Catch and Finish Angles, Why and How to Set Them

by John Thornell, Grok Rowing Founder, Stonington Crew Girls Head Coach

In a recent USRowing webinar, Yale coach Steve Gladstone was asked a question about the first thing he identifies when looking at his crews. The legendary coach responded, “I make sure the catch angles are uniform. Then, I look to see when the blades release from the water. I want people to be in the water the same length of time.”

Why are catch and finish angles important?

Positioning athletes, so they can reach optimal catch and finish angles, will help them row comfortably and efficiently, and allow them to perform to their potential.

If the finish angle is too small and catch angle too large, a rower (positioned too far to stern, in this example) may have difficulty getting their blade out of the water at the finish. They may also feel like the load is too heavy at the catch. This may be difficult for some rowers and could even lead to injury.

According to long-time Canadian coach and now coach developer, Mike Purcer, the catch and finish angles also affect blade efficiency in the water, in the form of blade slip. “The best catch and finish angle will maximize the effective stroke length and minimize slippage,” says Purcer. “A 15 cm positive blade slip in sculling and a 20 cm negative blade slip in sweep rowing are generally acceptable.” Blade slip can be determined by a simple video analysis.

For crews, all athletes should have similar catch angles and similar finish angles. Purcer adds, “Ideally, the same percentage of catch to finish angles will ensure oars reach the perpendicular together.” This helps athletes match one another and have the same peak power application during the stroke.

Think of the catch and finish angles as margins. If a rower goes outside the margins, move their foot stretchers to bow or stern to position them between the optimal angles. (Span/spread can also be used, but this is a topic for another day).

Recommended catch and finish angles vary by crew size, boat class, span/spread, gearing, and other factors. Generally, it’s accepted that the stroke arc in sweep rowing should be 90° (catch angle of 57°, finish angle of 33°, for example). In sculling, the arc is closer to 110° (catch angle of 65°, finish angle of 45°). Several resources are available online and in print that can be a good starting point.

How do you set catch and finish angles?

Measuring these angles can be a little tricky. Many coaches don’t even try. Others have drawn angles on foam board then tried to position it perpendicular to the hull. Some have measured set distances from the pin to a centerline based on trigonometry tables. Monitoring tools mounted to oarlocks are relatively new but can get expensive.

Almost out of necessity, we created a simple, affordable angle measurement tool. Just loop a rigger line on the oarlock pin and pull it across the protractor-like face of the tool to the desired angle. Then, mark the catch and finish angles on the gunwale.

The markings (often brightly colored tape) help coaches determine if athletes are reaching the angles or not. The oar shaft should be positioned directly over the markings at each end of the stroke. Be sure to affix the tape to the stern of the desired angle to account for the offset between the pin to the center of the oar shaft. This can be about 3 cm in both sculling and sweep rowing.

Recording a video for slow-motion playback can help coaches see the position of oars over the markings. If you’re lucky, you may have a bridge from which you can record overhead footage. If you’re really lucky, you can get an overhead video with a drone!

Angles aren’t absolutes!

What works for a national team crew may not work for your program. Recommended angles are a starting point and should be adjusted to the size and speed of your crews. Experiment to determine the optimal angles for your rowers. Which position are they most comfortable? Which position do they match one another? Which position enables them to row to their potential?

When Life Gives You a Lockdown, Make Lemonade!

by John Thornell, Grok Rowing Founder, Stonington Crew Girls Head Coach

With COVID-19 precautions keeping us off the water, rowers are spending more time on the erg.

They’re training on their own. They’re participating in virtual races and online challenges. And they’re doing a lot of it! Concept 2 has “seen a big uptick in both national and world records!” An infographic posted on the company’s Instagram account shows world records this year from March 15 to April 15 more than doubling over the same period in 2019 and quadrupling over 2018.

Obviously, the extended indoor rowing season has improved rower fitness. But, it’s also a terrific time to work on technique.

Training alone allows athletes to concentrate on themselves. There are no distractions (like a neighbor’s erg monitor). Training at home, rowers are free to focus on making changes, monitoring their progress, and improving technique. Video analysis and training aids can help identify and make those improvements.

• Video Analysis: Rowers often erg in front of a mirror. But, it’s a little difficult to see the finer points of the stroke, while rowing. If possible, athletes can shoot video with a smartphone and review it after erging. Of course, video can also be shared with coaches. And apps like Dartfish provide tools that help coaches and rowers create a detailed video analysis and gain valuable feedback.

• Training Aids: Once improvement areas are identified, training aids can help athletes make the necessary changes. By providing visual and tactile feedback, training aids help to build muscle memory and accelerate the athlete’s development. Video can also be used to ensure aids are positioned properly.

When life gives you a lockdown, make lemonade! Eventually, we will get on the water. And when we do, athletes can be better prepared, physically and technically.

Hanging on the Oar, When You're off the Water

by John Thornell, Grok Rowing Founder, Stonington Crew Girls Head Coach

Interestingly, a great way to teach rowers to “hang on the oar” does not involve an oar at all.

Of course, we’ve done body suspension drills on the water. A team favorite is to gently row backward, turn the catch, and stand on the stretchers to see which rower can suspend their body the longest. Whether by fours or eights, it burns a bit of time to set up each drill. And rowers only do the exercise for a moment. We also tried drills on land but found there are also limitations. Coaches can’t hold the erg handle (or a strap connected to the handle) for every rower.

We wanted to get rowers to hang on the oar with more repetition. We needed to find a way for rowers do the exercise independently.

So, we created a suspension strap that attaches to the Concept 2 erg. Now, rowers can practice body suspension on their own, several times per week. Coaches can supervise but are not required to perform the exercise. Several rowers can practice at the same time.

As they arrive at the erg room, rowers “hang out” during their warm-up. We also incorporate the suspension exercise as a circuit station, for example:

• 3 x 1 min, 1 min rest

• Timed 250 reps

• 6 x 20 reps, 30 seconds rest

Initially, rowers were not used to the isometric exercise. So, we gradually increased reps and sets.

To mimic the position in a boat, we have rowers lift themselves just a couple of inches off the seat. (Nobody stands up while rowing). Just like any exercise, athletes must maintain control. There’s no bouncing up and down off the seat!

Athletes learn quickly. They learn to use core and back muscles required to maintain connection while they lift their body with their legs. They learn to relax the upper body and hang their body weight off the erg handle. Best of all… when they are on the water, hanging on the oar is second nature.

Hand Height Guide Installation Hack

by John Thornell, Grok Rowing Founder, Stonington Crew Girls Head Coach

On newer ergs, the chain guide can be a tight fit. This may make it challenging to insert the hand height guides. Here’s a simple hack that can make things go smoothly.

Wrap the left and right hand height guides around the chain guide. Align the holes. Wrap electrical tape around the end of each hand height guide. This will hold the hand height guide in place when it’s inserted into the erg chassis.

Once the erg hardware is replaced, peel off the electrical tape that’s visible on the inside. With the other hand, push the chain guide away from the chassis to make it easier to pull the rest of the electrical tape off the hand height guide.

We Give You Grok Rowing

by John Thornell, Grok Rowing Founder, Stonington Crew Girls Head Coach

A challenge of coaching, especially in a technical sport like rowing, is effectively communicating with different athletes. Coaches try combinations of instructions and analogies to reach their rowers.

Coaches also get pretty resourceful. They put tape on erg chain guides to help rowers keep even hand heights. Risking life and limb, they lean over fan wheels and hold erg handles to show rowers how to suspend their bodies. Coaches even wrestle with trigonometry and tape measures to set catch angles in boats. You get the idea.

Stonington Crew was no different. We used these techniques despite their drawbacks. Chain-guide tape had to be repositioned for rowers of different sizes. Coaches couldn’t realistically hold erg handles for every rower. Trigonometry is, well, trigonometry. Plus, zip-ties on gunwales were pretty flimsy.

Over time, we chipped away at these shortcomings—one iteration after the other. Eventually, we ended up with viable training aids! 

At regattas, discussions with coaches about catch angle guides that we were using led to inquries about other training aids we made. Long story short, we were encouraged to make them available to other crews who would also benefit. So, here we are. We give you Grok Rowing. We make training aids for rowers that are simple, standardized, and affordable.