Requirements for the Rowing merit badge:

1. Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur while rowing, including cold and heat reactions, dehydration, contusions, lacerations, and blisters.
2. Do the following:
   1. Identify the conditions that must exist before performing CPR on a person. Explain how such conditions are recognized.
   2. Demonstrate proper technique for performing CPR using a training device approved by your counselor.
3. Before doing the following requirements, successfully complete the BSA swimmer test. Jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth. Level off and swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: sidestroke, breaststroke, trudgen, or crawl; then swim 25 yards using an easy resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be completed in one swim without stops and must include at least one sharp turn. After completing the swim, rest by floating.
4. Review and discuss Safety Afloat and demonstrate the proper fit and use of personal flotation devices (PFDs).
5. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Alone or with a passenger, do the following correctly in either a fixed-seat or sliding-seat rowboat:
      1. Launch
      2. Row in a straight line for a quarter mile. Stop, make a pivot turn, and return to the starting point.
      3. Backwater in a straight line for 50 yards. Make a turn under way and return to the starting point.
      4. Land and moor or rack your craft.
      5. Tie the following mooring knots: clove hitch, roundturn with two half hitches, bowline, Wellman's knot, and mooring hitch.
   2. Participate as a rowing team member in a competitive rowing meet. The team may be sponsored by a school, club, or Scout unit. The meet must include competition between two or more teams with different sponsors. Complete at least 10 hours of team practice prior to the meet.
6.    Do ONE of the following:
   1. In a fixed-seat rowboat, come alongside a dock and help a passenger into the boat. Pull away from the dock, change position with your passenger, and scull in good form over the stern for 10 yards, including at least one 180-degree turn. Resume your rowing position, return along side the pier, and help your passenger out of  the boat.
   2. In a sliding-seat rowboat, come alongside a pier and, with your buddy assisting you, get out onto the pier. Help your buddy into the boat. Reverse roles with your buddy and repeat the procedure. 
7. Participate in a swamped boat drill, including righting and stabilizing the craft, reboarding in deep water, and making headway. Tell why you should stay with a swamped boat.
8. Alone in a rowboat, push off from the shore or a dock. Row 10 yards to a swimmer. While giving instructions to the swimmer, turn the boat so that the swimmer can hold onto the stern. Tow him to shore.
9. Show or explain the proper use of anchors for rowboats.
10. Describe the following:
    1. Types of craft used in commercial, competitive, and recreational rowing.
    2. Four common boatbuilding materials. Give some positive and negative points of each.
    3. Types of oarlocks used in competitive and recreational rowing.
11. Discuss the following:
    1. The advantage of feathering oars while rowing
    2. Precautions regarding strong winds and heavy waves, and boat-handling procedures in rough water and windstorms
    3. How to properly fit out and maintain a boat in season, and how to prepare and store a boat for winter
    4. How to calculate the weight a boat can carry under normal conditions
    5. The differences between fixed-seat and sliding-seat rowing
    6. The different meaning of the term sculling in fixed- and sliding-seat rowing.
    7. The health benefits from rowing for exercise