#RowersWakeUpEarly Photo Contest: The 20 Finalists and Overall Winner Announced
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#rowerswakeupearly Instagram contest
Thanks to everyone who submitted photos to our Instagram contest! We were blown away by the quality of the submissions from all over the world, and we struggled to narrow them down to a final 20, with our overall winner to become the RR Facebook cover photo for the month of April. Selection criteria included overall composition and image quality (resolution). And so, without further ado, the finalists are...
A photo posted by Scott Del Vecchio (@scottdelvecchio) on
Congrats to all the finalists, and thank you so much for all your submissions! This was the toughest contest yet for us to judge—there are some very fine rowing photographers out there—and we feel lucky to get a chance to enjoy your work. Stay tuned for more Instagram contests in the near future, and in the meantime, we recommend taking a look through the hashtag #rowerswakeupearly—you'll see why we had such a difficult time narrowing it down!
Updated 2026 — with links to our full Rowing Machine Reviews . The rowing machine (or ergometer) has evolved significantly over decades, but its core purpose remains unchanged: bringing the comprehensive full-body training experience from water to land. Today, with immersive workout experiences available through streaming platforms and integrated displays, the gap between indoor rowing and on-water training has narrowed substantially. Of course, it's never going to be a 1:1 feeling from the dock to the boat, and rowers (typically with not-great ergs) are apt to point out that "ergs don't float." But the value of rowing machines for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and beginners alike is undeniable. Table of Contents: Essential Rowing Machine Benefits Lesser-Known Rowing Machine Benefits How to Incorporate Rowing Into Your Fitness Routine Best Rowing Machines for Home Use (2026) Rowing Machine Workouts by Fitness Level Frequently Asked Ques...
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
The NCAA model is upon us, and while there are many things to discuss on that front, those items are for another article. The crux of today's discussion has to do with selection. Tuesday, the NCAA rowing selection committee decided that CRCA No. 16 ranked Texas was not worthy of a bid to attend the national championships this year, despite having defeated two of the teams that were selected (Wisconsin, Clemson), and having won two straight conference titles (Big 12, Conference USA) over the past three weeks, with their only loss of the year coming to Michigan State (invited). The fact is, Texas should have been a shoo-in to make NCAAs this year. The Washington women were invited, as they have been for the last 15 years. But did anyone look at the schedule? While UW is certainly a talented team, the ranking system seems to take into account non-NCAA events. Below are the NCAA guidelines for selection: In accordance with Bylaw 31.3, the following criteria will be used in select...
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Hands in after training My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am. It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey. Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity. Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles . The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
