Arlington/Belmont Girls, Belmont Hill Featured Sunday at the Head of the Charles

The weather predicted for this Sunday along the Charles River is ideal: Bright sunshine, a slight breeze and a high of 60 degrees.

Perfect conditions for fans to head over to Cambridge and Boston on Sunday, Oct. 20, to watch a collection of athletes from Belmont and Arlington high schools and the Belmont Hill School participating in the largest rowing regatta in the world, the 49th Head of the Charles where more than 9,000 rowers from around the world compete in 61 different race events.

The Arlington/Belmont Crew (ABC) – established in 2009 and training out of Spy Pond in Arlington – will have three rowing shells filled with girls set to take on the three-mile course that begin near the BU Bridge, continues "up" the Charles by Harvard University before finishing in Brighton. 

ABC's "A" boat in the Women's Youth Fours is placed 37th (they will have "37" on their bow), the team's highest rank at the HOTC, which corresponds to their finish in 2012.

The team's "B" squad – with more novice athletes in the shell – will be rowing further back rowing with "77" on its bow. 

The first boats in the Women's Youth Fours will start at 12:25 p.m. 

The ABC will also be rowing in the Women Youth Eights, putting in a very young "B" squad – with an average age of 15 for the eight rowers – with "65" on the bow.

The lead Eights will be starting at 1:22 p.m.

Belmont Hill School will not only have students rowing but also alumni in three races. 

One of the alumni boats will be competing on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11:32 a.m. with the team of Eldridge and Kermond ("27") competing in the Men's Masters Doubles for rowers over 50 years old.

Belmont Hills will have two boats in the Men's Youth Fours that race at 9:26 a.m. Sunday: the "A" boat which is ranked in the top ten at ninth (with the "9" on the bow) as well as a "B" shell ranked at 56th.

Finally, Belmont Hill will be competing the Directors' Challenge Men's Quads (four scullers with two oars rather than the other races which are "sweeps" which a rower only has one oar to row) at 22nd starting at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

Boats will be competing against one another and the clock, which starts sequentially, approximately fifteen seconds apart. Winners of each race receive the honorary title “Head of the River” or, in this case, “Head Of The Charles.”

Where to Watch
The race course runs three miles upstream from the Boston University Boathouse to Christian Herter Park in Brighton. 

Most spectators find a place to watch between the Anderson and Weeks bridges, at the halfway point of the race. 

There are 61 races taking place throughout the weekend, with events happening from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. You can see the full schedule here. 

Closed Roads
Memorial Drive in Cambridge will be closed from the Cambridge Boat Club to Western Avenue from from 8 a.m. through 7 p.m. all weekend. 

Traffic on Nonantum Road, which turns into Soldiers Field Road and then Storrow Drive in Brighton, will also be impacted during the race.

Parking is very limited in the area near the event. One of the main lots is at Artesani Park, in Brighton, across the river from Watertown. You can see a map here.