Crew team turns heads at Head of the Charles

Author: Emma Gardner

As most students faced the prospect of a Fall Break weekend with their families or of wild nights with friends from other colleges, the men's and women's crew teams were gearing up for the season's most important race. The annual Head of the Charles regatta in Cambridge, Mass. is one of the largest rowing events in the world, drawing athletes from all over the U.S. and abroad for two days of competition and high-intensity crew.

A significant event in any collegiate team's fall lineup, the Head of the Charles is arguably the "biggest race of the year," according to captain Justin Scott '08.

Having rowed with Middlebury since a cross country running injury led him to try out crew in his first fall on campus, Scott has watched the team's dedication and success grow throughout his four years at the College. Accordingly, the Oct. 20 regatta culminated in one of the most rewarding races of his career.

The Head of the Charles is unique among college races for several reasons - not least, said Scott, because it is "the most visible race of the year." Even with the Harvard vs. Princeton football game on the same day attracting considerable attention, thousands of spectators line the banks of the river to watch the boats battle against time and each other to obtain the glory awarded those teams that pull their weight fastest and most skillfully.

This year, the Middlebury men's varsity boat leaped 18 places ahead of its finish last fall, from 38th to 20th place. Organized in the "head" racing style, the stagger-started boats took off every 10 seconds according to seed, gliding three miles to the finish with each boat passing under historic Eliot Bridge at the section of the race that draws the largest crowd.

In the "most memorable moment" of his four years with the crew team, Scott's boat hit its stride at that bridge, managing to pull ahead of both Vassar and Roger Williams at this crucial point in the race. Scott attributes this feat to varsity coxswain Geoff Weitelman '10, whose order to stroke a 'Power-10' resulted in Middlebury burying the two boats under the bridge. Other highlights of the men's race included out-rowing Division I squads from Penn State and the College of William and Mary, along with defeating Amherst for the second time in Scott's tenure with the team.

"The guys I raced with Saturday have the right attitude about crew," said Scott, who has for the past few years endeavored to enhance the College's crew program, ultimately hoping to establish crew as a mainstream varsity sport at Middlebury. A key to the success of the program, Scott explained, is each rower's sense of full commitment to the team coupled with a desire to compete on a level equal with varsity boats from top-ranked colleges. Further, the team must intensify its fundraising campaign (which currently consists of raising money by gate-keeping for the ski team in the winter) to cultivate an endowment large enough to support a varsity team. Fundraising is particularly essential to the success of a crew program - a single boat costs around $30,000.

However, Scott considers this goal highly attainable. "The mentality of the team is changing, at least on the men's side," said Scott.

With all four of its fall regrattas now past, the crew team is beginning to look ahead to the spring. While the racing style and atmosphere differ considerably between the two seasons, one thing is certain: those infamous early-morning practices.

"That's a terrible rumor," said Scott. "At most we'll have three weeks of morning practice in the season." Nonetheless, while students may be deterred by the notion of back-breaking work at the crack of dawn, it looks as though Middlebury crew is rowing fast and growing in popularity.