The Dad Vail Regatta is a tradition that keeps the rowing community together — no matter the weather
Even as the wind speeds picked up and rain and fog set in, parents and alumni gathered along the river to cheer their school on and keep the longstanding tradition going.
The light drizzles and eventual downpour by late afternoon didn’t keep spectators away on Friday at the 86th annual Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta.
The event, held once again this year at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, didn’t find large crowds on day one, but even as the wind speeds picked up and fog set in, parents and alumni gathered along the river — each huddled under an umbrella — to cheer their school on and keep the longstanding tradition going.
Julie Edmiston of Wilmington, Del., is a 1988 La Salle graduate and rowed stroke on the school’s varsity four boat. She’s been attending the Dad Vail Regatta for nearly 40 years. It’s where she gets to reconnect with her old teammates, and this year, watch her daughter, Ren, a senior at Temple who graduated on Thursday, row in the sixth seat of the varsity eight boat.
“It’s really neat to see old friends and even people from La Salle,” said Edmiston, who sat under the La Salle alumni tent repping Temple gear, alongside her two other children, Kristen and John. “Rowing is such a team sport, and you have to trust each other; that bond never goes away.”
“It’s lifelong friendships,” Stephanie O’Hagan added, a 1987 La Salle grad, who rowed the third seat on the varsity four with Julie. “I was in a sorority, but rowing was my sorority. We used to officiate at this regatta for many years, and now we can sit back and enjoy the races.”
Even after their collegiate careers ended, the two have remained close friends and stayed involved in the rowing community. Edmiston started a crew program at the Charter School of Wilmington, where O’Hagan has helped coach the team.
During the final day of races, Edmiston will be running the second-annual cancer survivor race, an initiative through the Survivor Rowing Network. The global program was launched in 2023 as a way to provide opportunities for patients and survivors to find community in rowing.
Edmiston is a seven-year breast cancer survivor. She started a chapter in Wilmington, and with the help of the University of Delaware, where she was a former coach, the Camden County Boathouse, and the Wilmington Rowing Center, Edmiston will see three quad and one eight boat of survivors row together on Saturday.
“Most people [who] are in those boats just learned to row after their diagnosis,” Edmiston said. “The water is a great place to be around. It’s really been amazing. It’s combining something I love to do with something I’ve been dealt with.”
Varsity eight semifinal
As the rain came and went on Friday, most spectators waited for the women’s and men’s varsity eight semifinal race, which was moved to Friday instead of Saturday due to potential wind conditions.
And the results didn’t disappoint.
The men’s race consisted of two heats with six entrants. The top three finishers from each heat advance to the final.
In the first men’s heat, Temple separated from the pack and placed first with a time of 5 minutes, 46.836 seconds. St. Joe’s trailed behind, but not close enough, as they clocked in at 5:50.668. Stetson University finished third with 5:51.216.
In the second heat, La Salle, who placed second in last year’s varsity eight final, got off to a hot start and dominated the competition as they finished with the fastest time (5:44.359). Drexel, the defending champions, finished second (5:50.043), while Marietta College (5:54.103) was the third and final qualifier.
“It felt fantastic, it’s something we’ve been working toward the whole year to execute races well,” said La Salle men’s rowing coach Ivo Krakic. “I think today we executed the semi the way we wanted. I think we’re hungry. La Salle hasn’t won the heavyweight title in 68 years. I think these guys know they can, and they’re going to come out swinging [Saturday].”
The women’s varsity eight consisted of two heats, with four schools entered in the first and six schools competing in the second. Drexel and St. Joe’s were neck-and-neck for most of the race, but the Dragons finished first at 6:44.190, while the Hawks followed behind at 6:46.664. Fordham was the third qualifier (6:58.072).
Georgetown notched the fastest time (6:45.990) in the second heat, as Temple placed second (6:45.990) and La Salle finished third (6:49.396).
Saturday’s finals will begin at 7 a.m., an hour earlier than the usual start time due to potential weather conditions. The varsity eight grand final is slated to begin around 7:15 a.m.