The World's Biggest High School Rowing Championship in Philadelphia Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19

86^th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Part of the 2012 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series

Philadelphia, PA – May 9, 2012 – The world’s largest high school rowing championship event comes back to Philadelphia on Friday, May 18^th and Saturday, May 19^th, with more than 5,000 high school student-athletes competing in over 130 races on the historic Schuylkill River.

The 86^th 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 18^th 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.

Admission to view the Stotesbury Cup Regatta on the banks of the Schuylkill River and in the Grandstand located on Kelly Drive beneath the Columbia Railroad Bridge is free of charge. Limited parking for cars is available nearby in Fairmount Park. A full schedule for the Stotesbury Cup Regatta is available online at http://www.boathouserow.org.

[Media credentials and parking passes for accredited members of the media are available. Please contact Jim DeLorenzo by phone at 215-564-1122 or by e-mail at jim@jhdenterprises.com for further information.]

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 9^th, 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 86^th 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.

Last year's Stotesbury Cup Regatta featured over 5,000 high school student-athletes, competing in over 130 races, from 176 high schools representing eight states (PA, NJ, DE, MD, TX, FL, VA, NY, and Washington, D.C.), as well as Canadian teams, with over 868 boats and over 25,000 in attendance over the course of the two days.

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).

Over 175 years later, the Schuylkill River hosts more regattas annually than any other river in the nation. Last year’s debut season featured 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 2012 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series schedule of historic regattas:

Sunday, May 13: Dr. White Regatta
Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19: 86^th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta
Saturday, June 16: 154^th Schuylkill Navy Regatta
Friday, June 29 thru Sunday, July 1: 132^nd Independence Day Regatta
Saturday, July 14: Philadelphia Youth Regatta
Saturday, August 4: Quaker City Masters Regatta
Saturday, October 13: 26^th Annual Navy Day Regatta
Saturday, October 20: 4^th Annual Philadelphia Children’s Foundation Regatta
Saturday, October 27 & Sunday, October 28: 42^nd Annual Head of the Schuylkill Regatta
Saturday, November 10: 9^th Annual Hutchinson Cup Regatta
Sunday, November 11: 4^th Annual Philadelphia Turn & Burn Regatta

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series has been recognized by the Philadelphia Sports Congress as one of the "Premier Annual Events" for the city, state and region along with the Penn Relays (April); Blue Cross Broad Street Run (May); Devon Horse Show (May); TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship (June); Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (June); ING Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (September); the Philadelphia Marathon (November) and Army-Navy Football.

The official host hotel of the 2012 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown. The official host restaurant of the 2012 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is Buca di Beppo-Philadelphia. Official sponsors of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series include Monarch Travel Services and Spike's Trophies. Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington and Double Tree Suites by Hilton Philadelphia West are hotel partners of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series.

Additional information is available at http://www.BoathouseRow.org and at http://www.pitchengine.com/philadelphiaclassicregattaseries.

Media Contact:

Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations

215-564-1122, jim@jhdenterprises.com