Committee: this draft is written from the club’s coxing guides and race reports. Check anything in [square brackets] and fill in the real details before removing the draft label.
What a cox does
The cox sits in the stern of the boat, facing the rowers, and is in charge from the moment the crew picks the boat up to when it’s back on the rack. You steer, keep the crew safe on a busy river, call the drills and pieces your coach asks for, and during races you’re the one who decides when to push. No experience is needed: coxes are trained from scratch in Michaelmas, just like rowers.
Before the outing
It’s your job to “call” getting the boat out: clear commands the whole crew follows at once. “Hands on.” “Lift.” “To shoulders.” “Clear.” “To heads.” “In!” Say the command, take a breath, then “go!” so everyone moves together. Our novice coxing guide walks through every call.
On the water
Steering an eight takes planning: the boat is very long, and the rudder is only good for gentle turns, so you think three or four metres ahead and use your bow pair to help turn. You’ll learn to read the stroke from the blades (you can’t see your rowers’ bodies), call rhythm and timing, and spot technical problems to fix. The senior coxing guide covers all of this in depth.
Coming back in
Parking at the boathouse is one of the hardest skills: get the blades on the hard without bashing the bow into the bank, and your bank party pulls the boat the rest of the way in.
A sample week
A cox’s week follows their crew’s: [how many] outings a week, often early in the morning [check]. You don’t have to do the erg sessions, though many coxes come along to motivate their crew.
[Committee: add this year’s real timetable, and whether coxes have their own training sessions.]
Race day
In Bumps, the cox is the crew’s eyes. You watch the gap to the boat in front (and the one behind), listen for your bank party’s whistles, call the pushes, and steer the tightest line round the corners. When a bump happens, you’re the one who calls it. Read some race reports to see what that feels like.
Why cox?
Coxing is a completely different way to be part of a crew: you’re involved in every stroke without rowing any of them, you get to race in the Bumps, and good coxes are always in demand. Undergraduates and postgraduates are equally welcome.
Want to give it a go? Get in touch.