Three teams from South Africa will row at the iconic Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston this weekend, a landmark for the sport back home.

This weekend, two South African schools and a provincial crew from the Western Cape will line up alongside the world’s best at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts, the largest three-day rowing event on the planet.

First held in 1965, the Head of the Charles attracts more than 11 000 athletes and over 300 000 spectators each year. Crews race a winding three-mile course along the Charles River, battling current, bridges and tight turns. It signals the start of the United States college rowing season, but also draws elite teams from around the world, this year including three from South Africa.

St Benedict’s College, long regarded as South Africa’s top rowing school, returns to the Harvard boathouse to contest the Youth Eights on Sunday. The Johannesburg powerhouse won the same event in 2002 and will look to add another strong performance to its record.

St Andrew’s College of Grahamstown has also sent 15 rowers to Boston, supported by sponsorship from Crimson Education. The team will aim to improve on its previous best of 11th place in 2016, a finish that put the Eastern Cape school firmly on the international map.

The Western Cape Rowing Association has entered Lebone Mokheseng, Sepitle Leshilo, Lwazi Zwane and Sheldon Krishnasamy in the Men’s Championship Fours, where they will face American collegiate powerhouses Princeton, Washington and Brown. All four men are seasoned South African oarsmen, bringing national-level experience to one of the most competitive events of the regatta.

That three independent South African crews are competing in Boston is unprecedented. It signals both the ambition and the steady international rise of South African rowing. Earlier this year, the national U19 men’s squad qualified a record 12 athletes across four boats for world competition, a measure of how far the sport has come.

For the schools and clubs involved, the trip is about more than results. Exposure to the pace and precision of top international rowing is invaluable. These young athletes will return home with the lessons, confidence and standards that can lift the entire South African rowing community, proving that with the right backing and belief, they belong on the world stage.