Michele Baeder

The Study: Indoor Rowing “Multivariate allometric scaling of men’s world indoor rowing championship performance” Vanderburgh et. all, 1996, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise When: 1995 Where: World Indoor Rowing Championships-Boston, Mass. Subjects: 148 male rowers ranging from world class masters to club or intercollegiate levels All subjects rowed a 2500m erg piece on Concept IIC stationary rowing ergometers

C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints (WIRC)

Background The event of the WIRC is a single 2500m row on a stationary ergometer. This is a non-weight bearing event due to the lack of water drag Male Rowers are split into only 2 weight classes light, 74.8kg. This leaves anyone well under or just above the light weight limit with little to no chance of winning. Rowers are also split into age groups of 80. The <30 age group contains the overwhelming majority and the older age groups have very few participants.

Theoretical Approach RS 3 ~ BW ⅔ (fan law) RS ~ BW 2/9 H ~ BW ⅓ RT ~ RS -1 RT ~ H -1 Age is adjusted because of rowing performance’s relationship with VO₂max

Why Height is Important General physics Levers Limb length

Procedure Body mass and height were measured before the event. The event was done in heats, all using the rowing Concept IIC ergometer Times were recorded from this event and the time, weight, and height were all studied through regression analysis

Results The exponent for Height was / T/H -1 = T*H Age was found to have an exponent of / SS = T*H*A This allows rowers to be compared regardless of height and age on the erg.

Results Comparison Subject Time (s) Height (m) Age (yr) Old Rank New Rank T*H*A^ A B C D E

Norms for Height and Age Percentile RankT*HT*H*A^

Conclusion Taller, heavier rowers are faster On rowing ergometers there is a bigger advantage for height. Male rowers can be compared with no group separation on their indoor rowing speed with the scaled score of T*H*A This does not scale for who will be faster on the water

Scaling Rowing Ergometer Performance for on the Water A 2008 study in Great Britain Scaling for on the water rowing speed from ergometer rowing speed uses body weight BW affects on the water rowing by adding drag Rowing ergometer results will show a greater speed difference between heavyweights and lightweights than on the water rowing will

Sources Vanderburgh, Paul M., Frank I. Katch, Joseph Schoenleber, Christos P. Balabinis, Robb Elliott. “Multivariate allometric scaling of men’s world indoor rowing championship performance.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise Nevill A.M., C. Beech, R. L. Holder, M. Wyon. “Scaling concept II rowing ergometer performance for differences in body mass to better reflect rowing in water.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports