Category: Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 10, 2013

A new USRowing rule for sprint starts does not recognize hands at the starting line; they simply wait for alignment and then call the start. At my race today, the marshals called the start before coxswains got their points, which led to us steering into each other’s lanes for about the first twenty strokes fairly severely. How do you let the marshals know whether or not you’re ready without the hand up if they rush the start like they did today?

What’s supposed to happen, from what I understand, is that as people are getting locked on to the stake boats and being aligned by the officials on the side, you’re supposed to be getting your point at the same time, which is how it normally is. Previously they would wait until all hands were down until they would start the countdown or just say “attention, go” but they eliminated that (understandably, too) because coxswains were taking way too long to get their points, which was causing events to run behind schedule, which eventually led to the entire regatta being behind schedule. It’s a huge hassle and it sucks that the change had to be made but all in all I think it’s a good thing because it forces coxswains to really be on top of their game.

You can still have your hand up while you’re being aligned and everything so they can tell that you’re getting your point but as soon as the crews are aligned and they start the countdown, you’re on your own. Nobody is going to wait. It’s not so much them rushing the start though as it is them just following the new rules – although admittedly, to all the coxswains it’s going to feel rushed, especially if you aren’t ready. You’ve got to use the time beforehand wisely and know exactly what needs to be done to get you straight. Typically the announcers will say “2 minutes to start”, “1 minute to start”, etc. so you know how much time you have (at least, that’s what they did at my races). That’s a good question to ask at the coxswain’s meeting too, if they alert you to how much time there is before the start. It’s always good to practice getting your point during practice (in varying weather conditions) so you know exactly what needs to be done and how long it should take you to get your point if the wind is calm vs. when there’s a strong crosswind, etc. That’ll help you be more prepared for situations like this on race day.

If you have a problem with other coxswains steering into your lane and it somehow inhibits your race, that’s something you can protest afterwards, but in this situation I’m not sure what they would do if multiple coxswains are steering into each other’s lanes due to not being ready for the start. It’s a tricky situation. My suggestion is to get locked on to the stake boats as quickly as possible so that you have plenty of time to get your point. If it’s windy, remember to overcorrect so that when you start you’ll be blown straight. There’s nothing wrong with a little steering at the beginning of the race but that’s really the only place you want to have to do it. Also make sure that your rowers are paying attention and do what you ask them to do immediately. That’s one of the things that always heightens my nerves is when I ask someone to row and they don’t immediately respond.

The last resort is to just not leave the starting line. If you are so far off course that you know you’re going to steer into another crew’s lane then just don’t go when the officials say “go”. They’ll tell you this at the coxswain’s meeting to. They’ll stop the race, bring everyone back to the start, you’ll probably get a warning, and then they’ll re-start you. The biggest thing to remember is to not let it have any lasting effect on your race. Just stay calm, readjust, straighten out, and get on with the race.

Coxing Novice Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 7, 2013

I’m a novice walk-on coxswain and I’m coxing a boat largely made up of walk-ons as well. We’re a pretty decent boat, but they have a tendency to just fall apart whenever they start hitting higher stroke rates. Races make them nervous and before we know it we’re rushing up those slides, our technique’s falling apart, and we’re hitting sprint rates at the 1000m mark. Being right next to other boats in particular freaks us out, especially when they’re making a move. Is there any way I can calm them down other than the obvious, “bodies calm, slow on the recovery,” calls? I’m having a hard time balancing the need to calm them down and keeping the intensity of a race piece. Thanks!

This is more of an issue you have to work on during practice over a period of time vs. being something you can fix with a few good calls on race day. They have to recognize that rowing at an unsustainable pace isn’t getting them anywhere and it’s not going to get them anywhere. I’ve said this before but rowing in a race is like driving. You’ve got to be aware of what the other cars are doing but in general not pay them any attention. I don’t know how they expect to have a good race if being by other boats freaks them out.

Why it freaks you out is the bigger question. Until you figure out the answer to that question, nothing else will do you much good. I know that sounds super shrink-like but whatever you do to fix the problem isn’t going to make much of a difference if you don’t know what the actual problem actually is. My first suggestion would be to sit down with them and figure that out. If their answer involves them saying “I don’t know” or anything about thinking they’re going to lose because people are beside them, feel free to smack them on the head and tell them to suck it up and get their shit together.

Call wise, telling them where they are in the race and what they need to do to maintain their position, make a move, or walk away is always helpful. Sometimes rowers get frantic like that because their coxswain isn’t telling them what’s happening so they assuming the race is going to hell and then they start freaking out and then the race really does go to hell. Keep them updated on their progress. Also tell them to FOCUS from the very beginning. As soon as you get locked on at the start, tell them to forget about everything else other than the other eight people in the boat and the oar in their hand. Deep breaths, focus on the goal of the race (whatever it is – winning alone is not a goal).

Talk to them about their technique – swinging together out of bow, moving eight as one, no weight on the legs on the recovery, smooth, controlled, and composed on the slides, rotating towards the riggers, getting that length, unweighting the hands, strong, sharp catches, jump on the first inch, drive the legs down, power through the water, layback, still maintaining the strong core and straight back, chin up, eyes forward, loose upper body, get the handle all the way in, clean finishes, tap down with the outside hand, aggressive with the feathering (you want to hear the oarlocks – one sound), smooth, quick hands away, sitting up tall at bodies over, patience on the slide, maintain the handle heights, building excitement to the catch, catching sharp, driving determined through the water.

The more you work on this during practice, the better you’ll be on race day. It can’t all happen during the race. Talk to them and figure out what’s up. From there, start working with your stroke on maintaining a good rate and not letting the bow 7 push him/her up the slide. Get the overall technique and slide control down, then start pushing them. When you know they’ve got it, demand more. Push them to push themselves. During the race, you’re not their friend, therapist, etc. – you’re their coxswain. The intensity has to be there 100% of the time, regardless of what is happening around you. If you’re confident, they will be too. Talk like you believe every single word that’s coming out of your mouth and they’ll believe you too.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 6, 2013

What would you do if one of your rowers caught a crab during a sprint race?

If they caught a small-medium crab that was easily recoverable from, I wouldn’t do anything. Maybe a quick “get back into it, good recovery” but that’s it. If it was a large crab that caused the handle to go over their head and threw off my point, I’d stop, let them recover, then re-start as quickly as possible. I’d also remind the rower(s) to shake it off, refocus, and get us back in the race.

If it were an ejector crab, I’d do whatever we were told to do in the coxswain meeting. Sometimes you’re required to stop, other times you’re supposed to keep going and let the launches following the race pick up the rower. It depends but it’s something you should know.

What I would not do, however, is freak out, lose my composure, and forget about the other seven people in the boat … or the fact that we’re racing. You’ve gotta be ready for anything because it’s your job to instruct the crew on what to do and how to recover. If you don’t have control over the situation and all the rowers are yelling and doing their own thing, it’s gonna make it that much tougher to get back into it.

Sometimes when we were doing 4x1k pieces, our coach would tell a rower on land (unbeknownst to the rest of us) that he wanted them to catch a crab sometime during the 3rd piece. We never knew it was coming and it was good practice for us because it was different every time – sometimes it was an easy recovery, other times the rower would really commit to it and catch an overhead crab that would not only force us to stop but also give me the added challenged of correcting my point while trying to manage everything else. I can’t recall if anyone ever caught a crab during a race but if they had, I definitely think we would have been prepared for it.

College Coxing High School Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 7

By readyallrow April 4, 2013

Oxford vs. Cambridge 2011 Boat Race

https://soundcloud.com/kpcc/olympic-sounds-boat-race-coxes

This is a short clip of Sam Winter-Levy (Oxford) and Liz Box (Cambridge) from the 2011 Boat Race. The thing to listen to is their tone and how they’re communicating their calls to each of their crews. One spot in particular is right at the beginning when there’s a clash of blades – nothing changes with her tone, she doesn’t fall apart, she just communicates what’s happening and moves through it without any loss of focus.

Abingdon vs. Belmont Hill 2009 Henley Royal Regatta princess elizabeth cup Quarter-final

At the start, good job telling the crew what’s happening as far as when your hand is up, when it’s down, that your timer is ready, etc. I feel like this helps keep the crew focused and prevents any surprises (like, “oh shit, we’re starting now!”). Maybe – maybe – overdid it by telling them about Belmont’s coxswain but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal considering there’s only one other crew there. Personally I probably would have just focused on what I was doing and only said “both coxswains’ hands are down” when I saw that we were both ready but it’s really not that big of a deal. I don’t think any crew has ever complained about their coxswain giving them too much information.

Right when the marshal says “attention”, you can see Belmont bury their blades just a tad. Look at their blades at 0:43 compared to 0:45. This is a good habit to get into practicing with your crew just so you can be positive that the blades are fully buried at the start and you’re able to get as much water on the face of the blade as possible. It also drastically reduces the likelihood that you’ll wash out on the first stroke.

The intensity in his voice off the line is solid. Take note guys, this is how a good start is called. The intonation at 0:57 when he’s saying “one, send, two, send…” is spot on. The catches are called with a sharp bite to them while the recoveries are a bit drawn out, just enough to remind the rowers to keep the slides long. Similarly, notice at 1:13 that coinciding with the shift in pace is a shift in his tone of voice? The intensity is subtle but it’s there even though the volume isn’t as high as it was a few strokes ago. Don’t get so caught up in coxing that you forget to talk to your crew.

At 3:33 he makes a call for a “…concerted effort for one minute…” If you remember Pete Cipollone’s HOCR recording, this is exactly like what he says when he calls for that one minute commitment through the Powerhouse Stretch. I think this is a great call – you should never be afraid to ask for, or at times demand, a commitment like this from your teammates. This is a strategic call though and not something you should just randomly call out for because you think it makes you sound like you know what you’re doing (novices). You’re essentially asking them for a power 10 except over the course of 60 seconds – it’s not always an easy thing to do which is why this should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Later when he says “level, now walk“, that’s where you finish the job that you started with the one minute commitment. If that was where you started to break them, this is where you finish it. Once you’re level, you don’t give up a single inch to that other crew. Commit and go.

I love the call he makes at 4:04 – “they went too hard, fucking punish them…” I obviously respect the crews I’m racing against because when it comes down to it we’re all doing the same thing but you can bet when we’re racing that I’m sure as hell not going to feel bad for them. If they make a mistake and I see it, I’m gonna nail them on it and do my absolute best to make sure it haunts them long after the race has ended. Watching the other crew(s) in addition to your own can be tough but it gives you the advantage of seeing when someone else messes up, which then gives you the opportunity to say “punish them” and really mean it.

Another thing to pay attention to is when he’s telling his crew where the other crew is. Abingdon is down for the majority of the race but I doubt any of the rowers ever felt defeated by him saying where Belmont was on them. Several times he’d say “they’re up half a length” or whatever the margin was but I don’t recall him ever saying that his crew was down. Other times he’d just say “half a length” without saying “up” or “down” at all. There’s a subtle bit of psychology there that I think is important to think about. If you hear that someone else is up it’s like, “ok, time to do some work to close the gap” but if you hear that you’re down it’s like “ugh, dammit, how are we gonna get out of this”. Think about the words that you’re using (another reason why recording yourself and planning ahead is important) and see if there are any subtle changes you could make that might affect your crew differently.

The last thing is at 4:45 when he calls for the “magna shuffle”. You can hear him at 4:46 call for the bow pair to get in quick and for the middle four to “lift”. Calling for the bow pair to go in quick isn’t necessarily saying “go in before everyone else”, it’s more so about being so spot on with the timing while erring towards being just the tiniest bit early (less than a nanosecond-tiny) in order to get the bow out of the water right at the catch. Lifting the bow like this makes it easier to accelerate the boat, which is what he’s asking for when he calls for the middle four to “lift”.

Another thing that helps “lift” the boat is making sure everyone is sitting up tall and is light on the seats. Lightness is key. Generally when the boat looks or feels heavy it’s because the bow isn’t coming out of the water at the catch (for whatever reason), which results in the rowers feeling like the load is heavier. Think of the bow being lifted up like you walking on your tiptoes through molasses. The lighter you are and the less you’re touching the molasses the easier it’ll be for you to traverse it, whereas if you were walking normally with your feet completely flat on the ground it’d be very difficult for you to move because there’s more surface area for the molasses to attach itself to which in turn increases the load you’re working against in order to move. Watch this video of the USA men’s 8+ and pay attention to the bow of the boat. Look at the difference between when they’re paddling and when they’re on. See how at the catch there’s just a little bit of daylight under the bow of the boat? That’s what I’m getting at.

Other calls I liked:

“Swing the waists into the headwind…” Good job reading the wind here and telling the crew how to react to it.

“Loose, long in the wind…”

“Now we’ve broken them, go, go, go…”

“On bowman, finish the fight…”

“I’m coming for you Belmont!”

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 4, 2013

How do you stay calm during races? I freak out when our boat is down after the first 500 and my coxing goes downhill.

It’s hard to explain – it’s one of those things I just do. I know that my job is to think for the rowers when they’re too tired to think for themselves and I tend to focus so hard on the race and what we’re trying to accomplish that I don’t even have time to freak out once we’ve started. Plus, I can’t think for nine people if I let my nerves consume me. It’s just not possible. My time to “freak out” (internally) before we launch or at the latest, on the way to the starting line and while I’m getting locked on to the stake boat. As soon as the official starts the countdown, I’m focused on racing. When he says “go” all the nerves immediately convert to adrenaline which just makes my coxing that much more intense.

If you get down early that’s when you have to really have to maintain your composure and push your rowers to stay in it. If they sense that you’re falling apart, they will too. I don’t cox any differently when we’re down vs. when we’re up. I might push them harder if they’re down but my tone of voice, what I’m saying, etc. doesn’t change. The easiest solution would be to not get down after the first 500. The second easiest solution is to simply focus on you, your boat, and your race. You have to be aware of the other boats but at the same time you have to ignore them and focus on what you’re doing. It’s like driving…you aren’t actually paying attention to the other cars on the road but you’re aware of when they speed up or slow down.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 2, 2013

How can I figure out distance in a race? I have trouble figuring out how much is 500 meters, half way and so on. I have a sprint race coming up and I want to have a race plan and do a power ten at half way but how will I know where that it? Is there a sign?

There are typically large buoys that mark the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m marks along the course. The last 100-250m, depending on the course, are also usually all small, red buoys. Even if courses aren’t divided by buoyed lanes they should still have at the very least buoys marking each 500m.

Determining distances was always tricky for me too but I got creative and taught myself how to recognize 50m, 100m, 250m, 500m, etc., which is basically what you have to do. I got a map of the river and plotted out how far certain things were from each other (usually notable landmarks, like the distance from a bridge to the boathouse or this really obvious tree to the marina) and then forced myself to pay attention to how long it took us to go from Point A to Point B when we’d row past those landmarks. By getting a feel for what the distance looked and felt like, I was better able to guesstimate those same distances during races or pieces. It took a lot of time (at least a year or so) before I was really comfortable with it but it was worth it.

Racing Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 1, 2013

Whats the difference between Youth Nationals and Club Nationals? I know you have to qualify for Youth Nationals but is Club Nationals still a big deal? I’m a novice and just heard my coach talking about them the other day and was curious! Hopefully one day I’ll race in one (or both) of them!

The differences between the two lie in eligibility, classification, and affiliation. If you go here and here you can scroll through the entry packets and read what they say.

Youth Nationals is held sometime in the first week or two of June. In order to attend you have to qualify by placing in one of the events at a qualification regatta. After placing, if you’re awarded a bid you can either accept or decline. If you accept, congratulations, you get to race at Youth Nationals. As far as affiliation goes, you have to be registered with the same club/team for the entirety of the spring season, which USRowing defines as being between January 1st and June 15th. Youth Nationals is also strictly for youth rowers, classified as “juniors”. Anyone over the age of 18 and/or not working towards their high school diploma is considered ineligible.

Club Nationals is later in the summer, usually in mid-July. It’s definitely “a big deal” because it’s one of the big summer regattas (the others being IDR and Canadian Henley). The eligibility requirements here reflect what classification you fall under, those being “senior”, “intermediate”, “junior”, or “junior B”. (You can read the definitions of each on the PDF.) Basically all it says is that you can’t compete in a classification below you. Racing is open to crews of all ages, as well as crews not from the United States. Crews are also allowed to be made up of rowers from multiple clubs (known as “composite” crews), but if you place the points you get won’t go towards the team points trophy.

College Coxing High School Novice Racing Rowing

Racing skills: 10 regatta tips for coxswains

By readyallrow March 29, 2013

With the spring season kicking off this weekend, here are my top ten tips for coxswains to ensure you’re prepared for every regatta.

Take responsibility for your cox box

These things are expensive – don’t let them out of your sight. Make sure they are clearly and visibly labelled with your name and/or your team name. Bring the charger home with you and fully charge it the night before your race. Also double check that you’ve got a working mic before you leave the boathouse.

Bring weight if you need it

Some regattas require coxswains to provide their own weight if they’re below the minimum. Check with your coach and see if the regattas you’re going to require this.

Have your recorder, notebook, and a pen

Make sure the batteries are charged and bring extras just in case. Have your notebook and a pen or two on hand so that you can throw together a quick recap of your race after you get off the water.

Wear the right clothes

The “right” clothes all depend on the conditions, but make sure that you are at least wearing clothes that display your school or team logo/colors. Don’t wear something that would make it impossible to identify you as a member of your team. Check the weather the night before and pack appropriately. Unless the weather is cloudless, no wind, and 85 degrees, you’ll probably get a little chilly on the water. Rainboots or Bean boots are another good thing to have on hand, particularly if it’s cold, raining, or has rained recently, that way you can keep your feet dry while slopping through a muddy race site.

Related: What to wear

Have several wrenches

One is necessary, multiple is preferred. Inevitably someone in your boat is going to say “I don’t have a wrench”, which only slows down the rigging process. Have extras on hand so you can share them with the rowers. Make sure they’re marked with your name though otherwise you might not get them back.

Review the course map before you race

The week of, or at the very least the day before, find a map of the race site and go over it. Look at the race course and see what identifiable landmarks you can point out, as well as where the meter marks are. Use this to help you form your race plan. Find out where your trailer is going to be in relation to where the docks are so you can determine the best way to get down there. Also locate where the coaches and coxswains meeting will be held.

Drink plenty of water and have a few cough drops on hand, just in case

I’m not a huge fan of cough drops but if it’s really cold or the air is dry then inevitably my throat will get kinda sore. I always try to make sure I drink a lot on race day but if I don’t have any water a cough drop is a good alternative (just not while you’re coxing – you’ll choke).

Related: How to protect your voice

Know when and where the coaches + coxswains meeting will be held

These aren’t optional. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been to the same regatta three years in a row and you know everything they say at the meeting forwards and backwards, you should still go. This year could be the year they’ve made a change with the traffic pattern and unless you’re there, you’re not going to know about it. There’s nothing more important that you need to be doing at the ungodly hours that coxswain meetings are held so you might as well go.

Show the novice coxswains around

Once you’ve been to the coxswains meeting, the boats are rigged, etc. take the novice coxswains on a quick tour and show them where all the important stuff is. Answer their questions, point out stuff about the race course, etc.

Keep track of your rowers

When you get on the bus, make them countdown from bow to stern. Tell them well ahead of time what time you’re meeting before your race, at the bus, for team meetings, etc. Have everyone’s phone numbers on hand so you can get a hold of them if someone is missing. If they want to go off during the down time, at least try to get an idea of where they’re going so you know where to look if you need to go find someone.

Image via // @avironfrance

How To Racing

How to pack for a regatta or training trip

By readyallrow March 28, 2013

Traveling to regattas has always been one my favorite parts of crew. My team in high school always traveled outside the state of Ohio to race, which meant we were traveling a minimum of 200+ miles one way, so Fridays would be our travel days and we’d race on Saturdays and Sundays. This meant at least two nights in a hotel every week from the beginning of April to the end of May.

After several years of this, I’ve become pretty adept at packing for the bus, hotel, and race site. If you’re traveling this spring, especially to regattas that require overnight stays, here are some of the basic essentials that I always make sure to pack.

Charging cables and an external battery can be lifesavers when you’re traveling, especially if you’re stuck on a plane or bus that doesn’t have outlets. Your phone’s charger can also be an easy thing to forget so I like to keep a couple of spares in my backpack, that way I don’t have to run around my apartment collecting up all my chargers to bring with me.

Now that most of our work, notes, etc. are stored in the cloud, keeping up with homework while traveling is a lot easier. My laptop is a must-have if we’re going on a long trip or I have a lot to do but to save space on shorter trips I’ll just bring my iPad. I can still answer emails and get some writing done if I need to but I primarily use it to relax and catch up on some reading.

Before you leave (or start packing), make sure you also check the weather so you know what the conditions will be like at the race site. In most cases you’ll be spending all day there so you’ll want to have extra clothes on hand to keep you warm and/or dry.

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow March 27, 2013

What are some short little phrases I can say in between counting numbers in the starting sequence/power 10s/focus 10s, etc?

Listen to practically any recording I’ve posted – you’ll get some great ideas from there.

Other stuff you can say … the stroke rate and split (if you have a Speed Coach) are good to say during the starting sequence, particularly if there’s a specific rate/split you want to be at. For focus 5s/10s, keep whatever you’re saying related to whatever the focus is. When I do 5 for legs, the only things I say is “legs, legs, legs, legs” between strokes or something similar that relates to pure power. I also like to say “drive”, “send”, “complete”, “accelerate”, and “stay on it”, in addition to miscellaneous stuff like “yea!”, “there we go!”, “walking!”, etc. when I’m calling bursts.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30