Olympic rowing: Rules, regulations and all you need to know

The Indian rowing team of Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh will represent the country in the men's lightweight doubles sculls at Tokyo 2020.

The pair qualified for the event after finishing second in the final race of the Asia/Oceania Continental Qualifying Regatta in Tokyo. They made the cut as the top three qualify for the Olympics from the event.

The discipline is one of the oldest at the Olympics as the men's event started in 1900 while the women's competition came to the fore in 1976.

Rowing at Tokyo 2020 will have 14 events - men's and women's programme which includes - Single Sculls (1x), Pair (2-), Double Sculls (2x), Four (4-), Quadruple Sculls (4x), Eight (8+) and Lightweight Double Sculls (2x).

Let us know more about the discipline:

Objective

Basically, the boat (individual or team event) that crosses the finish line first is declared as the winner in rowing.

Roles and equipment

The roles of the rowers can vary according to the events. It should also be noted that various types of oars are used depending on the categories. The majority of these oars have long, thin-body with a broad paddle-like moulding at the end of it that helps to cut through the water.

Tokyo 2020 events

Single Sculls (1x): The event includes a single rower in one scull boat with one oar in each hand. These boats are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimize drag and have riggers to apply force on each side with a fin at the rear end to avoid roll.

The average length of the boat is 8.2m (27ft) while the minimum weight is fixed at 14kg (30.8 lbs).

Double Sculls (2x): The event includes two rowers in a scull boat using two oars each. The long, narrow and broadly semi-circular in cross-section boats helps to reduce the drag.

The average length of the boat is 10.4m (34ft) and its minimum weight is 27kg (59.52 lbs).

Quadruple Sculls (4x): The event includes four rowers in a scull boat. The design of the boat used in the competition is usually narrow, long and semi-circular which helps to reduce the drag. There is a fin fitted towards the rear to avoid roll and yaw.

The average boat length in the category is about 13.4m (44ft) and its minimum weight fixed at 50kg (112lbs).

Lightweight Double Sculls (2x): In the lightweight double sculls category, a certain limit is placed on the body weight of the rowers, according to World Rowing.

The maximum weight set for each male competitor is 72.5kg (159.8lbs) and the average weight cannot exceed 70 kg (154.3lbs) while for the female rowers, the maximum individual weight is 59 kg (130.0 lbs) and the average weight cannot be more than 57kg (125.6 lbs).

Pair (2-): The event uses a far more robust boat than Double Sculls (2x). It includes two rowers using sweep oars to navigate the boat. Interestingly, each rower has one oar - one on the stroke side and other on the bow side.

The average length of the boat is 10.4m (34ft) and its minimum weight is 27kg (59.52 lbs).

Four (4-): The event includes four rowers who propel the boat with sweep oars. It should be noted that two rowers sit on the stroke side while the other two are seated on the bow side and guide the boat without coxswain. The rudder is controlled by one of the rower as its cable is attached to his/her shoe.

The average boat length in the category is about 13.4m (44ft) and its minimum weight fixed at 50kg (112lbs).

Eight (8+): The event includes eight rowers, using sweep oars, to navigate the boat to the finish line and is steered by the coxswain -- sitting at the stern of the boat - using a rudder.

The average boat length in the category is 19.9m (62ft) and the minimum weight is 96kg (221lbs).

Scoring

The discipline doesn't include any point system. It simply depends on the basics of rowing the boat along with the teammates or individually to cross the finish line with the quickest time.

Basic Rules

There are two key rules in rowing which are set forth by the International Rowing Federation (FISA) across events.

Lane changes: In Olympic rowing events, there are six separate lanes, with one boat in each lane. The boats (individual or team events) are allowed to change their allocated lane, provided that they do not obstruct the other boat. In case a boat obstructs the other while changing the lane the individual or team will be disqualified immediately from the race.

False starts: The events begins with at the sound of a blank being fired from a gun. However, if a team leaves its mark before the blank is fired then it is considered as a false start.

Each team or individual is allowed at least one false start for an event. But in case of a second, they are disqualified from the race.