Knee spread at catch position

[dieselrower1k]

My knees spread wide as I come into the catch. I've had a hip replacement which doesn't help. Anyway, is this a problem? I've been working on keeping my knees inside my elbows at the catch.

[oldman]

Ya gotta do what ya can do. Not the most powerful posture. There is precedent.
Kiwi world champion Billy Webb

William-webb-rowing.jpg (72.25 KiB) Viewed 1006 times

and British Olympic champion Jack Beresford

Jack_Beresford_1920.jpg (124.93 KiB) Viewed 1006 times

You might have a look at today's picture-of-the-day to see how far to lay back.

[dieselrower1k]

that's reassuring

[caustic]

I usually put my knees either just on the outside of my armpits, or just on the inside.

[rowing]

Not for nothing, but film exposures were rather extended in those days and you had hold still. How do we know those pics represent how they rowed compared to what was tenable for posing?

[KitD]

Additionally, both of those old-time scullers would have grown up with short slides and Orthodoxy, where the dogma was 'all swing together, with our backs between our knees' (to quote the Eton Boating Song).

Modern long slides put an end to that. I find anything over half slide requires knees inside, but that may just be me. Certainly in a single, the sculler can do whatever works for them.

[caustic]

I mean it was a while ago, but not THAT long ago . there was fast exposure photography in the 1920s - developed for reconnaissance in WW1. But, those photos show 'em in a very relaxed position ,so not necessarily definitive.

Ultimately, rowing in a single is a very personal action, and you should not think about what OTHER people are doing and think you need to adapt your body to what their body does. Think about what your body can do, and experiment. If you've got a stroke coach or speed coach, those would be handy ,but if not, you can rig up some visual indicators of speed to use as a guide - we used to put a small piece of vinyl tubing on the stern, extending around the knuckle to just the start of the keel. As you row, water's forced into the tube and is redirected to shoot straight up - you can use the height of that small fountain as an indicator not only of speed (the faster you go the higher the fountain), but also how smooth you are on the catch and finish (any check kills speed, and so the fountain drops).