Heavy rains didn’t dampen the excitement or food competition at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta

Thunderstorms and harsh rains aren’t exactly ideal weather for a regatta.

But by late afternoon on Friday, the sun appeared through an overcast sky along the Schuylkill. After a three-hour delay, the 98th annual Stotesbury Cup resumed.

The committee suspended all time trials after the girls’ junior eight race at 10:52 a.m., due to lightning and thunder deemed it unsafe for the rowers. The races picked back up at 2:09 p.m., starting with the boys junior quad. Friday’s events ended at 6:30 p.m., with the boys’ senior eight trials.

All semifinal races were postponed to Saturday.

Nevertheless, morale remained high as rain couldn’t thwart the party going on inside each school’s tent. Folks from all over the nation grilled cheesesteaks or burgers, and played all different genres of music from Tom Petty to Nirvana.

And more attention was geared toward another competition that was happening Friday: the What’s Cookin’ Challenge.

Four years ago, Alex DelSordo, a former rower and graduate of Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, N.J., started a food competition at Stotesbury, the world’s oldest and largest high school rowing event, to give parents something to look forward to. It’s a design that’s had an overwhelming amount of success ever since.

» READ MORE: The Stotesbury Cup Regatta has 822 entries. Here’s what to know about the oldest high school rowing event

“The competition in the eyes of these parents is truly contagious; they want to compete, too, and we found a way,” said DelSordo, who also rowed at George Washington University and is still actively involved in the rowing community. “It’s so important for rowing to have parent support. If you do not have parent support, you do not have rowing — period. If the parents have something to look forward to, I truly believe it’s going to keep this thing going.”

The food being judged ranged anywhere from sliders to tacos to calamari and steamed mussels. The winner receives a large trophy designed to look like a spatula. Walter Johnson High School of Maryland won the competition in the first year. Mainland took home the trophy in 2023, and Malvern Prep won it last year. This year had two winners: Jackson-Reed High School of Washington, D.C., and Kearny High, located outside of Newark, N.J.

While the Friars were looking to repeat as champions, the parents took this year’s competition to a different level. They put together an 1980s theme tent and menu inspired by movies, while also dressing the part.

Hanging outside the tent was a poster that read “Fast Times At Stotesbury,” referring to the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Inside hung a disco ball, as a TV played Top Gun. The food included Pretty in Pink cupcakes and their main dish, a tenderloin sandwich with red onion, sweet pepper relish, and Dijon mustard on an English muffin — Jim and Dana Zdancewicz’s family recipe that they bring to every barbecue.

“It takes a lot of teamwork, today’s been a joy, but the lead up has been a lot to coordinate,” said Dana, whose son, Duke, is a junior competing in the boys lightweight double. “We got everything set up just before the rain, so in the nick of time, we were ready to go.”

The Malvern families have spent the past four weeks planning out each of their “superpowers” on how they can contribute. They communicate via a group chat called “Spicoli’s Spatula.” They’ve had plenty of time to talk about it. When they head out to a regatta, it’s usually an eight- to nine-hour day. They’ll be tasked with keeping the rowers fed, but really only watch their child compete for about two to three minutes.

Those long days are also why they have quite the setup. The parents bring a Malvern trailer to each event. Inside their trailer, you won’t find paddles or life preservers; this tent is filled with a TV, generator, and heater to keep them comfortable on a day like Friday.

While it’s not easy, the parents have found a community among each other. Annette Bentley, whose son, Will, rows in the senior boys’ quad, says, “It’s a culture and family,” and they’ve found their own ways to have fun, too.

“We’re here all day, so we’re just trying to make the best of it,” Jim Zdancewicz added. “But everyone stops when the boats come by. The grilling stops, and everyone’s yelling and supporting the rowers, because at the end of the day, it’s for the boys.”