Rowing Merit Badge Requirements

Requirements

1. # Copy link to requirement 1
   Do the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 1.a
      Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter while participating in rowing activities, including weather- and water-related hazards, and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.
   2. # Copy link to requirement 1.b
      Review prevention, symptoms, and first-aid treatment for the following injuries or illnesses that can occur while rowing: blisters, hypothermia, heat-related illnesses, dehydration, sunburn, sprains, and strains.
   3. # Copy link to requirement 1.c
      Review the Scouting America Safety Afloat policy. Explain to your counselor how this applies to rowing activities.
2. # Copy link to requirement 2
   Before completing requirements 4, 5, 6, and 7, successfully complete the Scouting America swimmer test. Note: See the Swimming merit badge pamphlet for details about the Scouting America swimmer test.
3. # Copy link to requirement 3
   Review the characteristics of life jackets most appropriate for rowing and why one must always be worn while rowing. Then demonstrate how to select and fit a life jacket.
4. # Copy link to requirement 4
   Do ONE of the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 4.a
      Alone or with a passenger, do the following in either a fixed-seat or sliding-seat rowboat:
      1. # Copy link to requirement 4.a.1
         Launch.
      2. # Copy link to requirement 4.a.2
         Row in a straight line for 100 yards. Stop, pivot, and return to the starting point.
      3. # Copy link to requirement 4.a.3
         Backwater in a straight line for 25 yards. Make a turn underway and return to the starting point.
      4. # Copy link to requirement 4.a.4
         Land and moor or rack your craft.
      5. # Copy link to requirement 4.a.5
         Tie the following mooring knots—clove hitch, roundturn with two half-hitches, bowline, Wellman’s knot, and mooring hitch.
   2. # Copy link to requirement 4.b
      Participate as a rowing team member in a competitive rowing meet. The team may be sponsored by a school, club, or Scout unit. The meet must include competition between two or more teams with different sponsors. Complete at least 10 hours of team practice prior to the meet.
5. # Copy link to requirement 5
   Do ONE of the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 5.a
      In a fixed-seat rowboat, come alongside a pier and help a passenger into the boat. Pull away from the pier, change positions with your passenger, and demonstrate sculling over the stern or side. Resume your rowing position, return alongside the pier, and help your passenger out of the boat.
   2. # Copy link to requirement 5.b
      In a sliding-seat rowboat, come alongside a pier and, with your buddy assisting you, get out onto the pier. Help your buddy into the boat. Reverse roles with your buddy and repeat the procedure.
6. # Copy link to requirement 6
   Participate in a swamped boat drill including righting and stabilizing the craft, reboarding in deep water, and making headway. Tell why you should stay with a swamped boat.
7. # Copy link to requirement 7
   Alone in a rowboat, push off from the shore or a pier. Row 20 yards to a swimmer. While giving instructions to the swimmer, pivot the boat so that the swimmer can hold on to the stern. Tow the swimmer to shore.
8. # Copy link to requirement 8
   Describe the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 8.a
      Types of craft used in commercial, competitive, and recreational rowing
   2. # Copy link to requirement 8.b
      Four common boatbuilding materials. Give some positive and negative points of each
   3. # Copy link to requirement 8.c
      Types of oarlocks used in competitive and recreational rowing.
9. # Copy link to requirement 9
   Discuss the following:
   1. # Copy link to requirement 9.a
      The advantage of feathering oars while rowing
   2. # Copy link to requirement 9.b
      Precautions regarding strong winds and heavy waves, and boat-handling procedures in rough water and windstorms
   3. # Copy link to requirement 9.c
      How to properly fit out and maintain a boat in season, and how to prepare and store a boat for winter
   4. # Copy link to requirement 9.d
      How to determine the proper length of oars
   5. # Copy link to requirement 9.e
      The differences between fixed-seat and sliding-seat rowing
   6. # Copy link to requirement 9.f
      The different meanings of the term sculling in fixed- and sliding-seat rowing
   7. # Copy link to requirement 9.g
      The health benefits from rowing for exercise