MEDIA ADVISORY: The World’s Biggest High School Rowing Championship in Philadelphia This Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19


WHAT:              The 86th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the world's largest and oldest high school rowing event (and the second-largest rowing event in the U.S. each year.) 

WHEN:             Friday,  May 18, 2012, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
                        Saturday, May 19, 2012, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE:           Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, with finish line/awards presentations at the Grandstand located on Kelly Drive beneath the Columbia Railroad Bridge.

WHO:               More than 5,000 high school student-athletes competing in over 130 races, with 925 boats and 198 schools in attendance from at least eight states (PA, NJ, DE, MD, TX, FL, VA, NY, and Washington, D.C.), as well as Canadian teams, along with approximately 25,000 spectators and fans.

ADMISSION:     Free of Charge.

PARKING:        Limited paid parking available in nearby Fairmount Park.

MEDIA CREDENTIALS:             Contact Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations, office 215-564-1122, on-site/cell phone 215-266-5943, e-mail jim@jhdenterprises.com.

BACKGROUND:
The 86th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta is not only the world's largest high school rowing event it is also the oldest, as well as the second-largest rowing event in the U.S. each year.   The schedule begins on Friday, May 18th at approximately 8 a.m. with trials in the boys freshman eight and continue to approximately 6:30 p.m. with the second of two girls junior quad semi-finals.  Saturday’s schedule begins at approximately 8 a.m. with the girls junior eight semi-final, and concludes at approximately 6 p.m. with the girls senior eight final.  Medals and awards will presented throughout the course of competition on Saturday.

Attracting far more competitors, boats and spectators than the popular Dad Vail Regatta (which is not affiliated with the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series), as of May 9th, there are 5,000 competitors registered to compete in this year’s Stotesbury Cup Regatta, with 925 boats and 198 schools in attendance.  That compares favorably to this weekend’s Dad Vail, which expects 3,200 competitors in 561 boats from 132 schools.

Proof that there is more to rowing in Philadelphia than one weekend in May, the 86th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta is a vital component in the 2012 schedule of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series, which brings together 20 previously independent events into the first year-long regatta series in the United States. With three of the largest regattas in the Mid-Atlantic region on the schedule, as well as two of the nation's oldest regattas, the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series connects the rowing competitors of today to the historic home of the international rowing elite. It is built upon a tradition that launched November 12, 1835 with the first organized regatta on the Schuylkill (a full eight years before the start of the rowing program at Harvard). 

Additional information is available at http://www.BoathouseRow.org.

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