the American people, working their way through the Great Depression. While there's a great deal of continuity ...

Last week, we published this story on the potential issue of doping in rowing . Rather amazingly, since then, we've seen Italian 2012 Olympian Niccolo Mornati receive a four-year ban on doping charges, and now the below, from FISA earlier today .

Separating myth from reality And we mean that in two ways. First, we mean let's stop pretending that doping couldn't possibly be going on in rowing because (by and large) it's an amateur sport. And second, we mean that given recent alarming findings by the IAAF , we need to start having open conversations about it. There's a popular sentiment in the rowing community that nobody is doping because there's no financial incentive to do so. In sports like cycling, track and field, tennis, and football, there are tremendous financial gains to be made—'not so in our sport,' we say. But is that really true? And, even if it is largely true, does that matter? The answers are no, and no. As for the first assumption, there is plenty of evidence of people doping in amateur sports. Here are two examples, from The Independent , and the Washington Post . There are plenty more, but let's not labor the point. And regarding financial incentives, while rowing is larg...

Views from the launch (Screen capture) This week's video offers a skillfully shot and beautifully edited look back at Henley Royal Regatta, plus a quick interview with the filmmaker, Molesey Boat Club's Adam Heayberd.

Painfully played-out: Why are we constantly harping on the negative? It seems like every few months, there is a new article or video published about how difficult rowing is. We're treated to another round of metaphors about abysses of pain, and needles being driven into legs, etc., etc., and for what? This isn't the first time we've discussed the topic here on RR, and it likely won’t be the last. And that's because 'rowing is pain' stories are not good for the sport. Here's why. 1. It's counterproductive Talking about how what you're doing is very hard in no way helps you achieve your goal, and in fact limits your ability to succeed. Acknowledging the realities of a situation is different from focusing on its difficulty. Focusing on the negative only serves to distract you from what’s important, rather than help you or those around you excel. This much seems self-evident. 2. It's self-indulgent Part of the reason that the rowing commun...

An epic week in Henley-on-Thames (Photo: RR Staff) This year's Henley Royal Regatta was not short on excitement, crashes, upsets, and even controversy. The one thing that's indisputable, in our opinion, is that it boasted the best coverage of any regatta in the world to date, including the Olympic Games.

It's nearly time... The second year of Sir Steve Redgrave’s tenure as Regatta Chairman has seen a record entry of 629 crews, including 165 foreign crews—in itself a record, and up 45% on last year’s figure of 114.

Looking back at the competition in 2015 (Screen capture) It's officially Henley week! And, just in case you're not already champing at the bit with anticipation, here's the latest video from Henley Royal Regatta , looking back on some of the outstanding performances of American crews—of which there were a record number of entries—in 2015.

Racing to the line at Olympic Trials (Screen capture) Thanks to the Friends of Cal Crew YouTube channel, you can watch the sprint from this morning's race that determined who would be going to the Olympic Games in the men's pair.

Marin training on home water, spring 2016 (Screen capture) And we're back! This week's featured video offers a glimpse of some high-intensity training with the 2016 Marin Rowing Association men's varsity eight.

Washington Huskies training in Seattle (Photo: B. Kitch) It's time for the 2016 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta. Here's what we think is going to happen.

Golden Bears claim top honors at NCAAs The 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships in Sacramento, California, were the best kind of agonizing.

Crossing the finish line at Lake Natoma (Photo: B. Kitch) The 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships kick off tomorrow just outside Sacramento, California, and suffice it to say, we're amped about it.

The decisive moment—Cal crossing the finish line at Pac-12s, 2016 (Photo: B. Kitch) Over the past several years, the Pac-12 Rowing Championships have been a parade for the Washington Husky men's squad, while Cal have led the way on the women's side. This year, one of those trends continued—the other, not so much.

The Aussie men's four on the water (Screen capture) This week's featured rowing video comes to us from Down Under, where the very quick Australian men's four is putting in the miles for Rio.

Crews to keep an eye on this spring at the junior level The following is our look at the best junior sweep teams across the country, with a view toward who will be gunning for the top of the podium at the national level in June.

Our take on the rowing 2016 season, with championships looming It's hard to believe, but we are already nearly through another season of rowing at the collegiate level here stateside, and the competition is well and truly heating up. Here's our take on the season so far, with a view toward championship racing, just around the corner.

The Kiwi Eight preparing for the Windermere Cup in 2015 (Photo: B. Kitch for ROWING Magazine) Spring racing season at the junior and collegiate levels in the U.S. is nearing Jimmy Fallon levels of 'fever pitch,' but before we get into what that means for the upcoming championships, we wanted to highlight this new interview with the Kiwi men's eight coxswain Caleb Shepherd .

Julius Hirtzberger will be running our Instragram account this weekend at #WRCVarese The first World Rowing Cup of the 2016 season kicks off today (Friday) in Varese, Italy, and thanks to Julius Hirzberger , you've got a behind-the-scenes look at the regatta this weekend.

Thames Rowing Club launching on the Tideway (Screen capture) This week's #FBF edition Video Of The Week comes to us from Henley-on-Thames, and features a look back at a historic season for Thames Rowing Club , winners of the Thames Challenge Cup in 2015.

Op-Ed: A Celebration of Spirit While, in the not-too-distant past, we've had to lament troubles that beset one of the most storied traditions in our sport, 2016's event proved to be a shining example of why the Boat Races are still so important, and so relevant to every level of rowing.

Which Blue is your pick to win the Boat Races this year? This year's grudge match on the Thames marks another historical move forward for the event, as it's the first time that both the men's and women's races have had the same name: The CRUK Boat Races. And, it just wouldn't be us if we didn't shoot our mouths off about what we think is going to happen. Here's our take on who'll be tops on the Tideway this weekend.

UCD leading the way in the Corcoran Cup (Screen capture) Last weekend, the River Liffey played host to the annual Colours Boat Races, pitting University College Dublin against traditional rivals, Trinity.

What does the future of Olympic rowing look like? As if the Rio Olympics, now less than six months away, didn’t present enough challenges for FISA, it has become increasingly clear that much will change in international rowing after the last medals are awarded at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.

Carlson and the USA LM8+ on the podium in Aiguebelette, France (Photo: © USRowing) We received the following letter, originally submitted to the editor of ROWING Magazine , from 2015 world bronze medalist coxswain Jack Carlson and the U.S. lightweight men's eight. A version of the letter was published in the March 2016 issue of the magazine.

Sarah Tait racing in the women's pair (Screen capture from 'School for Sculling') We received this memorial piece in honor of Sarah Tait from Australian rower and filmmaker Mike Nicholson, whose work has frequently been featured here on RR.

Phelan Hill at the helm (Photo: Pete Reed) As a reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medalist coxswain of the British men's eight, Phelan Hill knows a thing or two about what makes boats go fast. And, because coxswains are people, too, we wanted to track him down for a few quick questions about how he guides his crews through a training session. Here, he shares a little of his expertise, on and off the water.

Sarah and Leila Tait in London (Photo from Tait's memorial slideshow ) In memory of Sarah Tait. We've included the press release from Rowing Australia here, as well as some remembrances from other athletes and peers.

On the water in Los Angeles (Graphic: B. Kitch) This week's featured video comes to us from the (usually) sunny shores of Marina Del Rey, where RR joined the UCLA Bruins for a late-winter training session on the water.

Indoor rowing, the Internet, and the future of our sport (Photo: E. Dronkert/Flickr ) Op-Ed: The discussion about publicly sharing erg scores and test data has been taking off in the rowing world. So, what does it all mean for the future of our sport?

UVa men's squad training on Rivanna Reservoir (Photo courtesy of Frank Biller) The second post in our second season of #BestRowingDrills takes a closer look at determining, and improving, effective stroke length on land, and on the water.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning training on the ergo (Screen capture) This week's featured video comes to us from the ergo dungeon at Caversham, and takes a look at what the machine means to the rowers and coaches on the British national team.

Griggs Reservoir Boathouse (Photo: Madeline Davis) We're kicking off our second season of #BestRowingDrills with a look at making the transition from winter training to water time, thanks to Ohio State Women's Rowing.

Wisco training on Lady Bird Lake (Screen Capture) This week's featured video comes to us from Austin, Texas, where the Wisconsin men's rowing team spent their training camp this winter.

Flat water in Tampa, with the Princeton Tigers (Screen capture) The Princeton Tigers almost didn't make it to Tampa this year. But then they did. And they crushed it.

The Kiwi Pair racing to the line, Cambridge Town Cup (Screen capture) It has been a minute, but we're back. And there's much to catch up on, not least of which are the goings on at the Cambridge Town Cup in New Zealand, where a host of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls from arguably the world's strongest rowing federation locked horns over the weekend.

Behind the Scenes at Briones (Photo: B. Kitch) This week's RR original Video Of The Week features Cal Women's Rowing, training through winter break on Briones Reservoir in Orinda, California.

British men's team cycling while on training camp (Photo: Pete Reed) The GB men's national team has been on a cycling training camp in South Africa as they begin the Olympic year, trading the British winter for summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Harvard training on the Charles (Screen capture) This week, we're kicking off 2016 with a look back at last fall, through the eyes of lightweight rowers at Harvard and Columbia .