Back it Down

Rowing backwards. Usually used when landing, pulling into a stakeboat, or turning around.

Backsplash

The splash produced by the blade entering the water at the catch while the blade is moving toward the bow.

Blades

The wide flat section of the oar at the head of the shaft, also known as the spoon. This term is often used when referring to the entire oar.

Bow Ball

A protective covering for the bow, usually a rubber ball. REQUIRED equipment if you race.

Bow 

The forward end of the shell. Also used as the name of the person sitting nearest to the bow. 

Bucket rigging

The rigging of an eight or a four so that riggers 2 and 3 are on the same side. 

Button (or collar) 

A plastic or metal fitting tightened on the oar to keep the oar from slipping through the oarlock. 

Catch

The point of the stroke at which the blade enters the water at the end of the recovery and is accomplished by an upward motion of the arms and hands only. The blade of the oar must be fully squared at the catch.

Check

Any abrupt deceleration of the shell caused by some uncontrolled motion within the shell; an interruption in the forward motion of the shell.

Cockpit

The area is a shell that holds the rowers and houses the seat, the tracks, and the footstretcher.

Coxswain

The person who steers the shell and urges the rowers on during practices and in a race. A knowledgeable coxswain can also serve as a coach for the rowers and can be the difference between winning and losing a race. 

Crab

A problem encountered by a rower when his or her oar gets `stuck' in the water, usually right after the catch or just before the finish, and is caused by improper squaring or feathering. The momentum of the shell can overcome the rower's control of the oar. In more extreme cases the rower can actually be ejected from the shell by the oar.