Rower Height

[[old] rownewbie]

I read a lot about weight and how it will affect rowing performance on and off the water. However, I have never seen anything about how a rower's height will affect his performance. I heard that at colleges the crew coaches would look for the tall people and try to recruit them for the rowing team.<br /><br />FYI I am 5'6" and my inseam is about 29.5"

[[old] mpukita]

<!--QuoteBegin-rownewbie+Nov 2 2005, 11:45 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(rownewbie @ Nov 2 2005, 11:45 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I read a lot about weight and how it will affect rowing performance on and off the water.  However, I have never seen anything about how a rower's height will affect his performance.  I heard that at colleges the crew coaches would look for the tall people and try to recruit them for the rowing team.<br /><br />FYI  I am 5'6" and my inseam is about 29.5" <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />You're doomed.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Just kidding.<br /><br />I'm 5'7" and 163-167 pounds. My inseam is about 29/30 inches, like yours. <br /><br />Let's face it, height and weight (assuming it's strength and not just fat), will get you better times on the erg - aerobic fitness being equal. There are even tables coaches use to compare erg times for lighter/heavier rowers to "normalize" them to predict on-water performance based on the erg score.<br /><br />That's why there's a lightweight class I guess!<br /><br /> <br /><br />Stay under 165, and you should be able to be competitive if you work at it. There are some pretty competitive LW rowers listed in the world rankings.

[[old] johnnybike]

<!--QuoteBegin-rownewbie+Nov 2 2005, 10:45 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(rownewbie @ Nov 2 2005, 10:45 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->FYI  I am 5'6" and my inseam is about 29.5" <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />The taller you are , the better the leverage, therefore the more power per stroke.<br /><br />Not being as tall as some, you will need to optimise your technique to get the best out of yourself.