HOTO 2025 Recap + Photos
- Aodhán Ridenour
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 10
by Aodhán Ridenour
Three Rivers Rowing Association hosted the Head of the Ohio Regatta last weekend, and what an excellent HOTO weekend it was. (October 4th and 5th)
62 crews representing 551 boats traveled to compete in 90 events, totaling over 1500 competitors, nearly all of them launching through our Back Channel to race 6k meters toward downtown Pittsburgh.
Over 50 volunteers also showed up this weekend to blow up course buoys (and place them at 5:30 am), direct cars, take photos, manage equipment, fill racing packets, sell posters, magnets, and baked goods, announce and time races, and occupy referee launches.
A huge thank you to each of them.
And big ups to our Executive Director, Matt Logue, for putting in about 100 hours last week in preparation for the regatta–without even getting tired!
Also, s/o to Kim Thomson, Mathew Houser, Cara Burns, Alana Newman, Xan Janik, and, of course, Apollo, for handling boathouse preparations and social media.
Once again, HOTO would not be possible without our sponsors: UPMC (Presenting Partner), Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority (Platinum Partner), Gateway Engineers (Bronze Partner), RBC Wealth Management (Bronze Partner), Redfin Blues (Bronze Partner), and Concept2 (Community Partner).
** Special thanks to our photographers, April Lee Uzarski, Cynthia Gelien, Joe Mettenburg, and Sandy Garfinkel for their photos used throughout this article.
Racing Recap:
With temperatures piquing at 81 degrees last Sunday and consistent sunshine all weekend, it felt like a summer regatta on the race course this year.
That is, except for the Lottie McAlice Race, a special 8k singles stake race around Point State Park sponsored by Wintech Racing and Central Catholic Crew with a cash prize of $2000, which took place at 6:30 am—when temps were closer to 50 degrees.
Congrats to our Lottie McAlice Winners:
🥇Cooper Tuckerman
🥈Kevin Cardno
🥉Jamie Copus
🥇Claire Friedlander
🥈Kate McFetridge
🥉Susanne Maddamma
Other Notable Results:
Three Rivers Youth Rowing represented with (7) boats taking the podium this weekend.
Three Rivers Masters and Collegiate Crews had (16) boats receive medals– Including a Gold in the Sally Hardon Women Masters Eight Race.
The TRRA Adaptive team competed in (7) events and placed in all of them.
The Duquesne Lady Dukes dominated the racecourse, raking in (6) medals over (9) events.
Temple University took home the David F. Figgins 8+ Men’s Open Cup.
Full Result Lists available on CrewTimer.com
Other HOTO Highlights:
Our annual bake sale raised over $1000 for Youth Rowing scholarships. It’s a really good bake sale!
Our Instagram (@headoftheohio) was a hit this year as we picked up 116 new followers. On IG we shared Island Tips, Viewing Locations, Restaurant Recommendations, and Team Shout Outs. #HOTO25
Our chosen food truck Tacos La Catedral (@tacoslacatedralpgh_)supplied authentic Mexican food to hungry racers and spectators. They arguably have some of the best carnitas tacos in the city, so try them out if you see them around!
Our Crew Cam 2025 project is underway thanks to two rowers who captured 27 photos each on “waterproof disposable cameras” (provided by TRRA). We are sending the cameras and film to be developed, and will share the photos soon! * Fill out this form for a chance to be the Crew Cam photographer at our 40th Anniversary Gala, Giving Back to the Future on November 8th (tickets to Gala available here).
Watch the Head of the Ohio Day 2 Live Stream for Free on Overnght here.
Shore Thing (@riverlifepgh) provided excellent racecourse viewing near the finish line this year.
Zero Waste kept the island clean without us having to worry about it.
Suggestions?
If you have any suggestions about how we could improve the HOTO experience for next year, please fill out this Google Form and submit it to our Lead Ops team.
See you all next year for #HOTO26!
More Fun Photos!
