The big boat conductors Rookie rowers chase Rio hardware
The ninth person in rowing’s pinnacle eights events is vital, reports Andrew Voerman.
You might say it’s one sport’s great insults. Rowing’s pinnacle events are the men’s and women’s eights, where - as you may have guessed - eight men or women sit, an oar in their hands, and, working in unison, race against other crews.
At the big regattas, they are the final events, the ones everyone wants to watch, and the ones everybody wants to win.
Which is fine, but there’s a problem and it’s that there aren’t eight people sitting in the boat. There are nine - but for some reason, the coxes aren’t counted.
Sitting at one end of New Zealand’s boats in Rio will be Caleb Shepherd and Francie Turner.
Both of them first got started in the role as teenagers, when they attended Hamilton Boys’ High School and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, two of the country’s proudest rowing institutions.
Shepherd says the role of a cox is a unique one.
‘‘It’s an unusual scenario, because you’re not actually rowing, but you get to feel how the boat’s moving and you can feel how the rowers are responding to what you’re saying. You’re trying to be the in-boat coach, so you’re feeling out everything that’s happening to the hull, and you feel it through your seat and your feet, and you’re able to communicate that to the guys.’’
The way Turner describes her role, it’s as if she is the conductor of an eight-piece orchestra.
‘‘What we’re trying to do is get everyone in the same head space, in the same physical space, doing exactly the same thing at the same time,’’ she says.
An eight flying through the water has a special place in New Zealand Olympic history. In 1972 in Munich, the New Zealand men’s crew won gold and for the first time at an Olympics, God Defend New of Zealand was played. They also won bronze in 1976 in Montreal, didn’t race in 1980 in Moscow as New Zealand boycotted, then failed to win a medal in 1984 in Los Angeles, which led to the programme falling away.
It will have been 32 years by the time Shepherd and Turner and their crews take to the water next month.
Coxes have sat in smaller boats since, but none capture the imagination quite like the big one.
‘‘It’s been a long time between drinks,’’ says Shepherd.
‘‘To have eights, it shows you’ve got depth in your programme and with our eights starting to front on the world stage, it’s exciting.
‘‘All our parents and grandparents enjoyed the eights back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and it’s really cool for us to bring it back, and hear those stories about how exciting it was for the country at that time.
‘‘To be a part of that is really special.’’
Once you’ve talked to the likes of We're not rowing, but a cox has the ability to change a race. Turner and Shepherd about their job, you’re left with an obvious question: Do they think the event they compete in should be called the ‘nine’ instead?
The answer, unsurprisingly for two people with plenty of things to care about, is no.
‘‘You’ve got women’s eight, and then the plus, and the plus is me,’’ says Turner, referring to the code used for their event, W8+.
Coxless boats are marked with a -, and as Turner puts it: ‘‘Coxens make every negative boat a plus.’’
It’s a sentiment Shepherd agrees with, acknowledging his role is one the viewing public might not necessarily appreciate.
‘‘It’s more that people don’t know what we do, and how much of an effect it has,’’ he says.
‘‘We’re not rowing, we’re not pulling the oars, but a cox has the ability to change a race, and knowing that you can impact on the group so heavily, that’s all I do it for - getting the most out of the group and helping them along.’’ bigger At the Rio Olympics, both the men’s and women’s eight will be a chance to medal, but one is more likely than the other.
It’s the women – who finished second at last year’s World Championships, then picked up a gold and a bronze this northern summer, and have spent the last few weeks training at Lake Bohinj in Slovenia – who are in the box seat.
Their event has been dominated by the United States, who are unbeaten at every major regatta they have competed in since 2006.
The Kiwis have snuck up behind them, however, and in rapid fashion. The current crew, led by Rebecca Scown, came together after the national trials at the start of last year, and by the end of their first season, were already among the best in the world.
Helping mould them together has been the duty of coach Dave Thompson, who likes to take an outside-the-box approach.
‘‘When we first started Dave took us rock climbing, which was my worst experience ever,’’ says the crew’s cox, Francie Turner.
‘‘I hated it, but it was things like that that initially brought the team together, and now as we get into the Olympic year, we’re always pushed out of our comfort zone, in terms of what we’re delivering on the water.
‘‘Any great coach will push you beyond what you possibly can, and we’re always doing that.’’
Aside from Scown, who competed at London in 2012, none of the women’s crew have been to an Olympics before, including Turner, who says they are well aware of the step up that lies ahead.
‘‘It is just another regatta, it is just another two kilometre stretch of water, and it’s another chance for us just to deliver our best performance.
‘‘In terms of us younger athletes, we’re just taking it in our stride. We understand that things are going to be different, but at the end of the day, we know how to do our job.’’