Cultural Notes:

Inside View

1. Rowing--Rowing can be done in pairs, fours or eights. Each rower has one oar. The "cox" steers. The rower who sits at the end next to the cox is called "the stroke"(or Number Eight). The eight rowers work as a unit, all moving precisely together, otherwise they will upset the balance of the boat and slow it down. The stroke has to set the pace-- a pace that he knows the crew can manage: too fast and the crew will tire too quickly and lose; too slow and the other team will win  anyway. The rest of the crew must work together in a steady rhythm with the stroke. Britain has a strong tradition of international rowing and has had some of the world's best rowers.

Every Oxford college has a rowing team, and there are rowing races between the colleges every term. Each college has a boathouse on the river, where the rowing boats are kept. There is also a bar and somewhere to watch the racing.

2. the Oxford and Cambridge boat race--is between two eights, one from each university, over 4.2 mile of the River Thames in London, with three bends--a much more demanding race than the usual 2,000-meter race. The river in London has tides, which means that there is a band of water in the middle of the river which flows the fastest. The cox has to steer the boat into the fast part of the river, while avoiding the other boat. The race is very tough--even with intense training, the oarsman under these conditions must push themselves to their limits. The race demands skill and teamwork. All the rowing must be technically correct and at the right place.

Outside View

1. the "Mobot" is a gesture made famous by Mo Farah on a TV program. Farah was invited to create a victory gesture similar to Usain Bolt's "lightning pose" which Bolt adopts whenever he wins a race. The "Mobot" is in the shape of an M, standing for Mo