Everything you need to know about the Head of the Charles

October 22nd and 23rd mark the 52nd Head of the Charles, the world’s largest two-day rowing event.

A total of 28 countries from around the world will be competing on the Charles River this year. The most prominent countries racing are the USA, Great Britain and Canada. Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, along with other countries, will be represented through 821 teams. A total of 2,257 preliminary entries show that over 9,000 athletes will compete in the 61 events throughout the weekend.

HOCR 2015, BU Lightweight Women

Major teams competing are Boston University, Harvard, Radcliffe, Northeastern, MIT,  Yale and Princeton. “A lot of the best people of the sport will be there competing and spectating,” said Annie Shapiro, Boston University’s lightweight team captain.

Plenty of Olympians come to compete as well. Both the women’s and men’s Great Eights will be there, which are made up of the, “greatest rowers in the world, and great Olympians,” said junior Max Ponsen.

HOCR 2015, BU Women

The racecourse starts at BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse and ends right before Northeastern’s Henderson Boathouse. It runs along Soldiers Field Road on the Boston side of the river, and Route 3 along the Cambridge side. One can see the warm up area on the water in the ‘basin,’ and the start line at the BU boathouse from Memorial Drive.

Head races are 5,000 meters in length. Boats race one in front of another, crossing the starting line around 15 seconds apart. It is a race against the clock, and teams do not know their standings until the results are posted later.

It may be difficult to tell who is who by the rowers’ uniforms, so the best way to identify the teams are by the their oar blade. Each team has a unique design and color combination for their blades.

Most people watch the events on the bridges or at the boathouses, although there are also trails along both sides of the river. The most popular spectator bridges are the Anderson and Weeks bridge, which are around the halfway mark of the race.

“It’s always nice when you come through Anderson and hear all the yelling of friends and family,” said Ponsen. “It’s nice to recognize voices, if you recognize anything at that point.”

The crowd screaming at the rowers and cheering them on gets the athletes pumped up. “It’s the only sport where you’re encouraged to yell at the athletes,” said captain and junior Jacob Barker.

Courtesy of BU Men’s rowing Instagram. Follow @bumensrowing for most recent updates

The BU boathouse is open to the public during the racing weekend, inviting those from around the world to see the boathouse. “This is the only time BU allows anyone to go into the boathouse, and it’s amazing,” said Shapiro. “It’s the start line so it’s a good place to watch the race, and see what the team is all about.”

Spectators are always excited to explore the boathouse. With that said, Annalise Routenberg, BU’s open-weight team captain and senior, wants to remind spectators in the boathouse to be respectful of the athletes trying to race. It takes a lot to get into the right mindset, and having a lot of athletes and people in the boathouse is, “obviously a lot of excitement, but the challenge for us is containing it and performing at our best,” said Routenberg.

BU Women

The important Boston University race times are:

Men’s Team:
Saturday- Event 16 (Men’s Club Fours) at 12:51 p.m. Event 18 (Men’s Club Eights) at 1:37 p.m.- two BU boats, A and B.

Sunday- Event 48a (Men’s Championship Eights) at 2:20 p.m. – two BU boats, A and B.

Open women:
Saturday- Event 17 (Women’s Club Fours) at 1:10 p.m. and Event 19 (Women’s Club Eights) at 1:51 p.m.
Sunday- Event 49a (Women’s Championship Eights) at 2:36 p.m.

Lightweight women:
Sunday- Event 47b (Women’s Lightweight Fours) at 2:02 p.m. (right after the Women’s Championship Fours, which is also at 2:02 p.m.)-  two BU boats, A and B. Event 49b (Women’s Lightweight Eights) at 2:36 p.m. (right after the Women’s Championship Eights)- two BU boats, A and B.

BU Lightweight Women

Having BU’s Parents’ Weekend at the same time as the Head of the Charles gives everyone a lot more to do together. It brings many people to Boston, and as a result, there are more spectators for the races. At the same time, this double trouble weekend gets a bit hectic for all involved.

“For us it’s extra busy because we have parents, the race, race prep, and we get to show around people that are interested in our program, and it’s usually around midterms as well,” said Ponsen. “It’s a busy weekend, that’s for sure.”

Because there will be around 4.2 thousand people coming, parking near the Charles will be very difficult. There are anticipated road closure, so best place to park is not necessarily near the race. There will be shuttles running back and forth to take you to and from, and along, the racecourse. Because there is a limited amount of parking, it is also advised that people use public transportation.

BU Men

There are two different shuttle services running from Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd.  There will also be places to shop and get all your 52nd Head of the Charles souvenirs. The shops are set up in tents along FALS (Finish Area Launch Site) between Elliott Bridge and the finish line on the Boston side. There are also tickets to the hospitality tents: Reunion Village ($10/person) and Elliott Bridge Enclosure (must be bought in advance, here). Porta Johns will also be available for public use.