Head of the Charles Regatta

The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immediately afterwards) each year on the Charles River, which separates Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts United States.

The competitive field includes individual and team competitors from colleges, high schools, and clubs from nearly all American states and various countries.

The 2006 field included rowers from China, South Africa, Croatia, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

[4] The Head of the Charles Regatta was first organized in 1965 by Cambridge Boat Club members D'Arcy MacMahon, Howard McIntyre, and Jack Vincent.

D'Arcy MacMahon had been the captain of the University of Pennsylvania's lightweight varsity three seasons earlier.

They initially had little hope the regatta would be a success, it was the wrong time of year and it wasn't expected to draw any spectators.

[5] Harvard University sculling instructor Ernest Arlett provided the idea for the head race.

In 1991, Frederick V. Schoch was appointed Executive Director of the Regatta, and he continues to oversee the event.

Only the first place medals are distributed at the Regatta on Saturday and Sunday evenings following the races.

The Middlebury College rowing team in the 2007 Regatta.
Spectators lining the bank of the Charles River in 2003
Presentation Brothers College, Irish crew, competing in Alumni 8 in 2011.
Queen's University Belfast , a crew from Northern Ireland, racing in the Head of the Charles in 2003
Kennedy School women's team outside the Weld Boathouse preparing to row the Head of the Charles in 1996, though that year the race was cancelled due to bad weather.