Scullers Entry

[gamestop]

What is the sculler's entry, or two move vs. three move entry, for the catch?

Mentioned as a topic at Jim Joy this year. Anyone know the principles/differences behind the rowing style?

[AND]

It is the idea of taking the catch without an early square up. Two cycles are catch and pull. Three are square, catch and pull. The idea is that a square and catch movement as one, as observed in novice scullers,and they believe it to be more efficient.

Found in the section on The Skilled Entry
http://thejoyofsculling.com.s65642.grid ... technique/

To me, the two cycle catch should be the ultimate goal, as there is no reason to square up early, but to think that you would teach it that way to a novice or intermediate sculler makes very little practical sense to me. We don't have them square up early to improve the efficiency, its done to reduce the complexity of the catch.

[Stroszek]

consider that if you square up "early" during low rate training that may transfer to squaring up at the correct time for race pace

[caustic]

I learned the sculler's entry (or sculler's catch) from Frank Cunningham. Basically, the logic behind it is that you want to combine getting the blade in the water with the same motion you use to get the blade loaded up. This requires having the blade start at a slight angle instead of a full 90 degrees square. the reason being that as you push forward with your legs in that initial instant of the drive, the blade will be "sucked" down faster than you could bury it by dropping it in, and with the advantage that it's being loaded up at the same time it is entering the water, reducing check at the catch.

The difficulty with it is that it requires a lot of subtle attention to detail - you need to have a VERY relaxed hold on the oar, so that the handle can slip a little bit in your hand before you really hang on it, and you need to have a really quick initial "kick" with the legs right at the instant of the catch. This requires having a really good sense of timing, and the ability to hang off the blade with full force, but a relaxed hand hold.

Takes a bit of practice, and an outside eye that knows what it's looking for helps.

[Steven M-M]

Caustic, Allow me to repeat a long unanswered challenge: point me to a video or picture that shows an internationally competitive sculler (any boat) from the 1950s to the present that executes the catch without squaring before the entry.

[dieselrower1k]

Is this what is also called a "flip catch"? Isn't the point of squaring up before entry to prevent missing water and "rowing it in"?

[bd_sculler]

I learned the sculler's entry (or sculler's catch) from Frank Cunningham. Basically, the logic behind it is that you want to combine getting the blade in the water with the same motion you use to get the blade loaded up. This requires having the blade start at a slight angle instead of a full 90 degrees square. the reason being that as you push forward with your legs in that initial instant of the drive, the blade will be "sucked" down faster than you could bury it by dropping it in, and with the advantage that it's being loaded up at the same time it is entering the water, reducing check at the catch.

The difficulty with it is that it requires a lot of subtle attention to detail - you need to have a VERY relaxed hold on the oar, so that the handle can slip a little bit in your hand before you really hang on it, and you need to have a really quick initial "kick" with the legs right at the instant of the catch. This requires having a really good sense of timing, and the ability to hang off the blade with full force, but a relaxed hand hold.

Takes a bit of practice, and an outside eye that knows what it's looking for helps.

A local coach, sadly no longer living, once told me that he saw someone doing the sculler's catch and that it was very elegant and hard to do correctly. I like to try to do it when nobody is around as a drill so nobody tells me I am rowing in or missing water.

[Long'n Strong]

Best done, I suspect, with tulips or macon blades.

[dieselrower1k]

For the average masters sculler, self coached, etc; is this a technique worth learning?

[1xsculler]

The Sculler's catch, or flip catch, is the default lazy man's catch for a lot of us older scullers, combined with skimming. The early roll-up used by elite scullers today I find very difficult to do as is keeping my blades off the water on the recovery. This take tremendous self discipline, IMHO.

[JD]

Caustic

I had the privilege of working with and around some of the greats from Frank's era, and they also touted the same sort of "square the blade with leg pressure" catch. But in their day they used "river" or "pencil" blade oars with a long narrow shape and consistent pitch across the length and girth of the blade.

I believe that the flip catch is best done with a "river" blade with rather than a Smoothie style blade. It is the differing pitch on the face of the Smoothie or Slick (in which the pitch on the bottom or end of the blade is often zero or negative and changes to positive near the top or inboard end) that seems to suck the blade into the water and hold it at the proper depth. Modern oars are more hydrodynamically efficient. If one has ever switched to a Smoothie2 after rowing with BB's, which, like macon and river oars, have a central spine and consistent pitch, the first thing one notices (or at least I noticed) is how the blade seems to lock itself into the water once the lower edge touches the surface. I think to flip catch defeats the technology built into the modern oar.

Every part of the rowing equipment is stiffer, more ergonomic, efficient and lighter. Like in other sports, sudden jumps in speed often come about from changes in technology.

http://www.speeches.io/ted-talk-david-e ... -stronger/

[bd_sculler]

The Sculler's catch, or flip catch, is the default lazy man's catch for a lot of us older scullers, combined with skimming. The early roll-up used by elite scullers today I find very difficult to do as is keeping my blades off the water on the recovery. This take tremendous self discipline, IMHO.

The sculler's catch is not the same as a flip catch IMHO.

From page 66 of The Sculler at Ease, as FC discusses the sculler's catch:

In the third test lay the blades feathered on the water. The object is to catch as if the blades were already covered, so let your fingers turn the blade as you pull. Pulling the blades in will load them virtually as quickly as if they had already been buried and will produce a markedly shorter backward movement of the stern than did the previous experiment. The reason is that the water will turn the blades for you if your fingers are quick and light on the handle.

This is essentially what Caustic said. The usual flip catch is messy with a big splash. With the sculler's catch the blades enter quietly. Also, see FC's discussion of the "logical" catch, same page

[Steven M-M]

When Frank C and others were describing the sculler’s catch there was little understanding of the importance of lift to blade efficiency. We now understand that the blade is most efficient—more of the rower’s effort goes into moving the boat—at the top end of the stroke. As JD observed with the square before the entry (could be nano seconds before), the blade starts generating lift as even a small portion is covered. You can feel the connection as you push against something solid. With the sculler’s entry you are essentially using the very top end of the drive to complete the square. Just look at Ivanov in the 1950s: technique has changed since then, but look at those beautiful square entries: https://youtu.be/wPDpeaY3zSM

[KiwiCanuck]

IIRC, Dick McClure (Silver M8+, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960), who coached me in sculling many many moons ago, does the catch like "the sculler's catch" - we used to call it a Frank Read catch, as that's what his crews did. Dick said to me about his sculling: "Do as I say, not as I do." - he said to square up before (just before) entry.

[Long'n Strong]

When Frank C and others were describing the sculler’s catch there was little understanding of the importance of lift to blade efficiency. We now understand that the blade is most efficient—more of the rower’s effort goes into moving the boat—at the top end of the stroke. As JD observed with the square before the entry (could be nano seconds before), the blade starts generating lift as even a small portion is covered. You can feel the connection as you push against something solid. With the sculler’s entry you are essentially using the very top end of the drive to complete the square. Just look at Ivanov in the 1950s: technique has changed since then, but look at those beautiful square entries: https://youtu.be/wPDpeaY3zSM

Apologies if I offend anyone, but I'll take Ivanov's understanding of sculling over Cunningham's every day of the week.