Tabor team to represent Tri-Town in Head of the Charles Regatta

MARION — For the third year in a row, a Tabor Academy team will compete in the country’s largest rowing regatta. 

The Tabor boys rowing team has been working hard to prepare for the Sunday, Oct. 18 race at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. 

Coach Robert Maier said he and his team were excited when they received the news they got into the race in August through a lottery drawing. He said the team, made up of rowers with weeks to years of experience, has been preparing for the race since then. 

Mattapoisett senior Kyle Cameron said it was hard to believe the team had made it, especially as a newcomer to the team who had never rowed in the Head of the Charles Regatta.

“It felt pretty surreal at first, like I couldn't really wrap my head around it,” he said. 

Senior Dario Spulljaric, a team captain from Seattle, Washington, has rowed at the event during previous Tabor appearances. He said it’s special to be surrounded by friends from across the country competing at “the highest level possible.”

“It's just like any other regatta — if you have rowing experience you would understand what that feels like — times one million,” he said.

The team spent the previous weekend navigating the Charles River in preparation for the regatta, and Maier said being a relatively local team gave his rowers an edge when preparing for the race. 

Franklin Roy, a junior from Marion, described the team’s appearance at the Boston regatta as a chance to leave a legacy for future members of the team. 

“We want to leave our mark this weekend and this is the best opportunity we have to do it,” he said. “They're going to get a new rowing directory next year but we want to leave behind a good legacy.”