The 43rd Annual Head of the Charles Regatta is almost here! This weekend, more than 8,000 athletes will row in over 50 events down the historic three mile racecourse in front of over 300,000 spectators. There will be many current and former Exonians at the regatta, on the water and off.

• The Exeter Assocation of New England will have a tent set up in Reunion Village on Saturday and Sunday (volunteers will be present from 11:00AM – 2:00PM). A $1 fee is required for all-day access to Reunion Village, the proceeds of which will benefit a local charity. Reunion Village is located on the southern (Brighton) bank of the river near the John W. Weeks Footbridge, around halfway down the racecourse and a ten minute walk from the Harvard Square MBTA station. (Click here for a map). The Village is a prime spot to view passing races and especially collisions that frequently occur as coxswains try to manage the ninety degree port turn through Weeks Bridge. So stop by, have a drink, and watch the races with other Exeter students, alumni, alumnae, parents and friends.

On the water, Exeter students and alumni/ae will join the thousands of athletes racing in the regatta. If you are competing and not listed, please send me an e-mail so I can add you.

• A Director’s Challenge Quad in memory of Andy Sudduth ’79 (pictured right) will race on Sunday afternoon. Sudduth rowed at Exeter, Harvard, and for the United States in a number of Olympic Games and Rowing World Championships during the mid-1980s. In July 2006, after battling pancreatic cancer, Sudduth tragically died at the age of 44. In memory of Sudduth’s strength of body and character, Kate Bryant ’80, Trevor Laughlin ’79, Sharon Vaissiere ’76 and one other will row in the Mixed Director’s Challenge Quad Event on Sunday around 1:09 PM.
• Andrew Safir ’08 and Vaughan Coder ’08 are rowing in the Men’s Youth Double event for Durham Boat Club on Sunday morning. Their bow number is 15, and will probably cross the starting line around 9:35AM.
• Nick Lacava ’06 and Oskar Zorilla ’06 are racing in the Men’s Lightweight Eight event for Columbia University on Sunday afternoon. Their bow number is 9, and will probably cross the starting line around 3:00PM.
• Daniel Mahr ’07 is coxing in the Men’s Championship Eight event for Brown University on Sunday afternoon. His bow number is 37, and will probably cross the starting line around 4:10PM.

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Sloan DuRoss ’95 and Deaglan McEachern ’01 have finished competing at the 2007 Rowing World Championships in Munich, Germany. This year’s regatta was particularly important because the results determined which nations qualify for which events at next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

• After a close finish in the repechage on Wednesday, the quad raced in the A semifinals on Friday. After the first 500 meters, the crew was in second place closely behind Ukraine. In the middle 1000, the quad fell back in the field following pushes from other crews. In the last 500, once contention for the A finals was out of reach, the crew dropped their stroke rating to a 30 to save their legs for the B finals (where they needed fifth place or better for Olympic qualification) and finished sixth behind Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Australia and Estonia.
• In the B finals on Sunday, the crew trailed behind Russia at the start but led Estonia, Australia, Cuba and Belarus. In the third 500, the U.S. fell behind Estonia, but maintained its position over the other three boats. In the end, the crew finished third (though less than three seconds behind first place Russia) in the B finals, successfully qualifying the U.S. for the Men’s Quadruple Sculls event at the Beijing Olympics next summer. Check out a video of the LM4- and M4x in their finals. Congratulations Sloan and Deaglan!

Five U.S. boats won medals in other events. The Women’s Eight, Men’s Coxed Four, and Women’s Four won gold, the Women’s Lightweight Single Sculls won silver, and the Women’s Single Sculls won bronze. In all, eleven U.S. boats qualified for next year’s Olympic Games, the second most of any country. Congratulations to all who competed in the regatta, and best of luck for those who are training for Beijing!

Video courtesy of Row2k.

To see complete results, check the FISA website.

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Sloan DuRoss ’95 and Deaglan McEachern ’01 have finished their first two heats at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany. Both DuRoss and McEachern represent the United States in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls event, DuRoss in bow seat and McEachern in two seat.

• On Monday, in the first heat against Egypt, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Argentina, the quad finished third behind Czech Republic and Ukraine. While the top two finishers in each of the four heats qualified directly for the semifinal on Friday, the remaining eleven boats had to row in the repechage races on Wednesday in order to qualify for the semifinals.
• On Wednesday, the U.S. boat raced against Belarus, Canada, China and Croatia, needing a second-place finish or better to qualify for the semifinals. In a photo-finish, the quad qualified in second place over Canada only 0.26 seconds behind them. The quad will compete in the A semifinals on Friday for a shot at the finals on Sunday. Check out a video of stroke seat Mark Flickinger’s thoughts on their repechage at Row2k or download it direct here (22MB).

In other news, FISA announced that three Russian rowers were banned from the regatta (and a further two years of competition) for “intravenous infusion,” an illegal practice according to FISA’s anti-doping rules. As a result, the Russian Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) and Women’s Eight (W8+) will not not race anymore in the regatta, and therefore also lose their eligibility to row in next years Olympic games for those two events. Read the full report at WorldRowing.com.

On the whole, the U.S. team is in the running for the finals for every single event it entered except the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. This includes 86 athletes in 26 crews, some of whom are competing for spots on next year’s Olympic team. Good luck to Sloan and Deaglan, and all the athletes representing the United States!

View further results live at the FISA website.

Photo and video courtesy of Row2k.com.