An eight is a
rowing boat used in the
sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with
sweep oars, and is steered by a
coxswain, or "cox".
Each of the eight rowers has one
oar. The rowers, who sit in a line in the centre of the boat and facing the stern, are usually placed alternately, with four on the port side (rower's right hand side - also traditionally known as "stroke side") and four on the starboard side (rower's lefthand side - known as "bow side"). The cox steers the boat using a
rudder and is normally seated at the stern of the boat. Because of the speed of the boat, it is generally considered unsafe to row coxless or to have a
bowloader cox.
Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to reduce drag to a minimum. Originally made from
wood, shells are now almost always made from a
composite material (usually
carbon-fibre reinforced plastic
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
) for strength and weight advantages. Eights have a fin towards the rear, to help prevent roll and yaw and to help the rudder. The riggers are staggered alternately along the boat so that the forces apply asymmetrically to each side of the boat. If the boat is
sculled by rowers each with two oars the combination is referred to as an
octuple scull
An octuple scull (abbreviated 8X) is a racing shell or a rowing boat used in the rowing (sport), sport of rowing. The octuple is directed by a coxswain (rowing), coxswain and propelled by eight rowers who move the boat by sculling with two Oar (sp ...
. In a scull boat, the riggers apply forces symmetrically. A sweep oared boat has to be stiffer to handle the unmatched forces, and so requires more bracing, which means it has to be heavier and slower than an equivalent sculling boat. However octuple sculls are not used in main competitions.
"Eight" is one of the classes recognized by the
International Rowing Federation and one of the events in the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
FISA World Rowing - Olympic Games
The first Olympic eights race was held in 1900 and won by the United States.
See also
* Rowing at the Summer Olympics
**List of Olympic medalists in rowing (women)
This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in rowing.
Current program
Single sculls
Double sculls
Quadruple sculls
Note: coxed event (1976–1984), coxless event (1988–)
Coxless pairs
Coxless four
Coxed eight
Lightweig ...
**List of Olympic medalists in rowing (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in rowing.
Current program
Single sculls
Double sculls
Quadruple sculls
Coxless pairs
Coxless four
Coxed eight
Lightweight double sculls
Discontinued events
Coxed pairs
Coxe ...
* World Rowing Championships
* Grand Challenge Cup
* The Boat Race
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eight (Rowing)
Rowing racing boats
Articles containing video clips