About the Team
The NMU Crew Team gives students the opportunity to participate in the sport of rowing and meet new people on campus. The club was founded in 1999 and is open to everyone. Regattas are typically determined by the start of the season and throughout the season. The team practices on Lake Superior in Lower Harbor by the old Ore Dock. The club is a student-run organization with assistance from volunteers as well as the Club Sports office. You can find our Instagram @nmurowing.
Dues: Fees for the team average $250 along with US Rowing membership fee, entrance fees for races, gas for traveling, and equipment maintenance.
Joining the Team: No experience is required to join, we will teach you all you need to know! We have a learn-to-row weekend usually the first weekend after classes begin in the fall. To sign up for the team, visit the NMU Crew booth during Orientation or Fall Fest. Additionally, you can email the crew team’s email address to be put on the email list. During the learn-to-row weekend, we will conduct a swim test and take our boats out on the water so you can experience what it feels like to row. Members are also required to have a student rec pass for fall and winter.
Practice Times (Tentative): Monday - Friday 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., if for some reason you are unable to attend practice on certain days please just inform the president, vice president, or captains ahead of time.
Contact: Callie Pakkala, crew@nmu.edu
Team Roster
Coming Soon
Rowing Terms
Blade: The oar, also the end of the oar which is placed in the water.
Bow: The front end of the boat; also used as the name of the person sitting nearest the bow.
Catch: The oar blade entering the water at the beginning of the stroke.
Collar (or Button): a plastic or metal fitting tightened to the oar to keep the oar from slipping through the oarlock.
Crab: A stroke that goes bad. The oar blade slices into the water at an angle and gets caught under the surface. A bad crab can catapult you out of the boat.
Check-it- Down (or Hold water): Hold the blades perpendicular in the water to stop the boat.
Feathering: Turning the oar blade flat during the recovery to lessen wind resistance.
Fin (or Skeg): A small flat appendage located along the stern section of the hull which helps stabilize the shell in holding a straight course.
Finish: The oar blade leaving the water at the end of the stroke.
Foot Stretcher (or Clog or shoes): An adjustable bracket in a shell to which rowers feet are secured.
Gunwale (or gunnel): That part of the shell which runs along the sides of the crew compartment through which the riggers are bolted.
Handle: The end of the oar you hold in your hand.
Keel: The center line of the shell
Oarlock: A U-shaped swivel which holds the oar in place. It is mounted at the end of the rigger and rotates around a metal pin. A gate closes across the top to keep the oar in place.
Paddle: Easy rowing, no power.
Port side: Left side of the boat, as facing the bow.
Recovery: The time between strokes, the oar blade traveling through the air.
Rigger: The assembly of tubes which are tightly bolted to the hull to which are attached an oarlock.
Rigging: The adjustment and alteration of accessories (riggers, foot stretchers, oar, etc.) in and on the shell to maximize a particular rowers efficiency, based on their size and capabilities.
Rudder: Device used to steer the shell.
Scull: This term is used interchangeably: to the oars used in sculling, the sculling shell itself; or the act of rowing in a sculling shell.
Shell: The racing boat; Term for rowing boat.
Slide: The track on which the seat moves.
Slings: Collapsible/portable frames with straps upon which a shell can be placed.
Split: The time a crew takes to complete a 500 meter segment of the race.
Starboard: Right side of the boat facing the bow.
Stern: The rear end of the boat.
Stroke: Apart from the rowing action, this can also mean the person who sits in the stern of the boat and sets the pace for the crew.
Weigh-Enough: Stop.
