Following the cancellation of the 2020 spring racing season, row2k solicited the collegiate coaching community to engage in a variety of high-level topics within the profession. We submitted over sixty questions across a dozen topics and thank the coaches and staffs that found time to contribute their thoughts during this stressful time.

This week we focus on the topic of Boat Selection with the following question:

HOW MUCH EMPHASIS DO YOU PUT ON A RAW ERG SCORE IN BOAT SELECTION?

BILL ZACK – SAN DIEGO STATE WOMEN
I think that raw erg score is a prerequisite for boat selection more than a determining factor for boat selection. Power-to-weight adjusted erg scores can be more revealing, but you must be careful how you utilize that information with your team. I would rather look at a person’s power numbers as measured on the oarlock (Peach system, Empower oarlock) than just rely on raw erg score.

DAN ROOCK – DARTMOUTH LIGHTWEIGHT MEN
A good erg score gives a rower more opportunities to prove themselves on the water. An erg measures ergs, not boat speed, yet I have a lot of respect for the correlation.

MEGAN COOKE CARGAGNO – DUKE WOMEN
I look at the erg as a starting point, and it gives an athlete more opportunities, but at the end of the day it’s just a number on a screen, miles from shore. Ergs are great at showing progress, tenacity, and sheer power, but very much hide boat moving skill.

BART THOMPSON – ADRIAN
Raw erg score gets your foot in the door, meaning that if a rower has a fast erg then I will at least consider them for selection. But ultimately it absolutely takes a backseat in comparison to how that rower moves a boat. Spending time in small boats really helps to illuminate who knows how to move a boat and who doesn’t, and ultimately that’s the goal for every coach.

BRIAN DAWE – TUFTS
For all boats, but sweep boats in particular, matching arc lengths naturally and applying force throughout those arc lengths with a blade that slips very little is what makes the boat go. Find rowers who can do this with as much force as they can for the duration of the race. Take that pool of skillful rowers and choose the crew that produced the most power on the erg. It is then just a matter of adding up all the individual unadjusted powers. We’re sitting in boats that may change their draft by millimeters for different weight rowers and not going uphill. Raw power is what matters.

KEMP SAVAGE – EASTERN MICHIGAN WOMEN
I put some emphasis on raw erg scores, but also use adjusted erg scores to help fill out the "resume" of the athletes to earn a seat race.

GABE WINKLER – OREGON STATE MEN
It’s a great place to start but I would be surprised if any crew that was strictly made up of the top 8 ergs is the actual fastest boat in the boathouse. This can come in to play when the seat races are very close or have no defined winner. Who has shown us something on the erg? How does this guy approach workouts or 2K’s on the erg? The erg is just that: raw power. If that is all that mattered, elite rowers would look a lot different than they do. We have guys that are different sizes and weights on our team. Going strictly on a raw number doesn’t take in to account a lot of other factors that contribute to boat speed. Will a guy that pulls 6:00 at 220lbs beat a guy that pulls a 6:22 at 170lbs? We will have to see.

JENN LANGZETTEL – DUQUESNE WOMEN
It is a starting point for selection and that is all. Only if there is a large adjustment in a score at a given time will it have an impact on where they may get moved to.

LUKE AGNINI – GEORGETOWN HEAVYWEIGHT MEN
Obviously fast times on the erg are attractive, we typically weight adjust most scores because there is certainly a correlation. I think anyone who produces good numbers on the erg in a consistent way not only shows horsepower but also consistency, which cannot be ignored. The RowPerfect machine is interesting. We’ve noticed guys on that machine that produce a lot of Joules, but maybe don’t have the best C2 score are usually very good boat movers.

Just like on the water though, we are looking for trends. Obviously, we want to see what kind of score someone can produce when they are rested and prepped for a test, but we are also looking for weekly performance. We have at least one, usually two workouts a week on the erg that are ranked. That allows us to see who is on an upward trend, a downward trend (and why?) and who the most consistent performers are.

SANDRA CHU – WILLIAM SMITH WOMEN
Erg scores, whether raw or weight adjusted are one piece of information that help me identify someone’s potential for boat speed. A fast erg will definitely evoke a good look, a seat race, and development opportunities.

CAMPBELL WOODS – MARIST MEN
There are two parts of rowing, Fitness and Technique. You cannot technique your way into better fitness but you CAN (usually) teach better technique to a fit person. The erg score is the FIRST point of selection. I recommend starting with the erg test. But take into account the full body of an athletes work on the erg. A 2K in a vacuum doesn’t teach you much about how an athlete approaches their training. I like to print the raw scores and the weight adjusted scores on the same sheet for testing and look at both. I don’t have a preference of one over the other, but I think the weight adjustment is a useful tool for finding athletes who are punching above their weight class and finding huge guys that maybe aren’t as fast as they might seem.

TODD KENNETT – CORNELL HEAVYWEIGHT MEN
It depends on the time of season. In the early spring after we just finished three months of indoor training I will give them a lot. After a month on the water, not so much. Then going into the championship race, I all but disregard the erg, it is about boat moving and who makes the boat go the fastest!

NICK JOHNSON – BARRY WOMEN
Raw erg scores are usually how we establish our first round of lineups, but then we start shifting people around based on technique, who rows an 8 well vs. who rows a 4 well, and what their power-to-weight ratio is, etc. If someone has a big erg but doesn’t check off the technique and power-to-weight boxes, I’ll still try to force her into the V8 at some point, just because I know that there is a certain average erg score that we need if we want to compete. But if she doesn’t have the technique and efficiency, that experiment usually doesn’t last long.

ALICEA STRODEL – MINNESOTA WOMEN
It is a great starting point.

ANONYMOUS HEAD COACH
Ergs are a great training tool and starting point. The erg helps the athlete get better personally but it can’t be the end all be all.