Head Provides Racers Pleasure and Competition

The Charles' banks were the scene of color and pageantry yesterday as over 2800 contestants in 670 racing shells streamed up the river for the 12th annual "Head of the Charles Regatta." It was a parade of talent--Olympians, champions, collegians, and coaches--outshining any group that has met or will meet in the Cambridge area for some time.

The Head means different things to different people. To a member of an obscure, coachless University of Minesota crew team, it "seems to be just something to do."

"The point of it is to have fun," Harvard coach Harry Parker said yesterday, "but we do as well as we can."

Varsity lightweight Chris Vincent added that "the Head is the only race you have to look forward to until spring."

Others believe the race is a very serious matter. "We came here to race," said a University of Wisconsin oarsman. "It's one of the few chances for us to get any real competition."

Competition abounds, In the elite eights division, a seesaw contest between Vespers Boat Club of Philadelphia and Princeton provided a spectacle through the threemile course, with a narrow victory going to Vespers.

The Radcliffe fours carried off the "White Stag Trophy" by topping a field of 40, including the likes of the St. Catherine's Rowing Club boat, which contained four Canadian Olympians.

The Radcliffe shell, manned by Ruth Colker, Diane Hickman, Wicki Royden, Robin Lothrup, and coxswain Patty Glovsky, took the race by two seconds despite a collision with another shell which cost them half on oar, and a tangle with a buoy that left them at a momentary near-standstill.

Lothrup, describing Harvard-Radcliffe's only win, said, "The race was one of the best Heads I've rowed in."

In the veteran singles, Alwin Pappenheimer, professor of Biology and former Master of Dunster House, at the age of 68 rowed in his tenth Head, placing a respectable 28th.

Harvard fours, including two boats made up by splitting the undefeated eight that conquered Henley last July, secured fourth, fifth, and seventh places in a race won by the U.S. Olympic four from Vesper. The lead lightweight fours grabbed third in a contest in which the difference between that place and the sixth was .6 seconds.

Jerry Dietz of the New York Athletic Club narrowly defeated Harvardian Greg Stone in the elite singles competition, an affair in which Stone's mentor, Coach Parker, also participated. Stone and Tom Wood earlier that day placed second ahead of Dietz and Larry Klecatsky, both leading American oarsman, in the double sculls, which was won by Riverside Boat Club.

Vesper triumphed in the women's eights, a class which encompassed 40 shells, while the Radcliffe boat trailed, finishing a distant seventh.

The large numbers of female entrants indicates a growth in women's crew, and reflect the overall momentum the sport has gathered--a momentum due in part to the casual attitude many take toward the sport.

The spirit of friendly competition which typifies the sport could be seen yesterday as two boats--one composed of a number of former Harvard crew captains, the other manned by current seniors--squared off for an informal "power-twenty" race after the Head was officially over.

In light of the importance many attach to the Head, several coaches expressed dissatisfaction yesterday with the early scheduling of the event.

Coach Randy Jablonic of Wisconsin said, "We're unhappy with the early date. We're not as ready for this as we'd like to be."

Pete Sparhawk, Princeton coach, also said he wished the Head was held later in the year. He said, "Guys like Notheastern really get shafted. They've only been rowing now for a few weeks."