VICTORIA, B.C. – This weekend the University of Victoria Vikes men's and women's rowing crews will both host and participate in a doubleheader regatta weekend with the Head of the Gorge taking place Oct. 27 and the Head of the Elk taking place Oct. 28.
 
REGATTA INFORMATION / MEN'S ROSTER / WOMEN'S ROSTER
 
Traditionally, both men's and women's varsity rowing crews compete only in the Head of the Gorge on the Saturday while the junior varsity teams get a crack at racing in front of a home crowd at both events. The Head of the Gorge is a regatta where anything can happen. At the head of the Tillicum Narrows it is only wide enough for one boat at a time to get through, often leading to an exciting, but terrifying, dash to be the first. The Head of the Gorge is a fantastic spectator event with the best viewing point at the Tillicum Narrows.
 
“The real challenge in this event is battling up through the Narrows against the tide,” said head coach of the Vikes men's rowing team, Howard Campbell. “It's got to be one of the toughest races I've ever come across and it's great to watch.”
 
Both the men's and the women's teams will be looking to build upon their success at last weekend's Western Canadian University Rowing Championship and will use this weekend's regatta as training for the Canadian University Rowing Championships Nov. 1 – 4 in Vancouver.
 
“I think we'll do well again, the guys showed good development at the WCURC,” said Campbell. “We've been building on some of the challenges that we identified in those races last weekend and we'll focus on preparing ourselves for the Championships next week.”
 
Both the men's and the women's varsity rowing crews will participate in the Head of the Gorge on Saturday, Oct. 27 while the junior varsity rowing crews will participate in both the Head of the Gorge as well as the Head of the Elk on Sunday, Oct. 28.