Head Of The Charles® Regatta 2018 to Showcase Major Collegiate Teams

October 9, 2018

The 54th Regatta will take place October 20-21 and features some of the most exciting college teams and rowers in the Championship Eights and Collegiate events

CAMBRIDGE, MA. (October 9, 2018) – The Head Of The Charles Regatta (HOCR) today announced the top collegiate teams competing in the 2018 Regatta. This year’s field has created a highly anticipated competition with more than 10,600 athletes, representing 2,300 entries from 24 countries and 43 U.S. states. In all, some 200 colleges and universities will also be represented at the Regatta.

The blue ribbon events at the HOCR, typically the Men’s and Women’s Championship Eights, are set to be tightly contested races with many collegiate crews competing. Headlining the 54^th annual Regatta within the Men’s Championship Eights, is the University of California at Berkeley, which set a course record last year with an astonishing time of 13:27.469. Yale, which finished third overall and second in the collegiate category and last June became the 2018 National Champions, will be looking to move up the boards in this year’s race. Other notable schools competing in the Championship Eights include 3^rd place collegiate finisher Harvard, with a new crop of outstanding freshmen recruits, Northeastern, the fourth place finisher, and Seattle-based University of Washington, which finished fifth among the collegiate racers in the 2017 Regatta.

For the Women’s Championship Eights, fourth place NCAA finisher Stanford will compete against Yale and Virginia. The three finished in that order last year. Also competing as part of the field are strong entries from Syracuse, Michigan and Princeton, to name the top seven contenders. NCAA Champions, University of California-Berkeley, will be starting further back in the pack and are looking to pass crews.

“We are excited by the highly talented and competitive collegiate crews participating in this year’s Regatta,” said Fred Schoch, Executive Director of The Head Of The Charles Regatta. “The energy and determination that these young rowers bring to the race is a crucial part of the Head Of The Charles, and in large part that’s what makes the Regatta such a special competition. Winning the Charles in October is a benchmark all crews aim to achieve.”

In addition to the Championship races, many other colleges and universities will be represented during the separate Men’s and Women’s Collegiate category. Bates, the winner of last year’s HOCR Women’s Collegiate category and the NCAA DIII champ, will be back to defend their title. They will face strong challenges from Wesleyan, Williams College, and Ithaca. The Men’s Collegiate competition will lead off with The University of Virginia followed by St. Joseph’s University, Bates College, Michigan, and Marist.

The Head Of The Charles Regatta is one of the world’s most renowned rowing competitions, hosting a variety of events for local and international rowers. The Regatta engages rowers of diverse experience, including Juniors, Olympians, Para and Masters athletes and has become a signature sporting event in New England. It is free to the public and accessible to view from any bridge or shoreline along the three-mile Charles River course. Since 2013, its lead sponsor has been BNY Mellon, which has played a crucial role in promoting and supporting the iconic race weekend. For more information about the event, visit www.hocr.org.

ABOUT HEAD OF THE CHARLES REGATTA

Since its origin in 1965, the Head Of The Charles® Regatta has welcomed the world’s best crew teams to the banks of the Charles River for the ultimate two-day rowing competition. Preparing for an event that attracts over 11,000 athletes and thousands of spectators requires a great deal of preparation. The HOCR consists of a 15 member Board of Directors, six of which are in charge of race management and overseeing an eleven-member race committee (including two race co-chairs). The race committee meets year-round to discuss the operational and logistical details of the event. They are assisted by 115 leading volunteers on 30 separate committees that begin meeting weekly in the fall. A full-time, professional staff of four, headquartered in the Cambridge Boat Club, works year-round to plan the event, obtain sponsorship and communicate with the rowing community. Head Of The Charles® is a registered trademark of the Cambridge Boat Club, 2 Gerry’s Landing Road, Cambridge, MA. For more information, call Head Of The Charles at (617) 868-6200, email regatta@hocr.org

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