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Tuesday, October 01, 2002

By Lawrence Walsh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

In baseball, the basic skills include the ability to hit, field, throw and catch.

In football, it's pass, catch, run and tackle.

In rowing, it's catch, drive, finish and recovery.

There will be plenty of intense examples of the latter from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at the 16th annual Mercy Hospital Head of the Ohio Rowing Regatta on the Allegheny River.

Admission and parking are free and spectators may join in the planned festivities, including live entertainment, throughout the day at the North Shore Riverfront Park.

The competition features high school, college, corporate, club, amateur, adaptive and masters-level athletes from the United States and Canada. At least 3,000 rowers are expected, many of whom will compete in more than one event.

The HOTO [Hoe-Toe], sponsored by The Pittsburgh Mercy Foundation and The Three Rivers Rowing Association, is the second-largest "head race" in the United States. The largest is the Head of the Charles in Boston.

A head race is a competition in which oarsmen and oarswomen compete against the clock for the best finishing time. The crew with the most points at the end of the day is dubbed the "Head of the Ohio."

The defending champion is the West Side Rowing Club of Buffalo, N.Y.

The 2.8-mile race course starts at the Washington's Landing section of Herr's Island. The finish line is at the North Shore Riverfront Park, halfway between the Roberto Clemente and Fort Duquesne bridges. It still the Allegheny River, of course, but it's close enough to the Ohio to give the event its name.

Medals will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place finishers in all races. Trophies will be presented in the special trophy races., including the Heinz Sprints and Canadian-American Challenge.

"The [HOTO] celebrates America's oldest collegiate sport and Pittsburgh's spirit of charity," said Sally Hardon, director of special projects for The Pittsburgh Mercy Foundation. Hardon said the event has raised more than $500,000 for the Mercy Hospital Burn Center, now celebrating its 35th anniversary.

The money is used to buy "state-of-the-art equipment to care for approximately 300 burn victims a year, one-third of whom are children 14 and younger," Hardon said.

Hardon said the event "is a perfect showcase for two Pittsburgh trademarks -- sports and rivers." It's also a boost to the local economy. The Westin Convention Center Hotel is the official hotel for the event.

Two of the top races of the day will be the Heinz Noon Sprints and the Canadian-American challenge.

The former are invitational races that feature the top five or six college or university men's and women's eight-member crews competing in a 500-meter sprint from a floating start to the finish.

The latter pits the U.S. Men's Four -- four men, each rowing with one oar -- against the Canadian Men's Four in a 1,000-meter all-out race to the finish line. Both crews include Olympic athletes and future Olympic prospects.

The Can-Am race will follow the Heinz Noon Sprints.

"I always enjoy coming to Pittsburgh for the Head of the Ohio," said Mike Teti, the U.S. national men's head coach. "It's a great event for a great cause. My first visit was in 1989 when I rowed with my fellow Olympic crew members. [It] was our first reunion since Seoul in '88 when we won the bronze medal."

Special guests include Aquil Abdullah, a member of the U.S. team that won the 2001 world championship. Known as the "Jackie Robinson of rowing," Abdullah is the author of "Perfect Balance," an autobiography published last fall.

In 1996, he became the first African-American male to win a U.S. championship in the single scull. In 2000, he became first African-American to win the Diamond Sculls Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England.

"I am excited to be returning to Pittsburgh," said Abdullah, who taught a sculls clinic here last year.

New to this year's event is a "Career Opportunities Tent" sponsored by Boyden Global Executive Search where numerous Pittsburgh-based companies will provide information primarily directed to college students and postgraduates.

Although admission is free, spectators who make a $100 donation will be provided with a gourmet lunch catered by The Fluted Mushroom and a finish-line view from the Steward's Enclosure at the North Shore Riverfront Park.

For "tailgaters" who want to bring their own lunch, a table and 10 chairs will be provided for a $75 donation. For $125, you get two tables and 20 chairs.

Live entertainment throughout the day will be provided by The Boilermaker 5, Dr. Kwasi and the Islanders, and Burgh Man, a multitalented entertainer. Free parking is available in the 400 space Gold Lot No. 4 between PNC Park and Heinz Field.

The event is sponsored by the Post-Gazette, the H. J. Heinz Company Foundation, Buchanan Ingersoll, Parker-Hunter, Mine Safety Appliance Company, Star Electric, PNC Bank, Giant Eagle, Boyden Global Executive Search and USSteel.

Hardon said the Heinz Endowments and the Richard King Mellon Foundation provided "generous grants to help cover HOTO costs because of their commitment to the Mercy Hospital Burn Center and the event."

The burn center was founded in 1967 by Dr. Charles E. Copeland, now chairman of the Department of Surgery at Mercy Hospital. Trauma and burn surgeons, registered nurses, rehabilitation specialists and ancillary support staff are in-house 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Dr. Larry M. Jones, chief of the division of multisystem trauma and director of the burn center, said the center has treated more than 10,000 burn victims since it opened.

For more information on the Head of the Ohio, call 412-232-7504 or go to http://www.headoftheohio.org.

For more information on the Three Rivers Rowing Association, call 412-231-8772 or go to http://www.threeriversrowing.org.