Stotesbury Cup Regatta takes over Schuylkill River this weekend
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 96th Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the largest high school rowing regatta in the world, is taking over the Schuylkill River this weekend. It's a major event in the rowing world and a long-standing Philadelphia tradition.
The regatta is a major event in the rowing world. On Friday morning, we got to see some fierce competition as rowers raced up the Schuylkill for their time trials.
The race, which is one of the largest in Philadelphia, can draw crowds of up to 10,000 people with about 5,000 competitors participating from about 400 schools.
There are teams from all over the United States and even Canada.
Last week, college rowers moved the Dad Vail Regatta to the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, because organizers were concerned about the depth of the Schuylkill River citing a dredging project. The Stotesbury Regatta will continue on the river, where it's been since 1927.
But Bonnie Mueller with the Schuylkill Navy says they never considered a change to the Stotesbury Cup.
"There is never any question whether the city of Philadelphia and the Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia was going to partner to bring the Stotesbury Cup where it belongs, on its home, on the Schuylkill River," Mueller said.
Schuylkill Navy say they work with the Army Corps of Engineers on river projects and that the dredging wouldn't impact Stotesbury.
"We know that the dredging project on the upper part of the river will start in July. So there's no threat of a conflict there," Jeff Greenfield said. "And the conditions for our 1500m course, this race, are great."
Officials call it the largest scholastic regatta in the world. Rowers say that's hard to argue.
"Probably how big it is, compared to our area," Katie Depasse and Elisha Anand said. "Just how many schools come."
"This Regatta is probably 10 times as large as any Regatta I've ever been to," Cooper Poorman said.
We talked with some of the rowers about the conditions on the river. Reviews were mixed with the wind being the biggest complaint.
"The conditions were pretty rough actually," Andrew Allison said. "It was heavy headwinds."
"Yeah, the water's moving really fast," Depasse and Anand said. "It's a really bad current."
"It was good," Maddie said. "It wasn't too choppy."
Mueller says the Schuylkill is where the Stotesbury Cup belongs.
"Rowing competition really began in Philadelphia. It's the birthplace of American rowing," Mueller said. "And Boathouse Row is such an important piece of iconography. Not just for the city, but certainly for rowers as well."
Rowers told CBS News Philadelphia on Friday they had no complaints about the Schuylkill.
We spoke with rowers past and present about what this day means.
"It's a Philadelphia tradition," Concord High School coach Clete Graham said. "Edward T. Stotesbury donated the cup in 1927. He was a Philadelphian. Lived out in the Fort Washington area. Dad Vail is the big college race and Stotesbury is the week after. It's the big high school race. So a lot of former rowers in Philadelphia rowed in Stotesbury when they were a kid."
"It's really cool," Concord High School rower Michael Trungold said. "You're spending the whole season preparing. Every single day, you're out in the water. You're working with your team, you're getting stronger, you're getting faster so it's really good to be able to then go to regatta and put it all to the test."
"I love rowing. I love people who row," Cooper Poorman with Norfolk Academy said. "There's so many cool people I would've never encountered. So I'm just going to talk to the locals, the rowers, and see what's happening."
Semifinals start Friday and go through Saturday afternoon. The finals are after that.
We asked one rower about the motivation and she told us, of course, it's the medals.
The Stotesbury Cup Regatta will continue Saturday and wrap up at about 6 p.m.
Just a reminder to drivers, avoid Kelly Drive Friday and Saturday. It'll be closed off for the Regatta.