Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Rowing
Caption: U.S.A. team at the World Championships
Few sports are as versatile and fun as boating. You can "row, row, row your boat" in so many different ways! You can cruise cautiously in a canoe or you can race in a raft over rapids. Boaters who have a need for speed love the sport of competitive rowing.
People have been rowing for thousands of years. Boats played a vital role in the ancient world. Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used boats for transportation and trade. The Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep II liked to show off his rowing talent. During wars, excellent rowing often meant the difference between victory and defeat. Centuries later, boating became fun as well as functional. Gondola races in Venice called regattas were held as early as the 1600s. By the 1700s, British ferrymen held the first modern boating races on the River Thames in London.
