FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's and women's rowing teams will begin their Fall season by staying in-state for the Head of the Riverfront which takes place in Hartford on Sunday. Both the men's and women's programs will place several boats in the open 8s category while the women will also compete in the open 4 event.

The head race will allow the Stags to see where they stack up against some of the local and regional programs as the squads compete against the clock rather the sprint racing.

"The very concept of head racing, long distance time-trials, was to give rowers and coxswains the opportunity to compete at something relevant to the type of training we are currently engaged in during the Fall which is typically lots of volume, rowing for miles and miles, at relatively low intensity" Director of Rowing Dr. David Patterson said.

"Instead of the traditional 2000m drag race with typically 6 crews thrashing down the course to get their bow ball across the line first, we will watch hundreds of crews lining up behind a start line funneling down into single file starting 10-15 seconds apart and racing the clock over something roughly around 5000m."

With Fairfield returning to the Head of the Riverfront for the first time in more than a decade, the Stags will also see changes this Fall from a few of the usual events that they race over the six-week competitive season.

"So interestingly this season because of some changes to the normal schedule both in terms of day of competition and week of competition, we are racing at the Head of the Riverfront, an event that we haven't attended for 16 years," Coach Patterson said. "Entries have exploded this year with 35 women's college eights entered and 25 men's college eights so this certainly will not be a gentle introduction to the season."

The Stags will also be returning to the Navy Day Regatta and the Head of the Charles to go up against some of the best rowers in the region and in the nation. Both the men and women will be sending boats to the Charles River in a few weeks.

"With a clash in the schedule with both the Head of the Housatonic and the Navy Day Regatta on the same day we decided the journey to Philadelphia would put us in an environment with more balanced competition," Coach Patterson said. "The Head of the Charles will see an eight and a four from the women's team compete on Saturday in the club events while the men will race Sunday in the college event."

While the Fall season offers challenges within itself, the competition also provides the opportunity to begin honing skills that will help prepare for the Stags when the Spring season rolls around during March, April, and May.

"Obviously we will look at racing results as a signpost for what might happen in the Spring but it is also fair to say that head racing and spring racing are entirely different beasts," Coach Patterson said. If we show competitive speed, we'll gladly take the plaudits. However my eye is tuning in to consistency of performance in practice down to the very nitty gritty detail of attendance. Showing up, working hard, staying focused is where we find our resiliency and when we go to the start line for Spring Racing, regardless of end result, we will be ready to race, built for life."