Notre Dame will head east to compete in the 50th Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this weekend.
The regatta, which has been held annually since 1965, lasts for two days and consists of two races: the draw for championship eight and the draw for championship four. It hosts some of the best crew teams from around the world, with competitors ranging from Alabama to Oxford.
“I think it will be a great learning experience for the athletes,” Irish coach Martin Stone said. “They have the opportunity to compete against some of the best rowers/coxswains in the world.”
The regatta is Notre Dame’s first true race of the fall season after it raced Michigan and Michigan State on Sept. 14 in an exhibition regatta in Belleview, Michigan.
Stone said the key for the Irish will be to focus on their own times instead of the abilities of the other teams attending the regatta.
“We just need to focus on making our boats go as fast as possible,” Stone said. “We only have control over our speed and cannot do anything about the other teams. Some of the other teams are among the fastest in the world. Others have traditionally been the fastest at the NCAA championships. The teams in the events we are racing have tremendous speed. I think all of our rowers will race at a high level.”
In the draw for championship eight race, the Irish will compete against several university teams, including top squads like Brown, Virginia and Princeton, along with international teams like Cambridge and Oxford.
The race also features several club crews, including the Cambridge Boat Club and Radcliffe Crew. Rounding out the stiff competition, the reigning world champion U.S. Women’s Eight will start three spots ahead of the Irish in the championship eight event.
The draw for championship four race includes boats from Virginia, Syracuse and Yale. Also competing is the Don Rowing Club, as well as the U.S. National Team.
Notre Dame will travel to Cambridge this weekend for the all-day events on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
