A race day out with J15 coxes

By Shannon Barkley-Nakajima Surbiton High School

 

Rowing. The world renown water sport has increased significantly in popularity amongst the younger generation, more so now than ever before! Although, not so long ago rowers faced big hurdles they learnt to tackle, mainly being the heaps of time away from their second homes- the boat house they regularly train at and the river they share. National lockdown and isolation at home due to COVID-19 was devastating news for all; rowers were hit by the storm as well, as they had to learn to adapt to whatever space they had in their own homes, to pack in fitness and not lose track of progress. This resulted in having to spend several days training at home per week, for months, where this new change had effected both factors of health for them- mental and physical. 

As restrictions started to loosen, more schools had decided to competitively participate in annual regattas: ‘Heads.’ Surbiton High School, being one of them, has funded their own professional boathouse for more than a decade. The boathouse is located perfectly by the bank of the local River Thames and is a 3 minute row from the serene and tranquil views of ‘Canbury Gardens.' From experience, a lovely paddle down the river surpasses all expectations, as sun or storm, evening or day, witnessing the twinkling fairy lights; the buzzing restaurants; ginormous fresh pea-green gardens; sunny-yellow tinted mansions and dogs running free skimming through the sprinkles of water out a hose, truly is a homely sight and a privilege. It is an unforgettable experience to row on these waters.

The informative coaches are also bursting with knowledge about the sport and the elements of fitness, such as nutrition and sleep, which additionally contribute to an all round good performance and maintaining general wellbeing; these factors significantly link to helping the rowers fulfil their maximum potential and build confidence within themselves. After watching races and numerous training sessions at the boat club, it is evident how openly they share their advice and reflect with the rowers after good sessions and those that didn’t go as planned, to focus on the areas of improvement in the pupils’ sports journeys and track their progress. In addition, they support the rowers and any concerns they may have to their best ability and let them know what their individual target to focus on is and what they need to work on to get there.

Surbiton High boat club has participated and excelled in several different races, training open to years 8s all the way up to sixth form, with experienced, exceptional coaches who plan crews, organise the regattas (races) and help with scheduling training sessions.  Lucky for the rowers, they get to know each rower thoroughly, their strengths and areas of improvements, in which they aid their development and encourage them for the best success; they do this by making sure the rowers understand where and how to improve for the future and for a good race day out…

On the 5th February, the ‘Hampton Head,’ race took place. Often the people behind the success and safety of the crews in the satin green and white boats are the coxes; they are observant and strategically plan their routes for the best for the team and to prepare them to cope with the rush of the river and traffic; this ensures their safety as they also juggle concentration on steering with sending words of encouragement and motivation to keep their minds focused and energy levels still high, to reach the ultimate goal at the end. They are the people often tucked away seated deep inside the boat steering crews to victory.  Their jobs are so vital in each rowing session so that the crew can enjoy moments of relaxation before racing and purely focus on rowing whilst the coxes are the eyes for the boat to be trusted to guide the crews victory! Coxes also use their voices more than we could every hear watching, as they are the mouths of motivation, in which shower the rowers with words ie encouragement, support and key advice to stay in the game.

I got the chance to interview one of the top full time rowing coxes of the J15 crew briefly after the race, Besma Al-miqdadi (14) for Surbiton boat club. She has converted to coxing a little longer than a year ago and has been leading warmup sessions for the crews as well. When I asked her what her favourite thing about her role as a cox was she responded with, ‘My favourite thing is the friendships that I’ve been able to make with the people in my crews and how appreciated I feel after a good session.’ It is evident from her experiences that she has been able to help crews by motivating them whilst also sharing the same happiness after a win and frustration after a loss unitedly with each crew she gets to cox, especially for big events such as this. I then asked her, ‘What were some of your favourite phrases you incorporated in today’s race? Is there a message behind them?' She responded with, “I think I probably ended up saying, ‘Press the legs away!’ and, ‘Good, drive though,’ the most although I do shout, ‘Really push now, now!’ and ‘Posture,’ etc. as well and, yeah, I think those are my favourite because the crew really respond, especially if I feel like we can up the rate or overtake and maintain a strong, high pressure firm. I try to stay calm but make sure the girls are on it.”

Hannah Jacobs (14), another J15 cox for the club, has been coxing for two years and her confidence in her skills has led to her plans on staying at the boat club in the future. After partaking in this regatta, I asked her, ‘What was the most rewarding thing about being a cox in your crew, the team leadership, being their support, steering? Etc.’ She responded with how, ‘the most rewarding thing today was seeing the team come together and really giving it their all. I love seeing the results only because they truly deserve their victories as it reflects how hard they have truly trained and pushed for it.’ She expresses her excitement for future regattas and witnessing the improvement of her crews.

It should be recognised how coxes undoubtedly play an instrumental role in the success of crews on and off water, in which without them, races and training would be much more stressful and less rewarding. After speaking with the two J15 coxes, it was truly a delight to witness them both win medals at the ‘Hampton Head,’ as this added to their experiences racing on the water, whilst 100s of others were lining up to compete. It is evident how coxes put in mounts of effort and that they are behind every win and loss, alongside the coaches to help support their crew from the start of their journey together, training, to the end of the race, where lessons are learnt and the process repeats again. In addition, it is remarkable how with every crew comes a cox, whom prepares themselves to support the whole crew in the boat, in all types of weather conditions, sun and wind and the varying river conditions, to ensure the best success and so the rowers can try their best by pushing their hardest and giving it their all. Whilst doing this, the coxes try to keep their spirits high with words of encouragement but also focus on steering their boat safely towards victory. The Surbiton coxes now plan to use similar strategies for their next race day out...  

They hope it will be a good one!