The OKC Riversport team had a successful weekend at the 49th Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Harding students that were able to compete in this regatta were juniors Nick Ruggeri, bow seat for the varsity boy’s boat, and Hannah Malzahn, coxswain for the varsity girl’s boat.
Ruggeri said, “Boston is a really cool city and it’s an amazing regatta.”
The Head of the Charles is a two-day event that invites athletes from all over the world. There are approximately 9,000 athletes that participate in the 5,000 meter long race. Over 300,000 spectators come out and enjoy the regatta as well, supporting their favorite team as they race by.
“It’s a completely different atmosphere than our regular regattas because of all the teams there to compete, including colleges, and the large amount of spectators,” Ruggeri said.
Both teams made a step in the right direction to be competitive nationwide, but they are still hungry to excel and accomplish more.
The varsity boys raced first on October 20 in the morning. The boys started off 54th and placed 39th out of 85 boats. This is the first time that the boys will be invited back to the regatta in a consecutive year because they placed top half of their event.
The varsity girls raced in the afternoon on October 20. The girls went off 4th and placed 2nd out of 85 boats in their category. This is the best that the girls have ever done at the regatta and they are striving for more.
This race course is famous for the amount of collisions among boats that take place. Two hot spots for crashes include Weeks Bridge, which is a sharp 90 degree turn through the bridge, and Elliot Bridge which leads out of the 180 degree turn and into a sharp right hand turn coming out of the bridge. The coxswains and rowers have to be on top of their game at all times.
The course itself consists of seven bridges that the rowers and coxswains must navigate through. There are also five turns that require full attention from the rowers and the coxswains.
