Rowing Unveils New Oar Design
January 25, 2021 | Rowing
The Louisville rowers will be making a splash with their new look.
"The best investment is in the tools of one's own trade." – Benjamin Franklin
A person is only as good as their tools, and perhaps no tool is more important to the University of Louisville rowing team as their oars.
That's why the Cardinals' coaching staff took it upon itself to give the team a flashy upgrade in the form of newly-designed oars to reflect a new era of Louisville rowing.
"It's pretty big," said UofL rowing head coach Derek Copeland. "It's kind of how you're recognized, really, even more so than the uniform. It's a little bit like what helmets are to football. It how you recognize a team, especially from far away."
The coaching staff said that the change was a long time coming and something that had been discussed for a good while before finally pulling the trigger on the project. It's only the third time the oars have seen a redesign since the program became a varsity sport at UofL 20 years ago.
Copeland said the white oar blades serve a practical purpose, as they will be easier to see when the team practices in the early morning when it's darker outside.
But the new look will also serve as an official marking of a new era in Cardinals Rowing, which Copeland and his assistant coaches truly began to take form before the 2020 season was cancelled just 36 hours before it was scheduled to begin due to restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new attitude has formed in the program, one that the coaching staff wanted to reflect in a new look, starting with new oar blades, replacing the red primer and the gothic L logo with a bold, all-white look featuring the head of Louie the Cardinal front and center.
"The team has done a great job the past year and half or two years just re-establishing what it truly means to be a Louisville Cardinal rower," said UofL assistant coach Samantha Sarff. "The attitude that goes along with (being a UofL rower), the intent, the purpose, the intensity at practice; They've done a really good job elevating off of that and their performance, so we wanted the look to reflect that."
And it was no small undertaking. Assistant coach Ed Oxlade – who began his time with UofL rowing as a rigger responsible for equipment upkeep and still maintains that role – headed the project of changing the look of the more-than-100 oars, which started shortly after Thanksgiving and extended into the new year.
According to Oxlade, he and his small team had to sand back the oar blades to remove the previous layer of paint, make any repairs necessary to any oars that may have been damaged in action, prime them with the new coat of paint, add a layer of gloss to protect that primer and then add a multi-part decal for the Louie the Cardinal logo, which turned out to be trickier than expected.
"I discovered – and I probably should have known this because I've been doing this for a long time – but the oars are curved in multiple different ways. It's not just as simple as throwing a sticker on. There are three different planes that are curving, so it didn't go quite how I expected."
Oxlade said that it was the biggest equipment project he's taken on in his career as a coach at Louisville, but one that the Cardinals deserved.
"We wanted it to be impactful," Oxlade said. "We wanted it to catch the eye but without being flashy, if that makes sense. Enough to actually turn head and for people to realize that there was something different about Louisville rowing. This is a visual representation of that difference.
"There are a lot of really special things happening as of late within the team. We haven't had the opportunity to show that."
The new oar blades have yet to hit the water yet, even in a practice setting. But when they do, the new look will hopefully serve to put the rest of the collegiate rowing community that a new version of the Louisville Cardinals have arrived, and they won't be going away anytime soon.
Crunching the Numbers Per Oar:
Step 1: Sanding the old paint off (20 mins)
Step 2: Repair any damage (10 mins)
Step 3: Sanding Repair smooth (15 mins)
Step 4: Priming (10 mins)
Step 5: Sanding (5 mins)
Step 6: Painting finish color (10 mins)
Step 7: Apply decal (15 mins)
Total time 85 mins
Total Number of oars 96
Each oar is 13 feet long and weighs 10 poundsÂ
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A person is only as good as their tools, and perhaps no tool is more important to the University of Louisville rowing team as their oars.
That's why the Cardinals' coaching staff took it upon itself to give the team a flashy upgrade in the form of newly-designed oars to reflect a new era of Louisville rowing.
"It's pretty big," said UofL rowing head coach Derek Copeland. "It's kind of how you're recognized, really, even more so than the uniform. It's a little bit like what helmets are to football. It how you recognize a team, especially from far away."
The coaching staff said that the change was a long time coming and something that had been discussed for a good while before finally pulling the trigger on the project. It's only the third time the oars have seen a redesign since the program became a varsity sport at UofL 20 years ago.
Copeland said the white oar blades serve a practical purpose, as they will be easier to see when the team practices in the early morning when it's darker outside.
But the new look will also serve as an official marking of a new era in Cardinals Rowing, which Copeland and his assistant coaches truly began to take form before the 2020 season was cancelled just 36 hours before it was scheduled to begin due to restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new attitude has formed in the program, one that the coaching staff wanted to reflect in a new look, starting with new oar blades, replacing the red primer and the gothic L logo with a bold, all-white look featuring the head of Louie the Cardinal front and center.
"The team has done a great job the past year and half or two years just re-establishing what it truly means to be a Louisville Cardinal rower," said UofL assistant coach Samantha Sarff. "The attitude that goes along with (being a UofL rower), the intent, the purpose, the intensity at practice; They've done a really good job elevating off of that and their performance, so we wanted the look to reflect that."
And it was no small undertaking. Assistant coach Ed Oxlade – who began his time with UofL rowing as a rigger responsible for equipment upkeep and still maintains that role – headed the project of changing the look of the more-than-100 oars, which started shortly after Thanksgiving and extended into the new year.
According to Oxlade, he and his small team had to sand back the oar blades to remove the previous layer of paint, make any repairs necessary to any oars that may have been damaged in action, prime them with the new coat of paint, add a layer of gloss to protect that primer and then add a multi-part decal for the Louie the Cardinal logo, which turned out to be trickier than expected.
"I discovered – and I probably should have known this because I've been doing this for a long time – but the oars are curved in multiple different ways. It's not just as simple as throwing a sticker on. There are three different planes that are curving, so it didn't go quite how I expected."
Oxlade said that it was the biggest equipment project he's taken on in his career as a coach at Louisville, but one that the Cardinals deserved.
"We wanted it to be impactful," Oxlade said. "We wanted it to catch the eye but without being flashy, if that makes sense. Enough to actually turn head and for people to realize that there was something different about Louisville rowing. This is a visual representation of that difference.
"There are a lot of really special things happening as of late within the team. We haven't had the opportunity to show that."
The new oar blades have yet to hit the water yet, even in a practice setting. But when they do, the new look will hopefully serve to put the rest of the collegiate rowing community that a new version of the Louisville Cardinals have arrived, and they won't be going away anytime soon.
Crunching the Numbers Per Oar:
Step 1: Sanding the old paint off (20 mins)
Step 2: Repair any damage (10 mins)
Step 3: Sanding Repair smooth (15 mins)
Step 4: Priming (10 mins)
Step 5: Sanding (5 mins)
Step 6: Painting finish color (10 mins)
Step 7: Apply decal (15 mins)
Total time 85 mins
Total Number of oars 96
Each oar is 13 feet long and weighs 10 poundsÂ
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