The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. The member clubs are all on the Schuylkill River where it flows through Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, mostly on the historic Boathouse Row.
By charter, the Schuylkill Navy’s object is "to secure united action among the several Clubs and to promote amateurism on the Schuylkill River." Over the years, the group has had a role in certain ceremonial and state functions. The success of the Schuylkill Navy and similar organizations contributed heavily to the extinction of professional rowing and the sport's current status as an amateur sport.
At its founding, it had nine clubs; today, there are 16: Fairmount Rowing Association, Crescent Boat Club, Bachelors Barge Club, University Barge Club, Malta Boat Club, Vesper Boat Club, College Boat Club, Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association (Penn AC), Undine Barge Club (Undine), Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (PGRC), Gillin Boat Club, Conshohocken Rowing Center, Pennsylvania Barge Club, Whitemarsh Boat Club, Sedgeldy, and Pennsylvania Center for Adapted Sports. At least 23 other clubs have belonged to the Navy at various times. Many of the clubs have a rich history, and have produced a large number of Olympians and world-class competitors.
Origins
The Schuylkill Navy was founded by nine Philadelphia rowing clubs seeking a governing body to prevent fixed races. Once formed, the Navy enacted a code of conduct that prohibited wagering on races.
These clubs were present at the founding of the society in October 1858: America, Camilla, Chebucto, Falcon, Independent, Keystone (the 1st), Neptune (the 1st), Pennsylvania (the 1st), and University. Later that month, Amateurs, Nautilus, and Quaker City joined. While not at that first meeting, Undine and Bachelors joined the Navy soon after its founding. Bachelors absorbed member, Amateurs, in December 1858, and became a member in March 1859. While Undine was not initially listed as a founder, it is considered a founder of the Navy because one of Undine's members was the Secretary Treasurer of the Navy at its inception.
In March 1860, Union Boat Club and Atlantic Barge Club (the 1st) joined the Schuylkill Navy. In September 1860 the founding club, Camilla Boat Club, resigned. By June 1861, Falcon, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic had dissolved. Half of the remaining Schuylkill Navy clubs lapsed during the Civil War. As of August 1865 Chebutco, Excelsior, Union, Independent, and Keystone no longer existed.
After the Civil War Rowing resumed at the end of the Civil War, but many of the fledgling post-war clubs did not last. On August 17, 1865, Pennsylvania Barge Club (the 2nd) and Philadelphia Barge Club were elected to the Navy. Five days later Malta Boat Club and Washington Boat Club (now known as Vesper) joined.
In 1867 the Navy admitted Iona (the 1st), but Iona terminated its membership after it became part of Crescent Boat Club, which joined in 1868. In April 1868 rowers split from Neptune to form the second Atlantic Boat Club. Keystone (the 2nd) joined the Navy in February 1870, but resigned by the end of the year. Washington Boat Club was renamed Vesper Boat Club in 1870, then resigned in 1871, and was not a member again until 1879. Bachelors resigned in 1870 and did not rejoin until 1882. West Philadelphia Barge Club and College Boat Club joined in 1873 and 1875 respectively.
On November 11, 1872, the Navy composed the funeral solemnities of General George Meade. In 1876, it held an international regatta in connection with the Centennial Exposition, the largest of its kind to that point. On April 27, 1878, crews from various clubs of the Navy staged a demonstration to honor President Rutherford B. Hayes's visit to Philadelphia.
A new Iona Boat Club, chartered in 1876, joined the Navy in 1884, and lasted until 1895. Fairmount Rowing Association, in existence since 1877, was admitted in 1916. In 1924, Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association absorbed West Philadelphia Boat Club. In 1932, under the pressures of the Great Depression, Quaker City Barge Club and Philadelphia Barge Club closed their doors.
After World War II World War II dramatically reduced the membership rolls of the clubs of the Schuylkill Navy. As a result, Crescent Boat Club resigned and leased its boathouse to LaSalle Rowing Association from 1951 until 1960. Pennsylvania Barge Club (the 2nd) ceased rowing in 1955. Pennsylvania turned its boathouse over to the Navy until its membership was reinstated in 2009.
In 1968, Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club, a women-only club, became a member of the Schuylkill Navy. Most recently, Gillin Boat Club was elected to the Navy by unanimous vote in 2004.
21st century The Schuylkill Navy is the organizer of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series. With three of the largest regattas in the mid-Atlantic region on the schedule as well as two of the nation's oldest regattas, the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series connects the rowing competitors of today to the historic home of the international rowing elite. It is built on a tradition that launched November 12, 1835, with the first organized regatta on Philadelphia's historic Schuylkill River (a full eight years before the start of the rowing program at Harvard University).
In 2010, USRowing, the national governing body for rowing, announced the launch of a new Training Center Partner Program in order to create partnerships with clubs across the country interested in collaborating in the development of athletes who could potentially represent the United States in international races. The partner program places an emphasis on training athletes in small boat development and incorporating athletes in senior and under-23 camps and trials. Partners include Schuylkill Navy's Penn AC and Vesper Boat Club. Partner programs will have access to national team training programs, and have the opportunity to consult with USRowing National Team staff and the Director of Coaching Education, Kris Korzeniowski.
In 2016, the composite crew racing as Schuylkill Navy won the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.
Traditions
Regattas Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta: Held annually since 1953, this is the largest intercollegiate rowing event in the United States. Named for Harry Emerson “Dad” Vail, a crew coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it was created to involve and support schools whose rowing programs were too small to compete in major races against larger institutions. Head of the Schuylkill: Founded in 1971 by three members of the University Barge Club, it was intended to open up the head-racing season to Club rowers in an era when most headraces were held for Junior, University, and Elite rowers. By 2013, more than 6,500 athletes competed over the 2.5-mile course. Independence Day Regatta: Originally called “The People's Regatta” and first held around 1880, the Independence Day Regatta was given its current name in 1958 to recognize the Schuylkill Navy’s 100th anniversary. It is a 2000m race held on the Sunday of the week of the Fourth of July. There are races for juniors, intermediate club, senior club, and masters. Navy Day Regatta: It was founded in 1986 by two former United States Navy members who wanted to sponsor a regatta to promote and support U. S. Navy and Marine Corps awareness. A 700-meter trial race was held in 1986, and in 1987 the course was moved to the 2000-meter course above the Columbia Avenue Bridge. After the United States Naval Academy began attending the regatta, the race was lengthened to 2.5 miles as a preparation for the Head of the Charles Regatta and Head of the Schuylkill regattas held later in the fall season. Stotesbury Cup: This regatta has been held continuously since 1927, with women's events starting in 1974. Edward T. Stotesbury fronted the cost for the regatta to make a championship race for the Boys' Senior Eight, which is held over 1500 meters. The Stotesbury is the largest high school regatta in the world with over 5000 competitors and 10,000 spectators in attendance at the Athlete Village.
Events The Navy also sponsors other athletic endeavors including a basketball league and an annual cross country race.
Schuylkill Navy Run The Schuylkill Navy Run, also known as the Turkey Trot, began in 1899. Held on Thanksgiving Day, the race has been a tradition for rowers in the Philadelphia region ever since, with the exception of two years during World War I and two years during World War II. It begins at Malta Boat Club on Kelly Drive, and continues over 5 5/8 miles of hilly terrain. The runners go inbound on Kelly Drive to the traffic light in front of Lloyd Hall, turn left and go up Lemon Hill and over the Girard Avenue Bridge, then right onto Lansdowne Avenue. Just past Sweetbriar Cutoff, the course turns right and starts the true “cross country” segment across grassy surfaces. Runners go to the General Meade Monument, then follow to the Pagoda entrance gate to Belmont Plateau, up the hill to Belmont Mansion, and return by way of Brewery Hill down Kelly Drive back to Malta Boat Club.
Any and all members of The Schuylkill Navy clubs and its affiliates are eligible to compete, as well as friend and family guest runners. The classifications include the following categories: Open, Masters, Juniors, Guests, and Novices.
Member clubs
Current members
Fairmount Rowing Association Established in 1877 and located at No. 2 Boathouse Row, Fairmount is on the National Register of Historic Places. Fairmount gained admission to the Schuylkill Navy in 1916 after it had been rejected for decades. In 1945 the boathouse underwent a huge expansion in which it merged with what was No. 3 on Boathouse Row to create the current Fairmount Rowing Association boathouse. Fairmount has called itself the "premiere club for Masters rowing in the mid-Atlantic region". Recently the club has produced several world class rowers. The club is currently coached by Patrick Rufo and is affiliated with the Episcopal Academy and Germantown Friends School.
Pennsylvania Barge Club Founded in 1861 and located at No. 4 Boathouse Row, the Pennsylvania Barge Club is also known as the Hollenback House, after William M. Hollenback Jr., who from 1979 to 1985 served as the president of the governing body of rowing, USRowing. It is alleged that painter Thomas Eakins was a member of the Pennsylvania Barge Club as he frequently painted rowers, and one of his close friends, Max Schmitt, is known to have rowed for the club and won the single sculls national championship 6 times. Pennsylvania Barge Club represented the United States at the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 (coxed four), 1924 (coxed four), 1928 (coxed four and four without coxswain) and 1932 (pair with coxswain). In 1955, due to World War II the boathouse suffered a severe decrease in membership and turned its facility over to the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, which would later become USRowing, to serve as their headquarters. In 2009 Pennsylvania Barge Club was reinstated as a member of the Schuylkill Navy; the club's current president is Michael Ragan, and it is affiliated with La Salle University and La Salle College High School.
Crescent Boat Club