Tag: seat race

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Can I just flat out ask my coach for a coxswain seat race? How do I go about asking such a question?

If you wanted to, I don’t see why not. Before directly asking for one I’d first talk with your coach to find out why you and the other coxswain(s) are in the boats you’re in. Assuming this is a “I’m in the 2V but wanna get in the 1V” type of situation, I’d get their thoughts on what they think makes you a good fit for this boat and/or what’s keeping you out of the other boat – i.e. what areas could/should you improve on that would make you more competitive and give you a better shot of getting in there.

Related: Hey I’m a novice coxswain but I have learned very fast and all the guys on varsity want me to be a varsity coxswain and I’m a really good motivator. But the varsity coxswain right now is a girl who has been coxing the same amount of time as me and who isn’t really good at all and it’s only cause she is a senior. How can I really prove myself to my coach? I am a junior. I’ve already showed him my recording and he said just to work on more technical stuff. What’s your opinion?

The key is to talk yourself up instead of talking the other coxswain down. Explain why you are the best person for this boat and why your coach should consider giving you a shot at coxing it. If you’ve been working on a particular skill and feel like you’ve made some good improvements, tell them. If you think you can get in the boat and make it faster because of XYZ, tell them … but also show them by doing those things with the boat you’re currently in.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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Best advice you have for a novice cox seat racing aiming for a varsity boat?

Focus. Be determined. Keep your nerves in check. Make your calls strong and your actions aggressive. Be smart. Be safe. Do what you’ve practiced and what you know how to do. ACT like how you think a varsity coxswain should act. Conduct yourself accordingly on the water. Be a good sport, win or lose. Give feedback and accept it in return. Be confident in your decisions and commit to executing them.

Ergs Q&A Racing Training & Nutrition

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Where I live we are in the mid of racing season and obviously have the Christmas break off from set trainings. I am planning to lose a little bit of weight for rowing, hopefully have finished just after mid January when we have seat racing planned just before summer camp. I am only aiming to lose 6kg and I have already nearly lost 2, I might not quite get there but yeah. Our coaches generally only weigh us at the start of the season (as we are too young for weights). Should I ask to be weighed before the seat racing so it doesn’t affect the results? When doing seat racing do you take into account rower’s weight? If I lose weight, will it affect my erg score? I am ‘lightweight’ but we don’t race under weight categories, but under age & gender.

If you only race under age/gender, I don’t think it would matter too much. If you’re racing against another “lightweight” they’re just going to look at whether you’re under 130lbs (or whatever lightweight is for you) and go from there. They won’t care about the specific weight. If you want to weigh yourself, you can, but I doubt your coaches would take it into consideration. It’s a question worth asking them though just to be sure.

If you lose weight but maintain or gain muscle in place of the fat you lose, then no, I doubt there will be a change in your erg score since you’ll be maintaining your strength. If it is affected in some way, I would assume it’d be positively because hopefully you’re losing weight through proper diet and strength training, which means you’d be building muscle. Increased muscle mass = increased power = lower splits. If you lose weight (typically in an unhealthy way) that causes you to lose both muscle AND fat, then yes, your erg score will probably be negatively affected.