Improve the Stroke - Body Position just after (at) the Rowing Catch  (+ Common Problems)

Please look at the examples below and review your positions or that of your crew. Anthony Edwards, five times Olympic athlete, demonstrates common issues.
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Obtaining the correct body posture at the catch is vital for a good rowing stroke. A good catch sets up the entire stroke.

​Getting to the correct position at the catch requires preparation off the finish.

• Indoor Rowing Course Lesson 1 - Posture
• ​Rowing Key Skill 4 - Posture and Pauses

Correct Position:

Here Eddy demonstrates the correct catch position for sculling. Note the fully extended arms, vertical shins and relaxed shoulders. You can also see the vertical position of the pelvis. Overall, a strong position for a well-executed catch.​

• Too Little Body Reach at Catch
• Too Much Body Reach at Catch

​No Rockover:

This image demonstrates extremely poor posture at the catch. The most likely causes of this problem are a lack of flexibility and not executing the rock over correctly off the finish.

It can be corrected by increasing the feet to seat distance, usually by dropping the feet.

• ​Compilation of videos on stretching and flexibility in rowing
• ​​Using the Pelvis at Rockover - Eddie

Tense and Raised Shoulders:

Having tense shoulders makes it difficult to execute a good catch. 

Encourage the athletes to relax their shoulders and keep them low when coming down the slide into the catch.​

• ​Relax the muscles in the face to relax the arms and shoulders at the catch
• How do we learn to relax - According to John

Bent arms taking the catch:

Taking the catch with bent arms is a weak position, and at the catch we want to see the legs engaged with the arms fully extended and relaxed. 
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Bent arms don't just reduce boat speed. They can lead to stress fractures in the upper body due to the overloading caused by the grabbing.​

• Stress Fractures of the Ribs with Kellie 
• Avoiding using the arms at the catch - How to teach on the erg