The Biggest High School Rowing Regatta in the World, the 85th Annual Stotesbury Cup, This Friday & Saturday, May 20 & 21 on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River

Philadelphia, PA – May 16, 2011 – Contrary to popular myth, the rowing season on Philadelphia’s historic Schuylkill River doesn’t begin and end with one event in May.

This Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21, the biggest high school rowing event in the world, The Stotesbury Cup, returns to Philadelphia for the 85th annual regatta.

The 85th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta will once again be competed on Philadelphia’s historic home to rowing, the Schuylkill River. It is not only the world’s largest high school rowing event, it is also the oldest, as well as being the second largest regatta overall in the United States each year.

The 2011 edition of the Stotesbury Cup features:

* Over 5,000 student-athletes competing in over 130 races;
* 176 high schools participating representing eight states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, Florida, Virginia, New York as well as Washington, D.C.) and two countries (the United States and Canada);
* 868 boats entered;
* And anticipated attendance of over 25,000 students, parents, alumni, family and friends.

Races in the 85th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta begin Friday at 8 a.m. with 30 time trials scheduled, and continue throughout the day with 29 semi-final races beginning at approximately 4 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule of 75 races begin at 8 a.m. with the first of three girls junior eight semi-final races, and concludes at 5:50 p.m. with the boys senior eight final.

Media credentials for the 85th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta are available by contacting Leslie Pfeil of the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association (phone 610-389-6337, e-mail philasra@gmail.com) or Jim DeLorenzo of Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations (phone 215-266-5943, e-mail jim@jhdenterprises.com). Both will also be on site for the races at the media trailer located near the finish line and grandstand.

The 85th Annual Stotesbury Regatta continues the legacy of the late Philadelphia industrialist and philanthropist Edward T. Stotesbury, who was also one of the city’s rowing enthusiasts and established the regatta in 1926. Additional information about this year’s Stotesbury Regatta, including heat sheets, schedules, and background information, is available online at http://www.boathouserow.org.

Sponsors for the 85th Annual Stotesbury Regatta include the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation; Vespoli; Mariner Insurance; Sport Graphics; RaceDay; and Wild Bill’s Old Fashioned Soda Pop.

This year’s Stotesbury Regatta is the first under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series, which brings together for the first time 20 previously independent events in the first organized year-long series of rowing events of its kind in any major U.S. city. The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is organized by the Schuylkill Navy, which is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the country, representing the 12 rowing clubs based on Philadelphia’s landmark Boathouse Row.

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).

The Schuylkill River hosts more regattas annually than any other river in the nation, as well as two of the country’s oldest continuing regattas, The Schuylkill Navy Regatta (dating back to before 1860) and the Independence Day Regatta (initiated in 1880). Those two historic events are a significant part of the 2011 schedule for the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series.

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series schedule runs from March through October, and features over 35,000 competitors in over 7,700 boats representing not only high schools but colleges, clubs, masters and open programs from around the country. The remaining 11 regattas on the schedule include:

• Fri., May 20 & Sat., May 21: Stotesbury Cup Regatta (high school)
• Saturday, June 18: Schuylkill Navy Regatta (clubs/open)
• Fri., July 1 to Sun., July 3: Independence Day Regatta (clubs/open)
• Saturday, July 16: Philadelphia Youth Regatta (clubs/juniors)
• Saturday, July 30: Quaker City Masters Regatta (clubs/masters)
• Saturday, September 17: Philadelphia Turn & Burn Regatta (clubs)
• Saturday, September 24: Hutchinson Cup Regatta (high school/masters)
• Saturday, October 8: Navy Day Regatta (clubs/high school/collegiate/masters)
• Sunday, October 9: Row for the Cure (clubs/high school/college)
• Sunday, October 23: Philadelphia Children’s Foundation Regatta (h.s./coll.)
• Sat., Oct. 29 & Sun. Oct. 30: Head of the Schuylkill Regatta (h.s./coll./clubs/open)

Sponsorship opportunities are now available for national, regional and local companies seeking access to this grand sport and its powerful demographic.

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

Contact:
Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations, 215-266-5943, jim@jhdenterprises.com