Everybody got so pissed that Sydney got DQ’ed but what the ump said to the stroke is exactly right – “You are the stroke, you can see me waving the flag, I waved you over. It’s your responsibility if she (the coxswain) can’t hear…” and then he trails off but to continue that thought, if you’re the stroke and you can see the umpire waving a flag behind you, it’s your job to communicate that to the coxswain. You bear just as much responsibility for any negative outcome for not communicating what the ump is saying as the coxswain does for making poor steering decisions in the first place.
Tag: responsibilities
The Five Mandates of Coxing
There’s a lot of things about coxing that are steeped in logic and common sense – the five things below are a few of them. They fall under the umbrella of “the bare minimum you should be doing every single day”. Doing them doesn’t make you a good coxswain either, a good coxswain simply does them because a) bare. freaking. minimum., b) common sense, c) logic.
If you’ve been to Sparks you’ll probably recognize a couple of these. If you haven’t yet, you’re welcome for the heads up.
Wear sunglasses and a hat
The elements are a huge distraction for coxswains and one of the easiest ways to minimize that is to wear a hat and sunglasses. I resisted wearing a hat for a really long time but the first time I got sunburned and had to walk around school with that dumb ass white stripe across my forehead from the mic strap, you bet that changed my mind. Wearing a hat also keeps the sun, rain, snow, etc. out of your eyes, which gives you a clearer view of everything in front of your face, which I think we can all agree is an important thing for coxswains.
Related: What to wear: Sunglasses
Same goes for sunglasses. I wear regular glasses and paying a few hundred bucks for a pair of prescription sunglasses seemed foolish considering how frugal I needed to be with my money but I finally got a pair this year and they are so worth it. I’m not a huge fan of sunny days because I tend to get really bad migraines from the glare off the water or just the bright light in general but I’ve actually noticed over the last few months that I’ve had fewer headaches coming off the water than I have in the past because I wear my sunglasses every day instead of just relying on my hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.
Walk behind the boat
You will never be able to make a successful argument to me as to why walking in front of the boat is safer and more effective than walking behind the boat. Many have tried, all have failed.
When you’re in front of the boat you have no idea what’s happening behind you, which means you can’t see if a rigger or the end of the boat is going to hit something (or someone). Some coxswains will also say “but I need to tell people to get out of the way” … OK so, project your voice and yell “heads up!”. Protecting the equipment is more important than protecting people who are too dense to get out of your way despite your repeated attempts to get them to move.
“Behind” is not open to interpretation either. It literally means behind, not up by your bow or 2-seat because then you can’t see the rigger on the other side and that’s gonna be the one that gets slammed into the bay door when you swing out of the boathouse to go down to the dock. Whenever I’m walking a boat anywhere, I’ve got one hand either physically on the bow ball (usually as we’re walking through traffic at a race or out into the street to load the trailers) or up and ready to grab it if I need to prevent us from hitting something (usually as we’re walking in/out of the boathouse).
“Behind” also doesn’t mean being at the bow of the boat. Depending on where you’re walking (i.e. going out bow first), you might be standing behind the stern. This tends to be a point of confusion for coxswains but as long as you’re standing at the end that gives you a clear and full view of the entire shell and the rowers, bow and stern are irrelevant.
Be hands free
“But who’s gonna carry the rowers water bottles?”
Oh, I donno, maybe the rowers??? I don’t know where this idea that coxswains = pack mules got started but it’s bullshit and you all honestly need to start telling the rowers they can carry their own shit into the boat with them. They’ve got one extra hand they can carry their water with or they can do what everyone else does and stick it in the waistband of their spandex.
“I don’t mind doing it, it’s not a big deal, they asked me to, all the coxswains before me did it, etc.”
Don’t care. Your hands need to be free because if you’ve gotta suddenly grab the boat to keep from knocking a rigger on a light pole, it’s gonna be pretty tough to do that if you’ve got eight water bottles, two splash jackets, your cox box, and a partridge in a pear tree in your hands.
And yea, your cox box? That shouldn’t be in your hands either. Throw a carabiner on it (I use these s-biner ones) and attach it to your belt look, fanny back, backpack, or whatever you carry your tools and stuff in when you go out. Hands free means HANDS FREE.
Speak loudly, slowly, and clearly
This is first and foremost a safety thing. People (not just the rowers in your boat) need to be able to hear and understand what you’re saying, which means you’ve gotta project your voice, annunciate your words, and speak at a normal pace (i.e. not frantically rushing the words out of your mouth but also not taking a full sixty seconds to say five words). If you’re not a naturally loud person or you’re kinda shy and not super comfortable being that loud … suck it up, man. That’s the only pertinent advice I have for you.
Be beside the skeg on the dock
Fourteen years and counting as a coxswain and I’ve never lost a skeg, largely in part because my hand is on the boat guiding it away from the dock anytime we’re putting the boat in or taking it out of the water. It’s your job to protect the equipment and even though you’re loudly, slowly, and clearly instructing the crew to “put it out and in”, there’s no guarantees that the boat is always going to go out far enough before it goes in (especially if you’re coxing novices), which is why you’ve gotta have your hands free and be ready to guide it out further to ensure the skeg doesn’t get knocked off.
When you’re taking the boat out at the end of practice, standing there and watching the coxswain seat get closer to your face as the rowers lift it out of the water is not the same as putting your hand on the side of the boat and guiding it up out of the water.
This is another argument that coxswains have tried to have and lost. Those of you that have lost skegs on the dock, if you were standing there doing each of the things mentioned above, how many hours of repair work do you think you could have saved your coaches or boatmen?
We’re still pretty early in the season which means there’s plenty of time for you to start implementing these things and ingraining good habits in the coxswains on your team. The group that will benefit from this the most are the novice coxswains so varsity coxswains, it’s on you to set the example.
Image via // @thepocockfdn
Being a Student of the Sport
We’re currently in Cocoa Beach on our training trip and since awareness is something that we’ve been stressing to the coxswains while we’re down here, this video seemed appropriate given that it’s all about awareness and being a student of the sport, both of which are the two primary pillars behind what makes a good coxswain.
Question of the Day
Hi Kayleigh! So the pressure today in my boat was pretty off – 2 seat got sick so another guy had to come in for him. The bow seat was noticeably stronger than 2 seat and I didn’t really notice until I started turning (we were doing side by side pieces – if it were just us it probably wouldn’t have been as big of a deal but since it was a straight shot it was). I obviously made an effort to adapt for it but I was really having trouble holding a point because of it and one coach was getting frustrated by that. After practice the other coach who was out with us came up to me and said that he noticed it and I need to let the coaches know when stuff like that happens. So, I get that I have to let them know but can I really say that without making it seem like a big deal? I feel like it makes it seem as if I don’t know what I’m doing (I’m new to the boys team so I’m also trying to earn my spot). Thanks!
It isn’t a big deal. There’s a big difference between coxswains who straight up steer like they just came to the boathouse after last call and coxswains who are having trouble holding a point because there’s a pressure disparity between port and starboard. From the launch I can usually tell which is which because if there’s a pressure issue then you’re always gonna pull towards the same side whereas if you’re just not good at steering you’re gonna be all over the place.
You’ve (meaning coxswains in general) gotta get over thinking that speaking up and saying that something is off reflects poorly on your abilities. This has nothing to do with you – it’s a lineup issue that could (potentially) be easily be addressed by pulling the boats together and making a quick switch. At the very least the coaches can make note of it so that when they look at the results of the pieces (especially if they’re trying to compare rowers and do unofficial seat races) they’ll know at least one reason why you were behind or not as far ahead as you should have been.
When I’m coxing I’m not about to have my skills scrutinized because one rower/side is getting out-pulled by the other. That’s not my fault since, in case no one else noticed, I’m the only one in the boat without an oar and it’s rarely something you can compensate for with your steering without it having a noticeable effect on the boat’s set and speed (since being on the rudder creates drag and slows you down). It’s a lot easier for you and less irritating for the rowers and coaches if you just say “the ports have consistently been out-pulling the starboards which is why whenever we’re rowing at pressure we pull towards starboard” than for you to stay quiet because you want to protect your ego.
If there’s a difference in pressure between sides or certain rowers then I’ll just tell them “starboards, you guys are getting pulled around by the ports, let’s make sure we’re all at 3/4 pressure here so the boat stays set and I don’t have to constantly be on the rudder”. If their egos are so fragile that they can’t handle being told they need to pull harder then that’s their issue to deal with, not mine. It’s always a lot more obvious when there’s a difference between individuals when it’s with bow pair so I’ll tell them that they’re gonna have a much bigger impact on my point than anyone else in the boat so they’ve gotta match up with each other. I usually start by telling the stronger guy (let’s assume he’s bow seat) to back off and then after having said that, if he’s still pulling 2-seat around then I’ll tell 2-seat they need to pick it up a little. I tend to notice stuff like this pretty quickly so I’ll try to sort it out during the warmup but if it carries over into the actual workout (specifically if we’re doing straight shot pieces) then I won’t wait more than a piece or two before saying something to the coach(es). If it’s noticeably bad then I’ll tell them as soon as we’re done with the first one (because they probably noticed it too) but if it’s just a mild annoyance for me as far as steering goes I’ll wait until the next piece is over to give the rowers a chance to work it out after I say something about it.
My point with all of this is that it isn’t a big deal and it’s your responsibility as the coxswain to speak up when stuff happens that can impact the effectiveness and/or results of a piece. If you don’t that’s at best frustrating for the coaches who are trying to make sense of the results and at worst not fair to the rowers for all the other obvious reasons.
Question of the Day
Hi – we were doing 6×5′ race pieces today at 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, open. Obviously the coaches were being sticklers on the rate but my cox box was not giving me the right stroke rate – it said I was at a 22 the entire time when I knew that we weren’t and the boat really likes to know what rate they’re at. When I felt the rate coming up I would call to bring it down but the coaches kept saying “you’re above rate, bring it down! It’s your responsibility!” I know that it’s my responsibility but how do you deal with these kinds of situations? We don’t have speed coaches to use either. Thanks!
I really, truly, genuinely hope that I’m not the only one who thinks that the most obvious (and only legitimate) solution here is to just tell your coaches that your cox box isn’t giving you the correct rates. It is your responsibility and part of that responsibility includes communicating with the coaches when an issue that could impact the workout arises. You literally have no excuse to not speak up in situations like this. It’s not that hard to say “hey, my cox box keeps showing that we’re at a 22 even though we should be at a 28…”, to which the coaches will respond (maybe slightly annoyed but whatever, they’ll survive) “ok, we’ll keep the rate from the launch and let you know where you’re at”. Every coach has a stroke watch (which is how they knew you were above rate) but they’re not gonna know that you need them to tell you what they’re getting if you don’t speak up.
The other thing you need to do is put the boat in slings after practice and have the coach or your boatman look at the sensor under the stroke seat since that’s probably where the problem lies.
Question of the Day
Hi, I recently was asked by my coach to cox again this season like I did last season and I am really excited. My dad however thinks that coxswains don’t even do anything and they just sit there and yell at people. I keep trying to explain that it is a lot more than that but keep messing up. Do you have any ideas for how to explain what a coxswain does to my dad? Please help! Thanks!
This annoys me, like almost to the point where it’s irrational how annoyed I am. I get it if it’s your friends who say stuff like that but your parents?? You’d think they’d be a little more supportive than to just assume you spend 12+ hours a week (at least) “not doing anything”.
Anyways, read the post linked below and/or send it to your dad to read. (Personally I’d do both.) That person asked the exact same question so what I said to them applies here as well.
I’m kinda over defending what coxswains do to people who clearly don’t want to understand the role and it’s responsibilities. I was talking about this the other day with someone and we both agreed that there’s a time when it’s necessary to defend it and we’ll do that no matter what but we’re not going to get into some random argument with someone who already has their mind made up. If they genuinely ask me what the role of a coxswain is then obviously I’ll talk about it with them because it can be really fun talking about what you do with someone who isn’t familiar with it but if they ask in a high-and-mighty kind of way and is clearly already resolved to thinking that our job is unimportant then it’s not worth my time. It’s VERY easy to tell those two people apart though so it’s not like you should just assume that every person who asks about coxing is a jerk who just doesn’t get it.
Something that I think is important to remember is that you can’t let your self-worth as a coxswain be dictated or defined by what other people think of you. As long as you’re doing what you need to do, contributing to the team in a positive way, and your coaches/teammates understand your value then all other outside opinions don’t matter. Does it suck that these outside opinions are coming from your dad? Yea, obviously, but hopefully after explaining some of the stuff in that post I linked he’ll have a better understanding and be more supportive.
College Coxing High School Novice Teammates & Coaches
Managing novice coxswains
It’s September, a new season is upon us, and with that comes a new batch of novices in all their naively enthusiastic glory. Let’s just assume, based on the majority of our own personal experiences, that your coaches won’t teach them a damn thing beyond “just don’t hit anything” and the onus will be on you, the experienced coxswains, to get them up to speed. Yes, it’s just as daunting of a task as it sounds like. Now you know what it feels like to write this blog.
There’s obviously a lot of things they’ve got to learn but you’re all good enough coxswains to know what to prioritize and what bridges can be crossed when you come to them. That’s not what today’s post is about. Today’s post was inspired by an article I read on Inc.com about how to manage interns. There were a lot of similarities between what they said and working with novice coxswains so I figured it’d be a good thing to put out there now before we get too far into the season.
Explain everything.
Everything that is super – and I mean super – obvious to you, tell/show them because none of it is obvious to them. The second you think “Should I tell them that? Nah…it’s obvious, they’ll know what it means/they’ll figure it out/etc.” … STOP. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Stop whatever you’re doing and explain to them whatever it is that you just thought was super obvious and self-explanatory. Trust me on this. It is worth you spending the extra two minutes going over it now than running the risk of something catastrophic and/or embarrassing happening later because they never figured out what this super obvious thing was or meant. Thing includes anything related to team protocol, where things are located within the boathouse, that sandbar about a mile and a half upstream, etc.
Give them constant feedback.
Positive or negative, feedback is an essential part of any learning process. Tell them when they’re on the right track, what they need to work on, etc. Obviously you’re not going to be in the boat with them but if you’re near each other on the water and you hear them calling a drill, let them know once you’re back on land that they sounded really engaged when they were going through “cut the cake”, which is great since it’s like the most boring drill ever … or give them some pointers on how to call it more effectively if they looked lost and were just saying “go…row” over and over. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) watch them like a hawk because obviously you’ve got your own stuff to worry about but if you can give them a quick glance whenever you’re nearby and then a tiny nugget of feedback later, you are doing so much for them when it comes to teaching them and building their confidence/self-awareness.
Don’t expect perfection.
It’s not going to be perfect. It just isn’t. You weren’t perfect when you first started and neither was I. Everybody picks things up at different speeds and the first few times they do something it’s probably going to be a little rough. Getting pissed or visibly annoyed at them isn’t going to work in the “negative reinforcement” way that most people like to think it does. All that does is make them timid, less likely to ask for help when they actually need it, and then by default … useless. (Harsh but true.) They’re just learning how to function as coxswains which means you have to be patient with them. Keep them accountable but don’t expect anything to look or sound pretty for awhile.
Give them real responsibilities.
Giving someone who is new to the job meaningful stuff to do is going to build their confidence and get them up to speed a lot faster than giving them nothing to do in the interest of someone else doing it because they already know how and can do it faster. I know that’s a wordy sentence so read it again. The new coxswains, if they’re any good at all, want to learn how to do stuff and if they’re being relegated to doing things they already know how to do or they’re sitting off to the side not doing anything, they’re not learning. The most obvious example I have for this is trailer loading. There are numerous responsibilities that go along with getting ready to travel so don’t just relegate the novice coxswains to unraveling straps or packing up cox boxes. Show them where the oars, riggers, slings go and how they should be positioned in the trailer, walk them through getting a boat on the top and middle racks and then walk with them as they do it, etc.
The bottom line is this: put some effort into educating them. It’s not your responsibility to be the only person cluing them into what being a coxswain entails but you should play a pretty big part in it.
Image via // @row_360
Coxing How To Racing Teammates & Coaches
How to cox a seat race
I’ve talked a bit about seat racing before but haven’t ever gone over how coxswains fit into the picture. Our role is very limited in what we’re allowed to do but at the same time we have the ability to drastically effect the outcome of a race, more often for the negative than the positive.
Seat racing day is usually one where tensions run very high for the rowers, especially when the seats being decided are for the top boat, a big regatta, etc. The number one responsibility of the coxswain is to be impartial and ensure that the races are run fairly. The coaches and rowers (most especially the rowers…) rely on us to not overstep our boundaries or give anyone an unfair advantage over another rower and it’s our job to put personal preferences, friendships, etc. aside and let the rowers determine who wins the seat.
Related: Words
There are a lot of factors that go into seat racing but this post is just about the responsibilities of the coxswain on race day.
Things you SHOULD do
DO meet with the coach(es) before practice to go over the logistics for the day. Have your notebook handy so you can write down whatever instructions the coaches give you. The most important details you need to find out are what the warm up is (it may or may not be different than your usual one but whatever it is, both coxswains must do the same exact thing), where you’ll be meeting to start the piece, and the starting time of the first race. You should treat this like any regular race day where you have to be locked onto your stake boat 2 minutes prior to your race. Don’t put yourself (or your crew) in a position where you have to frantically get up to the starting line.
DO find out how the lane-switching will work. Typically you switch back and forth so that each crew has an equal opportunity to race in both lanes – consider this nothing more than quality control to ensure the fairness of each piece. It’s important for you to know what lane you’ll be starting in and which one you’ll be switching into at the end of each piece and then for you to actually do that before you get to the starting line.
DO know the length of the rest time following each piece and what the centers are. Centers are the amount of time between the starting time of each race. For example, if your coach says that you’ll be running on 30 minute centers starting at 2:30pm, that means the first race is at 2:30pm, the second is at 3pm, the third at 3:30pm, etc. Assuming you’re doing 1000m pieces that take four minutes to do, that means the amount of time you have between when you finish your race and when you need to be back up at the starting line to begin the next one is 26 minutes. At the end of each piece there will be a rest period where you’ll weight enough and the rowers can get water and make their switches. You (ideally) won’t know who is switching in and out until the coaches tell you but in the grand scheme of things, that’s irrelevant. All you need to do is keep an eye on the time.
DO be quick and efficient about pulling the boats together so the rowers can switch boats. If this isn’t something you’ve done before, try practicing it with another coxswain if you find yourselves sitting around not doing anything while you wait for your coach to get out. It’s really not that hard to do but you can’t spend five minutes trying to do it either. The easiest way to do it is for you to gently point your bow towards the other crew and the row over to them (lightly by pairs). Stop when the bow pairs oars are close enough to the stern pair of the other crew that they can reach out, grab the blade, and pass it back to their bow pair. The two crews can then lift their oars up and pull them across the shells to bring the boats together. Check out the video below of some UCLA fours seat racing to see how the coxswains bring the crews together. (If it doesn’t start automatically, skip ahead to the 7:00 mark.)
DO carry your notebook, pen/pencil, wrench, some spare band aids, and maybe some extra spacers out on the boat with you, just in case. If it’s a particularly hot day, also consider carrying a spare water bottle with you to give to the rowers if they run out.
DO know what you are and aren’t allowed to say. 99.999999999% of the time, coxswains aren’t (and shouldn’t be) allowed to say anything more than the stroke rate and the time/distance. If during a normal sprint racing you are talking 98% of the time, during a seat race you should be silent 98% of the time. When I’ve coxed seat races I would tell the crew the stroke rate every 30-45 seconds, point out 250, 500m, and 750m, and let the crew know the time (i.e. 1 minute down, 2 minutes down, etc.). All of that was regulated by the coach too – I didn’t just randomly decide to say those things or when to say them, I was told to give that information and only that information at specific times during the piece (usually 1000m pieces). You cannot cox them at all. No motivation, no technique, no moves, nothing. In the boat, the most important thing you have to stay on top of is making sure the stroke rate stays consistent and doesn’t surpass whatever cap the coach has given you. If the cap is no lower than 28spm and no higher than 30spm, it’s your job to communicate with your stroke if he/she is under or over that. The only thing you can do to get the stroke rate back in that range if it’s outside of it is to keep reading off the numbers until they get it where it needs to be. You can’t cox or coach them on how to get it there. (In any other situation you should not do this. Seat racing is the only time when reading off stroke rates like this is OK.)
DO write down the times/stroke rates from your cox box during the rest period if your coach asks you to.
DO consult with the coach at the end of practice to go over the results. Be objective with what you say too – remember, your number one responsibility is to ensure the fairness of the races. Give them feedback on how each boat moved with the addition and removal of each of the rowers and also let them know if anything happened that might have effected the outcome. This includes steering issues (i.e. having to steer to avoid hitting a log in the water, just steering poorly on that piece, etc.), a crew rowing outside the rate cap, not being even at the start, etc. If you steered poorly you must be honest about it and say that you didn’t hold a good point on the third piece so that the coach can factor that into the results if necessary. If your crew lost a close race but you fail to mention that you also steered an entire lane off of where you should have been, you might have just cost that rower their seat in the boat.
DO steer straight and stay in your lane. This is a great opportunity for you to really focus on holding and maintaining a point in a race situation because you’re going to spend the majority of the piece not talking, thus you have little to nothing to distract you.
DO communicate with the other coxswain(s). This is important on a normal day but it’s even more important when you’re seat racing. Keep the crews together, start your warm ups together, etc. There are few things more irritating to a coach than telling his coxswains to stay together only to get out there and see one crew rowing up in lane 1 and the other rowing up in lane 5 or one crew three lengths ahead of the other. Another thing you need to communicate on is maintaining the spacing between the crews. If you’re in your own lanes and steering straight this shouldn’t be an issue but you need to get any issues like this squared away before you start rowing down to the starting line. Most of the time you just row into these pieces rather than taking a start, which means coming down to the starting line together so you can both cross the line together, at the same time, is critical. If the two crews don’t start at the same time then the validity of the piece is now in question. If you’re rowing down and see that your crew is half a length ahead with 100m to the line, don’t be a jerk and force the other crew to power it up just to get even with you. Either tell your crew to back off or throw in a pause or two until you’re even. If you’re the coxswain of the crew that’s down, do whatever you’ve gotta do to get your crew even. Call over to the other coxswain to lighten up and then get on your crew to pull you up next to them.
Things you SHOULDN’T do
DO NOT give the rowers any information about how they did, how the piece felt, where the boat finished, how the coach made his final decisions, etc. ever (unless the coach has given you expressed permission to do so … which they probably won’t). This includes on the water, after practice, next month, etc. Fair, objective, and impartial, remember? This means not giving the rowers any indication that they did better or worse than someone else. They can see where they finish, they know how the boat feels, thus they can come to their own conclusions on how they did. If the coach wants them to know any of that info then they can tell themselves when they let them know the final results. The bottom line is don’t say or do anything that could compromise the integrity of the practice.
Feel free to comment below with any do’s and/or don’ts that you think coxswains should know regarding seat racing that I might have missed.
What happens at a coaches & coxswains meeting?
Coaches and coxswains meetings are held at every regatta, typically first thing in the morning but occasionally in the afternoon/evening the day before racing begins (I’ve been to ones as early as 6am and as late as 6pm). They are a necessary part of any regatta and are where the regatta officials provide information to the coaches and coxswains on regatta rules, procedures, course details, schedule issues, etc.
It is imperative that you go to these. Yes it sucks having to get up really early in the morning to go to a 15-20 minute long meeting, especially when you or your team doesn’t race until later in the morning or afternoon, but the information that you’re given helps make the regatta run quicker and smoother for everyone. Even if you’ve been to the regatta three times already and know what’s said in the meeting backwards and forwards, I still encourage you to go. This year might be the year that the regatta officials say something different and you might not know until it’s potentially too late.
If there are any coaches reading this, I encourage you to not go in place of your coxswains. You should go with them to avoid having to repeat all the information later on. Having coaches go for the coxswains also presents the problem of the coach selectively choosing what to tell the coxswains later on, which can cause confusion and unnecessary stress, penalties, etc.
When going to early-morning meetings that happen well before the rest of the team needs to arrive, have just the coxswains and coaches go either on the bus (which, believe it or not, CAN go back to the hotel to get the rest of the team) or with one of parents. Afterwards, walk around the race site, go down to the docks (if you’re able to), walk up to the start line if possible, etc. and visualize what was discussed during the meeting. As much as you might want to, don’t just plop down into a cocoon of blankets and pillows in the tent until everyone shows up. That’s the fastest way to forget everything the regatta officials said.
Below you’ll find a very, very annotated outline of (almost) everything that happens during these meetings.
Roll call
At large regattas and sometimes smaller ones, the officials will start off by doing a roll call of the teams. Just like taking roll during class, all you have to do is say “here”. At the regattas I’ve been to that have done this, attending the meeting was required and if you were not present when your team name was called you were assessed some kind of team points-related penalty.
Introduction of the referees
These include the dock master, starting line marshal, finish line marshal, course referees, and regatta director/head official. (Note, at some regattas, certain officials may take on two roles, i.e the starting line marshal is also the course referee, etc.)
Dock marshal
In charge of getting crews on and off the dock. They will call you down to the dock and direct you where to launch from and as you come in, where to dock. You must follow their instructions and go to the space they direct you to. They’ll also typically check to ensure that you have your bow numbers. Sometimes they’ve got extras on hand if you don’t have yours but don’t assume that they do.
The dock masters are also the first in line to make sure the regatta is running on time. If crews are taking too long on the dock, they will push you along and tell you to hurry up. Budget for 90 seconds on the dock and no longer. A great way to put your team in a favorable position with regatta directors is to not piss off the dock masters. If they sound gruff or agitated, don’t assume that you’ve done something wrong and/or get angry or talk back to them. They’re on a tight schedule so get your crew moving as quickly as possible so that other crews don’t need to wait on you.
Starting line marshal(s)
There is at least one and sometimes up to three marshals in the starting area. The first one you’ll probably encounter is the one telling you where to go as you approach the line. They’ll usually say something like “Marietta, pull it up behind the platform and proceed to (whichever side of the platform your lane is on).” Make sure you raise your hand to indicate you heard their instructions.
Once the previous race has gone off and the platform is clear, the second marshal, who is usually standing up on top of the platform will call you in, typically by lane number, and tell you how much time there is to the start. “Marietta, Saratoga, and Grosse Ile, pull it up and enter your lanes in order of bow number. 6 minutes to start.” This marshal is also the one who will call the start by saying “Attention, go!”.
The third marshal is lined up parallel to the platform and looks straight across the bow balls of each crew. They’re in charge of aligning the crews and getting everyone even. In the event that you aren’t on a starting platform that has a marshal on it, the marshal who is doing the aligning will also be the one who calls the start.
Finish line marshal
The finish line marshal is usually on land or way off to the side of the finish line. As the crews cross they’ll usually blow air horn or drop a flag so you’ll know that you’re done.
Course referees
Course referees follow the race down behind the crews in a launch and are responsible for making sure nothing goes awry during the race. They’ll have two flags with them that they’ll use to communicate with the crews, typically to tell coxswains to move back into their lanes if they start to drift over. If a collision happens or something breaks, they’ll be responsible for stopping the race and restarting it, if necessary.
Regatta director/head official
Sometimes these are the same person, sometimes they’re not. The head official, in my experience, is who handles protests, announcing the races, and/or any other overarching issues with the regatta. If you have any questions that arise after the meeting, go to regatta headquarters and find this person.
Official regatta time
This may not be the same time you have on your watch or phone, so you’ll need to adjust whatever time keeping device you plan on using to match what the officials say. If their official time is five minutes faster than what you have and you don’t account for that, that could be a big problem for you when you get to the start and find that your race is already locked on to the platforms. I don’t think it’s even possible to change the time on phones so having an analog watch that you use for crew is a great thing to keep on you or attached to your cox box. Having a different time than the officials is not an excuse for being late to the dock or starting line.
Launching requirements
Requirements typically include having your oars already down by the dock (or having someone carry them alongside you as you walk down), having heel ties on your foot stretchers (this should be done before you travel), and having the correct bow number.
Time between first call and getting to the starting line
The announcers will make a first call, second call, and third call “x” number of minutes before the start of your race, usually somewhere between 45 and 30 minutes. You should know when your first call is and plan to have hands on a few minutes before that.
There’s a science to working the call system. You don’t want to be the first one out, get to the start really quickly, and then have to wait around for your race. You also don’t want to be the last crew out and get stuck between other boats that are in the races after you who are going out on their first call because then you get frantic about getting to the line in time. You also want to pay attention to the weather. If it’s really hot, sunny, humid, cold, snowing, windy, raining, or any other kind of inclement weather, don’t go out any earlier than you have to. If the weather is going to make getting to the start take longer, plan for that. If it’s a nice day but really hot out, try to go out as close to the end of the second call as you can so you can avoid the sun draining everyone’s energy.
At the meeting, the officials will give you an indication of how long it takes to row up to the start under normal circumstances. It’s usually somewhere in the range of 15-20 minutes depending on the warm up you do, if you have to stop for a race coming down, etc. Make sure you plan for this when you determine how early you need to get hands on and launch.
Centers
The centers are how often a race goes off the line. Usually they’re something around 12-15 minutes, give or take.
Directions to the starting line and back to the dock
Some courses are set up funny and it’s not that obvious how to get to the start or back to the docks after you finish. The officials will have a map out and will indicate which way you need to go to get from A to B. Pay attention to this because not following these directions can result in you going against the traffic pattern, which could lead to collisions and/or penalties.
Traffic patterns
There is at least one main traffic pattern you must follow and sometimes two.
On the way to the start and back to the docks after you finish
99.999% of the time it’s the same standard traffic pattern that we follow every day we’re out. If it’s different, they’ll tell you.
In the starting area
If there’s a large starting area that you can practice starts and stuff in, they’ll typically have you row around in a counter-clockwise circle. If you’re not planning on doing starts, make sure you know where to sit so you’re not in anyone’s way.
Course hazards
Low water levels, debris, rocks, trees hanging out from shore, or my personal favorite, seaweed…all are things they’ll tell you to be aware of and how to avoid them. (Shout out to Stony Creek, MI and the f-ing seaweed that delayed nearly every race I was in at Midwests my freshman and sophomore year … and the officials who forgot to tell us about it.)
Buoys
Where they are on the course (500, 1000, 1500, 2000m, etc.), if the course has buoyed lanes, and if the last 250-300m has different colored buoys than the rest of the course. (Usually they’ll be red whereas the rest of the course buoys are white.)
Hot seating
Sometimes hot seating isn’t allowed but if it is, one of two things will happen. The rower that is going out of your boat and into another will need to hop out as soon as you get on the dock, so you’ll need to have another rower come down to take their place when you carry it up or you’ll have to dock in a different area (in my experience, usually a beach area that is 100m or so up from the dock), which is where the crew the rower is joining will launch from. If YOU are the one hot seating (been there, done that) have another coxswain meet you and take the boat up (or have your coach do it). The rowers cannot cox themselves up. The procedures can be confusing so make sure you pay attention and know ahead of time whether or not you’ll be hot seating.
Stake boats vs. floating starts
Most likely you’ll know this a few days ahead of time but sometimes the officials decide to forgo one for the other, for whatever reason. Typically they go from a stake boat start to a floating start, not the other way around, usually because of weather.
How you’ll be called to the start
The marshals will say “10 minutes to start, 7 minutes to start, 5 minutes to start, 2 minutes to start…” so you’ll always know how much time there is. Depending on the course you may or may not be allowed to do practice starts on the course while other crews are getting locked on. Make sure you know whether or not this is allowed. The officials will usually call you in my lane number if you’re on stake boats. If you’re doing a floating start they’ll line the crews up about 100ish meters above the starting line and bring you down together.
The alignment process
This will depend on whether or not you’re starting from a stake boat or doing a floating start. If you’re doing a stake boat start they’ll have you row it up, back it in, and get your point. You won’t need to do anything to align the boats; the official in charge of that will talk directly to the person holding on to your stern. If you’re doing a floating start however, they’ll talk to you and have you row it up (with bow pair) to match the other crews.
Floating starts are frustrating because they’re never totally accurate. Do your part and make sure your bow pair is rowing lightly so that they don’t pull you ahead of the crews you’re trying to get even with. Talk quietly too so that you can still hear the officials.
The starting commands and the flags
There are three different commands the officials can use: the quick start (Attention, GO!), the countdown start (5, 4, 3, 2, 1, attention, GO!), or the polling start (Washington, Cal, Cornell, Brown, Harvard, Princeton, this is the start, attention, GO!). The start that’s used is typically dictated by the weather. They might begin with one starting command but switch to another later in the day as the weather changes but they’ll tell you ahead of time if they anticipate doing that and what they’ll switch to (usually to a quick start if that’s not already what they’re doing).
The starting flag is a white flag that the official on the starting platform will hold. As he says “attention” he will raise it in the air and drop it as he says “go”. At nearly every regatta I’ve ever been to I’ve been told that you go on the drop of the flag, not on “go”. Get clarification on this from the officials if they don’t mention it.
Jumping the start
The fastest way to get 50+ people pissed at you in five seconds or less is to jump the starting line. Depending on the size of the regatta there are different penalties that are given for jumping the slides. Some add seconds to your final time and others give you a warning and then a DQ if it happens a second time. Know what the penalties are and talk to your rowers so they know what’s at stake.
Broken equipment
If something in your boat breaks, you will almost always be issued a restart if it happens within the first 100m or 30 seconds. It’s different for each regatta. If this happens you’ll be told to stop, raise your hand, and the referee will come over and determine whether or not to stop and restart the race. If the race is to be stopped they’ll usually blast the horn on their megaphone to alert the other crews so always be listening for that. Even if you see another crew stop, don’t stop rowing until you hear that sound.
Broken equipment means physically broken equipment. What is not broken equipment is catching a crab, jumping your slide, your cox box dying, etc. If any of those things happen and you stop and put your hand it the air, you are shit out of luck.
Commands from the course referee(s)
Course referees are really happen when they don’t have to say anything at all during a race. The things they’ll be watching for are crews that are drifting out of their lanes, imminent collisions, etc. They’ll have a red flag that they’ll raise and point to whichever side you need to move to. Make sure your stroke knows to watch out for this and tell you if the official is behind you. If you don’t follow their instructions you can be penalized or disqualified.
In situations like this, I consider it just as much the stroke’s fault (or bow, if you’re in a bow coxed 4+) as the coxswain’s because they can see what is happening behind the boat whereas the coxswain can’t. There needs to be communication happening so the coxswain can move to where the officials are pointing them.
The finish line
Where it is, how it’s marked, and what the officials will do when you cross (flag, horn, etc.). Also, what you should do after you cross – you always need to keep rowing through the line but make sure you know where you’re allowed to stop and for how long. Don’t forget there are races coming down behind you.
How the race will be declared official
When all the crews have crossed, the official that followed the race will briefly talk to the finish line official and then come over to each of the crews to make sure everyone is OK. If it’s a regatta where coxswains were required to weigh in, the officials might have the coxswains hold up their sandbags or weight plates to ensure that they actually brought them in the boat with them and are carrying them on their person (vs. distributing them throughout the boat, which is against the rules).
If no one has a protest, the officials will raise a white flag and the race will be “official”. If there is a protest, the officials will raise a red flag and the results will be considered “unofficial” until a ruling has been made.
What to do if a medical emergency occurs
Obviously something like this is not something you can predict but you can prepare yourself ahead of time to deal with the situation should it arise, that way you’re not all “deer in the headlights”. When your lineups are set, figure out if anyone in your boat has any medical issues you should be aware of – asthma and allergies requiring an Epi Pen are the two biggest ones. Make sure you’ve got their inhaler or Epi Pen up in the stern with you so you can get it to them ASAP if they need it.
As soon as you cross the finish line, raise your hand and have the person in front of and behind the rower in distress raise their hands. Don’t just hang them in the air either – you want to get the officials attention immediately and they’re more likely to respond to someone who’s frantically waving their hands in the air.
What to do if any other kind of emergency occurs
This usually refers to someone being ejected from the boat. The rules are different at each regatta so make sure you find out what to do if this occurs.
Protesting
At the end of the race, raise your hand and wait for the official to come over to you. The protest almost always has to be initiated on the water so make sure you tell the referee about it before you start rowing back to the dock. Explain the situation and what you plan on protesting. Usually at this point the ref will either say “ok” or try to dissuade you from continuing the protest on land.
This is where it’s important to know whether or not what you’re protesting is actually worth protesting. If whatever happened directly knocked you out of the medals or down a spot in the medals, protest it. Otherwise, if you were in 6th place and winning would only bump you up to 5th, don’t. It’s a waste of time for you and more importantly, the officials. At the meeting they’ll probably tell you what they consider to be worth protesting.
Once you get off the water and within a certain period of time (usually 60 minutes from the conclusion of your race), you’ll need to get your coach and make your way to regatta headquarters to file a formal protest. Here you’ll have to write down your complaint and at some of the larger regattas, pay a small fee. If the ruling is in your favor you’ll get the money back. If you lose, you don’t get it back (hence why you should be absolutely sure of your account of what happened).
Like I said at the beginning, this may or may not be everything that the regatta officials go over. If they don’t go over something that you have a question on, raise your hand and ask. There’s a good chance that three other people have the same question. If you don’t ask it and then find yourself lost, confused, or with a penalty later because of it … that sucks but it’s your own fault. Don’t assume that the rules are the same at every regatta either. Even if it’s a USRowing event, which has pretty standard rules across the board, certain things might change depending on the venue.
Image via // @nickmiddletonphoto
Coxswain skills: Dusting off the cobwebs
We’ve been on the water for about a week now and although the majority of the days have been great, yesterday was … not so much. Personal responsibility by the coxswains was, to say the least, lacking. While we were in the launch the other coach and I were consistently making comments to each other about things the coxswains should have been doing but weren’t. Some of the stuff seems like really obvious “coxing 101 basics” that we shouldn’t have to say either, which was the really frustrating part.
We told the coxswains what they needed to be doing (it honestly felt like we were spoon-feeding them) but we eventually just stopped because it was one of those situations where it’s like if you’re not gonna bring the boats even or you’re not gonna communicate with each other then fine, you can start the piece a length and a half back and on the complete wrong side of the river. There should never be a practice where the coaches spend more time talking to the coxswains about finding their point, keeping the crews together while maintaining space between them, trying to get lined up, etc. It’s such a colossal waste of time, amongst many other things.
It got me thinking though while we were out there of the things I try to do when I get back on the water after an extended period of time. Most of this I “perfected” in my own way over time but I pretty much learned all of it my sophomore year of high school though since that was the first year of going on the water after winter training as an experienced coxswain.
One of the messages that the coaches tried to get across to us is that we need to be able to separate our coxing responsibilities from our individual responsibilities, which took awhile for me to understand. Coxing responsibilities refer to things that are part of your job as a coxswain, things you need to do to ensure practice runs accordingly. Personal responsibilities are different in this sense compared to how I used it at beginning because here it refers coxing-related skills that you need to work on. I’ve marked each of these as one or the other so you know the difference.
Steer more, talk less (PR)
When you first get back on the water, you shouldn’t be trying to call pieces and drills and warmups like you were in mid-May. If you go out there during the first week with the goal of fixing everyone’s technique problems during that practice or explaining complex things to novices who are out there for only the second time, you’re not accomplishing anything and you’re more than likely getting on your coach’s nerves (personal experience, yes, you are).
Most coxswains, myself included, have an aversion to being quiet while on the water but during the first week back out your focus needs to be more on steering a good course than on making calls. This time is when most coaches are going to start evaluating your skills to see where you fall in terms of lineups and the biggest way to separate yourself from the other coxswains is to steer well right off the bat.
Slow down and listen to instructions (CR)
On land, do this while being mindful of the fact that we only have a limited amount of time on the water. Slow down doesn’t mean move at a snail’s pace. Don’t run around trying to be the fastest one to get your boat out either because honestly, no one cares, and that’s when mistakes happen. You’re still gonna have to stop and wait for the other crews to catch up so you might as well take your time, talk to the coach to figure out what the warmup is if you don’t already know, and figure out exactly what he wants you to do (where you’re to go, where to stop, what to do while you’re waiting for the other crews), etc.
Keep the boats together (CR/PR)
For the love of coxing, this is not that hard. Really, it’s not. It is your responsibility to keep your boat next to the other crews at all times or at the very least, no more than a length ahead or behind when you’re doing drills and warmups (obviously pieces are different). If you do get behind, you need to get on the rowers and say “we’re falling a little behind the other boats, let’s add some pressure/add in 3 and 4 to go stern 6/go all eight until we get caught up” or “we’re getting a little too far ahead, let’s take it down to half-pressure/let’s drop out 3 and 4 to go to stern 4/add in a pause at bodies over for five”. The coaches should not have to tell you to do this, it should be an automatic reaction/judgement call by you.
Communicate with the other coxswains (CR)
It’s easy at the beginning of the season to get sucked into your boat’s bubble and forget that you’re not the only ones on the water. If you’re out with other crews you need to talk to the other coxswains and figure out which lanes you’re going to row in (and then actually row in them), whether that be lanes 3, 4, and 5 or inside, middle, and outside.
If someone’s encroaching on your lane then say something. Don’t just passive aggressively sit there and then smirk at them when the coaches say to keep some distance between the crews. Also don’t decide that you’re going to ignore the lane you said you were going to row in or the lane the coaches told you to take.
Communicating with each other also applies to starting drills at the same time and making sure the boats are lined up evenly so the coaches can start everyone together. If you can see that you’re two seats behind someone at the start of a drill, put your hand up, have your stern pair row, and get even. Don’t wait for the coaches to tell you this stuff.
Ultimately all this goes back to you doing the absolute basics of your job. Keep that in mind as you get back on the water to start the season.