// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was the coxed pair upset? It was having a row.

Coxed pair icon

Daniel Lyons, Robert Espeseth and Jonathan Fish of the US Olympic team competing in the 1988 Olympic Games

A coxed pair, abbreviated as a 2+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain (cox).

The crew consists of two rowers, each having one oar, and a cox. One rower is on the port side and other is on the starboard side. The cox steers the boat using a rudder and may be seated at the stern of the boat (from where there is a view of the crew) or in the bow (known as a bowloader). With a bowloader, amplification is needed to communicate with the crew which is sitting behind, but the cox has a better view of the course, and the weight distribution may help the boat go faster. When there is no cox, the boat is referred to as a "coxless pair".

See also

• Rowing at the Summer Olympics
• World Rowing Championships