The Weld Boathouse, located on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, is home to the women’s rowing team at Harvard. Weld Boathouse was donated and built by George Walker Weld in 1906 for the purpose of encouraging “university-wide rowing”. As the home for not only the women’s team but also the recreational sculling and House intramural rowing program, Weld boathouse is a hub for the rowing community at Harvard.
Harvard has an extensive rowing history. Established in the 1840’s, Harvard men’s rowing was one of the earliest programs created, and the storied Harvard-Yale rivalry actually began with rowing. The first ever Harvard-Yale Regatta was held in 1852, more than a decade before the start of the Harvard-Yale Football Game. The Harvard-Yale Regatta is the oldest active college sporting event in the United States. Radcliffe Rowing was later established in 1972. Since then, Harvard has established itself as one of the top rowing programs in the country. Both the men and women's programs have heavyweight and lightweight teams that compete in both the Fall and the Spring.
The Weld Boathouse sits at the midpoint of the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) race course. HOCR, held annually in October, is the largest 2-day regatta in the world. Each year over 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators come from around the world, and The Weld Boathouse sits in the middle of all the action.
Sources:
https://gocrimson.com/sports/2020/5/8/weld-boathouse.aspx?id=3596
https://www.hocr.org/about-us/
https://www.brunercott.com/projects/newell-weld-boathouses/
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/10/harvard-rituals-weld-boathouse/
https://scalar.fas.harvard.edu/studentpower/the-story-of-rad-rowing
