Rowing for Strength and Recovery: Survivor Rowing Network at the Head of the Charles Regatta

By Shelby O’Brien

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – Under the white awards and medals tent at the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR), nearly 100 cancer survivors gathered. They were there to compete in the inaugural HOCR Survivor Row.

These rowers were a part of the Survivor Rowing Network, an organization founded in 2023 to provide a rowing community for both survivors and those still battling cancer. This year, the Survivor Rowing Network brought 11 boats with rowers from the U.S., Italy, and France to compete in the regatta.

Survivor Rowing Network coach, Melissa Creighton said that getting to work with cancer survivors and be a part of their journey of wellness, community, and recovery is “the best thing [she’s] done, period.”

For those competing in the Survivor Row, it is not about who wins or who goes the fastest. It is about showing the strength and resilience of each rower out there on the water and giving them a community that rallies behind their journey against cancer.

Beth Kohl, founder of the Survivor Rowing Network said, “[she’s] always looking for ways to bring joy, strength, and community to survivors.” Through the organization, “so many of these women and men have found rowing as part of their rehabilitation and recovery.”

On Saturday at 3:28 p.m. this group of cancer survivors dipped their oars into the water and set off on the Charles.