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Head of the Charles: In Brief

Number of "Rowing Institutions": 400

Length of Each Race: 3 Miles

Average Time to Complete: 14 to 20 minutes

Number of Events: 20

Number of Boats: 1300

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Number of Competitors: 5600

Average Number of Spectators: 300,000

Time Between Each Launch (Boats are Launched One at a Time): 10 seconds

Times: 1:15 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday

Best Place to Watch: Eliot Bridge, the Hardest Turn of the Race.

Starts: Just Before the B.U. Bridge

Ends: One-Half Mile After the Eliot Bridge

Official Web site: http://www.hocr.org

Minimum Weight for Coxswains: 100 lbs.

Getting Totally Hammered to Watch Crew: Priceless

1997 Results

Club 4 Men

1. St. Paul's School Crew (16:52.11)

2. Palm Beach Rowing Association (16:55.63)

3. Wide Load Boat Club (17:03.26)

Club 4 Women

1. Saugatuck RA (18:42.95)

2. Minnesota Boat Club (18:43.28)

3. University of Wisconsin (18:49.77)

Champ 4 Men

1. Princeton Training Center (15:34.40)

2. Harvard University (15:35.66)

3. Princeton University (15:46.86)

Champ 4 Women

1. Danish Rowing Federation (17:37.42)

2. UMass Amherst Women's Crew (17:57.04)

3. University of Virginia Women's Rowing (18:27.63)

Champ 8 Men

1. US Rowing (13:58.99)

2. Harvard University (14:15.24)

3. Princeton University (14:16.95)

Champ 8 Women

1. Rowing Canada (15:44.17)

2. Penn Athletic Club (15:59.00)

3. US Rowing (16:03.94)

Saturday, October 17, 1998 1.  Club Singles  1:15 p.m 2.  Club Fours  1:54 p.m.

3.  Club Eights  2:48 p.m.

Sunday, October 18, 1998 4.  Sr. Veteran Singles  8:00 a.m. 5.  Veteran Singles  8:20 a.m. 6.  Youth Fours  8:56 a.m. 7.  Grand Master Singles  9:26 a.m. 8.  Youth Eights  10:06 a.m. 9.   Master Doubles  10:47 a.m. 10.   Master Fours  11:12 a.m. 11.  Senior Master Singles  11:35 a.m. 12.  Master Eights  12:14 p.m. 13.   Master Singles  12:40 p.m. 14.  Lightweight Fours  1:12 p.m. 15.  Lightweight Singles  1:36 p.m. 16.  Lightweight Eights  2:09 p.m. 17.  Championship Doubles  2:35 p.m. 18.  Championship Fours  3:06 p.m. 19.  Championship Singles  3:36 p.m. 20.  Championship Eights  4:05 p.m.

Rules:

1. Good sportsmanship must prevail at all times.

2. Boats racing have right of way over all other boats. Boats not racing shall not proceed upstream along any part of the course after the start of the first race of the day until the conclusion of the last race of the day.

3. After crossing the finish line, boats should immediately paddle upstream to the end of the line of buoys before turning around.

The Race Course:

The race course starts a the Boston University Boat House and goes almost immediately under the combination of a railroad trestle bridge and the B.U. Bridge. It then proceeds through five triple arch bridges to the finish line approximately three miles upstream. While the railroad trestle bridge's second arch from the right (Cambridge) shore is the mandated lane and the center arch of the five remaining bridges is the preferred route over the rest of the course, the right (closest to the Cambridge shore) arch of four of those remaining bridges may be used when a center arch appears too congested, the exception being the Lars Anderson Bridge (by Harvard's Weld Boat House), whose right (closest to the Cambridge shore) arch is out of bounds. Going through the right arch (closest to the Cambridge shore) of either the railroad trestle bridge (by the B.U. Bridge) or the Lars Anderson Bridge (by Harvard's Weld Boathouse), or going through any bridge's left (closest to the Boston shore) arch, will result in a 60-second penalty.

1997 Official Merchandise

1) Crew Sweatshirt: $35 9 oz, 95/5, MXL

2) Solid-Color Vest: $48, S-XXL, H.Gray/Bluegrass, Malden 12 oz. polar fleece, Lycra Binding.

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