Philly may hold regatta in place of Dad Vail
Monday, November 30th, 2009
By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org
The future of a Philadelphia replacement for the Dad Vail Regatta is still up in the air. The schools involved will make a final decision around the end of the year.
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Historically held on the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, the Dad Vail has pulled up stakes for Rumson, New Jersey. But schools may opt to hold a new race at the regatta's traditional home. Don DiJulia is Athletic Director at St. Joseph's University. He says the school can't afford to send all its boats to Rumson.
DiJulia: Philadelphia schools are in constant communication about what's being planned and then a lot of Philadelphia schools are talking their own conference members who are not Philadelphia schools and a lot of schools throughout the country to know who's going where and when.
Mayor Michael Nutter says it's up to the schools to decide if there is enough interest in a race on the Schuylkill in May. The registration deadline for the Rumson event is the end of the year.
Races in Philadelphia:
Black 43.2%
White Non-Hispanic 42.5%
Hispanic 8.5%
Other race 4.8%
Two or more races 2.2%
Chinese 1.2%
Other Asian 0.9%
Asian Indian 0.8%
Vietnamese 0.8%
American Indian 0.7%
Races in Rumson
White Non-Hispanic 96.8%
Hispanic 1.4%
Chinese 0.6%
Two or more races 0.5%
I hope the athletic directors can see that numbers don't lie. There are no African Americans in Rumson. I wonder what the percentage is of African American students enrolled at these colleges?
How is race even relevant to this issue?
I wanted to clarify my comment: The Dad Vail Regatta has always been a continued tradition of our rowing program and the terminal goal of our regular season. The Grand Valley State University Rowing Club will definitely participate in this years event in Rumson, NJ with the fastest Dad Vail level crews that wish to race.
The fastest boats will be in Rumson.