Cavaliers Open Fall Season at Head of the Charles Sunday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The Virginia rowing team opens the 2011-12 year with the Head of the Charles on Sunday (Oct. 23) in Boston. The Cavaliers will have two boats competing in the championship eights race and one in the championship fours.

The course is 5,000 meters long and each crew starts single file about 10-15 seconds apart. At 2:31 p.m., the championship fours are scheduled to begin, where the Cavaliers have bow number 4. In the championship eights, which is scheduled to go off at 2:58 p.m., Virginia has bow numbers 2 and 6. A live webcast is available here and will be linked on VirginiaSports.com

“The Head of the Charles is a two-day long carnival of racing and activities that draws hundreds of thousands of people,” head coach Kevin Sauer said. “Many of the top schools in the country come to race in a format that differs from the spring sprint season, but is no less exciting.

“This racing format highlights the skills of our top coxswains as they maneuver through a course with seven bridges, multiple turns and passing,” Sauer continued. “We are excited to see how our team stacks up in our first fall competition.”

The Head of the Charles is the largest rowing regatta in the world, attracting up to 300,000 spectators over the weekend. The regatta features over 6,500 competitors from high schools, university and clubs from across the globe.

Next weekend, the ‘Hoos will travel to Princeton, N.J., for the Princeton Chase on Oct. 30.