Overview The Head of the Hooch is a two-day rowing regatta on the Tennessee River through downtown Chattanooga, billed as "The Last of the Great Fall Regattas" and the South's largest head race, and its 2026 schedule packed 91 races into one November weekend. Crews race a 4,500-meter course downstream against the clock, spaced 15 to 20 seconds apart, and finish at Ross's Landing Park. Youth, collegiate, masters, para and alumni crews all race, from single sculls to eights. Friends of the Hooch, a 501(c)(3), runs the regatta entirely with volunteers. On site Ross's Landing is the finish and the center of the weekend: grandstands, the teams' crew tents and the Chattanooga Market sit together on the riverfront. About 350 meters upstream, crews pass directly under the Walnut Street Bridge, a pedestrian bridge where spectators stand over the course. Coolidge Park on the North Shore is the quieter bank, looking onto boats heading to the start and coming into the finish, and the Riverwalk lets people follow the race on foot or by bike. Saturday carries 36 races and Sunday 55, starting before 8 a.m. both days, and a free electric shuttle loops downtown. The races are livestreamed. Audience Much of the crowd arrives with a boat. Clubs, high school programs and college teams travel in, pitch crew tents at Ross's Landing and race across both days. Masters divisions run from age 21 past 65, and Sunday morning brings parent-and-child crews and alumni eights. Track record The Atlanta Rowing Club started the regatta in 1982 on the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, Georgia, with about 200 boats on borrowed residents' docks. After the 1996 Olympics it moved to the Olympic rowing venue on Lake Lanier and grew past 1,300 boats. In 2005 it came to Chattanooga through a partnership with Lookout Rowing Club. The regatta's own history page puts it at about 2,200 boats, more than 6,000 athletes and an estimated 20,000 spectators a year, and entry caps are set by lottery. Brand presence The Tennessee Valley Authority was listed as title sponsor ahead of the 2026 regatta, with Chattanooga Sports and Events Corporation and Outdoor Chattanooga at platinum level, and the rest of the roster mixes boatbuilders and erg makers with Chattanooga businesses. Sponsorship is sold in platinum, gold, silver and bronze levels.