Rowing is a sport in which athlete’s race against each other on water.

The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar/paddle blades as they are pushed against the water. While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing backwards and uses the oars which are held in place by the oarlocks to propel the boat forward.

It is a demanding sport requiring strong core balance as well as physical strength and cardiovascular endurance. There are many different types of rowing for competition.

These include endurance races, time trials, stake racing, bumps racing, and the side-by-side format.

The most typical types are sweep or sweep-oar rowing. This is when each rower has one oar, held with both hands.

This can be done in pairs, fours and eights. Or sculling where each rower has two oars, one in each hand. Sculling is usually done in quads, doubles or singles.

Rowing was first incorporated into the Asian Games in 1982.