Rigging has a reputation for being complex. But becoming an expert rigger really isn’t as difficult as you’d expect, particularly when you have handy tools to help you navigate your way through the process. British Rowing Rigging Forum via Rowperfect Uk has provided us with such tools for coaches and rowers to learn from. So print out the slide deck and share it with the coaches around your rowing club.
“Stephen Aitken runs the British Rowing Rigging Forum (available to British Rowing members via Row How inside your login – search for Rigging Forum and join the group). He presented to the British Rowing conference in January 2013 and has kindly shared his slides which explain a series of experiments he ran in which 4 things were varied.
- span
- inboard
- stretcher position
- distance between handles at the finish
In summary, his team found option 3 is the only one that works well. This is:
Reducing inboard and span equally and adjusting stretcher to keep hands the same at finish works giving increases in all angles, catch, finish and sweep (total).
Read the full article from Rowperfect UK, and get the spreadsheet for sweep and for sculling.