Amid drizzle and cool temperatures Sunday morning, more than 180 junior scullers rowed up the Charles River in hopes of winning a medal, little knowing that this year they were also drawing attention to the fight for clean waters, along the Charles River and globally.
The 11th running of the Head of the Quinobequin, a singles-only regatta for scullers 11-18, partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and World Rowing in their Healthy Waters initiative-a sustainability framework focusing on nature-positive actions and natural resource conservation around the world. Launching this past September, Healthy Waters is a new phase of the existing relationship between WWF and World Rowing, which works to include not only rivers and lakes, but coastal areas used for beach sprint rowing and coastal rowing.
"The Healthy Waters initiative harnesses the power and the passion of sport, specifically the sport of rowing," Julie King, the facilitator of the WWF, World Rowing and Head of the Quinobequin partnership, said. "Because water is a common denominator, the goal is to use that passion to motivate and accelerate tangible environmental results."
The Charles River is a model of what can be done. Historically, the Charles was one of the most polluted water ways in the U.S., because of urbanization, industrialization and storm and sewage runoff. Today, after decades of community engagement and support, the Charles has been named one of the cleanest waterways in the country. Ensuring it stays that way means getting kids involved, which just happens to be at the core of the regatta's very identity.
The Head of the Q - Quinobequin was the Native American name for the Charles - was the brainchild of Greg Benning, a perennial Head Of The Charles champion in the master's single, who recognized a need to put young rowers into singles.
"If we want to get good at sculling in the U.S., we need to create opportunities for younger athletes to get into rowing in singles," Benning said. "So, let's start a race, and if we start a race, then people will come to it."
Over the years, youth participation in the regatta has increased immensely as more youth rowers have found interest in sculling. From starting out with just 79 competitors in 2013, this year's Head of the Quinobequin hosted over 180 competitors from boat clubs throughout New England and New York.
As with the beginnings of the Head of the Q itself, the partnership between WWF, World Rowing, and now the Head of the Quinobequin, is born of a wish to grow desire and commitment at the grassroots level.
The partnership's goal is to focus on getting kids involved in an effort that exceeds their sport. The Healthy Water initiative puts boots on the ground to open the conversation to all, no matter their background.
"[The partnership] brings together the concepts of environment, water and sport to a local level, because that's where everything is playing out," King said. They may be global issues, but they play out in our day-to-day lives."
With the help of the community, local boathouses and sustainability champions around the country, youth scullers understand the importance of keeping the water clean and leaving shores better than they found them.
"It doesn't just affect [scullers], it affects everyone, and everyone can help with it," said Evelyn Alexander of the Cambridge Boat Club, the winner of the girl's Under-13 division on Sunday.
"Take action that goes above and beyond just coming [to the river] and rowing," said Christine Cavallo, a former national team rower now working in sustainability for the United Nations. "Make sure that [your] presence is able to have a conscious, positive impact on the water and land around it."
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