The roar of the crowd, the colour of the spectators and the excitement of competitors was a spectacle Ballarat has not experienced for almost a decade.

Marking the centenary of the Ballarat Associated Sports event, the 2012 Head of the Lake was also the first time the prestigious regatta had been held on Lake Wendouree since 2003.

Severe drought conditions, which eventually resulted in the lake being declared officially dry in December 2006, meant that the Head of the Lake was moved to Nagambie in 2004 and then to the Barwon River at Geelong in 2007, where it continued to be staged until this year’s event.

A combination of projects by the state government and City of Ballarat, as well as extensive rains in recent years, has meant that the water level at Lake Wendouree has returned to its pre-drought days.

Head of the Lake is more than just a rowing regatta among rival Ballarat schools. This event has grown in prestige since its inception in 1912 and has cemented its reputation as one of the premier events on the sporting calendar.

Not only does it bring thousands of spectators to the foreshore of Lake Wendouree – and organisers of the 2012 event say crowd numbers were on par with previous years – Head of the Lake has the ability to attract thousands of dollars to Ballarat’s economy.

Ballarat Regional Tourism director George Sossi said the event had the potential to attract up to 10,000 people – a boon for the city’s economy.

Meanwhile, Head of the Lake organiser Sharyn Canny said the return of the event to Lake Wendouree could result in more schools competing in the future.

In the previous decade, when the event was moved to Nagambie and then to Geelong, Ballarat schools were forced to travel many hours just to train for the Head of the Lake and then commute again to compete. While supportive schools and parents had to foot this bill to see their children compete, it also meant that money was being taken out of the Ballarat economy.

Let us hope that Lake Wendouree will never again dry up due to drought and that the Head of the Lake can enjoy another century of pride, tradition and prestige on the waters of Ballarat’s icon.