Head of the Charles 2024 – Canadian Open Crews

Image Credit: World Rowing

One hundred and nineteen Canadian crews will be traveling to Boston to compete at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta. Their ambitions will vary from gaining experience on this historic course, to securing guaranteed entries for next year, to standing on the podium and setting course records. Every Championship, Club, Youth, and Lightweight crew is previewed in this article, along with highlights of the Masters entries (including rowing royalty from Canada and the UK). 

Men’s Championship Eights

University of British Columbia have been the undefeated national university champions over 2000m since 2018, and have been undefeated at the Brown Cup head race since 2019. Last year, they placed 20th at the Charles, and will be looking to move up the rankings with the strength of their six national team members including seniors Liam Smit and Joel Cullen along with Breen, Walsh, Meindertsma, and Durcak who raced U23 and U19 at MegaWorlds. 

Men’s Club Singles

The Calgary Rowing Club’s Nicolas Krause raced in the Club Fours last year, placing 33rd. A Royal Canadian Henley Regatta winner in the past, he will be gunning for a top-half finish in this field. 

Men’s Club Fours

Henley Island Freaks RC will be making their competitive debut after being established in 2022. This is a young crew, with two U23s and two 2023 Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association nationals (CSSRAs) winners. Most recently, they placed third in the club fours event at Head of the Trent – they will be aiming to make the top half from Bow #40. 

Men’s Youth Singles

Caillen Pieckenhagen from Ridley College Rowing Club placed 16th last year, and spent this summer winning silver at CSSRAs and racing for team Canada at MegaWorlds in the junior eight. He will be looking for a top-12 finish this year having gained racing experience this summer. 

Thunder Rowing Crew’s representative is Jack Harris, who placed fourth in the U19 single and second in the U19 double at Canadian Henley. This weekend, he placed fourth in the junior men’s single at Nationals. This should put him in good standing for a top-15 finish. 

Myles Quintyn of Niagara Falls Rowing Club won the CSSRAs title in the U17 single and placed fourth in the U17 double. Despite starting from nearly the last bow number, he should be able to make the top 20 overall and top eight in his age category. 

Leander Boat Club, Ontario, boasts an entry from Atticus Luciani, a talented young athlete racing U17 – he made two finals at CSSRAs this summer and will be hoping to gain experience at this prestigious regatta. 

Men’s Youth Doubles

The Calgary Rowing Club crew includes Remo Cramer, who competed at CanAmMex and placed third in the Canadian Henley U19 single this summer, and Robert Davis who was the 2023 national champion in the junior single. This duo should have the speed for a top 25% finish in this event (top 14). 

Ridley College’s Adam Falvo and Aiden MacPhail are veteran athletes who will be looking for a top half finish out of the 56 entries. Notre Dame Rowing Club has Bow #8 and St. Catharines Rowing Club will be starting one place after Calgary, in Bow #36. 

Men’s Youth Coxed Quads

This event is the priority boat for Ridley College – Kidd and Winterbottom teamed up to win Canadian Henley in both the U17 quad and double this summer. Kidd and Leal rowed in the team’s U19 quad, capturing silver at the CSSRA Championships, with Leal also winning bronze in the U19 double. CSSRA single finalist Postma and Kie (coxswain) round out the squad. This crew has the horsepower and experience to aim for a top five finish overall and a podium in the U17 category. 

St. Catharines placed eighth last year and should have the depth to get a top 25% placing again. Notre Dame placed 19th last year.

Men’s Youth Fours

Notre Dame’s crew is likely to be the standout entry from Canada in this event – the junior men’s coxed four at MegaWorlds this summer was made up entirely of Notre Dame athletes (Shapland, Riddle, Cuff, Nawrocki, Cirello) and it is likely that the crew is mostly unchanged for Head of the Charles. A top five finish for the crew is possible as long as they don’t run into traffic starting from Bow #81. 

The other crews are St Catharines (thirty-first in 2023), Argonaut (forty-third in 2023), and Upper Canada College (forty-fourth in 2023) who will all be looking to maintain their top half positioning in this field of ninety. None of these clubs had finalists at Canadian Henley this year.

Ridley College placed fourth in the U17 Youth Fours last year, and will be eager to step onto the podium in 2024. However, all of last year’s crew are racing in different events this year so it will be a completely new team. 

Men’s Youth Eights

Vancouver College Rowing are the reigning CSSRA champions in the U19 and U17 eight, making them one of the deepest sweep programs in scholastic rowing. They are likely to break into the top 20 this year, despite starting Bow #82. 

Notre Dame won U17 eight gold at Canadian Henley this summer, but are racing U19 for Head of the Charles. They should be able to aim for a top 30 finish in this field of 90, but it depends on the priority of seat racing across their many crews.

Upper Canada College is the final entry in this event and placed fourth at CSSRAs in their U17 category. 

Men’s Lightweight Singles

The strongest Canadian entry is likely to be Brendan Edge of Ottawa Rowing Club, who placed second in the 64kg single at Canadian Henley this year. Starting in Bow #7, he should have a good chance at moving up to top six out of 13. North Star Rowing Club’s Brishen Hagan-Deschamps placed fourth in the 64kg single at Canadian Henley and will likely have his sights set on a top ten finish. William Pihlainen-Bleecker is only 21 and will be representing Leander Boat Club from Bow #12. 

Men’s Lightweight Fours

The University of British Columbia will be looking to improve on their third-placed finish from 2023. There will be only one change from last year’s crew – Emerson Crick, A-finalist in the lightweight Under 23 single at MegaWorlds this summer. Crick and McLeod took home the gold medal at the 2022 Head of the Charles – they should be able to reclaim the title with this year’s crew. 

Kingston Rowing Club has a very fast crew entered – three of this crew won bronze at 2023 university nationals, six seconds behind University of British Columbia. Celia and Biancanello won three Canadian Henley golds between them this summer, and the youngest member of the crew represented Canada at MegaWorlds in the junior coxed four. Expect this crew to be in the mix for a top five finish, although starting from the last bow number may cost them a few seconds in this tight category. 

Men’s Masters Highlights 

Rowing Canada Aviron Alumni Association are represented in the Senior Master [50+] eights for the third consecutive year, with both an A and B crew. With five olympic medalists (Bahain, Calder, Monckton, Forgeron, Barber) returning from last year’s third place crew along with Aubrey Oldham fresh off World Coastal and Beach Sprints championships, the A crew should expect to stand on the podium once again. The B crew includes five Olympians and will likely move up from Bow #8 to a top six finish.

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