Frequently Asked Questions

Fall - No formal uniforms for Fall – a Bosco shirt is sufficient for races. 

Winter- A Bosco shirt is sufficient for winter workouts. 

Spring  - A "Uni" Crew uniform is provided by school for the Spring Season.

Band is our private communications app. Since it is private, you will need to click on the invitation request. The request will allow you to install the Band app on your phone. You can also view Band on the Web (www.band.us) Band App provides:

• Real Time Texting of Crew related notifications

• Crew Photo Posting and Sharing

There are two separate "Bands" - one just for the parents and one just for the athletes;  Parents should only post on the Parent's Band and not on the Athletes Band.

You will need to download the Band App from either the App Store (iOS Phones) or Google Play (Android Phones).

Once you provide your email address to us then an Administrator (such as the Coach) or a co-Administer (such as the Heads of the OC) will send an invitation to your email address. 

Once you accept the invitation the Administrator or co-Administrator will accept your invitation and the Crew Band will appear on inside your Band App and you can begin using Band.

Iron Oars LLC is the name of the organization that provides coaching and regatta registration services in the Fall and Winter seasons. 

Registration payments for the Winter and Fall Crew fees are made to "Iron Oars  LLC". 

As Spring Crew is a sanctioned sport at DBP, Spring Crew registration fees are made out to "Don Bosco Prep".  

• Fall - (Club Season - Iron Oars) - from Sept to Nov; Includes on water practices

• Winter  - (Club Season - Iron Oars) -  from Nov to February - DBP campus practices. The Erg Classic Indoor Rowing Competition is held during the Winter Season.

• Spring  -  (DBP Spring  Crew Season) - from early March to late May - Most of our Regattas occur during the spring Season

An “ergometer” (“erg” for short) is a device that measures work. In laymen's terms, it is a Rowing Machine

The Erg Classic is an annual indoor completion of rowers from across the region. It is held at Don Bosco Prep in January of each year. It is also the main fundraiser for the Oarsmen Club .ERG Classic 

RegattaCentral.com contains detailed information about upcoming Regattas for Bosco Crew (https://www.regattacentral.com/venues/?venue_id=463) It also includes:

• Race Heat Times

• Boys that will be racing in the "heat" and their boat types

• Results of each  Heat

PSRA stands for the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association . It is the association the organizes most of the regattas that we attend:

• "Manny Flick" Regattas held in Philadelphia 

• Philadelphia City Championships ("Cities") Regatta held in Philadelphia

They also provide:

• Registration for Regattas

• Spot for us to set up our crew tent

• Parking Spot and Registration for our Chuck Wagon

• Parking Spots for our Coaches and our Boat Trailer 

You will need to sign up on SignUpGenius. The best way to do this is to go to our Volunteer Page and click on the sign up button.

Race terms: 

• Sprint race: Races in lanes on a buoyed course. Between 1000 and 2000 meters.  

• Head race: A long race, usually about three miles long (held in the fall). A race for time, the start is staggered.

So our Fall "Head of the Passaic" is a long race that is a race for time.

The Boats: 

• Eight (8+): A shell with eight rowers and a coxswain. The plus sign next to the number refers to the phrase "with" meaning, with a coxswain. This is called a sweep boat.  

• Four (4-) or (4+): A shell with four rowers. 4+ means a four with (with a coxswain). Coxless fours (4-) are often referred to as straight fours. The minus sign refers to, minus a coxswain. This is a sweep boat.  

• Pair (2-) or (2+): A shell with two rowers. Coxed pairs (2+) are no longer rowed by most programs.  

• Octuple (8x): An eight-person boat where each rower has two oars sculling, with a coxswain due to its fast speed.  

• Quad (4x): A four-person boat where each person has two oars (can be with or without a coxswain). This is a sculling boat.  

• Double (2x): A sculling shell with two rowers, each with two oars.  

• Single (1x): A shell with one rower. 

The equipment and parts of the boat: 

• Bow: The front section of the boat. The first part of a boat to cross a finish line.

• Stern: The rear of a shell.  

Notes how many strokes per minute (SPM) the rowers are finishing, called by the coxswain.  Boats may start a race at 40+ SPM, then settle into a race-pace in the 30s, picking it back up for Power 10s or more during a sprint to the finish. Mid-20s is sometimes called steady state. 

A Heat Sheet is used to give you details about the boat your son is racing in at the regatta.

Before the race it will tell you the time of his race and the boat number and boat lane in which it is racing, This information is not published untill late in the week - usually on Friday.

After the race it will tell you how your son's boat performed in the race,