Foursome with a helmsman

Foursome with a helmsman
Officially	4+	Coxed Four
length	approx. 12.5 m
Minimum weight	51 kg
Olympic boat class
Men	1900 and 1912-1992
Women	1976-1988
FISA boat class
Men	1962-2007
Women	1974-1987
World best times (2000 m)
Men:	5: 58.96 (August 24, 1991, World Cup 1991, Vienna / Neue Donau )
Matthias Ungemach , Armin Weyrauch , Armin Eichholz , Bahne Rabe and Stm. Jörg Dederding
Women:	6: 43.86 ( Aug 23, 1986, Holme Pierrepont , Nottingham )
Marioara Trașcă , Chira Stoian , Doina Bălan , Viorica Ioja and Stf. Lucia Toader

The four-man with a helmsman or four-man with a helmsman (abbreviation 4+ ; often simply referred to as a four-man with ) is a boat class in rowing . In the crew boat there are four rowers who each drive the boat with a belt , as well as a helmsman . Since the removal from the Olympic program after 1992, the importance of the boat class has declined sharply.

description

The rowers in (unrestricted) four with a helmsman do not have to adhere to a weight limit, whereas the helmsman must have a minimum weight of 55 kg (men) or 50 kg (women). Lightweight variants of the four-man with a helmsman were never part of the international regatta program, but they were held, for example, in the German championship rowing for men between 1940 and 1976. The classic competition route in a four-man with a helmsman corresponds to the Olympic distance of 2000 m.

The material and construction of the boat are similar to those of typical racing rowing boats. The boat is about 12.5 meters long, about 45 cm wide at the waterline, and weighs at least 51 kg. Two outriggers are required on each side of the boat . For reasons of optimal weight distribution, the helmsman is often placed lying in front of the rowers (i.e. at the very front of the boat), although this is not required by the regulations. Steering people seated in the back are also allowed in four-with . The control fin is always attached near the stern .

In addition to the boat class described here, there are also the four without a helmsman and the double quad . In the four-without , only the helmsman is missing (the boat also has no steering position), which makes him a little faster than the four-with . The double quad, on the other hand, is rolled , usually rowed without a helmsman, and is also faster than the quad with .

history

In 1900 and from 1912 to 1992 the four-man with helmsman was an Olympic boat class, and from the introduction of women's races at the 1976 Olympic rowing regatta to 1988, the four-man with helmsman was also Olympic. The women's foursome was replaced once in 1992 by a foursome without a helmswoman and from 1996 by the women's lightweight double sculls. The men's four had to give way to the lightweight four without a helmsman in 1996 . Since its removal from the Olympic program, the importance of the boat class has declined more and more, although it has long been one of the most important in rowing. In the rowing world championships , the four-man with men and women is no longer extended. Since 2003, however, it has been used in various classes of para rowing .

Regardless of the deletion from the Olympic program, the four-man with helmsman is still an important boat class in the men's U23 age group (Seniors B) of the junior classes A and B. It continues to be used there internationally.

literature

• Wolfgang Fritsch: manual for rowing: training - stamina - free time . 4th, revised edition. Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2006, ISBN 978-3-89899-111-7 .

Web links

Commons : Foursome with helmsman  - collection of images

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Best times: Elite. World Rowing Association , accessed on October 19, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Rowing competition rules (RWR) of the German Rowing Association; valid from January 1, 2016. (PDF; 666 kB) (No longer available online.) In: www.rudern.de. German Rowing Association, archived from the original on April 29, 2016 ; Retrieved April 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Dimensions of various quad versions at the Empacher shipyard. (No longer available online.) Empacher boatyard , archived from the original on December 23, 2015 ; Retrieved October 19, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.