How to Improve the Catch — SportsFlow Research

Composite Portrait

He lunges at the catch, arms reaching, back opening early. His blade enters late

and shallow. By the time he connects, the boat has already decelerated. He works

harder than anyone in the crew but produces the least boat-moving force. The

problem is not effort — it is the 200 milliseconds before the blade enters the

This is a composite portrait. No individual is depicted.

SECTION I

What the Research Tells Us

Kleshnev (2020) demonstrated that elite rowers achieve blade entry within 50

milliseconds of reaching front stops, while club-level rowers average 120–180 ms of

The Perfect Catch

Setup

Arms extended, body compressed, shins vertical

Placement

Blade enters water cleanly at full reach

Connection

Immediate load — no sky or splash

Drive

Legs initiate, body swings, arms draw

delay. This catch delay — the time between arriving at full compression and blade

engagement — accounts for up to 15% of wasted stroke energy. The most efficient rowers

“

“The catch is not a moment — it is the consequence of everything that happened on the recovery. Fix the preparation and the catch fixes itself.”

— Noah Wickliffe, SportsFlow

SECTION II

How the SportsFlow System Helps

The Flowbase AI Coach analyzes your force curve data to identify catch timing deficits.

Using video overlay synchronized with telemetry, it measures your specific catch delay,

References

[1]Kleshnev, V. (2020). The Biomechanics of Rowing. The Crowood Press.

[2]Baudouin, A. & Hawkins, D. (2002). A biomechanical review of factors affecting rowing performance. Br. J. Sports Med., 36(6), 396–402.

[3]Nolte, V. (2011). Rowing Faster (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics.

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