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For most of its history, rowing has been a male dominated sport. Although rowing's roots as a sport in the modern Olympics can be traced back to the original 1896 games in Athens, it was not until the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal that women were allowed to participate – well after their fellow athletes in similar sports such as swimming, athletics, cycling, and canoeing.
Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars, one in each ...
The beginning of rowing is clouded in history but the use of oars in the way they are used today can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Whether it was invented in Egypt or something learned from Mesopotamia via trade is not known. However, archaeologists have recovered a model of a rowing vessel in a tomb dating back to the 18-19th century BC. [4]
An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Modern indoor rowers are known as ergometers (colloquially erg or ergo ) because they measure work performed by the rower (that can be measured in ergs ).
Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. Men's rowing has organized collegiate championships in various forms since 1871. The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) has been the de facto national championship for men since 1895. Women's rowing initially competed in its intercollegiate championships as part of the ...
Rowing competitions were popular, particularly among colleges. The first collegiate rowing competition took place between Yale and Harvard in 1852. Lawn tennis began to gain popularity in the United States during the late 19th century. The first U.S. National Championships, which later became the U.S. Open, were held in 1881.
For example, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Leander Club (for rowing) in England had both been male-only establishments since their founding in 1787 and 1818, respectively, but both opened their doors to female members at the end of the 20th century at least partially due to the requirements of the United Kingdom Lottery Sports Fund.
Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. [1] Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. [ 2 ]