rowing times/scholarship

Question
Hello, I noticed you had quite a bit of knowledge on rowing and ergo times and was wondering if you could help me out with a few questions. I have only rowed surfboat for about 3 months. I am 19yrs, 194cm and 100kg. I have a strong background in basketball and football but havnt really trained for rowing properly.

Best times are 1:26 for 500m and 4:56 for 1500m. I want to try and get a scholarship to the US next year and was wondering what sort of times I would be aiming at?

Thanks,
       Adam

Answer
Hi Adam: Converting to English units, you are about 6-feet tall and weigh 220 lbs.  That's a good height and weight for a heavyweight rower.  I'll assume you are between 18-20 ears old.

I had a very good friend who was a lifeguard in New Jersey.  He was one of the best surf boat racers on the east coast.  He later went out for crew and we raced together in a double scull.    

Considering you have no formal training in shell-oar rowing, your erg times are very good.  Per the Concept II database, your 500 meter time puts you in the Top 20% among 18-20 year old heavyweights.  There isn't much data to compare your 1500 meter piece.  However, projecting your time to to a 2K, I'd guess you'd pull about a 6:45, which is above average.  

I'd say a 2000 meter piece at 6:30 or better is going to get a coach's interest.  However, you really need to get into a racing shell and get some race experience.  It's impossible for a crew coach to assess a candidate solely on how well they kayak, or paddle a canoe or row a surf boat.  There's a lot of technique in crew rowing.  So I'd say your next step would be to join a rowing club and get some races in.

Good Luck/AP