in separate crews although mixed crews and mixed team events also take place. Coaching for women is similar to that for men. The world's first women's rowing team was formed in 1896 at the Furnivall Sculling Club in London. The club, with signature colors a very distinct myrtle and gold, began as a women's club, but eventually allowed the admittance of men in 1901. The first international women's races were the 1954 European Rowing Championships. The introduction of women's rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal increased the growth of women's rowing because it created the incentive for national rowing federations to support women's events. Rowing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London included six events for women compared with eight for men. In the US, rowing is an NCAA sport for women but not for men; though it is one of the country's oldest collegiate sports, the difference is in large part due to the requirements of Title IX. At the international level, women's rowing traditionally has been dominated by Eastern European countries, such as Romania, Russia, and Bulgaria, although other countries such as Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain and New Zealand often field competitive teams. The United States also has had very competitive crews, and in recent years these crews have become even more competitive given the surge in women's collegiate rowing. Now there is usually the same number of girls and boys in a group. Technique While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing toward the stern and uses the oars, which are held in place by oarlocks, to propel the boat forward (towards the bow). Rowing is distinguished from paddling in that the oar is attached to the boat using an oarlock, where in paddling there is no oarlock or attachment of the paddle to the boat. The rowing stroke may be characterized by two fundamental reference points: the catch, which is placement of the oar blade in the water, and the extraction, also known as the finish or release, when the rower removes the oar blade from the water. After the blade is placed in the water at the catch, the rower applies pressure to the oar levering the boat forward which is called the drive phase of the stroke. Once the rower extracts the oar from the water, the recovery phase begins, setting up the rower's body for the next stroke.