Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks head to Boston for 2008 HOC
10/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh’s rowing program heads to Boston this weekend to compete in the 44th Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest rowing regatta. Since 1965, teams from not only all over the country, but the world have gathered for Rowing’s Fall Festival. More than 7,500 athletes will compete in 55 events in front of an anticipated 300,000 spectators. The Race Course starts at the Boston University Boathouse and goes almost immediately under the combination of a railroad trestle bridge and the B.U. Bridge. It then proceeds through five triple-arch bridges to the finish line approximately three miles upstream. Lehigh will compete in four events throughout the course of the weekend, including the men’s club eight race, the women’s club eight race, the men’s collegiate eight race, and the women’s lightweight eight race.
The HOC was first held on October 16, 1965. The race was established by the Cambridge Boat Club members D'Arcy MacMahon, Howard McIntyre, and Jack Vincent, with the advice of Harvard University sculling instructor Ernest Arlett. Arlett proposed that a "head of the river" race similar in tradition to races held in his native England, be held on the Charles River. "Head" races, a class of regattas, are generally three miles long - boats race against each other and the clock, starting sequentially approximately fifteen seconds apart. Winners of each race receive the honorary title of "Head of the River" or, in this case, "Head of the Charles."
Lehigh sent five crews to Boston last year, including the women’s varsity 8 crew which competed in the Championship 8 race for the first time in program history. This pitted the Mountain Hawks versus the top crews in not only the country but the entire world. The Lehigh men had four entries at the ’07 HOC, led by the Varsity 8, which placed 14th out of 42 crews, with a time of 15:48.579.
The competitive field at the Charles includes individual and team competitors from colleges, high schools, and clubs from nearly every state and a number of foreign countries. The 2007 field included rowers from China, South Africa, Croatia and the Netherlands to name a few. The age of athletes spans from 14 to 85 years old with experience levels from novice to Olympian.
In addition to the on-the-water excitement taking place this weekend, Lehigh’s rowing program will also christen three new boats, with two scheduled for Saturday and another on Sunday. A christening for rowing shells is largely a ceremonial ritual to thank those who have made the donation of the new shell possible. It is a celebration to honor friends and family of Lehigh rowing in order to perpetuate future boat speed.
For more information on the Head of the Charles and the upcoming races, please click on one of the links above.
