Head of the Charles Regatta
RISING. As the sun crests over the Charles, the Harvard crew teams will welcome hundreds of thousands of rowing enthusiasts to the banks of the river to witness the greatest regatta in the sport: the 59th Head of the Charles.
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
ON THE COVER
STAFF
Front Cover
Photo
by
Dylan J. Goodman
Designed by Julian J. Giordano
SPORTS CHAIRS
Katharine Forst ’25
Jack Silvers ’25
DESIGN CHAIRS
Laurinne Jamie P. Eugenio ’26
Sami E. Turner ’25
MULTI CHAIRS
Julian J. Giordano ’25
Addison Y. Liu ’25
ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITORS
Elias J. Schisgall ’25
Claire Yuan ’25
STAFF WRITERS
Nate Bolan ’27
Josephine Elting ’26
Thomas Harris ’25
Daniel Hochberg ’27
Praveen Kumar ’26
Jo Lemann ’26
Isabel C. Smail ’27
Natalie Weiner ’26
DESIGN EDITORS
Julia N. Do ’25
Nicole M. Hernández Abud ’27
Catherine H. Feng’27
Xinyi C. Zhang ’27
MANAGING EDITOR
Miles J. Herszenhorn ’25
PRESIDENT
J. Sellers Hill ’25
PREVIEW
HEAD OF THE CHARLES
FROM THE EDITORS
Our guide to Harvard’s oldest sport. We cover the lexicon, the teams, and the schedule
DAY IN THE LIFE WITH GABRIEL GUIDE TO ROWING 8 3
The Crimson spends the day with men’s heavyweight standout Gabriel Obholzer
For the second year in a row, Harvard has a new boathouse fit for champions NEW NEWELL 12
THE CRIMSON’S BOATS 10 6
The who’s-who of Harvard’s crews this year, from the front to the back of the boat
DAY IN THE LIFE WITH ISABEL
The Crimson spends the day with women’s crew standout Isabel Llabres Diaz
HIGH SCHOOLERS AT HOCR 14
Thousands of teenagers experience HOCR, a seminal coming-ofage experience
Cutting through the heart of campus, hundreds of thousands of adoring crew fans will flock to the banks of The Charles River this weekend in a show of adoring support for Harvard’s four exemplary crew teams. If you’ve never seen an oar, or if this will be your thousandth regatta, the energy and magic that envelopes Harvard Square during this unique weekend is unmatched, and is what keeps bringing back friends, family, and alumni to the race.
Through this supplement, you will unlock the key to understanding the weekend. Our writers bring you the lingo, the Varsity boat layouts, and insight into a day in the life of the rowers. We strive to bring to you a true Harvard perspective on this iconic event.
SPECTATOR GUIDE 16
Your guide to everything HOCR (apart from the rowing)
BUSINESS MANAGAER
Matthew M. Doctoroff ’25
Harvard’s female coxswains find their niche in male-dominated boats COURAGEOUS COXSWAINS 17
PHOTO ESSAY ONCE MORE TO THE BOATS 20 22
Views from the Charles
The camaraderie of rowing is what keeps crew alumni coming back each year
This weekend, there are two types of Harvard competitors you should keep your eye on: the vets and the rookies. The veterans are the rowers competitors are already scared of — All-American Gabriel Obholzer and 2024 IRCA Coxswain of the Year Anya Cheng come to mind here. While Obholzer and Cheng have already made their own waves on the Charles, the rising rowers of Harvard will soon be just as scary to opposing crews: those are our rookies. Like freshman Charles Rahdon, an Aussie who earned a seat in the defending-champion men’s lightweight 1V boat. Or Natalia Toms, a freshman coxswainwho won gold at the 2023 U-19 Championships. These Crimson competitors are ready to bring home the hardware.
After almost six decades of regal regattas on these waters, grizzled rowing veterans in the crowd might think nothing can surprise them. This issue says think again. On the Charles, anything can happen. Let the races begin.
Roll Sports.
-Katharine A. Forst and Jack K. Silvers
COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS
Guide to Rowing and the Head of the Charles
By KATHARINE A. FORST CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Head of the Charles regatta is a unique race that occurs once a year, bringing together tens of thousands of people to Harvard Square to witness a spectacle of some of the most talented rowers in the world. Even though the bulk of the crew season takes place in the spring, every athlete regards this race as being the second most important of the season, behind only Nationals. Because of the hype around the event, a lot of preparation goes into making the race competitive and successful.
Despite the hype around the race, and the crowd that descends on Harvard Square to watch the events, many people are still unfamiliar with the sport. Senior Lightweight Women’s Crew Captain Calliste Skouras, a Crimson Business Associate, helped to create a glossary of crew-specific and HOCR-specific terminology.
To her, the race is the most important of the fall because of the talent that comes to compete and the responsibility that comes with racing in such an important event.
“Head of the Charles is by far the most exciting race to compete in for all four Harvard and Radcliffe teams. There is something so special about rowers flocking from all corners of the country and overseas to this one 4.8km stretch of the Charles River, which Harvard’s campus sits directly in the middle of,” Skouras noted. “It’s also a race that a lot of Harvard students — no matter how un -
familiar they are with rowing — come out to see, which makes it really fun to give my non-rowing friends a taste of what I spend so many hours of my day doing.”
In an effort to make the weekend more accessible for viewers unfamiliar with the sport, and to ensure that they can participate in the event, Skouras outlined some general terms to know when watching any crew race, the first being the different types of teams.
On each team, there are several types of boats that race at HOCR. There are boats of eight rowers, four rowers, pairs and singles. They are further broken down into coxed versus un-coxed boats. Skouras says that “the number represents the number of rowers in the boat, the x signifies a sculling boat (two oars per person, often without a coxswain), the + signifies a sweeping boat with a coxswain, and the - signifies a sweeping boat without a coxswain.”
There are 75 events that row at the HOCR that are split based on boat class, as defined above. They are further divided into age divisions and weight-class. This is a HOCR-specific distinction. The age groups include youth, collegiate, master, and senior.
Further breaking down the distinctions within the boats, there are positions held by each rower that correspond to specific seats within the boats. Skouras outlined the breakdown within an 8+ boat, but these distinctions are logically applied to other boat classes as well, with the stern seats being rhythm-setters, the middle seats being the power rowers, the front seats being pace setters, and, if applicable, the cox-
THE CRIMSON’S RACE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
10:51 A.M.
Men’s Alumni Eights: Bow 14
12:35 P.M.
Men’s Club Fours: Bow 6 and Bow 17
1:18 P.M.
Men’s Club Eights: Bow 3
SUNDAY
12:48 P.M.
Men’s Lightweight Fours: Bow 4 (HVL A) and Bow 9 (HVL B)
1:18 P.M.
Women’s Lightweight Fours: Bow 6 (RVL) 1:50 P.M.
Men’s Championship Eights: Bow 1 (HUBC A), Bow 16 (HUBC B), Bow 30 (HUBC C)
2:02 P.M.
Men’s Lightweight Eights: Bow 1 (HVL, Defending HOCR Champions) 2:25 P.M.
Women’s Championship Eights: Bow 19 (RVH A) and Bow 28 (RVH B) 2:37 P.M.
Women’s Lightweight Eights: Bow 1 (RVL, Defending HOCR Champions)
HARVARD CREW TEAMS
MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT ROWING
Harvard University Boat Club
MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING
Harvard Varsity Lightweights
WOMEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT ROWING
Radcliffe Varsity Heavyweights
WOMEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING
Radcliffe Varsity Lightweights
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
HARVARD BOATS
SINGLE (1X): Like its name, a single is a sculling boat with only a single rower
DOUBLE (2X): The double boat is controlled by two rowers, each of whom utilize two oars. There is no coxswain in the boat, and the rower in the bow of the boat steers, either with a rudder or by pressure steering, which is essentially a concerted effort to pull the boat into a turn.
PAIR (2-): The Pair (2-) is rowed as a sweeping boat with two rowers and no coxswain.
QUAD (4X): Rowed in what is known as a sculling boat that holds four rowers. Raced with or without a coxswain.
COXLESS FOUR (4-): Similar to the quad, with four rowers each using one oar. The only difference between them is that here there is no coxswain. In this case, the boat is steered by a rower in the bow of the boat by controlling a rudder with his foot.
COXED FOUR (4+): Coxed Four boats, like the name suggests, house four rowers who each hold one oar, and the boat typically has a coxswain.
EIGHT (8+): These boats boast eight rowers, each with one oar, as well as a coxswain.
swain sitting at the front steering and keeping pace.
Skouras offered some interesting insight into how to make the most of the race. The course is much longer than a typical collegiate course, clocking in at 4.8km versus the usual 2km that the teams race in the spring season. There are also HOCR-specific events like alumni boats, youth boats, and professional boats.
There are also a few important landmarks to note. Skouras suggested two prime spots to view the races: Eliot Bridge and Weeks Bridge, both of which happen to be right on Harvard’s campus.
The first landmark to look for is the DeWolfe Boathouse, which serves as the Boston University crew team’s headquarters. This is located right next to the BU Bridge.
The next point of interest is Weeks Bridge, which is the location of the first major turn of the race. This is an especially exciting vantage point, as the bridge sits on a sharp 90-degree turn that is difficult for the coxswain to navigate with only a few strokes. Skouras joked that “this is a great place to watch — chances are you’ll see a few collisions in the youth rowing events.”
The next point of excitement comes on Eliot Bridge, which is the ending point of a long and treacherous 180-degree turn. It also marks the thrilling final 800m sprint,
a dash to the final landmark of the course.
The finish line is marked by two metal stakes on either side of the river. If watching here, the viewer is privy to the emotional toll of the long course, and the exhaustion, joy, devastation, pride, and heartbreak that ensues. This landmark allows the viewer to appreciate the dedication and effort each rower puts into the race.
The HOCR is also atypical because it does not follow the usual race pattern. The race is a time trial race, which causes the boats to stagger in the water.
In a typical race, boats begin their dash to the finish at the same time. However, due to the narrow and windy nature of this particular course, boats are spaced apart by about 15 seconds. The boats are ordered based on performances from the previous year’s race (see Harvard’s bow numbers on the previous page), and in order to keep track of the boats on the course, they are emblazoned with a large number on the bow. It is typical for boats to race neck-in-neck, and to pass one another. If this happens, the passing boat is given the right of way, and the lower-numbered boat must deviate from its course. Rowing, after all, can be a cut-throat sport.
PORT VS. STARBOARD
The terms port and starboard are indicative of the left and right sides of the boat. Port means left, and starboard means right. In a sweeping boat, in which each rower wields one oar, a rower either sits on the port or the starboard side. Rowers tend to favor one side of the boat. Skouras says: “Usually in a boat, the rowers will sit in an order with alternating port and starboard sides, but this isn’t always the case — in my boat, for example, the 7 seat and 6 seat are both portside.”
BOAT POSITIONS
SEATS 8 AND 7 (“STERN PAIR”):
The stern pair sets the rhythm of the boat. They sit in the stern, or the back, of the boat. However, they are in a sense leading the other rowers, because they all face backwards in the boat. This position is held by rowers with the best technique.
SEATS 6, 5, 4, 3 (“MIDDLE PAIRS”):
The “engine room,” or the middle pairs of rowers, are seated in the middle of the boat. This part of the vessel is wider and more stable, which allows these rowers to generate power. The fastest and strongest rowers often sit here.
SEATS 2 AND 1 (“BOW PAIR”):
The bow pair, or the first and second seat, are given to rowers with good “boat feel.” This is an important seat because these rowers balance the boat. These rowers are often the lightest of the eight, since an ideal rowing shell has its bow slightly raised out of the water.
COXSWAIN: The role of the coxswain is incredibly important. The coxswain is responsible for steering the boat through the course, which is especially difficult due to the 90-degree turn, 180 degree turn, and six bridgesthe rowers must navigate on The Charles. The coxswain also motivates the boat by directing the rowers through a microphone, maintaining the goal pace and rhythm, and keeping morale high through the finish line.
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
SYLVIE SPLITZ
ERIN HANRAHAN
Senior - Chicago, Ill. 2024 Championship 8A at HOCR
Sophomore - Miami, Fla.
U23 Silver Medal at 2024 World Rowing Championship
Junior - Herrliberg, Switzerland 2024 Championship 8A at HOCR
Junior - Cornwall, U.K.
2023 Club 8 at HOCR, 2V8 at Ivy Championships
Sophomore - Oxford, U.K. 2024 Championship 8A at HOCR, 1V8 at Ivies
Senior - Philadelphia, Pa. 2024 Club 8A at HOCR, 2023 CRCA Scholar Athlete
Freshman - Salt Lake City, Utah
First-year - Atherton, Calif.
Junior - La Punta, Peru 2024 2V4 at Ivies, 2023 Championship Double at HOCR
CHARLOTTE PALEY
JAMIE REIDY
RIKKIE NIELSEN
KRISTINE SCHWARTZ
COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Senior - Belmont, Mass.
2024 2V boat at IRA National Championships
Junior - Perth, Australia
2024 Runner-Up at IRA National Championships
Junior - Lymington, U.K.
2024 1V boat at IRA National Championships
Junior - Sarasota, Fla.
2023 Runner-Up at IRA National Championships
Senior - London, U.K.
2024 IRCA First-Team All-American
Junior - Tacoma, Wash.
2024 Runner-Up at IRA National Championships
Junior - Reading, U.K.
2024 IRCA All-American Second Team
Senior - London, U.K.
2024 IRCA All-American Second Team
Junior - Monkstown, Ireland
2023 IRCA All-American Second Team
TYLER HORLER
PRESTON DARLING
BEN LUNDIE
DYLAN J. GOODMAN— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Carrying the Boats: A Day in the Life Preparing for the Head of the Charles
By THOMAS HARRIS STAFF WRITER
If a Harvard student knows one thing about crew, it’s that every time they walk past the Charles River, they seem to see boats flying down the water. That is because the crew teams work through a whopping 11 practices each week. In theory, that doesn’t sound too difficult. But, add that workload to all the normal parts of college life — classes, extracurriculars, and a social life — and you arrive at an almost impossible feat, seemingly taken on by only the most masochistic among us.
Senior heavyweight rower Gabriel Obholzer has somehow made it all work. And, he’s made it work to the highest standard of both school and sport. Hailing from London, Obholzer has been rowing since he was a child. At 17, Obholzer set the British 2000m junior record. Last season, Obholzer earned First-Team IRCA All-American honors, and won his second U23 World Championships for Great Britain.
The Crimson was given the unique opportunity to follow Obholzer during a day of training in the run-up to the Head of the Charles. From a pre-sunrise wake-up to double training sessions, a typical day in his life as a student-athlete was equal parts intimidating and inspiring.
6:15 a.m.: Obholzer starts his morning in Adams House. Five minutes later, he groggily texts the boat group chat good morning, making sure everyone is awake and ready to head over to the boathouse. He quickly throws on his gear, and
races out the door to grab two bagels at Lowell, before making the trek to the boathouse, arriving by 6:45.
“We have to get up early because our bow seat has a biology class at 9:00,” Obholzer halfjokes. “Once you get in a routine it’s easier. Normally I am in bed before 10:00 p.m. I just have to get my homework out of the way.”
While this routine might seem daunting, it’s the boat members’ dedication to their craft that drives their tenacious schedule. Making sure everyone can be present is essential to their success, but finding time within their hectic Harvard schedules — with the onslaught of work from classes and extracurriculars — forces them to practice before the sun crests over the Charles.
“I feel like doing it helps me get into school mode,” Obholzer says about waking up at the crack of dawn. “I feel like I am super switched on as soon as I walk in the classroom.”
7:00 a.m.: Obholzer and the rest of the varsity boat — the ‘1V’— carry their boat down to the dock into the water. As the sun rises above the horizon, the other crews throw their boats in the river until the surface seems to be entirely covered with shells. By 7:05, the team is off to the races, rowing to the call of their coxswains.
A typical practice consists mostly of paddling — rowing at a jogging pace — but this practice, in preparation for HOCR, is different. The team practices at full speed down the entirety of the course, mimicking the twists and turns it will see on race day. As we paddle upriver to get to the starting line, Head Coach Charley Butt shouts or-
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
ders through a megaphone.
“I was thinking, damn, this is pretty hard, but I knew everyone else was feeling the same way, and we’re all gonna do it again,” Obholzer says. “Maybe I am a bit of a masochist, but I love it.”
“Bring your lower arm up,” Butt shouts, and the rowers quickly adjust their positioning.
Once they arrive at the starting line, it’s time to turn around and sprint down the course.
On the Coach’s command, the rowers quickly accelerates to a full sprint. They fly down the Charles at a pace of nearly 14 miles per hour, exhausting their bodies in the process. They pass iconic Boston landmarks such as the CITGO sign, the MIT quad, and the Charles River Esplanade along their journey down the course, finally taking a break by Harvard Square. After only a couple minutes of rest, they take off again. Their second journey has them sprinting deep into Cambridge and towards Watertown. It was cold and windy, yet the crew was overheating, exhausted by the strenuous work. After an hour and a half, practice ends.
8:40 a.m.: Obholzer and the rest of the team hit the shower, change, and get ready for the rest of their day.
9:10 a.m.: After practice, most of the team goes to breakfast in the Quincy dining hall to cool down and get ready for the day. With such a big team, they take up a long stretch of the table and each rower shovels in enough calories to put a non-athlete to shame. For Obholzer, standard fare is three bowls of oatmeal and a blueberry waf-
fle, washed down with three glasses of milk.
11:00 a.m.: After his hearty breakfast, which Obholzer describes as “light,” the Brit meets with Professor Dimiter Angelov to talk about his history seminar. Having worked up an appetite once again, he treks from his meeting to the Adams House dining hall for his first lunch, a bowl of turkey chili and rice.
12:00 a.m.: He goes to his lecture for The Power and Beauty of Being In Between: The Story of Armenia, an aesthetics and culture Gen Ed, and wolfs down another bowl of turkey chili and rice right after.
3:00 a.m.: Nearly nine hours after he woke up, Obholzer goes to his Authoritarianism section.
4:30 a.m.: The academic day isn’t over quite yet. Finally, Obholzer attends his History 10 section, squeezing in his third class of the day while the rest of the team lifts. For the Varsity boat members it is a rest day anyway, so they’re lifting under their maximum threshold. They deadlift, bench press, and split squat, mostly focusing on the lower body because rowing, at its core, is a lower body sport. Because he wasn’t able to make the second practice due to his conflicting class schedule, Obholzer will have to lift weights on his own in the evening to make sure he is on the same schedule as the rest of his boat.
Due to the unique schedule the rowers must adhere to, there is little flexibility in their course selection. The crew teams are never in an “off-season” period, and as such stick to the rigidity of 11 practices a week through-
out both semesters. In an effort to fit in their rigorous course loads, they must find times where all nine members of the boat can row together. As a last resort, rowers can tackle the solo aspects of lifting on their own if their schedules are incompatible with the rest of the squad, as Obholzer does.
6:00 a.m.: After the senior finishes his section for The History of the Present, he has his first dinner of the night: pork and rice at Adams House. After an hour of eating and catching up with his friends, he goes to the Murr, the athletes’ gym across the Charles River, to lift weights. Obholzer works on most of the muscle groupings his teammates hit during their 4:30 session. By 8:10, his workout is finally done.
9:05 a.m.: Obholzer makes the journey back across the bridge and sets out for his final meal for the day, a chicken burrito from Achilitos Taqueria (he likes the pineapple salsa).
9:50 a.m.: Having downed his burrito on the walk back to Adams, just 45 minutes later it’s lights out for the rower, as he has to wake up to do it all again in the morning. While I personally couldn’t imagine having to wake before the sun rises after such a frenetic day, for Obholzer this jam-packed routine is just one of many. Being a varsity rower certainly isn’t for everyone, but the community and the overwhelming feeling of achievement make it worth it for Gabe.
thomas.harris@thecrimson.com
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Isabel Llabres Diaz: My Life as a Radcliffe Rower
By ISABEL SMAIL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Competing in any sport at a Division-I level is a full-time job. With countless practices, lifts, and strategy sessions, these athletes dedicate a serious portion of their collegiate life to their teams. While there is always an intensity with every hour spent practicing, for the Harvard crew
teams, there is an even larger prize each October: the chance to defend their home turf during the Head of the Charles.
For Radcliffe heavyweight crew standout Isabel Llabres Diaz, a sophomore hailing from Oxford, U.K., this fall will be the moment where she and her teammates can truly set themselves apart from their competitors. Diaz and the team will race in three competitions — the Princeton Chase, the Head of the Charles, and the Foot of the
Charles — but the Head of the Charles is particularly noteworthy due to the river’s curvy path, the loud and boisterous atmosphere of the fans, and the historic significance for the Radcliffe team.
Reflecting on a typical day in her life as a collegiate rower, Diaz walked The Crimson through the intensity that comes with being a student-athlete competing at such a high level.
5:45 a.m.: Diaz’s alarm goes off, echoing
through her double in Dunster House. Diaz and her roommate, Kathryn Serra, are both on the crew team and trek to the newly renovated Weld Boathouse together. On Wednesdays, practice starts at 6:30 a.m., but the team gets there at least ten minutes before to stretch. If they’re late, they have to complete the notorious Harvard Stadium run. Isabel confirmed that this has effectively incentivized the team to arrive on time. With practice restrictions limiting the
amount of time the players can spend with their coaches in the offseason, Diaz explains that she and her teammates “just have to be very efficient” when working with the coaching staff.
6:30 a.m.: Practice begins. Typically, during training time, the team rows 16k to 18k on the famous Charles River. On Wednesdays, Diaz and her teammates compete in the friendly Radcliffe Rumble. The competition is fierce amongst the Radcliffe
Diaz describes the sense of camaraderie shared within the team, fostered by a positive team culture and customs implemented by the coaching staff. During the time indoors on the erg — a rowing machine that is critical for training — the Radcliffe team is not allowed to wear headphones. Instead, the coxswains are tasked with setting the tone through their DJ skills.
“The team loves their BOOM BOOM BOOM music,” said Diaz, laughing as she hailed the coxswains’ efforts to boost the mood of their teammates. Diaz joked that she enjoys their intense music but would opt for something a little more mellow, like Maroon 5 or Coldplay, if she were in control of the speakers.
9:00 a.m.: Practice ends, and Diaz bolts immediately back across the river to Dunster. Instead of joining the migration from Allston to Quincy House for hot breakfast, as many other hungry student-athletes do after their early practices, Diaz is perfectly satisfied with the Dunster breakfast options. Her morning specialty is yogurt, topped with frozen blueberries and peanut butter.
“I basically have it every single day,” she said. “It is so good after being out for an hour and a half in the cold.”
10:30 a.m.: With her homemade yogurt parfait in hand Diaz rushes to Harvard Yard just in time for her first class of the day. She recently declared as a Psychology concentrator with a secondary in Economics. She is really excited to start taking psychology electives in the upcoming semester and is keen on finding a research position with one of her professors so that she might pursue her academic interests even further.
Diaz is currently taking a wide breadth of classes, ranging from Cognitive Neuroscience to Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, which takes up most of her day until the late afternoon.
is at a major tactical disadvantage.
Diaz says she always feels very fit coming out of the winter season and moving into the boat, but that the team has to undergo some technical adjustments as it transitions into the water for its spring season.
From an individual perspective, Diaz stated, “It’s just all about finding that balance between being good technically and being as fit as you can be.”
6:00 p.m.: Dinner time! Diaz’s favorite Harvard dinner is roast beef with gravy and roasted vegetables. The Harvard dining staff often serves this meal on Sundays, reminding the rower of her family and hometown of Oxford.
“In the UK, it is a tradition to have a Sunday roast dinner, so it feels a bit like home,” Diaz explained.
With her busy day full of class and practice, Diaz hardly has any time for lunch. She typically gets takeout either from breakfast or Fly-By to carry her through the day. Therefore, a big dinner always hits the spot!
6:45 p.m.: Time for homework. Diaz decided to attend Harvard as an international student because of its incredible academic opportunities. Unfortunately for Diaz and her fellow classmates, world-renowned classes often come with hefty work loads.
While describing the mental toll of rowing, Diaz explains that it’s just a game, and you have to ask yourself, “How strong are you mentally? How hard can you go?”
This mental effort translates into her academic life as well. “Obviously, I know I’m going to be tired, and some nights I really don’t want to work,” she said. “But you just have to focus on getting your homework done.”
rowers, who push themselves to outperform one another.
“I think it is important to have that competitiveness between the team,” says Diaz as she praises the Radcliffe Rumble tradition. “It’s good because our culture is very strong, and we don’t let that competitiveness affect our friendship. We know that it’s only going to make us faster in the end. It is a nice type of competitiveness that pushes us to become better athletes.”
4:30 p.m.: Depending on the day, the Radcliffe team has double sessions: one in the water or on the erg in the morning, followed by lift in the Palmer Dixon — known affectionately by the athletes as ‘The PD’ — in the afternoon. Some days, they will spend both practices doing cardio, either on the ergs or back on the Charles River.
In the winter, the rowers are unable to row on the Charles due to the biting New England weather, which forces them into the confines of the Weld Boathouse to train on the ergs. From a fitness standpoint, the extensive erg time is great for the team. However, compared to other teams in warmer climates who have the ability to train both on land and on the water, the Radcliffe team
9:30 p.m.: Since their practices start so early in the morning, the rowing roommates Diaz and Serra start to wind down for bed on the earlier side. Both Serra and Diaz stretch before bed so that they are physically prepared to run through their grueling schedule again the next morning.
Diaz is training with the dream of making it to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and she is currently eligible to compete for either Team Great Britain or Team Spain. That being said, for the next week, she and her Radcliffe teammates are strictly focused on the Head of the Charles in the hopes of making a top-10 finish and upholding the high standards that are cherished by the women of Radcliffe crew.
isabel.smail@thecrimson.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS
Renovated Weld Boathouse Ready for Spotlight at Head of the Charles
By PRAVEEN KUMAR
Walking along the banks of the Charles River, no observant onlooker can miss one of the oldest and distinctive buildings: the Newell Boathouse, home to the men’s varsity lightweight and heavyweight rowing teams. The boathouse, built in 1900 and named after former Crimson rower Marshall Newell ’94, stands on land covered by a lease agreement between Harvard and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The land that the boathouse utilizes belongs to the Commonwealth, and under the 1000-year lease agreement with the university, Harvard pays just one dollar a year for the right to keep a boathouse on site in exchange for the university conferring land further downriver. The agreement, known as a peppercorn lease, stems from a vestige of British common law in which renters would pay a
Starting in April 2023, the renovations, undertaken by architecture firm Brunner Cott and general contractor Consigli Construction, saw a massive upheaval in both the interior and exterior of the space.
Brahm Erdmann, captain of the men’s lightweight team and a Crimson Sports Editor, traced the changes to the team’s athletic homebase. “Our boathouse has been around for over 100 years with pretty minimal renovations. It’s a very beautiful and historic building,” the senior said. “A lot of things were broken. It’s all made of wood and it’s a pretty old building.”
The renovations to the boathouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, aimed to provide a modern training space for the university’s rowers while respecting the historical significance of the building.
On the exterior, the firms restored the slate shingles, windows, and doors, while also replacing the slate roof. Meanwhile, the interior renovations, which include new team
day, everyone was stoked,” Erdmann explained, referring to the first day after the boathouse reopened earlier in February. “It looked just like the old one, but all the characteristic flaws were gone. There was new wood, new furnishing, and it was beautiful to see it. They kept the structure and facade looking really similar to what it used to be.”
Furthermore, the renovations included an upheaval to the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems of the building along with a modernized boat shop, boat bays, and two new boat storage sheds to support Harvard recreation. While the overall square footage remains the same, the space has been more efficiently allocated to maximize usage.
During the 10-month renovation period, the men’s and women’s teams shared the Weld Boathouse across the river. Despite the potential awkwardness of having four teams sharing one space, Erdmann believes everyone handled the situation well. “We cooperated well with the women’s teams and had a really success
structure, Erdmann and the team are particularly appreciative of the effort to retain the team’s storied history.
“I appreciate how much time and effort they put into respecting the history of the boathouse,” he explained. “We’re awaiting the final interior renovation. It’s finished, but there’s a lot of old memorabilia including photos of the last century, trophies, trinkets, and banners that were put away in storage. We’re waiting for those to come back.”
During the Head of the Charles this weekend, the new boathouse will be exposed to thousands of spectators, not just the Crimson rowers who frequent it, which Erdmann is eagerly looking forward to. The event is particularly special to the team, because the Crimson’s boats pass by the boathouse while gliding across the Charles.
Erdmann described the special feeling of the day, saying, “We’ve won the Head of the Charles the last two years. Winning that race is really unique because it happens right on our river. The race course passes right by our
Erdmann expects the team to go out and make a statement, not only in the varsity
ning it is a very special feeling,” he said, with
This weekend, the Crimson will go for the three-peat in front of its nearly-finished new boathouse at the Head of the Charles Regatta,
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The newly renovated Weld boathouse. DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
The HUBC crew team carries its boats across the dock. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
At Head of the Charles, High Schoolers Make a Splash
By DANIEL HOCHBERG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
We all know the Head of the Charles as one of the pinnacle events of college rowing, and the best-known boat race this side of the Atlantic Ocean. But on Sunday morning, when everyone is preparing for the championships in the afternoon, the best high school rowers in the country will be navigating the twists and turns of the difficult Charles River course.
Similarly to the fall offseason for college crew teams, the fall schedule for high school crews revolves around the HOCR. The lead-up to the historic race begins in August, with preseason training.
“We train six times per week for about two-and-a-half hours per day,” notes Marko Serafimovski, the coach of RowAmerica Rye one of the high school programs competing this weekend.
In the lead-up to racing, crews must select which rowers will compete with which boats. Each team is allocated a certain number of slots in the race based on their performance in the previous year’s HOCR, and must go through a series of tests to ensure they are putting their fastest team forward.
These tests are typically quite rigorous and see a massive shuffling between different crews. The tests are known as seat races, which is when one rower at a time is swapped out of a boat, and times are measured to see how big of an impact the swapped-out rower has the boat. This can create a cutthroat nature within a team because the tests can be revealing, and can completely alter the order of a boat.
“It does make it very competitive within our team,” Serafimovski added, but speed trumps all. Especially when the stakes are so high.
As the big day approaches, crews go to
other, smaller regattas to practice. On Oct. 13, hordes of high schoolers descended on the Head of the Housatonic regatta in Shelton, Conn. It’s raced as the final tune-up before the Head of the Charles. Boats launch out of Indian Wells State Park, about half an hour away from any sizable city, allowing the rowers to focus solely on honing their craft. This luxury of a quiet course will not be afforded to the rowers at the HOCR, where hundreds of thousands of spectators will line the river to cheer them on. The total audience on hand at the Head of the Housatonic numbers somewhere in the low four digits, making the nerves much easier for the high schoolers to manage, as the majority of the spectators are related to the athletes on the water, or are coaches there to support the crews.
That’s the standard formula for a high school regatta. Sometimes the bigger ones will have a few food trucks and a dedicated viewing area. Some of the smaller races require viewers to pick through woods on the side of the water to find a spot to watch the boats go by. It’s peaceful and quiet, the serenity of nature interrupted only by intermittent cheering whenever a fan favorite goes by.
Compare that to the environment in Cambridge, along the banks of the iconic Charles River. Over 400,000 attendees stream in over three days. Every single inch of riverfront viewing is packed. All six bridges over the water are lined with a row, and sometimes several rows, of spectators cheering for the rowers as they pass underneath. There’s no question that the HOCR is full of a special kind of energy.
“I don’t think it can be compared to anything else,” Serafimovski said. The race is “one of a kind in the world.”
Especially in the fall season, there’s no other race that means as much as the HOCR. It functions as a championship level race, attracting the best crews from
across the nation, as well as international standouts. High school kids from Boston, who train every day on the Charles, will be competing against Brazilians, Slovakians, South Africans, and Americans from nearly every state.
“I find a large crowd only adds to the moment,” said Isaac Rabinowitz, a junior high school rower for RowAmerica Rye. “It makes the race that much more exciting and fun. It means a lot because it’s an opportunity to show off your speed and see both domestic and foreign teams competing at the highest level.”
Because of this pressure, the race presents unique challenges that can be especially tough for less experienced crews. In an average race, coxswains are solely responsible for keeping the boat within its lane and counting the pace of the strokes. On the Charles, making tight turns may not win you the race, but it sure can lose it for you. Countless rudders have been snagged on sunken logs, essentially forcing the boat to go straight, or not go at all. And the course is anything but straight, with hairpins under bridges and long, gentle curves requiring constant attention.
Paying special attention to the turns is necessary because crashing into the bridges can not only damage the boats, but cause serious injury for the rowers smashing into the concrete.
George Dolce, another athlete at RowAmerica Rye, notes; “Our coxswain spends countless hours studying, and analyzing the course so he or she can steer the best possible race, which is such a huge factor at a race like The Head of the Charles,” Serafimovskis said. “With a good coxswain/steering a crew does not necessarily need to be the strongest to win the event.”
Despite all the eyes being on the course this weekend, the high school races are often cast to the side at the HOCR in favor of
the flashier college races, and more established masters rowing. The teams might get lost in the hustle and bustle of the racecourse surrounded by other elite athletes. However, this provides an opportunity for the high schoolers to immerse themselves in the world of rowing.
“All we notice is rowers and coxswains everyone, hundreds of boats,” Serafimovski said.
The overshadowing doesn’t take away from the high schoolers’ drive to succeed, it just means that motivation must come from within. Boats are numbered based on where they finished in the race the year before, which provides a tangible reminder of the standards that have been set. “If we start with bow number one, our goal is to keep it, and an enormous amount of stress comes with it,” Serafimovski explained. According to Dolce, the pressure “electrifies the whole feeling of racing.”
At RowAmerica Rye in particular, the standards couldn’t be higher. In the club’s ten-year history, the boys 8+ boat has won the HOCR twice, and the girls 8+ has won it three times, including the last two years. However, Serafimovski believes that rowing and youth sports in general is about far more than winning.
“The most difficult part on our end is to have these young people believe that they can give more than what they think they are capable of. Helping them exceed their own limits opens a new horizon for these kids,” the experienced coach sagely stated.
That’s really the most special part of the high school races at this special regatta. Athletes are pushed beyond their limits, with supportive crowds cheering them on at every moment. They are surrounded by the history of the river and the race, before they climb into their boats to make history of their own.
daniel.hochberg@thecrimson.com
ROWAMERICA
RYE SCHEDULE
SUNDAY
8:19 A.M.
Women’s Under 17 fours
8:38 A.M.
Women’s youth coxed quads 9:02 A.M.
Women’s youth eights 9:35 A.M.
Women’s youth doubles 9:56 A.M.
Women’s youth fours 10:33 A.M.
Men’s Under 17 fours 10:51 A.M.
Men’s youth coxed quads 11:13 A.M.
Men’s youth eights (Rabinowitz and Dolce rowing)
12:04 P.M.
Men’s youth fours 3:34 P.M.
Directors’ challenge parent/child doubles
COURTESY OF BEN HOCHBERG ’95
COURTESY OF BEN HOCHBERG ’95
A Spectator’s Guide to Head of the Charles
By JOSEPHINE ELTING AND JACK SILVERS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
For the crew-obsessed, it’s not the changing leaves along Fresh Pond or the start of Patriots football that indicates a shift in the seasons. It’s the legendary migration of thousands of rowers to Cambridge hoping to claim the glory of winning the Head of the Charles regatta. For the 59th year in a row, the world’s largest rowing event will draw thousands of spectators to Cambridge to bask in the electric atmosphere of the unique athletic pageant.
But, the event is about much more than rowing. While the rowers take to the water — with more than 12,000 athletes competing, making it indubitably one of the largest sporting tournaments in the world — HOCR viewers have the privilege of enjoying a panoply of attractions on the banks of the river, from food to drink to crew-themed merchandise. Consider this guide your all-day roadmap to a successful HOCR.
The Nitty Gritty Details
If you’re thinking of driving into Cambridge for the race, think again. Parking will be nothing short of a nightmare. As an alternative, the Red Line will drop you off at the Harvard Square stop only three blocks from the
finish line, near the main vendor tents, the most exciting viewing point.
If you are determined to see the start of the race, take the Green Line to Blandford Street. If you are absolutely determined to drive, there will be limited parking on a first-come first-serve basis at Harvard Stadium, gate 14, for $30/hour. There is also street parking in Cambridge, but it is hard to find a spot on an average weekend and will be even harder during the races.
Though the warmth will kick in later in the day, the morning breeze will be brisk. Luckily, HOCR’s deep well of partnerships has you covered even if you forget to open the weather app and find yourself shivering. The beginning and end of HOCR merchandise is the iconic partnership with Vineyard Vines. If you’re not already familiar with smiling whales and preppy quarter-zips, time to embrace the Good Life.
The Vineyard Vines tent will be located at the Eliot Bridge Enclosure, enmeshed within the rowdiest viewing area. If you have the money to spare, the brand’s limited edition cashmere sweaters are sure to draw admiration from fellow spectators. The outlet also carries HOCR-themed T-shirts and hats for under $50.
Bright and Early
The races start every day at the
BU BoatHouse at 7:45 am. For early risers, there are plenty of breakfast food options. Café Juice Up will be serving smoothies, coldpressed juices, and açaí bowls from their vendor tent. For those looking for a sweeter breakfast, Zinneken’s is located just a few blocks from the river and has mastered the delicate art of the perfect waffle.
The morning is the perfect time to walk along the river and appreciate the gallantry of the event — especially with the way the racing schedule stacks up. On both Friday and Saturday morning, most of the early races are veterans races, a testament to the intergenerational pull of the water.
On the first day of competition, the last race starts at 10:28 am, creating the perfect conditions for a late-morning brunch after the action concludes. If you’re looking for somewhere to put your feet up following the morning of activity, check out The Friendly Toast, a new brunch spot located at 1230 Massachusetts Avenue — a swanky, retro ode to old-fashioned diners serving up craft drinks and tasty concoctions.
On Saturday, the packed morning schedule means that some meal-planning will be required in order to catch the height of the action; after the masters races wrap up, club races kick off at 12:35 pm. On the closing day of racing, a must-watch is the men’s and women’s champi-
onship fours, which start at 12:40 pm and 1:10 pm, respectively.
The Stretch Run
The official food and beverage area of the race, FALS Bar, will be serving a curated food and drink menu including some New England delicacies: clam chowder and lobster rolls. In the late afternoon and evening, spectators can enjoy beer, wine, and cocktails. The finish line is typically the most action-packed (and the booziest) part of the race; it is quite simply the place to be. The last starting gun of the day is at 4:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, giving you plenty of time to explore Harvard Square before an evening dinner. There are an abundance of options for dinner in the square. Visit Hourly Oyster House for sensational seafood, Smoke Shop for brilliant barbeque, Source for incredible Italian, or Grafton Street for amazing American grub. If you’re looking for an authentic Harvard nighttime experience, visit JP Licks for a cold treat to cap off the day.
As the crowd dissipates, headed back to far-flung parts of the United States and the world, we hope that you made cherished memories. Whatever stage of life you’re in — from HOCR newbie to recent rowing alumnus to seasoned tournament veteran — the Charles River has something for you.
josephine.elting@thecrimson.com
jack.silvers@thecrimson.com
The Power of a Female Coxswain Should Not Be Underestimated
By KATHARINEA. FORST AND JO B. LEMANN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
It might seem daunting to think about steering a boat around tricky twists and turns while barreling down a river at full throttle, but the female coxswains on Harvard’s men’s lightweight and heavyweight crews do so with a commanding grace, all while leading a group of eight men who are double their size. Slotted in their seats at the head of the vessel, these female coxswains run their ships with the confidence to keep eight rowers in perfect cadence, out-performing some of the best collegiate programs in the nation.
Senior Anya Cheng is perhaps the most acclaimed coxswain on the varsity roster. Named the IRCA Coxswain of the Year and
a member of the IRCA Crew of the Year last year, following a National Championship victory with the lightweight Varsity Eight, Cheng is looking to clinch her third-straight Head of the Charles win with the crew this weekend. The Wellesley, Mass. native walked onto the crew team her freshman fall and has made an instant impact with the program.
Senior Georgina Younes has taken a nontraditional path to coxing. She joined the men’s heavyweight team her junior fall to fill a gap in the roster and had to learn on the job, having never had the opportunity to coxswain before her time with the team.
Taking what might be considered a more traditional route in walking onto the men’s heavyweight team, senior Cate Engles worked her way up through the novice
program during her freshman fall before making her mark with the 5V8. Despite going abroad for a semester during her junior year, the Akron, O.H. native has re-emerged on the team and is looking to make waves at the HOCR this weekend.
Freshman coxswain Natalia Toms brings with her an entirely different set of experiences from the other female coxswains. Toms, who was a recruited commit for the Harvard team, was the first girl to cox a men’s eight for Great Britain, where she clinched gold at the 2023 U19 World Championships. The Shrewsbury, U.K. native has already shown her prowess in the boat just a few months into her collegiate career, and will be a name to watch this weekend.
Speaking on the importance of Toms’ re-
cruitment, Engles hoped that her coach’s decision to recruit a female coxswain would put female coxs on the team in greater positions of power.
“Sometimes I do feel like, as a female coxswain, you can be underestimated,” Engles explained, recounting how during her tenure at Harvard coaches would consistently opt to recruit male coxswains over female coxswains, and how those recruited male coxswains were given the advantage in competing to cox the varsity boat over the female walk-ons.
“There were two seniors, very, very good coxswains, both of them, but everyone always knew the boy was gonna have the varsity,” explained Engles, recounting the experience. “There was never really a conversation about maybe this other coxswain
IRA Coxswain of the Year Anya Cheng makes a splash. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANYA CHENG
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
could be there. So I think if anything were to change, I would say the power of a female coxswain should not be underestimated.”
Learning on the Job
As walk-ons, coxswains are typically at a disadvantage from their peers. With only one coxswain recruited every three or four years, the fleet of boats in each of Harvard’s four crews are captained by walk-ons who have never participated in the sport. Especially at a school with such a storied history of successful crews, and one that often recruits acclaimed international rowers, walking onto a team without any knowledge of the sport can be daunting.
“The truth about being a coxswain is that you have to bounce back from making a mistake probably eight times a practice,” Cheng said. “And it’s really important to have a thick skin, and to let things roll off your back. That’s actually one of the things I’m worst at — letting things roll off my back. I take everything I do really seriously, and so when I make a mistake, it really, really gets me.”
“It’s an easy position to be a scapegoat in, which is something you just have to accept and let roll off your back,” Cheng added.
Because the women are often put in this tenuous position of taking blame for the boat’s mistakes, they have to learn to take control of a boat in which the power dynamics are stacked against them.
“When I walked onto the team, I was new and they had experience. When you’re a woman, you’re shorter than them. You’re a woman, and they’re men. You’re one person, and there’s eight of them,” Cheng said. “And so there’s a lot of ways that you’re on the bottom end of a power dynamic. You’re also told you need to tell them what to do, and you need to be sure of it.”
“And that was really, really hard for me to adjust to at first,” Cheng furthered. “It’s really hard to feel confident in a situation where, in a lot of ways, it feels like the deck is stacked against you.”
Whereas Cheng started on the team in a somewhat isolated position, Engles had the advantage of walking onto the team alongside a group of friends who were also working through the novice program. This afforded her a sense of reassurance as she coxed a boat of crewsmen also new to the challenges of racing along the Charles.
The novice crew team at Harvard has been a historically prominent training ground for rowers and coxswains new to the sport, and Engles spoke to the exhilarating feeling of accomplishment that came with beating the lightweight crew team during
the Foot of the Charles her freshman year — a culminating moment in her and her boat’s semester-long journey to find their rhythm.
“We had one job: beat the lightweights,” said Engles, describing her mentality heading into that race in 2021. “And we did it. It’s my fondest Harvard memory, just me and these walk-on guys trying our best. It was my first time ever coxing a race, but it was just so much fun. I loved it, and I stuck with it.”
Engles’ love for the team was so contagious that she took it upon herself to recruit Younes to join the heavyweight squad before her semester abroad.
Younes said that she had a “unique experience” her junior fall. With Engles gone, she was on the water and in her first race much earlier than other walk-ons.
“I knew nothing,” Younes admitted. “I’d never even been around rowing, but they threw me into a boat and started to teach me.”
Earning Respect
Being thrust into the sport as novices, the
“With the freshmen, I find it’s fine because we are on equal footing,” said Toms of the power dynamic within the boats. “But, I remember getting in a boat with the older guys for the first time, when we were mixing up all the crews between different boats, and it was quite daunting.”
“They were quite curt, to the point, and quite direct,” she added. “But, they were helpful because obviously they wanted the boat to go well. No one was trying to push me around.”
However, Engles and Toms both noted that as the coxswain, they need to be direct and tackle conflict within the boat without letting it escalate. They take on the role of an “alpha,” which can be quite daunting. As the “scapegoat” for many of the issues that go wrong during practice and races, the women emphasized the need to separate personal barbs from misguided frustrations in the boat, and noted that while it took them time to learn that the crew’s anger wasn’t malicious, it was their duty to squash any arguments.
“I was given the advice that if someone’s
it’s something personal, take it outside of the boat and speak to them. But while you’re on the water, you just need to be like, ‘that’s enough, let’s get back to what we’re here to do.’”
While Engles shared the tact with which she shuts down arguments in the boat and maintains a respectful attitude between the rowers and the cox, and also between fellow rowers, the women were not naive to think that their authority to do so was given without warrant.
“I feel like there’s an element of it that’s like, likability,” Engles said. “You want your crew to like you because you want them to respond to your calls. But I also think that you can’t let that get carried away. I find it beneficial to have a boundary.”
Toms emphasized needing to remove the emotional aspect of receiving criticism in the boat and compartmentalizing while out on the water.
“You learn the emotional resilience, you galvanize,” the freshman said. “You learn it’s not personal. You learn to focus on what you’re there to do. If it’s not helpful, if it’s not
Natalia Toms takes control of her crew. COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS
“Even if you join a team and you have no talent to begin with, buy into the fact that you could have talent and work as hard as you can to develop it.”
When It ‘Clicks’
While all four of the women were thrust into competition quickly, it took time before they started to feel completely confident on the water and to really “develop” their talent. “Boat feel,” as the rowers call it, isn’t something that came to the women overnight. Being able to truly guide their crews through drills and practices by feeling the shift of the boat beneath them, and the twists against their backs, took each of the coxswains several months. That lightbulb moment of being able to detect the sensitivities in the water was something they truly had to work for, and that feeling of control in the boat was a marked shift that each woman distinctly remembers as a landmark in her coxing career.
Engles was transparent in saying that it took her almost a full year in the boat before she gained the experience to confidently call what she was seeing in the boat rather than simply regurgitating her coach’s instructions. It took her hundreds of hours practicing on the water, training in the boathouse, and studying calls on her own before she truly felt equipped to guide her boat down the water — not just safely, but with a determination for victory.
“My second year, I was like, okay, hmm, the boat’s like, really starting and stopping, starting and stopping, maybe we can try to make this feel a little bit lighter, a little bit more continuous, because, that’s what I think the boat needs,” the Akron native noted. “And so you implement these calls based on what you’re feeling from the boat. What it’s actually feeling like on your back. I think in my second year I finally felt like I had
swain before she truly felt she was able to make a higher-level contribution.
“I would say towards the end of last year is when I finally felt like something clicked for me. So I guess that took a semester and a half of being around the sport and listening to recordings on YouTube, and trying in any free time I had to figure out, like, what is rowing,” she said.
It was after the team’s spring break training trip in Florida when the sport truly started to make sense to the senior.
“I understood what the coaches were saying. And then I think, after this summer coming back, I also think a lot more has clicked, and it finally makes sense,” Younes said. “I understand a bit more how a cox-
Finding Footing as a Female Coxswain
While the women spend the majority of their time at practice and lifts with the men, nestled in the heart of the newly renovated Newell Boathouse stands the female coxswains’ oasis: a locker room where they can retreat from the otherwise male-dominated space.
A massive upgrade from what the women described as an electrical-closet-turned-locker-room under the stairs (à-la Harry Potter) pre-renovation, the space is their reprieve, where they can comfortably change, debrief practice, and discuss upcoming races.
While they enjoy having a space that’s just for them, the women all lauded the way in which the men on the team embrace them as true members of the program. Despite
“I feel like this is maybe a little bit cliche, but I feel like it changed who I am,” Toms fondly remarked. “Taking up coxing, and coxing guys specifically, put my life on a very different course.”
While the women all acknowledged how daunting it might seem to walk on to a men’s team, they encouraged other women to tackle the challenge and to start to shift the narrative away from the role being isolating, to being one of real camaraderie.
“As more and more of us push through, as more and more girls keep making waves, it will become a norm. It just takes time,” Toms said.
katharine.forst@thecrimson.com jo.lemann@thecrimson.com
versity of being in the minority on the roster, all four of the women emphasized that even
Engles angles her boat for victory. DYLAN J GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Cheng makes a change and takes a seat in the boat. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANYA CHENG
In Photos: Race Prep with the Men’s Crew Team
By
DYLAN J. GOODMAN CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
More than a Reunion: Alumni Perspectives on HOCR
By KATHARINE A. FORST AND NATALIE WEINER CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
The Head of the Charles is the largest regatta in the world, drawing over 12,000 rowers each October for a weekend of intense competition. For Harvard alumni who made their mark on the water for four years on one of the Crimson’s crew teams — the men’s and women’s heavyweight and lightweight boats— it is a chance to reunite with old teammates, coaches, and current rowers looking to claim glory on the highest stage. It is also a chance for these alums to shake off the rust of work and adult life and experience the unique camaraderie of being back in the boat.
Elsa Andrews ’24, a four year member of the Varsity Eight on the Harvard-Radcliffe lightweight crew team, described the Head of the Charles as a race she has long admired, dating back to her days as
an accomplished high school rower. To Andrews, competing in the regatta as a collegiate rower was a special experience, and is one that has been made even more meaningful with her plans to travel back to compete as an alum.
“It’s just amazing to be a Harvard rower at Head of the Charles. It is probably one of the most fun experiences. Everyone is in town. The whole city seems excited about rowing,” Andrews said. “I think that there’s something special about the energy of all the alumni and parents on the dock — it is an overwhelming feeling.”
The Harvard-Radcliffe Lightweight Rowing team has claimed victory in the Women’s Lightweight 8+ for two years in a row, and the alumni are hoping to make a triumphant return to continue their winning streak.
“I truly will never forget those two races,” said Calliste Skouras ‘24, the twotime captain of the Radcliffe varsity lightweights. “They are some of my fondest memories at Harvard.”
“This year compared to other years, the alumni races and the selection process has been more competitive,” explained Ava Sack ‘24, another standout rower and four-year member of the Harvard-Radcliffe lightweight crew’s Varsity Eight. “In order to be put in one of the boats you had to do a run or a bike test equivalent to the distance we are going to be racing, and that’s how lineups were made.”
This year, due to interest across all four crew teams, Harvard is racing three alumni boats: an eight and two fours.
“Across all the Harvard rowing teams everyone wants to be part of this event, no matter if you’re currently on the team or you’re an alum,” Sack added. “It’s really becoming Harvard’s race.”
James Chen ’24, a four-year member of the men’s heavy-weight crew team and 2024 recipient of the Arthur L. Boland Award — given to the top senior varsity athlete who will be attending medical school — also spoke to this idea of camaraderie in the boathouse.
“Seeing the alumni is always amazing. These were the guys who I looked up to when I was younger, and they seem to truly understand our journey through the sport and school,” Chen said. “Even alums who came before my time came with some sense of familiarity, bound through shared endeavors in Harvard rowing.”
Despite not being able to attend this year’s race, Chen emphasized just how much this regatta has really become “Harvard’s race.”
“This really feels like our home race,” the South Salem, N.Y. native said. “Sure, we have other home races, but those are in the Charles River Basin closer to MIT. Here, we row right through the middle of campus, and right in front of our boathouse in the final stretch of the race.”
The home stretch of the race that cuts directly through campus is something unique to the Head of the Charles, with other races ending closer to the foot of the river. Having the unique opportunity to row for their classmates, friends, and family was something all of the alumni emphasized as being special to this one event.
“It must be rowing through that stretch between Weeks Bridge and Anderson Bridge,” said Chen about his favorite leg of the course. “There were so many fans on the bridges cheering for us as we rowed under — our crowds are never closer in any other race, they’re usually 100 feet away on the shore. Last year, all four teams were still training out of Weld Boathouse, so as we rowed by, someone was also blasting music for us. It felt like a reminder that we were on our home turf.”
The HOCR is a notoriously long race, with faster boats needing about 13 minutes from start to finish and less experienced crews needing about 19 minutes to cross the finish line. In order to maintain the fitness level necessary to gain a coveted spot in one of the alumni boats, and to stay competitive through the final stretch of competition by the Harvard boathouses, many alumni have turned to running
as their primary fitness outlet.
“I decided to run a marathon this past September,” Andrews said. “I love running. I’ve really loved getting into it,” the Seattle, Wash. native explained. “I’ve done a bit of erging just to make sure that I’m ready.”
Similar to Andrews, Sack explained that she has been running every morning, while also occasionally erging and lifting.
“I miss RVL every day. The routine of waking up going to Weld and being on the water and having that be the start to that day. So I really tried to keep some of that routine in my daily life, and I found a lot of people that enjoy running and I’ve been running with them,” Sack said. “I find that it really brings community when you’re on a team when you can work out together.”
While alumni may miss the physical challenges of rowing and the routine of training with a team, it is the sense of community and camaraderie that truly keeps drawing them back to the Charles River year after year.
“I always knew that after graduation I was going to want to come back with former teammates and race in the alumni eight,” Sack said. “What I miss most is that RVL is such a close-knit team, being only like 20 to 30 of us. Over the years, they really become your family on campus.”
With intense 20-plus hour training weeks, fellow rowers become more than just teammates — they become room-
mates, classmates, and the people you spend countless hours with, both in and out of the boathouse.
“I miss that RVL family that I had and how we were all like-minded and committed to the same goals,” Sack reflected. “I’m excited to come back and stay with some girls on the team and get back in the boat with alums from over the years and be on the Charles and do what we love again.”
A yearning for the structure and camaraderie that came with their time on the crew team was something consistent across all of the alumni’s reasons for participating in this year’s regatta. Having the opportunity to relive the exhilaration of being in the boat and share the common goal of victory with their teammates again was a draw for them to make the trek to Boston during the busy weekend.
“I definitely really miss all the bonding moments with my teammates, the structure of my athletic schedule, and the goal-oriented nature of being on a team,” Skouras said. “I also love pushing myself athletically and spending time outside, so it has been an adjustment to not have time blocked out of my day six days a week to do this.”
While the idea of training six days a week might seem daunting to a non-rower, Chen emphasized that this commitment to the team was built out of a shared sense of respect and love for the sport and the other rowers, which has created a deep bond that spans not just across current students, but across multiple alumni classes as well.
“We train hard together, and you get so much satisfaction from doing so, but we have a lot of fun along the way,” Chen remarked. “The camaraderie among the team is truly one-of-a-kind.”
This love for the grind will be evident to anyone watching the alumni boats make their way down the course. Whether you’re watching the newly-graduated alums come back and row with their friends, or the 70+ senior boats being cheered on by their children and grandchildren, the love for crew spread throughout Harvard this weekend will be palpable.
katharine.forst@thecrimson.com
natalie.weiner@thecrimson.com
Calliste Skouras ’24 whips around for a selfie with her crew. OWEN A. BERGER — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
James Chen ’24 barrels down the Charles with his heavyweight crew. COURTESY OF JAMES CHEN
