Rowing...
Is a sport with origins back to Ancient Egyptian times. It is based on
propelling a boat (racing shell) on water using oars. By pushing against the water
with an oar, a force is generated to move the boat. The sport can be either
recreational, where the focus is on learning the technique of rowing, or
competitive, where athletes race against each other in boats. There are a number
of different boat classes in which athletes compete, ranging from an individual
shell (called a single scull) to an eight-person shell with coxswain (called a coxed
eight).
Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 10th century
when races were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in
London, United Kingdom. Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and
Livery Companies. Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th
century with the arrival of "boat clubs" at the British public schools of Eton
College and Westminster School. Similarly, clubs were formed at the University
of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815.
At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827. Public
rowing clubs were beginning at the same time; in England Leander Club was
founded in 1818, in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was
founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded
in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839. In 1843, the first American
college rowing club was formed at Yale University.
Rowing is one of the oldest Olympic sports. It was on the programme for the
1896 games but the rowing did not take place due to bad weather. It has been
competed since 1900. Women's rowing was added to the Olympic programme in
1976. Today, only fourteen boat classes are raced at the Olympics, across men
and women. [note 2] Each year the World Rowing Championships is held by
FISA with 22 boat classes raced. In Olympic years only the non-Olympic boat
classes are raced at the World Championships. The European Rowing
Championships are held annually, along with three World Rowing Cups in
which each event earns a number of points for a country towards the World Cup
title. Since 2008, rowing has also been competed at the Paralympic Games.