For those who are new to the sport, here are the basics: anyone participating in his first year of collegiate rowing does so on the novice crew, regardless of whether he is a first-, second-, or third-year student, and regardless of whether he rowed in high school. That means that some athletes on the novice crew rowed in high school, while others did not.

With very few exceptions, every crew that the novices race against is also a novice crew. One does not need to be a first-year student to be on the novice crew. First-, second-, and even third-year students are encouraged to try out. After a rower has completed one year of collegiate rowing, he then moves up to the varsity crew for the remainder of his college rowing career.