erg score/watt score

Question
Hi Jarrett!

I'm a 16 year old boy, weighing 145. My best 2k is a 7:35, though I haven't been tested again in half a year. Also, my school measure highest possible watt score, and I scored a 550. Are these good enough? What should I be aiming for, for my size and age? Thanks!

Answer
It is always hard to answer the question, "Are my times good enough?" because that answer is solely dependent upon the asker's point of view.  A rower can always get faster, and for the elite rower, their current times are never good enough.  They are always looking to get faster.  That is what makes them the elite.  Because of this, you must first you have to answer the question, "Good enough for what?"  What exactly are you aiming to get out of rowing?  If you are just looking to have fun, any erg time is good enough.  Are you trying to make your school's top 8?  If that is the case, then a simple look over your teammates' erg scores and a conversation with your coach should give you an idea of how you stack up and what times you need to get.

I am going to assume that you, like most people on this site, are wondering whether or not your times are good enough to get a college scholarship.  A 7:35 2k time and 550 max wattage are relatively average times for a 145-pound male rower.  The good news is that you are only 16 years old, and your body is still developing.  To be considered by a decent college rowing program, I would say that somebody your size would need to be just under 7:00 on a 2k test, right around the 6:50 mark.  That may seem like a lot of time to drop, but as your body continues to develop, you will naturally see your erg times drop.  Your erg times, as of right now, put you in a very nice spot to get down to those erg times by the time you graduate.  If you put in the necessary work over the next few years, you can do anything you want in the sport of rowing.  Good luck!