Contact:
Ed Levin
Publicity Director
Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta
levins51@verizon.net
Philadelphia, PA – Upon first entering the newly renovated Lindamood-VanVoorhis Boathouse, newcomers to the Marietta College women’s rowing program quickly learn why the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta is held in such high regard.
To accompany the training equipment and video room for training purposes, the Pioneers also created the Dad Vail room. The functional use of the Dad Vail room is a meeting space. It is also a room devoted to displaying some of the trophies and memorabilia from the many years of rowing history at Marietta College, specifically highlighting Marietta College’s gold medal winning crews at the Vails. A photo of each crew and a banner with the names of the winning athletes hang in this space.
“The significance of the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta becomes pretty apparent to athletes from their first day at the boathouse,” said first-year coach Abby Klicker, who was a member of the 2011 and 2012 Gold Medal Women’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight boats. “As one of the original members of the Dad Vail, we value the strong history of the regatta and the success we have found there over the years. In our boathouse, we feature the names of each person and crew that has won gold at the Dad Vail Regatta. Young rowers walk through the boat house, inspired by those who came before them and motivated to win gold at the Dad Vail, to make their mark in Marietta rowing history.”
Marietta’s women’s history at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta has produced two Lightweight Four (w/coxswain) championships and five Varsity Heavyweight Eight DIII crowns with the latest victory coming in 2015.
Following the 2016 Dad Vail that concluded with a third-place finish, the Pioneers began trying to navigate the combination of injuries and a dip in enrollment. Despite the perfect storm that no school wants to face, the Pioneers women’s rowing program still made having a presence at the Dad Vail a priority and that will certainly continue with Klicker at the helm.
Kilcker said, “What makes the Dad Vail so meaningful to me is the way it brings the rowing community together. As a novice/walk-on at Marietta, the Dad Vail was the first time I saw the rowing community on a larger scale. It was eye-opening to see so many collegiate athletes coming from all over to compete. The Dad Vail also connects generations of rowers. At Marietta, one way you can instantly connect with alumni of the program is to bring up the Dad Vail Regatta. Everyone has stories of racing for a coveted “Dad Vail Gold”. As an athlete, we loved hearing the racing stories of the women who came before us and we dreamed of passing along our stories of, “When we raced the Dad Vail…”
The 81st annual Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, presented by Independence Blue Cross, PECO and Coca-Cola will be staged on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 on the historic Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
About: :http://www.jefferson.edu/university.html>
Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University) is a leader in transdisciplinary, experiential professional education. Jefferson, home of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, is a comprehensive university delivering high-impact education in 160 undergraduate and graduate programs to 7,800 students in architecture, business, design, engineering, fashion, health, medicine, science and textiles. Jefferson is reimaging the higher education value proposition with an approach that is collaborative and active; increasingly global; integrated with industry; focused on research across disciplines to foster innovation and discovery; and technology-enhanced. Student-athletes compete as the Jefferson Rams in the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
