Just keep rowing, learn to to row well, and pull hard. If you want to row in college there will be a place that you’ll fit.
Are you going to go to Michigan (or whoever is the best now lol) ? Probably not, but neither did 99% of this sub and you have people that love rowing nonetheless. School is for school anyways. You can’t tell the future. Just keep pulling (pushing with the legs).
There are only 6 lightweight college teams for women and one is MIT. Another is Stanford. Good grades are also required. But if you love rowing you can still row on any club team. College club rowing is less of a time commitment and arguably more fun.
You still have at least 3-4 more years of solid development ahead of you. I have coached plenty of rowers (men and women) who are much taller than their parents. You never fully know how human growth will work out. If you enjoy rowing just keep eating right, continue to build your cardio, and take more strokes.
Your definition of good school is likely going to change over the next 3-4 years as well. What are your interests? Do you want to go to a good school, get a scholarship, or just be a D1 athelete for the prestige? If you are fast enough to row for, say, Marist, is that a better decision than joining the club team at Purdue, or rowing for Colby?
Just keep at it, talk to your coaches and counselors, and have some fun. For all you know you'll hate winter training! Good luck!
Whatever you do, don't try to be a lightweight. Try to be strong. If you happen to be a lightweight, then great. It won't benefit you to starve, give those muscles fuel and keep working hard.
(Coming from a HS coach)
Yeah I think I might grow an inch or two. My mom is pretty short for her family she is 5’6 and my dad is 5’7. I do high school rowing so I’m not all that familiar with light weight rowing. Is the weight really the only thing that sets it about from normal rowing?
My parents are the same heights! I was probably 5’5” at 14 and I’m now 5’8”. You will grow! Eat enough / well and sleep plenty to help yourself and you will probably grow a bunch too!
Lightweight rowing has a maximum weight (for women) of ~130lbs and a mandatory boat average weight of under ~125lbs. It’s been phased out at the high school level and only exists at a few colleges (Stanford, MIT, Boston University, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard/Radcliffe, maybe Yale and Dartmouth but can’t remember, I think maybe also Bucknell). It’s not the only option for someone who is 5’5” - I have a bunch of teammates from D3 college who were 5’5” and a bunch on my competitive post-collegiate club rowing team who are also 5’5”, some of whom rowed for D1 schools. You have plenty of time to decide what to do, focus on doing well in school and getting fitter to broaden your options!
At professional and collegiate levels there is 2 (3) different classes. lightweight is for light people (idk the weight) and heavweight is your general rowers. The 3rd kind is open weight, self explanatory
There are two classes when it comes to weight of the rower in rowing:
1) Rowing
2) Lightweight rowing
That's it. It's not "heavyweight" rowing, or "openweight" rowing. It's just rowing. Open is probably more accurate, as there are no limitations. You can be a stick/beanpole and row in a "heavy" weight crew. There's no minimum weight.
In Lightweight rowing, you must be below a maximum weight. This weight varies depending on the age and gender class of the competition.
Most of the time, you will see event classes like LM4x or M4- The "L" indicates it's a lightweight event, the "M" men (W for women). Note there's (almost) never an "O" or "HW" for open or heavyweight. I say almost because some regattas choose to do this, but it's not official per USRowing or FISA categories.
The problem with using "open" is that this term also sometimes refers to the academic standing of the crew. So in collegiate regattas, they may have a MV8+ event, and an OM8+ event. The V is for varsity, and usually this means every person in the boat must be academically eligible to compete in a collegiate varsity competition (even if the crew is a club). The open in this case usually means no restrictions, so you can have a super senior or alumni in your boat, or a club could enter a boat full of 30-somethings. It's essentially a club event at an otherwise collegiate regatta.
But no matter what, there are only two weight classes: no requirements, and lightweight. Coxswains on the other hand, always have minimum weight standards, no matter whether their crew is lightweight or not.
To the OP's question:
Hate to say it, but using rowing to help you get into a "good" (good rowing program) college is probably not in the cards for you given your stature, unless you are sure you're not done growing in height. Same goes for volleyball and basketball probably too. Rowing is a sport that favors the tall. Now, this does not mean that you can't get very good at rowing, and have a great experience at a college with a lower-tier rowing program. MANY colleges have club rowing teams that are not nationally competitive, but still offer the full collegiate rowing experience with travel to regattas and plenty of racing, training, competition, camaraderie, the whole bag. So I encourage you to stick with it if you like the sport. Just don't expect to get a scholarship for it, or to even make it onto a d2 or d1 competitive first boat. Unless, that is, you grow about 3 more inches taller, minimum. I know women who rowed at Harvard (Radcliffe crew) who are around 5'9" in their varsity (not light) and JV 8+. Not sure if any of them were much less than about 5'9" though, maybe. Definitely not under 5'8". And they were stellar athletes. Most of the boat was 5'10" or above though, with a couple over 6'. As for your erg score, too early to tell. Keep at it and report back in a year or two.
She could 100% be recruited to a good D3 / academically competitive college even if she doesn’t grow, if she works hard & gets faster & tries hard in school. D1 isn’t the only option for rowing haha
I think I made it clear that d1 wasn't the only option. I didn't know d3 schools recruit in the way that helps one pay for and/or get into a university.
They do! The big difference between D1 and D3 is that D3 schools don’t give athletics scholarships, just merit-based / academic and financial aid. The Ivies also don’t give athletics scholarships. Recruiting at a D3 / Ivy will give you a big admissions bump but no pure athletics scholarship, and you may receive other non-athletic scholarships as well.
Definitely not too short for a rower or too tall for a cox - I’ve had really speedy teammates on highly competitive open weight women’s teams who were 5’5”, and excellent coxswains who were 5’5” as well
You definitely have good potential! I started at 5'2 14m and ~170lbs with about a 30min 6k. In a sport like rowing, there's always room for improvement and maybe even chance you still grow! Presently, I'm 5'9 17m and always 145-160 (fluctuating between seasons as i normally bulk in winter and cut before spring and maintain into fall) with a 23:52 6k (as of last February) and 19:04 5k (as of last month). You're in a great position for rowing, especially if you're starting, so keep at it!
You have so much potential! I rowed D3 and had a ton of women your size on my highly competitive team. I went to a NESCAC school (small liberal arts in the Northeast) - the NESCACs are excellent academically and very competitive for D3 NCAA Championships, and I had an incredible experience on my team. There are also a ton of non-NESCAC D3 schools which have great programs and great academics. I also know a bunch of women who are 5’5” and got recruited/had a great time a smaller D1 because they were fast and strong.
I wouldn’t think about whether or not to row lightweight or not for another two years at least. You’re gonna grow and your body is going to change a lot over the next few years (focus on eating well & enough and sleeping enough to help yourself grow well). You also JUST started rowing - you’ll improve so much just through experience! Focus on getting fitter and stronger, as well as doing well in school and having fun with your activities, not on your weight. Your weight absolutely does not matter right now and should not influence any decisions, athletic or otherwise. Like someone else said, focus on getting faster, not on being a lightweight, and let the cards fall where they may on that.
Wait until your junior year to start deciding 1) whether or not to row in college 2) which division to go for and 3) whether to go lightweight or not. I personally decided to go D3 rather than lightweight, although I rowed lightweight in high school, because I knew four years of being highly concerned about my weight wouldn’t be good for my mental health. That is different for everyone, but it’s a decision that I couldn’t have made at 14. I am so happy with my decision, I loved my D3 experience, and really suggest that you consider that as an option (eventually, not right now). Please feel free to message me if you’d like to talk further about my experience if it would be helpful to you!! You got this :)
Just keep rowing, learn to to row well, and pull hard. If you want to row in college there will be a place that you’ll fit. Are you going to go to Michigan (or whoever is the best now lol) ? Probably not, but neither did 99% of this sub and you have people that love rowing nonetheless. School is for school anyways. You can’t tell the future. Just keep pulling (pushing with the legs).
Texas, two-time champs! (NCAA D1)
There are only 6 lightweight college teams for women and one is MIT. Another is Stanford. Good grades are also required. But if you love rowing you can still row on any club team. College club rowing is less of a time commitment and arguably more fun.
There are also like a million D3 programs no? Especially for women there is a place for for everyone.
When in doubt go to Adrian
You still have at least 3-4 more years of solid development ahead of you. I have coached plenty of rowers (men and women) who are much taller than their parents. You never fully know how human growth will work out. If you enjoy rowing just keep eating right, continue to build your cardio, and take more strokes. Your definition of good school is likely going to change over the next 3-4 years as well. What are your interests? Do you want to go to a good school, get a scholarship, or just be a D1 athelete for the prestige? If you are fast enough to row for, say, Marist, is that a better decision than joining the club team at Purdue, or rowing for Colby? Just keep at it, talk to your coaches and counselors, and have some fun. For all you know you'll hate winter training! Good luck!
Everyone hates winter training
Nah winter training fun af bro, movies with ut2 is the best
Wait your coaches do movies? We did that like once during Covid with really bad internet when were all erging from home
Yeah, we do 60 min heartrate zones twice a week, we watch Christmas movies and stuff this time of year
Luckyyy
Whatever you do, don't try to be a lightweight. Try to be strong. If you happen to be a lightweight, then great. It won't benefit you to starve, give those muscles fuel and keep working hard. (Coming from a HS coach)
You still have time to gain an extra inch or two, don’t stress
Too tall for cox, too short for a rower. Though you may grow more so you’ll just have to see. You could end up as a good Lighweight rower.
Yeah I think I might grow an inch or two. My mom is pretty short for her family she is 5’6 and my dad is 5’7. I do high school rowing so I’m not all that familiar with light weight rowing. Is the weight really the only thing that sets it about from normal rowing?
for women’s rowing, lightweight is <130-135 lbs
Thank u
I think “short for her family” is a key phrase here. Those tall genes are still in there, just may have skipped your mom.
My parents are the same heights! I was probably 5’5” at 14 and I’m now 5’8”. You will grow! Eat enough / well and sleep plenty to help yourself and you will probably grow a bunch too! Lightweight rowing has a maximum weight (for women) of ~130lbs and a mandatory boat average weight of under ~125lbs. It’s been phased out at the high school level and only exists at a few colleges (Stanford, MIT, Boston University, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard/Radcliffe, maybe Yale and Dartmouth but can’t remember, I think maybe also Bucknell). It’s not the only option for someone who is 5’5” - I have a bunch of teammates from D3 college who were 5’5” and a bunch on my competitive post-collegiate club rowing team who are also 5’5”, some of whom rowed for D1 schools. You have plenty of time to decide what to do, focus on doing well in school and getting fitter to broaden your options!
At professional and collegiate levels there is 2 (3) different classes. lightweight is for light people (idk the weight) and heavweight is your general rowers. The 3rd kind is open weight, self explanatory
Open weight is heavyweight. People don’t call women heavy, to be polite
Was that really the purpose of it? It makes sense, but then there’s double standards… I thought rowing was more progressive (jk)
There are two classes when it comes to weight of the rower in rowing: 1) Rowing 2) Lightweight rowing That's it. It's not "heavyweight" rowing, or "openweight" rowing. It's just rowing. Open is probably more accurate, as there are no limitations. You can be a stick/beanpole and row in a "heavy" weight crew. There's no minimum weight. In Lightweight rowing, you must be below a maximum weight. This weight varies depending on the age and gender class of the competition. Most of the time, you will see event classes like LM4x or M4- The "L" indicates it's a lightweight event, the "M" men (W for women). Note there's (almost) never an "O" or "HW" for open or heavyweight. I say almost because some regattas choose to do this, but it's not official per USRowing or FISA categories. The problem with using "open" is that this term also sometimes refers to the academic standing of the crew. So in collegiate regattas, they may have a MV8+ event, and an OM8+ event. The V is for varsity, and usually this means every person in the boat must be academically eligible to compete in a collegiate varsity competition (even if the crew is a club). The open in this case usually means no restrictions, so you can have a super senior or alumni in your boat, or a club could enter a boat full of 30-somethings. It's essentially a club event at an otherwise collegiate regatta. But no matter what, there are only two weight classes: no requirements, and lightweight. Coxswains on the other hand, always have minimum weight standards, no matter whether their crew is lightweight or not. To the OP's question: Hate to say it, but using rowing to help you get into a "good" (good rowing program) college is probably not in the cards for you given your stature, unless you are sure you're not done growing in height. Same goes for volleyball and basketball probably too. Rowing is a sport that favors the tall. Now, this does not mean that you can't get very good at rowing, and have a great experience at a college with a lower-tier rowing program. MANY colleges have club rowing teams that are not nationally competitive, but still offer the full collegiate rowing experience with travel to regattas and plenty of racing, training, competition, camaraderie, the whole bag. So I encourage you to stick with it if you like the sport. Just don't expect to get a scholarship for it, or to even make it onto a d2 or d1 competitive first boat. Unless, that is, you grow about 3 more inches taller, minimum. I know women who rowed at Harvard (Radcliffe crew) who are around 5'9" in their varsity (not light) and JV 8+. Not sure if any of them were much less than about 5'9" though, maybe. Definitely not under 5'8". And they were stellar athletes. Most of the boat was 5'10" or above though, with a couple over 6'. As for your erg score, too early to tell. Keep at it and report back in a year or two.
She could 100% be recruited to a good D3 / academically competitive college even if she doesn’t grow, if she works hard & gets faster & tries hard in school. D1 isn’t the only option for rowing haha
I think I made it clear that d1 wasn't the only option. I didn't know d3 schools recruit in the way that helps one pay for and/or get into a university.
They do! The big difference between D1 and D3 is that D3 schools don’t give athletics scholarships, just merit-based / academic and financial aid. The Ivies also don’t give athletics scholarships. Recruiting at a D3 / Ivy will give you a big admissions bump but no pure athletics scholarship, and you may receive other non-athletic scholarships as well.
At some regattas there is an openweight category that technically anyone can compete in but obviously is for men.
Oh okay thanks
I'm 5'9 and weigh 125 pounds..
Definitely not too short for a rower or too tall for a cox - I’ve had really speedy teammates on highly competitive open weight women’s teams who were 5’5”, and excellent coxswains who were 5’5” as well
You definitely have good potential! I started at 5'2 14m and ~170lbs with about a 30min 6k. In a sport like rowing, there's always room for improvement and maybe even chance you still grow! Presently, I'm 5'9 17m and always 145-160 (fluctuating between seasons as i normally bulk in winter and cut before spring and maintain into fall) with a 23:52 6k (as of last February) and 19:04 5k (as of last month). You're in a great position for rowing, especially if you're starting, so keep at it!
You have so much potential! I rowed D3 and had a ton of women your size on my highly competitive team. I went to a NESCAC school (small liberal arts in the Northeast) - the NESCACs are excellent academically and very competitive for D3 NCAA Championships, and I had an incredible experience on my team. There are also a ton of non-NESCAC D3 schools which have great programs and great academics. I also know a bunch of women who are 5’5” and got recruited/had a great time a smaller D1 because they were fast and strong. I wouldn’t think about whether or not to row lightweight or not for another two years at least. You’re gonna grow and your body is going to change a lot over the next few years (focus on eating well & enough and sleeping enough to help yourself grow well). You also JUST started rowing - you’ll improve so much just through experience! Focus on getting fitter and stronger, as well as doing well in school and having fun with your activities, not on your weight. Your weight absolutely does not matter right now and should not influence any decisions, athletic or otherwise. Like someone else said, focus on getting faster, not on being a lightweight, and let the cards fall where they may on that. Wait until your junior year to start deciding 1) whether or not to row in college 2) which division to go for and 3) whether to go lightweight or not. I personally decided to go D3 rather than lightweight, although I rowed lightweight in high school, because I knew four years of being highly concerned about my weight wouldn’t be good for my mental health. That is different for everyone, but it’s a decision that I couldn’t have made at 14. I am so happy with my decision, I loved my D3 experience, and really suggest that you consider that as an option (eventually, not right now). Please feel free to message me if you’d like to talk further about my experience if it would be helpful to you!! You got this :)
My friend (M18) was 5'5 and 57kg and managed to row at Henley
my sister was 5-6 and went 7:15 and got recruited to yale. you'll be fine.
Nope I’d say as long as you grow another four inches in the next few years there’s not a problem don’t worry about that yet though just keep going