Coxswain (rowing)
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In a rowing crew, the coxswain (or simply the cox) is the member who sits in the stern (except in bowloaders) facing the bow, steers the boat, and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers.
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[edit] Role
The role of a coxswain within a crew is to:
- Be in command of the boat
- Steer the boat
- Coach the crew
- Provide motivation and encouragement to the crew
- Inform the crew of where they are in relation to other crews and the finish line
- Make any necessary race tactic calls
- Keep the boat and rowers safe at all times
The cox is in charge of the crew and gives all the commands, overiding the coach if necessary. He/she therefore has responsibility for crew safety, which must be the prime concern. Along with steering, his/her role is to coach the crew. The cox acts as the coach's assistant, but in the absence of a coach, as is the case in a race, he/she is the coach. Being in the boat, the cox has a feel for what the crew need and a good view of technical errors. The cox needs to translate the coach's concerns into practical calls. The cox must be able to diagnose problems such as balance and coach the crew into appropriate corrective action. At the start of an outing the cox must be able to take the crew through a technical and physical warm-up so that the coach is presented with a crew which is able to start the training program and has recapped any points that the coach has been emphasising in previous outings. It is essential that the coach works through the cox, not least on safety grounds, and that the cox is briefed on what the coach wants to achieve in the outing from the point of view of building physical fitness, technical skill and team spirit. Like any coach, a cox must be a good motivator and very encouraging. Whilst errors must be spotted and corrected it is much better to catch someone getting it right where they have been struggling.
Steering a rowing boat is surprisingly difficult: boats are designed for speed, not maneuverability. There are two schools of thought on steering. Many coxswains advocate that the rudder should only be applied when the blades are in the water (the drive phase). Others insist that the rudder can be applied at any time however only very slightly. The argument stems form the fact that changing the hydrodynamics of the shell by steering results in the 'set' or balance of the boat being upset. The boat is most stable when the blades are buried and least stable on the recovery. It is advantageous to the speed of the shell if it is balanced throughout the whole stroke. The cox will also need to take into account the stream and the wind as well as the river. As a general rule, still waters do not run deep: rather the stream is strongest where the river is deepest. This explains why in the (Oxford and Cambridge) Boat Race coxes tend to steer in the centre of the river. Competitive steering is best done by the cox steering their best course and leaving the other cox to make mistakes.
A boat without a cox is known as a coxless or "straight" boat. Besides the obvious single and double, straight pairs and fours are the most common coxless boats at regattas in the US. Because of their speed and lack of maneuverability, eights without a cox are very rare and dangerous.
Traditionally coxes are thrown into the water after a regatta win.
[edit] Weight
It is generally considered advantageous for the cox to be light - as there is less weight for the crew to move.
International: The FISA (International Rowing Federation) minimum weight for men's crew coxswains is: 55 kilograms (121.25 pounds) in racing uniform. For Women's and Mixed Crews, the weight minimum is 50 kilograms (110.23 pounds) in racing uniform. If a cox is underweight they are required to carry weights to bring them above their minimum, primarily sandbags which may not exceed 10kg.
UK Junior: In ARA (UK) races coxes are limited to their minimum weight. The minimum weights for a cox depend on the gender and age of the crew they are coxing. If the crew is racing at Junior 15 or younger (J15), then the minimum weight of the cox is 45kg. Crews racing at Junior 16 and above are treated as adult crews for the purposes of cox minimum weights. If an adult crew is a Women's crew, the minimum weight of the cox is 50kg; if the crew is Mixed (usually at least half the crew is women) or Open (the ARA only allows the odd exceptional event to be restricted to Men only) then the minimum weight of the cox is 55kg. Also in the UK, the cox is the only member of a crew required to wear a life jacket and the boat can be disqualified if this is not the case. New rules in 2006 prohibit the cox from wearing jeans due to their heavy weight when wet if the cox were to fall in.
US Junior: In the United States, junior women's crew coxswains are required to weigh 100lbs. If not, they must carry sandbags to bring them up that weight. Junior coxswains for men's crews must weigh a minimum of 120lbs.
[edit] Cox Box
Coxes in either coxed pairs, fours, quads, eights, or octuples can use a Cox Box which shows the rate in strokes per minute of the person sat in the stroke seat; the seat directly facing the cox, it also displays a stopwatch started automatically at the first full stroke. A Cox Box also incorporates a microphone connected to speakers in the boat. This means that the cox needs only to speak for all rowers to hear their voice. Historically the cox would have carried a manual megaphone to amplify their voice. The most common Cox Box carried is made by Nielsen-Kellerman and it is their blue headbands which are seen around most coxes' heads.
