Henry Fieldman

IC Cox

World Rowing U23 Championships 2008 (M8+ 5th)
‐ Represented Imperial College at Henley 2009
‐ Coxed the Imperial College 1st 8+ in 2009 to 12th at the Head of the River
‐ Made the final of the Ladies Plate at HRR 2009
‐ Won Senior 1 at the Women’s Head of the River in 2007
‐ Set the World Record for 100 m in an 8+ pulling a water skiier!!!

Would you feel manlier if you had a steering wheel and horn installed? Yes.

Have you ever covered your microphone and bitched to the stroke man about another seat? Yes, but very rarely. And its usually about Adam Seward or Danny Bellion.

Has the steering cable ever snapped during a race? No, I’ve not had the misfortune of that happening to me. I always try to check that
the equipment is in good order before we race. We have great boats to row in, which is no doubt helped by the generous funding the GB rowing team gets from UK Sport’s Lottery Sports Fund.

Which seat would you choose if you had to row? I don’t really know. I suppose the stroke seat would be cool. But also, I would love to
be stacked enough to be put somewhere like the 6 seat.

What would you do if you were not a Cox? Eat more, sleep more, and drink more. I would probably have a life and get good
grades! If I had to do a different sport I’m not sure what I would choose, but I think I would at least like to try out horse racing. It looks pretty fun, and I guess has some parallels with coxing.

Do you feel threatened by calories? Yes. Not quite to the extent that Andy Gordon does. But I guess there's still time.

Do you think the crew should have to watch their weight as well as the Cox before a big race? To be honest yes I think they should at least be aware of their weight, as well as other things such as waking heart rate. It helps to know your own body, and what is the healthy range for you personally. This sort of data can also serve as an early warning system for illness and stuff.

What upgrades would you make for the ideal cox box? 500 metre splits! A mini-bar and a DVD player wouldn’t go amiss. Cruising altitude might be nice, and some sort of sonar device, to warn you of underwater obstacles.

If you were going to be stranded on Chiswick Eyot, what three items would you bring
with you?

1) My Rigger Jigger ‐ because a cox should carry one at all times...
2) A box of Chewee Bars
3) My iPod with a video of Steve Trapmore winning the Olympics.

Do you like coxing women? Yeah, if they’re nice.

Who would play the role of Henry Fieldman if a movie was made about you? Will Smith because our similarities are striking.

Who do you think makes a bigger difference to a crew: the coach or the cox? It's hard to say. I’m tempted to say the coach. I don’t think you can say that one or the other makes a significantly larger difference. Only the cox can make a difference during a race. But in training, the coach can provide feedback on what the crew looks like from outside the boat, and what individuals are doing, which can can be very valuable. I think the affect that the cox and coach can have on a crew can be amplified if the cox and coach work closely together. Often a coach will have many more years of experience than the cox of the crew they are coaching, which can also
be very valuable.

What is the one thing you'll never hear Steve Trapmore say? “Yeah Durham.”

Who would you hire from the club to be your bodyguard? Ross (one of our coaches) ‐ ask him about the time someone broke into his house and tried to steal his DVD player.

We have 56 facebook friends in common. Since we have such similar tastes, does this mean I can win a World Championship Medal too? Definitely! (I thought so)

Have you slapped anyone with your new medal? No, but I could. Actually I didn’t really hold on to my medal for very long after I got it.
My family and a few of my mates from my school days came out to watch me race, so I decided to hang out in Prague for a few days with my mates after the championship. I thought for safety reasons I better give the medal to my little brother Oscar, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it while we were partying. So he wore it the whole way back to London, and so was apparently congratulated by all the staff on the plane. He decided that to avoid confusion he wouldn’t bother explaining the true situation, and would just bask in their comments! He has now returned the medal to me.

Do you think coxes should have to do land training? Ideally yes. I think it can help develop a coxes understanding and bond with their
crew if they do choose to get involved with it.

Are you the person with the remote control when the TV is on? No actually, I’m pretty chilled out about all that stuff.

You often use humour in your coxing to win over the crew. Do you think getting the crew to like you is important for a cox? Really? I wasn’t aware of that! I think it is more important for the crew to be confident in their cox’s skill and ability, and their cox’s desire to win the race. Usually a good crew will like you for that.

If you could be someone at ICBC, who would it be and why? I think I would be some blend between Adam Freeman‐Pask, Ole Tietz, and of course Simon Hislop. These guys are the student pillars of ICBC, why wouldn’t you want to be them? (POD cannot think of any reasons.)

What else would you like to achieve and what are your plans for the future? Well, I would like to keep striving to improve my coxing, and take it as far as I can. Apart from that at the moment I want to manage this ambition with getting a good degree. (Henry is studying for a Zoology Degree in the Natural Sciences Department at Imperial)

So who would win a fight between a horse-sized duck and 1000 duck-sized horses? On the basis of my zoology studies so far at Imperial, I think that a horse-sized duck would win in a fight with 1000 duck-sized horses. Granted, 1000 is a big number, but I still think the giant duck would win. This duck would have webbed feet, which could be used to crush a large number of these horses in a single step. Also I would imagine that giant duck’s legs would be very powerful, as they have to be strong enough to propel the duck through the water. The duck also has the advantage of flight. Also I suppose that due to the structure of the ducks feet and legs, it would be difficult for the horses to reach the ducks vital organs.

What is your ultimate dream and does it involve AFP? My ultimate dream is to take the Lwt 1x+ to Henley and cox AFP to victory. But I
understand that that may not be possible.

Why should freshers try out to become a Cox at IC? Coxing is really fun. You get to spend a lot of time in a boat on a big river, which is pretty cool. Coxing I suppose is a way that people, guys and girls, can get to race and take part in high level rowing, when they might not be the tallest of people. The atmosphere is really good, and the parties are awesome.

 

Thanks to Henry!

Christina Duffy

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