News: Congratulations to smartOar® users, the University of Texas and the University of Tennessee, on taking two of the top three spots at the 2026 NCAA National Championships.
Congratulations to Texas on their fourth National Championship while using smartOar® and to their first Eight in rowing a 5:47:706 – over 5 seconds faster than the official World Best Time!
Note From Owner: Obviously smartOar® cannot take credit for the results of the NCAA Championships. That requires suburb coaches, not just the Head Coach, but also the Assistant Coaches since, to win the Championship, you must do well in all racing categories. It also requires a dedicated support staff. It absolutely requires extraordinary rowers. Nevertheless, as a small husband and wife company dedicated to the sport of rowing, we are proud that these programs have determined that smartOar® adds value to their efforts and have incorporated the system into their training plans. We are just as proud of all the other programs and individuals who we are privileged to call our customers.
Check out the new Android App. See real-time force curves on your cell phone/tablet – as a cox, from the launch or at your seat.
From a Coach at a top NCAA Div. 1 Program:
…we love downloading the information off the oars afterwards to give out to the athletes. We have been doing low-rate stuff so far so I put together a excel from the summary data downloads from each piece that combines it all into one spreadsheet. This way they can be ranked after each practice. The top kids love seeing who had the best numbers after practice. We joke that the smart oars have special powers because it’s rare that the boat with smart oars lose. (It’s amazing how well boats go when everyone is held accountable). We joke that we should get blinking lights to put on all the oars.
Once we get into high rates, we will use the other spreadsheet that shows every stroke’s number. Then I like to make visual graphs with a trend line so the women can see if they put more or less force on the oar in the second half of the pieces.
We are big fans!!”
Contact us and see how we can help YOU!
Whether your crews are:
Good or Learning
smartOar® will help you make them better.
Train smart: know what’s going on in the boat.
How much force is each rower exerting? How well are they working together?
We used smartOars during our selection camp and training phase for the U23 Women’s National Team that ended up having great performances in Bulgaria (sweeping the 8+, 4-, 2-).
- Wesley Ng, Head Coach, now University of Virginia Women’s Rowing
SmartOar® is the only easy -to-use, real-time force measuring system on the market. Now, as a Coach, you can see the force actually exerted by your rowers through the stroke. You and your rowers can see the catch and finish timing, the shape of the curve and work on ways to achieve even more speed through the water. SmartOar® gives you visibility into each stroke, in real time, from the launch. It can help you make the changes you need in order to get the best from your crews while holding them accountable for their performance.
With smartOar® YOU CAN
· See the shape of the force exerted – per oar, through every stroke
· View and record up to 8 oars – simultaneously
· See the catch and release timing – to an accuracy of 1/100 of a second
· With the new Android App, you and your crew, can see real-time force curves, boat speed and boat acceleration on every stroke
· Tailor the shape of the curves – to match your coaching philosophy
· Send your crews off on their own and self-record – for later download and analysis
· Make videos of the data – let your crews see what you see
The smartOar® real-time force curve feedback system offers high schools, colleges, clubs, and individuals real-time feedback on how their crews are rowing. Our system is easy to use and non-invasive in practices and races
- Wireless: oar-to-oar, oar-to-coach’s launch
- Highly accurate and precise even with rigging changes
- All oars offer both real-time display and self-recording
- Any brand of oar can be instrumented
- All components work together: add sweep or sculling oars, indoor tanks, Coaches’ Tablets and the new Android App that allows you and your rowers, to see force curves, boat speed and acceleration from the launch and in the boat.
Instrumentation adds under 3 ounces near the pivot point of the oar.
SmartOar® can install oar sensors and oarpods on any brand oar, sweep, sculling, and indoor tank oars.
In recent years, feedback loops have improved rowing around the world: video, speedometers and ergometers help rowers and coaches make changes. On the water, the coach’s eyes and judgement are critical to making effective crews. SmartOar® can enhance a coach’s effectiveness by showing the actual shape of the force curves and their timing relationships to rowers to help them make changes in their stroke. Crews can visually see the importance of catching together and how to better match the shape of their curves.
Current systems used by national teams around the world are difficult to use – often requiring consultants just to interpret the data.
smartOar® is an easy-to-use, reliable, and reasonably priced system that all rowers can use in everyday training and racing. With the sensor in the oar, you are not limited to one shell and can run multiple boats per practice.