Head Of The Charles Regatta 2010 HOCR Program | Page 20

cal / wash the rose bowl of rowing

Andy Anderson

Time was , the Head Of The Charles was like baseball spring training for collegiate eights . Sure , it was nice to do well , but it didn ’ t mean much . Things have changed . The HOCR has become the de facto beginning of the collegiate rowing season . Oh sure , most programs still profess that the fall is a low-key time , that these results don ’ t mean much . But any time you get a bunch of high-octane athletes in front of huge crowds like those at the Head Of The Charles , it ’ s going to be highly competitive . “ Being in front of all those people gets the guys really excited ,” says Mike Teti , coach of the University of California , Berkeley men . It ’ s the biggest event in rowing in our country .”

There was a time when doing a “ Head piece ” meant rowing three miles at a 30 or 32 , concentrating on swing or rhythm , not pushing too , too hard . No more . The top eights will row 36 down the course without thinking about it . The ubiquity of the erg changed the fall ; now the river is teeming with men and women who have been training most of the year ; they are here ready to let it rip . Teti ’ s archrival agrees . “ Our guys train all year for the opportunity to come East and throw down against the some of the world ’ s best in one of the most prestigious arenas for our sport ,” says Michael Callahan , coach of the
University of Washington men .
With the bulk of the sport ’ s elite sweep oarsmen and women away in New Zealand for the World Championships at the end of October , the Championship Eights will be a contest between the country ’ s top collegiate programs . And if the last two years tell us anything , there will be no bigger grudge match than the men ’ s eights from the universities of California and Washington . At last year ’ s Head , Cal was the top placing college , finishing second to the Tideway Sculling All Stars . They were . 24 of a second ahead of Washington over the three mile course . Just over seven months later , at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta in June , 2010 , the Golden Bears sprinted past the Huskies in the last 400 meters to win a National Championship by . 27 .
The previous year , Washington won the IRA by . 9 over California . Care to guess who the top collegiate eight was at the HOCR in 2008 ? That ’ s right , Washington beat California by 5 seconds . So in each of the past two years these great rowing schools have finished first and second in both the HOCR and the IRA . “ The last few years we have been a part of some incredible races , and that has elevated the level of rowing between both schools ,” Callahan said “ We continually push each other for excellence .”
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IN THE FINAL STRETCH IN 2009 photo : carlos ridruejo | caridossa . com 2010 Head Of The Charles 21