Philadelphia, PA – Throughout the history of Temple Men’s Crew, success at the Dad Vail Regatta has been paramount especially in the Men’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight with 20 Dad Vail Gold Medals (including 13 consecutive wins).
“Temple University, so uniquely a Philly school succeeding in a uniquely Philly event like this is pretty special,” said coach Brian Perkins, who was part of a Varsity Heavyweight Eight that won a Dad Vail Gold Medal. “That was always the case. To be able to compete against some of the fastest crews in the country right here on our home course is a gift.”
When the Owls hit the river for the 79th annual Dad Vail Regatta, presented by Independence Blue Cross and The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University taking place on Friday May 12 and Saturday May 13 it will be a historic occasion for a number of reasons.
They will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the men’s program; the opening of their new boathouse and they will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1992 Men’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight that won a coveted Dad Vail Gold Medal.
“We talk about the 50-year milestone, but surviving that long was not without trials,” said Perkins. “One key reason for Temple’s success would be the consistent leadership of Gavin White. Gavin was the second ever Head Coach of Temple Crew (succeeding Tom “Bear” Curran) and held that position for 35 years. He is still on staff as Head Coach Emeritus. The team changes every year, but having a steady guiding hand is crucial: once success is achieved, maintaining it is a whole other issue and Gavin was great at that.”
Junior Collin McKinney, who rows stroke echoed his coach’s sentiments, “Having a coaching staff that holds the Dad Vail Regatta to such a high regard helps us as student-athletes realize the importance of this regatta to the Temple program. We’ve had such a long history of success at it, the expectation now has become it is our regatta to win.”
After going through a challenging period, the Owls returned to a place they had become accustomed to at the Dad Vail Regatta with a third place finish.
Perkins said, “I was proud of those guys: they worked hard and overcame their own issues. There are bad crews, Good Crews, and GREAT CREWS. I think that last year we became a Good Crew again. Now we need to claw up to the next level and once again become a great crew. I like to hope that the seeds of that greatness are on the team right now. And in 50 more years we can revisit this article and see what we have done!”
It meant a lot to be apart of the first Temple Heavyweight Varsity Eight to be back on the podium in a long time,” McKinney said. “Being a part of the V8+ the year before and getting 6th, it taught me a lot about the level of training that was needed to even get on the podium, so going into the next year we all began to step up more and found that our work paid off with a bronze medal. Going into the Dad Vail this year we all feel more knowledgeable and prepared to improve on last year’s bronze.”
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve more than 8.5 million people in 25 states and the District of Columbia, including more than 2.5 million in the region. For almost 80 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/Facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
About – Jefferson
Jefferson, through its academic and clinical entities of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, including Abington Health and Aria Health, is reimagining health care for the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson has 23,000 people dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, educating the health professionals of tomorrow, and discovering new treatments and therapies to define the future of care. With a university and hospital that date back to 1824, today Jefferson is comprised of six colleges, nine hospitals, 34 outpatient and urgent care locations, and a multitude of physician practices throughout the region, serving more than 100,000 inpatients, 373,000 emergency patients and 2.2 million outpatients annually.
Contact:
Ed Levin
Publicity Director
610-246-5902
levins51@verizon.net
