What Is The Dad Vail Regatta?

The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States, drawing over 100 colleges and universities from North America. It has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1953. Since 2019, the regatta has been sponsored by Thomas Jefferson University, a former Wisconsin coach. The 2024 event will take place on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, on May 10 and 11, 2024.

The regatta is named after Harry Emerson Dad Vail, a former Wisconsin coach who fought in the early 1900s. Rusty Callow, then a Pennsylvania coach, laid the foundation for the event. Over 120 colleges and 3,700 student athletes participated in the 78th annual Dad Vail Regatta.

The event is one of the premiere collegiate rowing events, taking place every spring on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River. The 2022 and 2023 events will take place on the same river. The races take place on a six-lane, Olympic-length course, beginning just north of where Kelly Drive intersects Hunting Park Avenue.

Dad Vail was a beloved character with a great sense of humor and was called “dad” by his rowers. The 2024 event will be held on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, marking the return of the largest collegiate regatta in North America to its original location in Philadelphia.

What is the meaning of Dad Vail?

“Rusty” furnished the idea of promoting competition among colleges struggling to found rowing. These fell into two classes: those too small ever to hope to compete in the “big time,” and those larger institutions not yet ready for such competition. To furnish the incentive, “Rusty” put into competition in 1934 a trophy which he named in honor of his friend Harry Emerson “Dad” Vail, for years coach at the University of Wisconsin. Hence our name.

The name “Dad” Vail has become synonymous with our Association. Lest. we forget, something about the man himself should go into this record. Harry Emerson Vail was born in Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada. Like his famous contemporaries, Charles Courtney of Cornell, and Jim Ten Eyck of Syracuse, he learned his rowing as a successful professional sculler.

Previous to his work at Wisconsin, Coach Vail had been coach at Georgetown Prep, Ariel Boat Club, and Harvard. However, it was through his work at Wisconsin that Coach Vail became widely known.

In reply to a letter asking him why he gave the name to the original trophy, and so to the Association, the late “Rusty” Callow wrote as follows:

Where is the dad vail regatta?

The Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee changed racing venues to ensure all competitors are afforded a safe and fair racing opportunity during Schuylkill River dredging at the National Racecourse site.

The 2023 Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta Affiliate Program Registration is open.

Boat Entry Registration will open the week of March 13, 2023.

Jefferson serves as Title Sponsor for the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. Thomas Jefferson University is a leader in transdisciplinary, professional education. Jefferson, home of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, is a preeminent university delivering high-impact education in over 200 undergraduate and graduate programs offered to 8,400 students in architecture, business, design, engineering, fashion and textiles, health, medicine, science and social science.Jefferson is re-defining the higher education value proposition with an approach that is collaborative and active; increasingly global; integrated with industry; focused on research across disciplines to foster innovation and discovery; and technology-enhanced. Student-athletes compete as the Jefferson Rams in the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Why did the dad Vail move?

“We have a very close relationship with PHL sports (and) we have a working relationship with Philadelphia crew venues and their organizing committee,” he said.

Newsworks_medium_rectangle_300x250_top WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor ;

The competition is moving to Camden County, due to the long-delayed dredging of the Schuylkill River that restarted in July. The Philadelphia District Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Philadelphia terminated their contract with Bridgeport, N.J.-based Atlantic Subsea last year. The company halted work in late 2020 because it encountered telephone poles, big trees, and other unusually large objects in the river.

Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee President Jim Hanna said in a news release that the unanimous decision to move the race from the Schuylkill River National Racecourse to the Cooper River – approximately five miles away – ensures a “successful production of the Regatta.”

According to its website, the Dad Vail Regatta has been held since 1934, with the exception of the World War II years and the 2020 COVID pandemic. It has been a fixture in Philadelphia since 1953. Nash said the competition coming to the Garden State is a “full circle” moment, with Rutgers being one of the first participants.

How old is dad Vail Regatta?

History of the regatta The first race, before the formation of the Dad Vail Rowing Association, was held in 1934 with “Rusty” and the University of Pennsylvania as hosts.

The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States, drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America. The regatta has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1953.

Since 2019, the regatta has been sponsored by Thomas Jefferson University, a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is officially known as the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. Previous sponsors have included Aberdeen Asset Management (2010–15), and Sunoco (1998-2000).

The purposes of the Dad Vail Rowing Association are: “to perpetuate the ‘Dad’ Vail tradition, foster and encourage intercollegiate rowing among colleges new to the sport, and promote schedules for member schools.”

What does Vail mean in slang?

Vail in American English 2. to take off or tip (one’s hat, etc.) as a sign of respect or submission.

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.

C14 valen, from obsolete avalen, from Old French avaler to let fall, from Latin ad vallem, literally: to the valley, that is, down, from ad to + vallis valley.

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.

Where is the dad vail regatta in 2024?

You can check out the full racing schedule on dadvail.org.

Kirsten Morasco joins NBC10’s Lucy Bustamante to talk about what to expect as the annual Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta returns to the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, this weekend.

Headed to the regatta?. Cooper River Park is located at 7050 N Park Drive in Pennsauken, just 7 miles from Boathouse Row.

The park is 346 acres and runs through Pennsauken, Cherry Hill, Collingswood and Haddon Township.

What is the meaning of Vail?

ˈvāl. vailed; vailing; vails. transitive verb. : to lower often as a sign of respect or submission.

Middle English valen, partly borrowed from Anglo-French valer (short for avaler “to lower”) & partly short for Middle English avalen “to let fall,” borrowed from Anglo-French avaler, verbal derivative of aval “downward,” from a “to” (going back to Latin ad) + val “valley” — more at at entry 1, vale.

The first known use of vail was in the 14th century.

“Vail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vail. Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

What does Vail mean in English?

Verb. ˈvāl. vailed; vailing; vails. transitive verb. : to lower often as a sign of respect or submission.

Middle English valen, partly borrowed from Anglo-French valer (short for avaler “to lower”) & partly short for Middle English avalen “to let fall,” borrowed from Anglo-French avaler, verbal derivative of aval “downward,” from a “to” (going back to Latin ad) + val “valley” — more at at entry 1, vale.

The first known use of vail was in the 14th century.

“Vail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vail. Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Why did the dad Vail Regatta move to New Jersey?

The collegiate rowing event is traditionally held on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, but moved tin 2023 due to a dredging project.

The announcement for the 2024 race being held in Pennsauken makes no mention about dredging. Camden County officials are touting their venue as being the draw.

“With significant investment and enhancements over the last 20 years Cooper River Park and our Olympic rowing venue has become one of the best true racecourses in the nation and the world,” Camden County Commissioner Jeff Nash said. “With that said, we are ecstatic to welcome back one of the most renowned regattas in the country, the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, for its second year at the park. As we continue to grow the sport of rowing and respect its time-honored traditions the relocation of this great regatta underscores everything Camden County has to offer as a regional destination.”

The county said that 2023 regatta “brought more than 30,000 visitors to the park over the weekend and injected millions of dollars into the local economy.”

What does so Vail mean?

To let sink; lower. Archaic. to take off or doff (one’s hat), as in respect or submission.

1300–50; Middle English valen, vaile “to subside, sink,” shortened variant of avalen, awalen, availen (now obsolete), from Middle French avaler “to move down,” derived from the phrase a val “down” (literally, “to the valley”), equivalent to a “to” (from Latin ad ) + val vale.

1300–50; Middle English vailen, vaille, valen, shortened variant of avail.

C14 valen, from obsolete avalen, from Old French avaler to let fall, from Latin ad vallem, literally: to the valley, that is, down, from ad to + vallis valley.

How did the dad Vail regatta get its name?

History. The Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta was named after famous rowing coach Harry Emerson “Dad” Vail, a long-time coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Vail’s strong beliefs and passion for the sport ushered in the modern day Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta and continue to inspire the colleges and universities that come to compete.

Click the button below for additional information about the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, including event times, parking details and more.