allies at head of the charles

allies with oars
HOCR History

In 2022, in conjunction with trans rower and Allies with Oars founder Willow Arts, we boated an Allies with Oars Mixed8+ in the Head Of The Charles Directors’ Challenge. It wasn’t just any crew – we had a mission to promote inclusion and accessibility for rowers of gender identities. The crew was comprised of trans, gay, queer, and straight ally athletes. We’ve raced the Directors’ Challenge each year since, including an all-gender expansive Mixed 4x in 2025.

Click play above to watch the ViceNews segment, part of a longer episode about queer athletes and the power of activism.

MAKING WAVES.
GETTING NOTICED.

In 2022, our first Allies with Oars crew took on the Directors’ Challenge Mixed8+ at the Head Of The Charles Regatta. It was comprised of trans, nonbinary, gay, queer, and straight ally athletes. Our mission caught the attention of VICE News, which produced a video segment about us for Queer Sports.

2026 HOCR crew member APPLICATIONS
ARE NOW CLOSED

APPLICATION SCHEDULE
June 26-July 24: open applications period (17 weeks out)
July 31: notification of acceptance (10 weeks out)
August 14: seat fees due (8 weeks out)

TO RACE WITH ALLIES WITH OARS:
Commit to the mission:

  • You agree to act as a representative of Steady State Network and Allies with Oars, and actively and willfully support our mission of inclusion.

  • Be an on-site Ambassador for Allies – at the very least wearing the gear. It’s likely we will be interviewing Allies and being interviewed by other outlets during the weekend.

  • Be ready and able to speak about Allies or be able share your experience in ways you feel comfortable. We will provide resources and guidance as necessary.

Train and race for a top half finish:
As this is the biggest stage for the Allies initiative, we seek to boat competitive Allies with Oars crews that *could* finish top half. In 2025, our Mixed8+ finished in 18:35 – 13 of 30 boats. Unlike all other events at HOCR, a top half finish in a Directors’ Challenge event does not guarantee an entry the following year. Regardless, we’d like to work our way up the rankings!

With that in mind:

• You must be currently in training for the 2026 race season with plans to train and race consistently in the lead up to HOCR, to physically and mentally prepare for the 5k HOCR course.

• You should have head race experience and feel confident rowing HOCR at 30-32spm

• You should be prepared to practice and race in an intense environment on the Charles, with a lot of boat traffic, and variable weather and water conditions.

• You should be able to race with people you’ve never rowed with before, without practicing. There’s always a chance we won’t get to practice together on the HOCR course on the Friday of race weekend. Be of the mindset “Any boat, any seat, any day” and be ready to adjust.

• Sometimes we pass boats and sometimes we need to deal with tricky traffic to make that happen. Rowers should be prepared for myriad coxing calls and be able to respond immediately.

You must be available at these dates and times:
Friday 10/16: Course is open for practice 10:30am-6:00pm. Team practice time TBD.

AND

Saturday 10/17: Event #42 - DC MX 4X at 3:28pm

OR

Sunday 10/18: Event #73 - DC MX 8+ at 4:16pm

ABOUT THE HOCR DIRECTORS’ CHALLENGE
Directors’ Challenge events benefit the permanent endowment of the Head Of The Charles Regatta (HOCR) and ensure the continued success of the event. [More info]

The limitation that no one, including coxswains, may compete more than once at HOCR does NOT apply to the Directors’ Challenge events – so row once with your club, and once with us!

Thanks to our growing partnership with HOCR, Allies will be rowing two Directors’ Challenge events in 2026: the Mixed 4x and the Mixed 8+.

ALLIES HOCR WEEKEND FEES: $4,500
We always work to secure sponsors, and ask all Allies with Oars crew members to make a donation to Steady State Network to cover costs associated with racing at HOCR, including race fees, boat rentals, and certain logistics.

As our way of saying “thank you,” Allies coxswains race for free.

In an effort to better serve the rowing community, we're offering this opportunity under an accessible and equitable pricing model. Chose from:

Accessible price: $99 - Designed for those unable to participate at the full price. If finances are a barrier, use this price. If you feel underrepresented in the rowing community, use this price. We are committed to making rowing and racing accessible to as many people as possible.

Full price: $250 - These are the standard seat fees for the HOCR Directors’ Challenge events which benefit the permanent endowment of the HOCR and ensure the continued success of the regatta.

Supporter price: $500+ - Choose this option if you wish to pay for your participation at HOCR AND support the accessibility of rowing for a wider community AND allow us to provide free access to Steady State Podcast, Coffee Chat, and all our content.

2026 HOCR Sponsors & Support

  • CONCEPT2

    OAR SPONSOR

  • HEAD OF THE CHARLES

    SUPPORTER