History


Starting in 1857, regattas were held on Lake Quinsigamond. The biggest college rivalry was between Harvard and Yale and Harvard predominated, winning seven of their first nine contests. In addition, Brown, Amherst, Cornell and other colleges rowed at the lake during the early years. In 1895, Edward J. Kerns, Sr. began coaching a crew of high school boys from Worcester. This became the fist schoolboy eight in the country. They won the the intermediate class in the national regatta held in Philadelphia in 1896. Crew racing dwindled around Lake Quinsigamond for the next few years as social organizations, steamboats and recreational activities became more popular. In 1937, a rebirth of crew events grew from the efforts of Kenneth Burns, a Shrewsbury Police Chief. Burns an accomplished sculler won every race he entered from 1922 to 1925. His first goal was to establish a rowing team for Shrewsbury High School. In 1939, they won the National Junior Schoolboy Championship. Coach Burns was also instrumental in bringing many rowing activities to the lake: The Middle States Regatta in 1950, the National Regatta in 1951 and the Olympic trials in 1952. In 1970, Burns encouraged his daughter, Barbara to start a girls' crew team. Prior to this, crew was entirely a male affair - no girls allowed. Coach Burns passed away in 1982 after 60 years of personal involvement. His impact on the sport has made history at Lake Quinsigamond

Information taken from:
Remembering Lake Quinsigamond, Author Michael P. Perna, Jr.