Talk:Oar (sport rowing)

Oar Lengths

Sculling oars are around 284cm - 290cm (288 is a common length) and rowing oars 370cm - 376cm (374 is common). I have changed the oar lengths to reflect this. I'm not sure what the length of the blades are. Ozdaren 13:01, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Terminology

I am a bit confused by the terms used in this article to describe the sleeve and collar. In Australian parlance the plastic surround which encloses the oar and sits inside the swivel is called the sleeve. The plastic adjustable collar which abuts the swivel and gate is called the collar (or button when speaking to the older generation). This ensures the oar does not slide out from the swivel. Ozdaren 13:15, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Rewrite

I suggest that this article needs a significant rewrite in order to become more readable. Are people happy with the following structure:

• Lead paragraph: basic description, distinction between oars and paddles
• History - including differences in blade shapes and former construction materiels
• Parts of a blade (perhaps with a graphic) and including typical lengths and notes on rigging
• Development - breif notes on experimental blade types

Any thoughts? --Yeti Hunter 08:09, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

I would add that the insertion of links of commercial nature be scrutinised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.233.48.22 (talk) 19:49, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Randall Foil

This section strikes me as promotional in nature - at best the foil appears to be one of the many variants of a cleaver-type blade (along with smoothie, vortex-tipped and fat blade, among others). Self published source + extraordinary claim does not auger well. Google returns only the cited blog, plus Wiki and mirrors. If it really does result in a 5% increase in boatspeed (greater than cleaver vs macon!) it shouldn't be hard to find reliable sources. Suggest this section is deleted for now. --Yeti Hunter (talk) 07:53, 6 August 2018 (UTC)

The Italian Lightweight Sculler Martino Goretti placed third at the European Championships in July, 2019. He contacted Ian Randall shortly after to trial and speed test the Randall foil blade design. He was able to replicate performance claims (5% speed increase) and adopted the foil design to make up the deficit and to gain a potentially winning margin. Three months later, at the World Championships in Linz, Martino Goretti recorded the fastest time in every heat, quarter, semi and final, beating European Champion Péter Galambos of Hungary by clear water. Goretti is well-known for adopting innovation in rowing and has a long and decorated career and his adoption of the design gives testimony. Goretti was able to adopt the design as he was not part of the Italian Federation and is coached by his father Eros Goretti. Goretti used the foil successfully at all Italian selection regattas leading up to the World Championships. The foil design is a new category of blade design as it differs in performance and appearance; It has a distinct surface fold on the blade (close to a 90 degrees), it requires no blade pitch, during the drive phase the shaft of the oar is not buried below the foil, and there is no catch slip (when pitched at 0-degrees).--Ian Randall (talk) 07:16, 17 September 2019 (EST)

If the preceding is verifiable to reliable third-party sources (NOT just race records verifying the results), then there may be a case for inclusion, albeit stripped of all promotional content. However I still see nothing of that sort coming up in google - it's all blogs, reddit discussions, trade publications, or promotional pieces by Randall (whom I presume is one and the same with User:Ian Randall). If you have not already done so, I would reccommend you familiarise yourself with WP:COI, which deals with the perils of editing articles with which you are personally associated.--Yeti Hunter (talk) 23:56, 16 September 2019 (UTC)