Men's crew makes history with trip to Charles

By Brian Witter

For the first time in history, the Santa Clara men's crew team will race in the 40th annual Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend, held on Boston's Charles River.

Heralded as the world's largest rowing event by its founder, the Cambridge Boat Club, the Broncos will not only be competing against other collegiate boats, but also against vessels that feature professional and national teams.

The Head of the Charles, which began in 1965, is a contest called a "head" race because the crews race against each other and the clock. In their particular race, the Santa Clara Varsity Eight will be competing against 36 other boats.

The Regatta is considered the largest spectator sporting event in the United States, which has drawn over 300,000 spectators to the banks of the Charles River in years past.

"We're actually not even in the main collegiate division," senior starboard rower Daniel Jordan said. "Since we're one of the top-six crew teams on the West Coast, we were placed in the Championship division."

In the Championship Eight race, the eight Bronco rowers will face teams from all over the United States, including Ivy League powerhouses Princeton, Harvard and Cornell. National teams from the Netherlands and the U.S. Navy will also be attending.

Santa Clara will also be competing against the river itself. Since the Charles River is much too narrow to accommodate a total of 37 boats at once, there is a staggered start during which a different boat is launched every 15 seconds. The boat with the fastest time is the victor.

"This is really going to be a marathon instead of a sprint," junior starboard rower Mike Rhoads said.

Instead of a typical race where boats sprint for the first part of the event and then try to maintain speed, the Head of Charles will test the teams' endurance and stamina.

In addition to the length of the race, the Broncos will also have to deal with the narrowness and curves of the river while passing slower boats.

"The probability of boats crashing will be high, but it's not like anyone's going to get too injured because we're not really going that fast," Rhoads said. Boats can travel up to 20 mph but for a 5,000-meter race like the Head of the Charles, the boats will be going considerably slower for most of the event.

Crews are widely known for their early-morning practices and long hours of fierce physical exertion. The Santa Clara crew program is no different with their practices that start sharply at 6:15 a.m. on Lexington Reservoir near Los Gatos. The dedication shown by the team is exemplified both in the water and out.

This year, the Head of the Charles Regatta is actually outside of the team's normal operating budget, so each athlete is paying his own way to be able to participate.

Men's crew Head Coach Tony Barcia believes that the race will be a terrific chance for the team to gain recognition, both within the Santa Clara community and on a national scale.

"It will be a great opportunity for the crew to compete against some of the best collegiate crews in the country as well as some of the fastest elite national crews who competed at the Athens Games," Barcia said. "This will also be a great experience for the athletes, who have been training on their own throughout the summer in preparation."

*Contact Brian Witter at (408) 551-1918 or bwitter@scu.edu.