The Tufts crew program has been hard at work of late to prepare for this weekend's Head of the Charles Regatta. The most important race of the fall season will take place on the Charles River tomorrow and Sunday. Men and women from all over the world will be piling into Boston's many hotels this weekend for a Boston event, second only to the marathon in size and importance.
The Head of the Charles is the largest two-day rowing event in the world. Established by the Cambridge Boat Club 35 years ago, it features over 5,000 rowers competing in over 19 races. The race features rowers from the UK, France, Germany, Czceh Republic, Poland, Switzerland, and over 20 other countries worldwide.
The event is very carefully maintained through a hierarchy of overseeing officials. The members of the Cambridge Boat Club manage the Regatta each year, and the Board of Directors appoints five trustees to oversee the race, as well as a 10-member committee to oversee the operational and logistical details of the event.
In addition to the competing athletes, the race is expected to attract nearly 300,000 spectators, as well as many volunteer associations to aid in the event's preperation. Aside from the numerous races, there will also be rowing and fitness expos, which will be held throughout the weekend.
The regatta, which began simply as a competition between Harvard and Northeastern, has grown to become the staple of all fall crew racing.
"[It is] the ultimate of fall races," said Gary Caldwell, female varsity crew coach and head of the crew program at Tufts. "The granddaddy of the whole fall schedule." The racing event has become so large that it takes up two full pages in the Boston Globe.
Tufts' men and women both hope to improve upon what Caldwell described as "middle of the road performances" so far this season. While the rowers have mostly been training through the early races, this event on their home course will finally give the team the opportunity to see how far it has come. What will make this year particularly exciting is that the boats will be lined up very close to many conference rival schools.
The Head of the Charles is a head race, meaning that the boats do not all begin at the same time, but at fifteen-second intervals, one behind the next, and compete against the clock over the three-mile course. With rivals' boats lining up near the Tufts boats, competition should prove intense and focused.
The women are starting two boats behind Union College and directly in front of both Holy Cross and Wesleyan, all schools that compete in the same athletic conference as Tufts. The men's eight is starting between Ithaca and Williams, both of which are in the team's conference.
"It's always interesting to be in a head race with people you know you will be racing next season." Caldwell said.
The women are racing two eights, one of which will have bow-marker number 14, and will be racing as a Tufts boat. The other women's boat will have bow marker number 70 and will be sponsored by the Mystic Valley Association. The men's club eight will be marked by bow-marker number 24 and is sponsored by the Mystic Valley Association.
The novice eight will be marked by bow marker 23 and will be racing as Tufts University, and the lightweight women will be marked bow marker number 10 and racing as Mystic Valley Association.
The Varsity races for both men and women will begin at 2:25 p.m. on Saturday. The men's novice race and the women's lightweight race will start on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2:10 p.m., respectivley.
No predictions or expectations by crew members were offered for this weekend's performance. "I cannot say at this point." Caldwell said, "but the women's varsity is moving faster than last fall at this time."
"It's a great day to go down to the river and see absolutley amazing rowing," he added. "It is the best racing in the world." All of the big names in rowing will be there for the regatta, including four medallists from the summer Olympics.
