Coxes

More than just a rudder!

The cox (or coxswain to give the proper title) combines the roles of motivator, coach and leader while at the same time navigating the tortuous river Cam – keeping the crew safe from collision and marauding swans.

Queens’ coxing spans a range of abilities, from novice coxes completely new to the sport who are paired with a crew of novice rowers in Michaelmas and learn alongside them, to skilled first boat coxes racing both on and off Cam, and even a blues boat (university) cox!

The epitome of Cambridge rowing is the bumps racing – twice a year all the college crews line up on the river a length and a half apart, and on the firing of a cannon must try and hit the boat in front while escaping the boat behind. This makes for an extremely exciting and rewarding type of race to cox that is unique to Oxbridge!

To get involved, as an experienced coxing veteran or a complete novice, just send our coxes’ captain an email – we’d love to welcome you into the boatclub.

W1 handbrake turn
W1 perform a desperate handbrake turn in Lent bumps, still managing to hold off their pursuers! Photo credit: David Ponting