Races to Watch: May 10-12
Dad Vails: The Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta returns to the Cooper River for 2024, running Friday, May 10th through Saturday, May 11. Vails, billed as the largest collegiate regatta in America, features 291 crews from 69 universities across the U.S. and Canada. The #16 Drexel men will look to defend their team title from 2023, when they won the V8+, 2V8+, and Novice 8+. #18 LaSalle will be focused on taking down the Dragons, after their two varsity eights have traded off over three previous head to head races this season, with two wins going to the Exploreres and the most recent contest going in favor of the Dragons. On the women’s side, defending champions Boston University lightweights will not be attending this year, instead traveling to Redwood Shores to race Stanford, leaving the women’s varsity eight field open for a new winner. Dad Vails is one of the few collegiate championships to allow club and varsity teams to race head to head. They also feature sculling events, another uncommon occurrence in collegiate championships. Races will be live streamed on YouTube.
USRowing Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Youth Championships: The USRowing Youth Series continues this weekend on Lake Mercer in New Jersey and at Nathan Benderson Park in Florida. Over 2,000 athlete will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Youth Championships from 65 teams, while 1,500 athlete from from 53 clubs will take part in the Southeast version of the event. These events are the next two in the USRowing Youth Series, which kicked off last weekend, naming regional champions across up to 51 events in addition to qualifying crews for the USRowing Youth National Championships in June. The New York State Scholastic Championship, held in Saratoga Springs, will also serve as a qualifying event for the national championship, in addition to naming state champions from among the 600 crews competing. All USRowing Youth Series events will be live streamed on Overnght, an emerging force in rowing live streaming.
#4 Stanford vs. #3 BU Lightweight Women: The Terrier lightweight women will make their first trip out West to take on the Cardinal at home this Saturday. The two lightweight powerhouses will meet for the first time at Redwood Shores, racing the varsity eight, varsity four, and double. Stanford is coming off a sweep at the WIRA Championship while BU just won the Konrad Ulbrich Team Trophy at Women’s Sprints last weekend. This will be the final race for both crews before the IRA National Championship at the end of the month.
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