I like to joke that three seat is the most important seat in rowing. Ignore the fact I was seven seat in Tokyo. I'm joking, but I'm also kind of not, because every seat in a rowing eight asks something different of you, and three seat asks more than people think.
"I rowed three seat for six or seven years and then I moved to seven seat and we won the Olympic Games."
All my time in three seat, I found it more of a challenge than rowing in seven.
How are the seats in a rowing eight numbered?
Seats are numbered from the bow. The rower closest to the bow is bow seat, or one. The rower closest to the stern is stroke, which is eight in an eight. The cox usually sits in the stern facing the crew, steers, and coordinates the power and rhythm. Here's the textbook version:
| Seats | Usually called | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Bow and 2 | Bow pair | Setting up the balance of the boat |
| 3 to 6 | Middle four, or the engine room | Power |
| 7 and stroke | Stern pair | Setting the rate and rhythm for the rest to follow |
| Cox | Coxswain | Steering and calling the crew |
That's the theory. Here's what it was like from the inside. For a long time our bow three was Tom Murray, Michael Brake and me. We called it bow three filth. Our job at a race start was to get the boat off the line as fast as we could and set it up for the rest of the guys, and we'd amp each other up every time. When Mahé Drysdale and Hamish Bond came into the Kiwi eight, I was the meat in their sandwich, with Mahé in four seat in front of me and Hamish in two seat behind. That story is in two Olympic champions joined our eight and it didn't solve everything.
Why was seven seat easier than three?
I found seven seat easier.
"In seven seat you've got all this momentum behind you. The boat kind of feels heavier when you're in seven seat, so it's quite easy to lock on."
In seven it's so much easier to lock on and get connection. In a sense it's a hell of a lot easier to work hard.
What is three seat in rowing?
"In three seat the boat is kind of a little bit void of feeling and you have to work a hell of a lot harder to have an impact on that boat to help it go faster."
Three seat is devoid of feeling. You have to be quite sharp to get on the boat and contribute effectively.
The other job is your voice. From three seat, your voice can carry to everyone in front of you and reach the people behind you. So I reckon a three seat really does need to be vocal, especially in an eight.
"An eight is a raucous boat that responds to a bit of raucous energy."
An eight isn't a boat you treat nice. It's a boat you slap into gear, and from three seat everyone can hear you. More on the voices a crew needs in every fast crew needs a whip-cracker and a jokester.
Is stroke the most important seat in rowing?
Stroke and seven set the rhythm the rest of the boat follows, so they matter. But a seat number isn't a ranking. Seats further up the boat get looked on more positively, and I think a lot of that comes down to other people's opinions.
I had this exact chat with a really good athlete recently. His crew was going really well, probably overachieving, with him in three seat, and he thought he'd get more out of himself in five or seven. My take: don't risk changing seats just out of pride. Why not double down and be the best three seat you line up against? It's a leadership opportunity. You're still in the boat, and you still have so much positive impact. I reckon three seat is one of the most undervalued seats in an eight.
Common mistakes
- Treating your seat as a ranking. Every seat has its own nuance. Learn yours.
- Waiting to feel the boat in three seat. There isn't much feeling there. Be sharp and get on it.
- Going quiet. A voice in three seat reaches the whole crew. Use it.
- Rowing the eight nice. The bigger the boat, the more you dial up the aggression, the swing and the raucousness. If you're one of the big, powerful rowers in the middle, read how a powerful rower should use their power in a crew boat.
- Forgetting the crew is one unit. Whatever seat you're in, the fastest technique is the one the whole crew aligns on. That's what makes the boat fast.
