seat racing
n.— «In rowing, boats qualify for their country based on performance at events like the world championships and other Olympic qualifiers, then the athletes compete for seats in the boats. The process, known as “seat racing,” involves months of mixing and matching in which teammates row against each other in timed qualifying races.» —“Edmonton rower goes to Olympics” by John MacKinnon Edmonton Journal (Alberta, Canada) July 4, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Jim in Columbia, South Carolina, has noticed sportscasters’ use of the phrase on the season with reference to a period of time. This construction shows up in the sports pages as early as the 1880s, first referring to a team’s revenue and...
In our earlier conversation about the term clam, which musicians use to refer to a “missed note” or “musical mistake,” Martha misspoke and said a similar term was used in rowing and sculling. Actually, as many listeners...