Why do rowers need a cox

If the rudder or fin is bent or broken then make your way back to the boathouse directly but slowly and use the crew to help you steer. Finally, a not irrelevant point to steering.

You can make a lot of effort to steer with the least effect on balance and speed. This section has been split into three parts:. Calls used when not all rowers are rowing - "Bow pair in" instructs Bow and 2 to begin rowing. This is used when some of the crew are already rowing so it is inappropriate to use the full set of commands. When calling for changes in the rating or the pressure you should explain to the crew how you wish them to make the change e.

This list of commands is by no means comprehensive. These are basic but many technical drills and exercised will warrant you to use many more. The rowers will stop rowing and sit with their blades off the water. The boat takes some time to come to rest. If you want to brake the movement of the boat, say "take the run off". The crew will angle their blades at 45 degrees to the water with the lower edge of the spoon in the water and raise the blade handle.

Alternatively you can use "Hold her up" to stop the boat immediately. This command should be used when you need to stop suddenly. You do not need to warn the crew before using this command. If you have any warning of the need to stop you should use "easy oar".

On the command "hold her up", the whole crew will stop rowing and place their blades in the water feathered. They will then square their blades in the water causing a rapid deceleration of the boat. Remember that these are emergency commands and should not be used unless absolutely necessary. If your crew is working hard they will leap on anything you say which appears as though you are asking them to stop.

Be aware that "squeeze" can sound like "easy" and "overlap" can sound like "hold it up". To manoeuvre the boat read the section on steering along with this - "Take a stroke" asks for a stroke at full slide.

There is very little to be said about motivation. You will learn how to get the best out of your crew over the course of your outings. What works for one crew will not necessarily work for another. You must be encouraging but also critical. If you feel someone is not putting in as much power as you have instructed then you must tell them. Sometimes the crew will be trying as hard as they can but are being ineffective because they are too tense.

If this is the case then being aggressive makes matters worse. Sometimes it is more important to calm a crew down and relax them rather than try to get them to work harder.

It is important that you are motivated yourself. The crew will not respond to your demands unless you are also dedicated. Initially you will find coaching pretty hard. Don't worry - it does get easier with practice. The only way to learn is to listen to what the coach says and to try and identify the symptoms of the error being coached. Then, when you think you understand the coaching point, you should coach it yourself when you next observe the error.

Try to find different ways of conveying the same message. The rower might respond better to a new way of thinking about the same thing. The three areas of mistakes you will be able to identify early on- timing, blade depth during drive and handle height during recovery. Timing refers to the ability of the crew to get their blades in and out together.

After all the blades are in at the same time you can observe the depth. Only the spoon the painted part and very little of the loom should be buried. Finally handle heights on the recovery are very crucial for the balance of the boat on the recovery. The hands should go level and the blades should be close to the water without touching it. If more than one rower is suffering from a particular fault it is often worth making the point to the whole crew.

They will then all focus on the same part of the stroke and will keep them focused when you make points to other rowers individually. Sometimes you can tell from the way the boat feels that the crew are making an error even if you cannot see it. The coxswain is each boat's conduit between the rowers and the officials on the course.

Before the regatta, there is a meeting between the officials, coxswains, and coaches. This meeting is used to go over course safety, rules of racing, traffic patterns on the course, emergency procedures, start times, and any other information they deem relevant to the regatta.

Once it's time to race, each coxswain is responsible for making sure her team is ready and her boat is lined up for the start. She will raise her hand to let the officials know her boat is ready. If any boat is called for a penalty at this point, the coxswain raises her hand to communicate that her boat acknowledges the penalty.

The coxswain typically sits in the stern of the boat, facing all of her rowers unless the crew is racing a bowloader. Unlike the sliding seats that rowers sit on, the coxswain sits on a secured seat partially enclosed in the hull of the shell.

Rules state that the opening through which the coxswain enters must be at least 2. It must also be as wide as the inner hull of the boat. Finally, the inner surface where the coxswain sits in the boat must be smooth and free of any obstacles, to allow for a quick exit. Rowers sit facing the opposite direction of the coxswain, meaning their backs are turned on the course for the entirety of the race.

Traditionally, after a win, the cox gets thrown in the water. Here's Snyder being tossed after a win in at the World Rowing Championships:. We'll see if any rowing team is cruel enough to throw their cox into the Rio water in these Olympics. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. The cox is responsible for the crew on the water, keeping a good lookout, steering the boat and issuing commands to the crew.

Coxing is such an important part of any rowing club and people with coxing skills are always in high demand. Join us for our latest series of webinars, where we'll be covering a wide range of topics for various sections of the rowing community. To help you get the most out of rowing, we have put together some fact sheets around the types of equipment you may be using.