Purpose

The purpose of this CLRA Cox Manual is to make the lives of our volunteer coxes a little easier. Anyone who has ever coxed knows how complex the job is even for experienced coxes—there are so many factors to process at the same time. And for those of us who have never done it before, it can be pretty intimidating.

This manual tries to simplify the coxing process. It is designed for use by CLRA coxes on Lake Carnegie. It does not necessarily address all the skills you'll need to cox elsewhere, nor does it attempt to teach you how to cox a race. If you're interested in learning more about coxing than can be presented in this short summary, please check the CLRA library for further reading. You can also submit questions to The Cox Box, our regular coxswain advice column in The Carnegie Currents and attend our summer Coxing Seminars.

Since club policies now require that everyone coxes, we hope you’ll approach this manual with an open mind. Remember, a cox’n is a valuable part of practice and if you are more prepared to do the job right, you and your boat will have a better row!

A coxswain can make or break a crew. From the coach's standpoint, the coxswain is the most vital member of a crew. Without a good coxswain, the boat does not steer straight, the crew may not be properly relaxed and focused for workouts or races, and most importantly, rower safety may be compromised. A good coxswain has safety in mind as a first priority, steers straight, can motivate the crew to row their best, provide some humor when it is most needed, and keep his or her head in difficult situations. A good coxswain will also make the workout more efficient by anticipating and starting, staying and stopping next to the other crews. The success of rowing at CLRA depends upon a group of coxswains who are just as dedicated to their coxing as to their rowing. Without them, we don't go anywhere, much less anywhere fast.

A note on the format:

  • The information takes you through an entire practice session from start to finish.
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  • Also included are several series of typical commands used in different pans of a session. Most are universal to rowing, but obviously you will need to be flexible in determining what commands to use in any given situation. We encourage coxn’s from other clubs and other schools to help us expand our vocabulary by introducing us to new ways to call things but remind them to read through our commands first. Costly errors, for example, can be circumvented by realizing that our club stops at "weigh ‘nough" and keeps going at "let it run."

    • Send an email to our Coxswain Captain.