The Last of the
Great Fall Regattas.
Founded in 1982 on the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, GA, the Head of the Hooch is now one of the world’s largest regattas held in Chattanooga, TN with more than 2,100 boats!
A Story of Hospitality & Growth.
The Head of the Hooch regatta is run entirely by volunteers who dedicate their time to share their passion for rowing with competitors, families, and the community from across the United States.
1982 - 1996
Chattahoochee River
Roswell, GA
The Head of the Chattahoochee® regatta started in 1983 by the Atlanta Rowing Club with just over 200 boats racing upstream on a 5,000 meter course on the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, GA — just north of Atlanta, GA. As the regatta grew, the Atlanta Rowing Club needed to shut down more than 1/2 mile of the Azalea Drive roadway to accommodate trailers, boats, and spectators. Docks were borrowed from generous residents along the river and the race grew to nearly 500 boats while remaining on its home waterway.
1997 - 2004
Lake Lanier
Gainesville, GA
In 1996 the city of Atlanta hosted the Olympics and constructed a rowing venue with a finish tower and grand stands on Lake Lanier along the Chattahoochee River upstream from the Atlanta Rowing Club. The Olympic rowing venue turned out to be the perfect location for the Head of the Chattahoochee regatta from 1997 through 2004, when the regatta saw more than 1,000 boats racing for the gold.
2005 - Present
Tennessee River
Chattanooga, TN
With the Head of the Chattahoochee regatta outgrowing the Olympic rowing venue on Lake Lanier, regatta organizers once again were forced to seek a larger location. In the early 2000s, the Atlanta Rowing Club worked together with the Lookout Rowing Club in Chattanooga, TN. No longer hosted on the Chattahoochee River, the regatta became known as the Head of the Hooch® regatta. Today, the Head of the Hooch regatta welcomes more than 2,100 entries with over 7,500 athletes and an estimated 15,000 spectators over two days of racing in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, TN.