Stotesbury Cup

The Stotesbury Cup Regatta, sponsored by the Schuylkill Navy, is the world's oldest and one of the largest high school rowing competitions. It is held annually in mid-May over a two-day period along the Schuylkill River near Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Competing crews come from schools all over North America, though most hail from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.

The regatta has many different events (30 in 2011) in which high school crews compete for various cups and trophies. Events vary by sex, age, weight category, number of rowers, and style of rowing (whether sweeping with one oar per rower or sculling with two oars per rower). The regatta takes its name from the main event, the Men's Senior Eight race, in which crews of eight oarsmen and one coxswain compete for the Stotesbury Cup. The Stotesbury Cup in turn is named for Edward T. Stotesbury of Philadelphia, a prominent partner at J.P. Morgan & Co. and its Philadelphia affiliate, Drexel & Co. The Women's Senior Eights compete for the Robert Engman Trophy. The regatta has been running men's races since 1927; women's events were added in the mid-1970s. Powerhouse schools in men's events include Episcopal Academy, Christian Brothers Academy, St. Augustine Preparatory School, LaSalle High School, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Holy Spirit, Atlantic City High School, St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.), St. Joseph's Prep, Gonzaga College High School, Winter Park High School, and Roman Catholic High School for Boys. Episcopal Academy, having dominated the Senior and Junior Four division from 2015-2016, made the Grand Final in the Men's Senior Eight in 2017. The same year, Gonzaga College High School was overtaken by Montclair High School for first place in the Men's Senior Eight. Meanwhile, in women's events, National Cathedral School (Washington, D.C.) has won the Senior Eight category twice (2016-2017) and finished second once (2014) in the last four years. 

The Men’s Lightweight 8 category for the James R. Muldowney Memorial Trophy has been dominated by St. Joseph's Prep. On May 18th, 2019, they won for the 10th consecutive time (2010-2019) and the 20th time in the last 23 years. Mount Saint Joseph Academy has also emerged in recent years with strong showings in the Lightweight Eight and Senior Eight categories and Bishop Eustace Preparatory School won the Senior Eight category for three consecutive years (2007-2009). Merion Mercy Academy having won Silver in 2016 in the Women's Senior Eight won Gold in both the Women's Senior Four and Lightweight Eight in 2017.

Racecourse
The Stotesbury racecourse is the standard high school length of 1500 meters. It begins a few hundred meters upstream from the Strawberry Mansion Bridge and finishes downstream just before the Columbia Railroad Bridge. It is a six-lane course, and as in most races the favored crews are positioned in the middle lanes. The river current is strongest in the final four hundred meters of the race as crews pass Peters Island on the west side of the course. Lane 6, closest to Peters Island, generally has the slowest water current, making it the least desirable lane in this downstream racecourse.

Organization
Stotesbury's unique racing format does not have heats, 6 boats across racing in the normal sprint fashion, as the opening event. Instead, each event goes in a time trial format, similar to a head race, but only covering 1500 meters. The starting order is based on the finish order from the previous year's regatta. The fastest crews in each time trial advance to the semi-final round. Semi-finals begin later on the first day and continue on the second day. Finals begin in the afternoon of the second day. Events are ordered so that small boats race before the larger ones, and the regatta culminates in either the Men's or Women's Senior Eight final race, alternating every year. After each final is finished, the best three boats dock at the grandstands next to the finish line to receive their medals.

The Stotesbury Cup Regatta continues to grow in its size and level of competition as high school rowing gains popularity. In 2000, about 3,500 athletes competed in the regatta. In 2016, 5,679 athletes from 191 schools competed in 984 boats to make it the largest Stotesbury yet. As the sport continues to grow, this trend will likely persist as more and more rowers carry on the Stotesbury tradition.

References

External links
 Stotesbury Cup Regatta Official Site The winner of every Stotesbury Cup Regatta race since the first race in 1927 is listed here.
 Schuylkill Navy Home page
 Philadelphia Inquirer article about history  May 8, 2009 about Stotesbury 
 Facts and Figures about The Stotesbury Cup Regatta
Map of the Schuylkill River 1500 meter racecourse

Category:Schuylkill Navy
Category:Rowing regattas
Category:Schuylkill River
Category:Sports in Philadelphia