National champs open season on the Charles
October 16, 2008 | Men's Rowing
A couple hundred thousand spectators, 8500 competitors,nine men, two days, one river. The prestigious Head of the Charles regatta has finally arrived.
Competing for the first time since winning the IRA national championship last year, the Badger men's crew will compete in the Head of the Charles in Boston this weekend. The world's largest two-day regatta will be the first race for Wisconsin since last June.
Due to the massive amount of competitors, The Head of the Charles is not a side-by-side race. Instead, a crew is released out on the water every 10 or 15 seconds. At the end of the two days, the boat with the fastest time wins.
'Last year we were second overall, we were the top college,' Head Coach Chris Clark said, 'Last year the Olympic team from the U.S. won. As is typical after Olympics, there isn't an Olympic team right now so boom, we are bumped up to number one. We will be the first on the river.'
The Badger crew will be competing against 38 other boats in the Championship Eight division, the highest division in the race.
Wisconsin returns six of the nine rowers from its 2008 IRA National Championship boat, including seniors Grant James, Ross James, Ed Newman, Zach Krupp, George Walters and junior Max Goff. The final boat for the Head of the Charles has not yet been decided.
Overall the team is excited to travel to Boston to compete in this celebrated event.
'A couple hundred thousand people show up to this regatta,' Coach Clark said, 'It's a big scene and a lot of fun. It's an exciting start to the season, that's for sure.'
The Badgers are also expected to compete in the championship four event.
