Improve the Stroke - Sculling Grip during the drive   (+ Common Problems)

Please look at the examples below and review your grip or that of your crew. Anthony Edwards, five times Olympic athlete, demonstrates common issues.
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​Here we have common grip issues with the sculling oar during the drive phase. The grip is one of the essential aspects of rowing in that an incorrect grip creates technique issues and a tight grip forces stress into the body and the boat.
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Correct grip will lead to a faster boat with a better run due to relaxation.

Correct Position:
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Here Eddy demonstrates the correct grip. Make sure to keep the fingers relaxed with the thumb lightly on the end of the handle. A relaxed grip enables the athlete to have relaxed shoulders. It is almost impossible to have a relaxed shoulder if you grip the oar tightly. Having the thumb on the end of the oar ensures that the hand is in the correct position and can assist in feathering.

​For more info, please see:​

• The vital importance of grip and relaxation
• ​Sculling handle technique
• Sculling handle size and grip
• Device to improve handle grip
• Use a Grip to learn to Feather​

​Thumb under the oar:

If the hand moves only a small amount towards the gate, the workload increases significantly, and the effective inboard decreases and therefore, the gearing increases.

​Additionally, having the thumb under the handle makes feathering more difficult and leads to athletes feathering with their wrist rather than fingers.

Cocked up wrist:

It is tough to apply full power with the wrist in this position. Additionally, the only way to maintain this wrist position during the drive is to grip the oar tightly. Hence overall, less power is applied, and due to the grip, the upper body will be tense. 

It's challenging to stay relaxed with this grip. There is also an increased likelihood of the oar going deep in the water as the oar can easily twist in the gate. A tense grip will translate to the rower not flowing fluidly with the boat, less boat run and poorer technique.

Cocked up wrist:

​Tense grip, bent wrist:
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This issue is less problematic than the two above in that the wrist is relatively flat; however, the wrist is slightly bent downward, which indicates that the grip is too tight, resulting in the problems described above.  

Additionally, the thumb is directly on the end of the oar and, therefore, cannot be used to assist feathering. Finally, you can see from the colouration of the thumb that it is pushing hard on the end of the oar. Again, a tense grip and, therefore, the upper body will be tense.​