The highlight of the fall rowing calendar, the Head of the Charles, will feature many Canadian National Team athletes - both veterans and up and comers - this weekend in Boston.
Former World Champion men's eight cox Brian Price of Belleville, Ont. will lead a lightweight women's eight that includes a mix of World Championship medallists and other current or former National Team women. The boat consists of Mara Jones of Aurora, Ont., Tracy Cameron of Shubenacadie, N.S., Elizabeth Urbach of Carp, Ont., Sheryl Preston of North Delta, B.C., Jennifer Neufeld of Winnipeg, Man., Amber Cuthbertson of St. Catharines, Ont., Gen Meredith of Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. and Shona McLaren of Victoria, B.C.
Mara Jones, Tracy Cameron and Liz Urbach were part of the lightweight women's quad that won gold at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships in Japan this summer. Teammate Melanie Kok of St. Catharines will be competing this weekend with the University of Virginia.
Former Olympic (1980 to 2000) coxswain Lesley Thompson-Willie will guide the London Training Centre boat of Katie Reynolds, Romina Stefancic, Jane Rumball, Heather Mandoli, Carola Tize, Krista Guloien, Carolyn McMillan and Lindsay Forget. Stefancic, who is from Victoria, was in the 2004 Olympic women's eight.
2004 Olympians Darcy Marquardt of Richmond, B.C. and Anna-Marie de Zwager of Victoria will row in the women's single event, along with training centre athlete Peggy Hyslop of Toronto.
Lightweight men's quad World Championship bronze medallist Matt Jensen of Innerkip, Ont. will row in a single in Boston. Fellow bronze medallist Morgan Jarvis of Winnipeg rows for Queen's University.
The University of British Columbia will be sending a Championship coxed four with Rob Weitemeyer (bronze medallist in this year's World Championships men's four) of Coquitlam, B.C., Ben Rutledge (former World Champion - men's eight) of Cranbrook, B.C., Kyle Hamilton (former World Champion - men's eight) of Richmond, B.C., with Thorsten Schmidt and cox Jane Maxwell. UBC will also have a men's eight.
2005 National Team member Malcolm Howard of Victoria, B.C. will row with Kingstons Jay Patry in Saturday's Championship Double event.
2005 Under-23 National team members Mark Laidlaw (cox) of Mississauga, Ont., Terry McKall of Edmonton, Alta. and James Grossmith of Victoria will be part of the University of Victoria's entry in the Championship Men's Eight event. UVic will also have women's entries.
Fellow Under-23 medallist Derek O'Farrell will row in a McGill University's entry this year. McGill has five entries in this regatta.
Melanie Abbott of Brampton, Ont. and Larissa Lagzdins of Burlington, Ont. - both members of Canada's 2005 Under-23 team - will row in Brock University's (St. Catharines) Collegiate Eight. Derek Gosling of Cobble Hill, B.C., also an Under-23 team member, will row in Brock's lightweight eight.
2005 Junior National Team member Will Crothers of Kingston, Ont. will row in the men's single event.
The Head of the Charles also attracts international participants. Cambridge University Boat Club, including Canadian National Team member Kip McDaniel of Cobble Hill, B.C., who just began attending the British university this fall, will defend its Men's Championship Eight title.
Other top Canadians will be rowing for American colleges such as Stanford, Princeton and Brown University.
In addition to these National Team athletes, clubs and universities from across Canada are travelling to Boston to compete on the Charles River in events ranging from Youth crews to Senior Veteran (70+).
The Head Of The Charles Regatta, the world's largest two-day rowing event, was first held on October 16, 1965. Today, more than 7,000 athletes from around the world compete in 24 different race events. The regatta grew to a two-day event in 1997 and now attracts up to 300,000 spectators during the October weekend. See www.hocr.org