Join us for the Rumble on the River!

Sunday, September 15, 2013 come race in the morning, party in the afternoon. Start the day with a two-mile head race on the Charles River. Continue into the afternoon with 400-meter dual sprint races, and then celebrate our love of rowing with live bands, food, beer and other refreshments. Proceeds benefit military and adaptive rowing programs.

Head Race

The head race will start near the Head of the Charles finish line and run 2 miles upstream to the Newton Yacht Club on a buoyed, refereed course. Crews of all ages and abilities are encouraged to join us. Head races will start at 9:00AM and finish by 12:00PM. Categories include:

• Novice Girls/Boys 8+

• Junior Girls/Boys 8+, 4+, 2x and 1x

• Masters Womens/Mens/Mixed 8+, 4+, 2x and 1x  - with handicaps

• Open Womens/Mens 8+, 4+, 2x and 1x

• Intermediate*  8+, 4+

• Recreational 1x, 2x

• Adaptive 1x, 2x

Handicaps for the Masters events are computed according to the USRowing handicap rule with a length multiplier of 3.2.

To be eligible as a Masters Mixed 8+, 4+ or 2x crew, at least 50% of rowers must be women.

* Intermediate races are intended for athletes who may row regularly but do not focus on competing. To be eligible as an intermediate crew, at least 75% of its rowers must not have competed at USRowing Masters Nationals, the Head of the Charles or other premiere competitive rowing event during the past five years. However, experienced competitive coxswains are permitted and encouraged. Intermediate boats may include any combination of men and women.

All crews must be able to navigate safely in narrow river passages and maneuver efficiently at the starting line.

Sprint Races

Sprint races start at 1:00PM and will offer the following categories:

• Adaptive Womens/Mens T-A 1x, L-T-A 1x, A-S 1x, and L-T-A 2x

• Open Mens/Womens/Mixed/Junior 8+, 4+, 2x, 1x, recreational 2x and recreational 1x.

Sprints are dual races featuring a stake boat start and high-resolution timing by Here Now.

Open sprint races are for fun as well as competition. We hope pairs of crews will identify each other as rivals with similar abilities, backgrounds and desire to do battle. This is a Rumble: Jets and Sharks, find each other! Sprint crews will be asked to provide biographical information about themselves and their chosen competitors which will be available to our gifted onsite announcer. Veracity of biographical information is optional; tasteful trash-talk is encouraged. For crews that have not designated a competitor we will do our best to create suitable matches and to invent interesting biographical details.