This past weekend, Colby College’s men’s and women’s crew teams participated in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, MA. The competition began in 1965, and over the past 60 years, thousands of people, including Colby students, have raced along the Charles River. This year, there were 74 different races, with 2,685 athletes and 852 clubs participating. Colby’s women’s crew team competed in the Women’s Collegiate Eights race on Sunday, October 19, where they placed nineteenth out of 37 teams.
The Head of the Charles Regatta was not the team’s first competition this year, even though their official season does not start until the spring. Team captain, Ellie Pohlig `26, remarks on their previous accomplishments: “Two weeks ago, we had our first race in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was called the [Quinsigamond Snake Regatta and] was really fun. We got almost everyone out on the water. And then this weekend [we just had] one Women’s Eight and one Men’s Eight out there. A bunch of alumni are rowing as well; it’s a super big event and really fun.”
On Saturday, Colby women’s crew will host their final fall race in Waterville at the Colby Hume Center against Bates and Bowdoin Colleges, during the Fall CBB competition.
The team is proud of its results, thus far, and has already recognized some differences from last year. “We had some coaching turnover from last year. Two of the coaches are the same, but we kind of changed the format a little bit,” Pohlig said. “It’s exciting to see how that’s impacting our performance as a team. We have a ton of new people, which is great.”
Tara Gorman `27 has also acknowledged that, while having a newer team can be interpreted as a challenge, it can also provide several opportunities. “I think our team has a lot of power in general. A lot of our rowers are novices, so they either walked on or they’re kind of new to rowing, but while [that can be seen as] weakness in some aspects, it’s also kind of a strength, because we [can] kind of mold them to be really [talented] athletes,” Gorman said.
As the group wraps up their fall season, they will begin to start winter practices, which are led by the team captains. “It’s kind of like a similar schedule. So we have [practice six days a week],” Gorman said.
Taking on the role of leading these practices, Pohlig is ready to embrace the new responsibilities. “So far, [being a captain] is mostly weekly check-ins with the coaches, and running the warm-up… But, then in winter training… the other three captains and I on the women’s side and the four captains on the men’s side, we’re all going to be running the practices during the off-season, so that’s going to be probably a little stressful, but, overall, I’m looking forward to it. There’s four of us, so we’ll work it out,” Pohlig said.
There are 28 athletes on the women’s crew team for the 2025-2026 school year. While this may seem rather large, rowers have already noticed a budding sense of community and are looking forward to seeing it flourish at the Fall CBB this weekend and heading into the spring. “We have to all rely on each other, know that we’re all pulling as hard as we can, rowing our best race, not just for ourselves, but for our whole boat and our whole team. I think having the connection and friendship with your teammates is really important,” Pohlig said.
~ Isabella Boggs `29
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