Coxing Racing

Question of the Day

Hello, I’m going to be coxing a mixed four later on in this month and I wondered if you could help me with some head racing phrases as I’m usually a rower.

Talk to the people you’ll be coxing first and ask them what things they want/need to hear throughout the race. Time, rate, distance, and landmarks should be your default calls so make sure you check out a course map before the race so you can pinpoint some of the important spots along the course and get an idea for where halfway, the last 500m, etc. are.

Related: HOCR: Race plans

For other calls, the first third of the race should be focused on establishing a rhythm and making sure you’re technically “on”. The middle third is generally a continuation of the rhythmic/technical calls with some motivational stuff getting thrown in as you pass the halfway point in the race. The last third should be all about power and pushing through to the finish, as well as making any last efforts to walk on or away from any crews around you. A lot of those calls you can pick up just from what you like to hear from your coxswains, what the rowers tell you they want/need to hear, and what the coaches say during practice. If you’re worried about remembering everything, use Post-It notes to help you remember the key parts of your race plan and the important calls you know you’ll want to make.

Leave a Comment

Comments (1)