Head of the Charles Regatta Weekend

By Brad Peterson '96

Cold and rainy - but lots of fun.. That is how best to describe Sunday racing this past weekend on the Charles. Bucknell was able to race three boats - a women's light and heavy eight, and a men's collegiate eight. All boats looked clean rowing, and reached the finish line, with the men's boat learning what it was like to tangle oars with another crew.

Having been able to talk to the men before and after the race, I can confirm they are a great group of guys, dedicated to the team and excited to have been in Boston and rowing in the Head of the Charles.

The three Bison boats, however, were not the only Bucknellians on the water that day. Brett Wilkinson '98 (two time National Team member) did very well by taking second place in the Championship Men's Double, a race that also included Charlie Burkmyer '99 who finished in 19th place. Jeff Dasch '03 competed in the Club Singles event and came in 5th, a great showing. In addition, several Bucknellians were at the Charles as coaches. Jimmy King '92 is with the Georgetown women, Brian Burke '97 is a coach for the Villanova women's program, and Phil Schmehl '99 is a coach with the Northampton High School rowing program. These alumni are, of course, in addition to Derek Updegraff '93 and Stephen Kish '92 who are at the helm of Bucknell men and women, respectively.

This year was also the first year that the race committee set up the Reunion Village, an alumni tent enclosure on the inside bend of Weeks footbridge. The Bucknell alumni tent was a great success, with a number of people stopping by, including Maggie Regalis (Whitman) '96, Sara Bloom '97, John Skotedis (former coach), Steve Rocheleau '88 and Mike Cunningham '88.

Like it is every year, the Head of the Charles was a great event. All the Bucknell crews performed well and the alumni tent was a success. We definitely plan to coordinate a gathering at the Charles in the future. Special thanks to Sara Den Besten '96 for her help in organizing the tent.

Smacking blades

Collegiate eight