On a crisp and blustery morning on Sunday, 100 kids queued up in singles in front of Cambridge Boat Club for the start of inaugural Head of the Quinobequin, a three-kilometer youth sculling race on the Charles River. And we do mean kids – as in 11-19 year olds.

"The inspiration came directly from the Kinderskiff in Turin [Italy]," said race organizer Greg Benning. "We started planning about three months ago and we wondered if we should just keep it small this year, but then we thought 'let's just do it!' We capped it at 100, but demand was in excess. We hope to keep growing the race."

Look up the word Quinobequin: it means "meandering" in Algonquin, and was the Native American name for the Charles River, and anyone who has ever navigated the Charles will understand the etymology. Steering the river is a feat for a sculler of any age, but especially impressive for a group of kids—some of whom are still months or years from even their drivers permit.

One of the youngest competitors at today's race was 11 year old Brooke Moss, whose blonde locks and visor made them look like a pint-sized version of an Eastern European sculler. Despite their young age, Moss is no newbie.

"I think I started on the erg when I was 2 or 3, and sat in a boat when I was four."

Brooke's father, Jon Moss, a 1993 World Champion in the LM4-, started Brooke early. "When Brooke was really young, we sat on the shore in a double and splashed around," Moss recalls.

The duo raced for the first time at last year's Head of the Fish and continued in the 2x this year at the Green Mountain Head. Today was Brooke's first race in the single.

"It was hard and a little scary because I didn't know exactly how it was supposed to work, but I figured it out," Brooke beamed.

It was both the family atmosphere, and the feeling of success from both the athletes and regatta organizers that created a fun, celebratory atmosphere on the banks of the Charles.

"Andrew was riding his bike so we could hear him cheering for us, and yesterday he took us out to show us how to take the good turns on the Charles," said Mary Campbell, younger sister of U23 Champion Andrew Campbell.

The whole Campbell crew was present as Andrew not only cheered on his sisters Mary and Claire (who won their respective races, U19 and U15), but also presented the medals alongside 2012 Olympic US single sculler Gevvie Stone.

Youth sculling is a growing sport, as demonstrated by this race and the numbers racing in next week's new youth single event at the Charles. This is just the beginning of the road for these young rowers; as they looked to Gevvie and Andrew who found their success on the meandering Charles River, they found inspiration in their role models and in themselves—just littler versions, already working towards their dreams.