Fred Schoch, who retired recently after 33 years as president and executive director of Head of the Charles, was awarded the USRowing Medal of Honor at the 2024 regatta.
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In addition to the USRowing honor, the HOCR board announced that rowers in the men’s championship eights will compete henceforth for the Fred Schoch Cup.
“It was a big surprise and very gratefully received after my 33 years behind the plow for the Head of the Charles,” said Schoch. “Both awards in the same year are as preeminent as you can get in rowing, so I was very honored.”
This was the first year Schoch was able to see the regatta from a new perspective: retirement.
“It was really odd, an out-of-body experience,” Schoch said. “All of the social aspects of the regatta were the same; I just didn’t have a hand in the organization. I was involved in running it for more than half of its life, and building up the brand worldwide has been one of my proudest achievements. It’s now a bucket-list event for rowers around the world.”
Schoch’s father, Delos “Dutch” Schoch, a legendary Princeton coach who as a young athlete was the alternate in the “Boys in the Boat” men’s eight that won gold at the 1936 Olympics, made sure that his son was involved in the sport from a young age.
“My whole life, I’ve been involved in the rowing community,” said Schoch. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to make a living in rowing. I was able to capitalize on my experience and my relationships. Being able to make a contribution to rowing following my father has been very meaningful.”
The new Fred Schoch Cup is not the first. The original Schoch Cup, named for Dutch, was presented in the 1970s and was stolen from the Washington boathouse.
“One of my board members was online looking for trophies and found it being advertised,” Schoch laughed. “We got it back, and it’s now sitting on my mantel. There was a duplicate made that’s in Seattle. I may have to negotiate a deal and give the original back to the school. The new Fred Schoch Cup will sit in the trophy case at Cambridge Boat Club.”
The Fred Schoch Cup for the Head of the Charles now will stand on the metaphorical shelf alongside the Dutch Schoch Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the California-Washington dual race race each spring.
“I look back at some of the previous winners of the USRowing Medal of Honor and I’m really humbled to be considered in that group. And I couldn’t be more thrilled to have my name on the HOCR trophy.
“I hope to present it for many years ahead.”
