The Head of the Charles, the biggest regatta in the world, hosts 10,000 rowers from the high school, junior club, collegiate, and even Olympic levels, rowing along with over 300,000 spectators annually.
On Sunday, October 20th, the Jesuit crew team had the privilege of competing in this revered regatta along with 85 other boats from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
The regatta runs from the Charles River Basin in Boston near Fenway Park to Austin, which is near Cambridge, and it is a three mile race. One of the most difficult parts of the race is navigating through the numerous sharp turns that go through small bridges. “This makes it a real coxswain’s course,” explained Head Coach John Fife. “[The coxswain] has to steer through these bridges and around these crews and make these sharp and hair-point turns.”
The Jesuit crew team competed in the Youth Eights Men and finished 35th out of 85 boats. Finishing 35th in a race that includes colleges from all over the world is not an easy feat, and it was a turning point in the crew season.
“The thing I like about going to the Head of the Charles is it gets to expose our athletes here at Jesuit to the entire spectrum of rowing across the world,” continued Fife. “It becomes a real teachable moment for us to see what the fastest crews are doing both nationally and internationally so that we can gauge ourselves and see where we are at this point in time.”
Coxswain Elliot Stone ’15 had to say that “It was a real learning experience for me. I realized what I needed to do to become a better coxswain by observing the other teams who raced.”
With these words of encouragement, the crew team will strive to excel even more in future regattas. This regatta allowed them to learn from other teams and to learn from their mistakes so that they can become even better next year. Also, having placed 35th, the team is guaranteed acceptance into the Head of the Charles next fall, which is definitely something to look forward to.
Be sure to catch up with the team as the freshmen head to Austin, Texas on Saturday, October 26th, to compete in the Head of the Colorado regatta, also known as the Pumpkin Head regatta.
