The Catch

By the Watta Team · Updated

The Catch: The catch is the starting position of the rowing stroke where the blade enters the water (or on the erg, where the chain becomes taut), with shins vertical and body compressed forward.

What is The Catch?

The catch is the most technically demanding moment of the rowing stroke. At the catch position, the rower's shins should be approximately vertical, the body leaning slightly forward from the hips (about 1 o'clock position), and arms fully extended with relaxed shoulders. On the erg, the catch is the point of maximum compression before the drive begins. A good catch connects immediately — there should be no pause or hesitation between reaching full compression and initiating the leg drive. The quality of the catch largely determines the effectiveness of the entire stroke. Common faults include over-compression (shins past vertical), lunging forward, and losing posture at the point of reversal.

How Watta Uses The Catch

Watta captures stroke rate data from the PM5, which reflects the timing balance between the catch and the rest of the stroke. Consistently high stroke rates with maintained power suggest efficient catch timing. The Economy component of the Effort Score (10% weight) rewards this efficiency.

Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What should the catch look like on an erg?
Shins vertical (not past), arms straight, body leaning slightly forward from the hips (1 o'clock), shoulders relaxed and down. The seat should be as close to the heels as comfortably possible without the lower back rounding.
How do I improve my catch on the erg?
Practise pause drills: row with a 2-second pause at the catch position to check your body position. Also do legs-only rowing at low rate (16 spm) to isolate the catch-to-drive connection without the complexity of the full stroke.
What is over-compression at the catch?
Over-compression means the shins go past vertical and the seat moves too close to the front of the erg. This reduces leg drive power and increases strain on the knees and lower back. A foam roller placed behind the seat can help you feel when you are over-compressing.

Related Content

Force CurveThe force curve is a graph on the Concept2 PM5 that shows how much force you apply to the handle during each stroke, used to diagnose rowing technique.Stroke RateStroke rate, or strokes per minute (SPM), is the number of complete rowing strokes you take in one minute on the ergometer.Drag FactorDrag factor is a normalized number on the Concept2 PM5 that measures the actual air resistance the flywheel feels, so you can replicate the same stroke feel on any erg.The RecoveryThe recovery is the non-power phase of the rowing stroke where the rower returns to the catch position, following an arms-back-legs sequence.Effort Score CalculatorErg Technique GuideRowing for BeginnersFor Beginners
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