Rowing Data: What to Record and How to Use It
Listen to the conversation: #116 Rowing Data: What to Record, How to Use It & Why It Matters - Kirsty, Richard and Bill
The most useful rowing data answers a question. Before choosing another device or display field, decide what you want to understand: your effort during an outing, how a piece was executed, or whether training is progressing.
Kirsty Russell-Duff, Richard Ratcliffe and Bill Jackman describe different setups in our data conversation. Their examples show that there is no single system every rower needs.
Separate recording from watching
A device can collect information without requiring you to study it throughout the outing. Bill describes recording with his watch while using a separate display for information he wants to see.
That distinction helps keep the screen manageable. Choose the few fields relevant to the session and leave more detailed review until you are off the water.
Navigation, the crew and the coach's instructions still need your attention. More information is only useful when it supports the outing.
Match the information to the task
For a steady session, you may want feedback on effort and rate. For a race piece, you may be interested in the relationship between rate and pace, or whether the planned changes happened where expected.
Kirsty describes looking back at the rate and pace of a timed effort. The value is in asking what the record reveals about that particular task.
Listen to the guests explain what they look at and why. Their different choices are more informative than treating any one equipment list as a shopping prescription.
Put speed in context
Water is not a fixed test environment. Current, wind, route and crew all affect the result you see.
The conversation includes the challenge of knowing whether a changing split reflects the athlete or the water. A GPS-derived pace alone does not resolve that question.
When comparing sessions, record conditions and the purpose of the piece. Compare like with like where possible, and avoid treating one fast downstream result as proof that a technical change worked.
Turn the review into a decision
A post-row review does not have to be lengthy. Start with the session's question, inspect the relevant part of the record and decide whether there is something to carry forward.
For example, if the aim was a controlled rate increase, did rate rise as planned? What happened to pace and perceived effort? Did the crew remain coordinated?
The data can identify a moment worth discussing. It may not explain its cause. Combine the record with the rowers' observations and coaching feedback.
Keep the setup dependable
Kirsty discusses mounting and protecting her phone. Whatever equipment you use, arrange it so it is secure, readable when needed and does not interfere with the boat.
Check how your chosen devices and apps record and transfer information. The guests describe their own setups at the time of recording; compatibility and product features can change.
It is better to collect a small, consistent record than repeatedly lose an elaborate one.
Use the social side constructively
The guests also discuss sharing sessions and encouraging each other. A training log can help sustain a routine as well as analyse performance.
Keep the comparison useful. Another person's session may be motivating without being appropriate to copy.
Finish each review with a practical question: what will I repeat, change or investigate next? That gives the numbers a role in your rowing.
