2017 Photography: Christopher Lemcke
RACE DETAILS ABOUT THE HEAD OF THE HOOCH The Head of the Chattahoochee is a rowing regatta held in Chattanooga, TN every year on the first Saturday and Sunday of November. The regatta is a headrace competitors row a 5,000- meter (3.1 mile) course on the Tennessee River ending at Ross s Landing Park in Chattanooga. Headraces are typically held in the fall. In this form of racing all boats start sequentially by event and race against the clock. The Head of the Hooch is one of the world s largest rowing regattas, with 2,100+ boats racing over two days. More than 9,000 seats are rowed. Over 1,200 boats compete on Saturday alone, more in one day than any other regatta. Participants come from over 200 different organizations and in 2017 the regatta welcomes crews from 28 states and 3 countries; United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. In the past, the regatta has hosted teams from Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Mexico, Peru and Australia. The Head of the Hooch has been recognized by national magazines as the regatta to attend thanks to the beautiful Chattanooga fall weather, downtown location, and some of the best competition in fall racing. The regatta is jointly organized and hosted by the Atlanta Rowing Club, Roswell, GA and Lookout Rowing Club, Chattanooga, TN. HISTORY OF THE HOOCH The Head of the Hooch, also known as the Head of the Chattahoochee and The Last of the Great Fall Regattas, was organized in 1982 by the Atlanta Rowing Club. The first year there were 500 rowers. For 16 years the regatta took place on the Chattahoochee River in the Roswell River Park located in Roswell GA. In 1997 the regatta had outgrown the park and had to move. From 1997-2004 the regatta was held at the 1996 Olympic rowing venue in Gainesville GA. The course there was located on the upper part of the Chattahoochee River. In 2005, due to the large increases in entries each year, the regatta moved again to the Chattanooga Ross s Landing Riverfront. The venue and city have the capability to accommodate the continuous increase in rowers and spectators each year. With this move, Atlanta Rowing Club partnered with Lookout Rowing Club in Chattanooga in order to help grow the Hooch into what it is today. Each year since 2005 The Hooch and the City of Chattanooga have welcomed more and more participants and spectators. The Hooch is a unique event. It attracts athletes, family, alumni, local residents and those who travel to attend. It combines a rowing regatta, arts market and the close proximity of the Tennessee Aquarium, the Discovery Museum and Hunter Art Museum all within walking distance of the venue. Many hotels and restaurants are right in the downtown close to the venue. In all, a perfect match. As the Hooch moves through its third decade, its organizers and volunteers continue to improve, grow and enhance the regatta that started as a small event on a Saturday many years ago. Page 1 of 7
THE COMPETITION THE HOOCH IN NUMBERS 2,126 entries in 85 events throughout the weekend 1,254 entries on Saturday, 874 entries on Sunday 6 Adaptive Entries 9,956 Seats Rowed, or ~6,500 participants Rowers from 208 Organizations, 28 states and 3 countries Rowers from United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico ROWER DEMOGRAPHICS 50.5% Male Rowers 49.5% Female Rowers Percentage of entries by category: o 51.4% Youth o 22.5% College o 21.3% Masters o 4.8% Open Average competitor age 23 years old Competitors from age 13-87 years old States with the most entries: o Florida 422 o Georgia 239 o Texas - 193 o Ohio 191 o North Carolina 166 THE REGATTA 5,000-meter course length A boat starts racing every 20 seconds 17.7 miles of boats, if every shell was laid end-to-end, or almost 6 times the length of the course 437 Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded 750+ Volunteer positions for the regatta with 450+ unique volunteers Over 4,000 volunteer hours the week of the regatta Over 8,500 volunteer hours annually 100% volunteer run Volunteers from AL, FL, GA, KS, MI, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, and TX First year of The Head of the Chattahoochee 1982 First year of The Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga 2005 25,000 Spectators anticipated throughout the weekend Estimated economic impact of the Hooch ~$6 million for the city of Chattanooga Page 2 of 7
EVENTS AND AWARDS EVENT DEFINITIONS Youth USRowing defines a youth as: A Youth is a Competitor who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 19, or who is and has been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full- time student seeking a diploma. A Competitor thus ceases to be a Youth after December 31 of the year of his or her 18 th birthday, or of the year in which he or she completes the 12 th grade of secondary school, having been a full-time student, whichever is later. These competitors may not enter any other events. Championship Championship events are open to all collegiate and club teams. Please see College & Club below for crews/rowers that must enter Championship events. College & Club College & Club events are open to all collegiate and club rowing programs with the following restrictions: NOTE: These restrictions do not apply to novice or lightweight College and Club events. Programs with NCAA Division I, II, or III status. Boats containing any rower who, in the current calendar year, finished in the top 6 places in any national team trials, national or international championships (e.g., FISA World Cup), NCAA Championships (all divisions), or IRA National Championship. Boats containing any rower who, in the current or preceding eight calendar years, competed at the FISA World Championships or Olympic games. Boats containing any rower who, in the current or preceding eight calendar years, finished in the top three places at the FISA World Championships or Olympic games. Finished in the top 6 places in the preceding year s Head of the Charles, or Head of the Schuylkill. Masters Per USRowing rules, Masters Events are limited to competitors who have attained or will attain the age of 21 during the current calendar year. A competitor s age is determined as of December 31 of the current calendar year, rounded down to the highest contained integer. A competitor thus becomes a Master on January 1 of the year of his or her 21st birthday. A Masters crew shall be comprised exclusively of Masters rowers, but the coxswain need not be a Master. Alumni - Alumni are rowing on behalf of and represent their Alma Mater. At least ¾ of the rowers must be graduates from the college or university they represent. All crews will be considered masters and the Hooch masters handicap system will apply. Open Open events are open to all rowers and coxswains who have attained or will attain the age of 19 in the current calendar year. All open events have no handicap or weight limit. Novice - Novice events are limited to scullers, rowers and coxswains who have been competing for one year or less as of the first Regatta Day. Experience in sculling events does not count as experience in sweep events and vice versa. Page 3 of 7
EVENTS AND AWARDS Parent/Child Double - All entries in the Parent/Child 2x event shall be comprised of two rowers, an adult masters rower and their son or daughter. The child can be of any age. Entries can be mixed or of the same gender. The standard Masters handicap will not apply to this event. ADAPTIVE EVENTS Adaptive races will be held Sunday beginning around 11:25 AM. The 2017 adaptive events will take place on the full 5000-meter course. There are 3 adaptive races this year, the Para M/W/Mix LTA/LTA 2x, Para M/W/Mix TA/TA 2x, and the Adaptive M/W/Mix LTA//TA/AS 2x. SPONSOR TROPHIES Trophies will be awarded to the winner of select events in the name of our sponsors. For 2017 trophies will be awarded in: Event Sponsor 11 Women s Youth 8+ Panera Bread 16 Men s Championship 8+ Outdoor Chattanooga 17 Women s Championship 8+ Brown Printing 21 Men s Youth 8+ Connect-a-Dock 28 Women s Championship 2x Erwin Marine Sales 31 Men s Championship 4+ WinTech Racing 32 Women s Championship 4+ Rowing Repair Center 34 Men s Championship 2x StowersCAT 44 Men s Championship 1x Parkridge Health System 45 Women s Championship 1x The Blue Plate Page 4 of 7
EVENTS AND AWARDS TEAM POINTS TROPHIES Team points trophies are awarded to the teams in four categories: Collegiate Awarded to the college team with the most points ACC Awarded to the ACC School with the most points Masters Awarded to the Master s Club with the most points Youth Awarded to the Youth team with the most points Points are awarded for a 1 st through 6 th place finish in each event. The 2016 winners were: Colligate Georgia Tech Rowing Club ACC Georgia Tech Rowing Club Masters Chinook Performance Racing Youth Atlanta Junior Rowing Association RACES RESULTS Full results back to 2005 can be found on our website at: www.headofthehooch.org/category/results/ Results will be posted live for the 2017 regatta at www.headofthehooch.org/2017-results/ Page 5 of 7
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