Head of the Charles Regatta: BU Rowers Will Compete in World’s Largest Multiday Rowing Event
The Terrier men’s rowing team on the Charles River October 7, preparing for the Head of the Charles Regatta, October 17, 18, and 19. Photo by BU Athletics
Head of the Charles Regatta: BU Rowers Will Compete in World’s Largest Multiday Rowing Event
Terriers will tackle the challenging course along with more than 800 rowing clubs
Since it began in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta has been one of rowing’s biggest events. Now the world’s largest multiday rowing event, the regatta celebrates its 60th anniversary this year when it returns to Boston this weekend. An estimated 11,000 athletes from around the world will race while more than 200,000 spectators gather to cheer them on.
Among them will be Boston University’s three rowing teams—men’s, women’s, and women’s lightweight—who will compete in a total of 11 races this weekend.
The significance of the event is enormous, says Mary Foster, head coach of BU’s women’s lightweight rowing team. The event is about the “entire rowing community being in the same place at the same time,” she says. “The energy around Boston and the energy around the river is just awesome to feel, and we get to experience that for the whole week up to the Head of the Charles because we’re here.”
For the BU rowing teams, the regatta is a chance to compete on their home turf. They are intimately familiar with each bend of the three-mile timed course that begins at BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse and winds under six bridges.
“The Head of the Charles Regatta is such a unique and exciting event, and the fact that we get to experience it at our boathouse doorstep each year is incredible,” says Maya Wiisanen (Sargent’26), who competes on the women’s rowing team.
Two-time Olympic medalist Thomas Bohrer, head coach of men’s rowing, says there are many tactics that go into the competition race because of how the course is laid out. The regatta is often referred to as “the coxswain’s race” because of the difficult twists and turns of the course. But their intimate knowledge of the Charles River, where they practice daily, Bohrer says, gives BU’s coxswains an advantage.
“You start single file, and boats can be passed, or you can pass some people,” he says. “If you go around and turn too wide, they’ll add time to your score or to your total time. A good coxswain can really, really help a crew shave off seconds.”
Malcolm Doldron, director of women’s rowing, agrees. Having a chance to practice daily on the regatta’s course offers BU’s rowers a unique opportunity, he says.
“Other than the energy that you get from being close to campus and your friends in the campus community coming out and supporting you,” Doldron says, “the advantage that you’re going to get and the confidence that you’re going to get is going to come in your preparation for it.”
Such important races aren’t typical this time of year. BU’s Patriot League season runs in the spring, and those races are much shorter and faster. The teams have different goals for the Head of the Charles than they do during their championship season. It’s an opportunity for the BU rowers to learn how to race together since they’ve been back training for only six weeks. It’s also a chance for the program to lay the groundwork for the spring season.
“It makes it really difficult to race this event because it’s so close to the beginning of the year,” Doldron says. “As coaches, what we want to do is bring our team together and build a cohesive unit.”
The Head of the Charles also provides an opportunity for the Terrier rowers to test themselves, to see where they’re at early in the season. “It’s a good way to kind of measure speed early on, to see how we’re doing,” Bohrer says.
And, the coaches say, it’s a great way to build enthusiasm ahead of Patriot League competition next semester.
“It’s incredible for Boston. It’s an incredible event for the rowing community. And obviously, it’s an incredible event for our program, so we’re excited about it,” Doldron says.
Rowers agree.
“As a team, it is extremely impactful to see the way the BU community and our alumni come together to support our team and our city in this event,” women’s rower Wiisanen says, “and the feeling of racing down the course with the support of your community on every shore is truly unparalleled.”
The Head of the Charles Regatta is Friday, October 17, through Sunday, October 19. Admission is free. Fans can watch live coverage on Youtube and on the Head of the Charles website. Follow BU’s teams on X (formerly Twitter) @TerrierMROW, @TerrierWROW, @Terrier130ROW, and @BUGameDay. Find the complete racing schedule here.