1. Each team in the Boat Race has eight rowers and one more person who does not row, a cox.
2. Each team in the Boat Race is composed of eight rowers and one more person who does not row, a cox.
3. Each team in the Boat Race comprises eight rowers and one more person who does not row, a cox.
4. Each team in the Boat Race consists of eight rowers and one more person who does not row, a cox.
5. Each team in the Boat Race has eight rowers and a cox, one more person who does not row.
6. Each team in the Boat Race has eight rowers and a cox, a person who does not row.
(Are they all the same in meaning? Which one is commonly used? And which one is better, Sentence 5 or Sentence 6?)
I would pick (6).
However if I were writing it I would say:
Each shell has eight rowers and a coxswain who does not row but steers the boat while keeping the rowers working together.
All of the sentences convey the same meaning, which is that each team in the Boat Race is composed of eight rowers and one additional person who does not row, known as a cox.
The choice of which sentence is commonly used or preferred may depend on the context or personal preference. However, sentences 1, 2, 3, and 4 use synonymous verbs ("has," "is composed of," "comprises," "consists of") which are commonly used to describe the makeup or composition of a team. These sentences may be more commonly used in formal or professional writing.
Sentence 5 and Sentence 6 both use the phrase "eight rowers and a cox," but their word order is slightly different. Sentence 5 places emphasis on the additional person who does not row by mentioning them as "one more person who does not row, a cox." In contrast, Sentence 6 simply states "a cox, a person who does not row."
Neither sentence is inherently better than the other, as the choice may depend on the desired emphasis or style of writing.