Head of the Charles Trip

Thirteen of the School’s top athletes had the opportunity to race at the world’s biggest regatta in October. The Head of the Charles, held over the infamous 3 mile course on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts plays host to over 10,000 rowers and over 800 clubs from around the globe. Since the turn of the century the King’s School has raced on three separate occasions at the event and this year King’s was represented by a senior boys VIII and a senior girls coxed four. The trip was a great success, both in terms of the performance of the crews and as a training camp for the schools squads. The athletes were able to gain their first taste of international competition whilst racing and training in an iconic global rowing venue.

The girls raced first and put in a good performance, holding their start position. Out of 85 school and club crews, the girls started in 52nd place and finished in 52nd place, one place ahead of UK based rivals Headington School in 53rd place. The boys VIII raced later in the morning and after starting in 51st place the boys put in a strong performance to finish in 36th place overall out of 85 crews. A strong performance, placing the boys in 3rd position for the UK represented crews, and one place ahead of rivals Shiplake College.

 Aside from the main race, the group enjoyed a mix of activities in the Boston region. On the Monday morning the boy’s squad took on the infamous Harvard Stadium challenge in a team event against Westminster School, Shiplake College and The King’s School, Wimbledon. The girls took the opportunity to train at our host club, Riverside Rowing Club. On the Tuesday, after a tour around the city, both the boys and girls squad took part in a competitive training session on the Charles River against local school, Brookline High School. In addition to the training and racing the group enjoyed a night out at the Ice hockey, a guided tour of Fenway Park and some inspirational jogs and training sessions around the Bay area in Boston.

Many thanks to both the athletes; who made the tour such an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and the supporting staff and coaches, Mr Paul Townshend (head girls coach) and Mrs T.J.Medland (volunteer) who together as a team made the week in Boston an inspirational experience.