Gillin Boat Club
Encyclopedia
Gillin Boat Club is the rowing
College rowing (United States)
Rowing is one of the oldest intercollegiate sports in the United States. However, rowers comprise only 2.2% of total college athletes. This may be in part because of the status of rowing as an amateur sport and because not all universities have access to suitable bodies of water. In the 2002-03...
program for St. Joseph's University Rowing and St. Joseph's Prep Rowing. It is situated at the 1,000-meter mark of the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
race course in Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Gillin Boat Club was admitted to the Schuylkill Navy
Schuylkill Navy
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...
in 2004, by a unanimous vote of the Navy's members.
The club's state-of-the-art boathouse has the capacity for 42 eights, 14 fours (quads), and 14 small boats. It was the first new boathouse built on this stretch of the Schuylkill River in 98 years.
Gillin also hosts the Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
Commission's Community Rowing Program, which is designed to provide an experience for youth in the city of Philadelphia who have not had the opportunity to experience the sport of rowing.
Robert M. Gillin Jr. Boathouse
In 1998, Philadelphia City Council approved construction of what is now known as the Robert M. Gillin Jr. Boathouse. The boathouse was dedicated in May 2002. The building was designed by Robert L. Owen - Architects and built by Nason and Cullen, Inc. While some have praised the structure as "the Taj Mahal of Kelly DriveKelly Drive
Kelly Drive, or more formally, John B. Kelly Drive, is a winding four-mile road along the Schuylkill River from Eakins Oval before the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the neighborhood of East Falls, Philadelphia, just south of Wissahickon Creek, where it connects with Lincoln Drive.-East River...
," others have levied criticism on the boathouse's design, calling it a "bloated hulk of a building." Work has been done to repair the second floor, which began buckling shortly after construction was completed.
University crew
The men's and women's crewCollege rowing (United States)
Rowing is one of the oldest intercollegiate sports in the United States. However, rowers comprise only 2.2% of total college athletes. This may be in part because of the status of rowing as an amateur sport and because not all universities have access to suitable bodies of water. In the 2002-03...
teams of St. Joseph's University regularly compete on a national level.
Dad Vail Regatta
St. Joseph's University has been a perennial contender at the Dad Vail RegattaDad Vail Regatta
The Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the USA, drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America. The event has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1953. Briefly in late 2009, it was planned...
, the nation's largest collegiate regatta.
In 2008, St. Joe's won a silver in the Women's Frosh/Novice Heavyweight Eight and a bronze in the Men's JV Heavyweight Eight.
In 2007, the team finished 2nd in Overall Points and 3rd in Women's Points.
In 2006, the team finished 1st in Overall Points, 1st in Men's Points, and 2nd in Women's Points.
In 2005, the team finished 1st in Overall Points, 1st in Men's Points, and 3rd in Women's Points.
In 2004, St. Joseph's won 2nd in Overall Points, Men's Points, and Women's Points.
Earlier in its history, St. Joseph's University won a Gold medal at the 1970 Dad Vail Regatta and a Silver medal in 1959, the first year of the program's existence.
IRA Championship Regatta
The Intercollegiate Rowing AssociationIntercollegiate Rowing Association
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association runs the IRA Championship Regatta, which is considered to be the United States collegiate national championship of rowing. Since 1995, it has been held on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and includes both men's and women's events for sweep boats...
's IRA Championship Regatta is the most competitive race in collegiate rowing and is considered to be the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
collegiate
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
national championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
of rowing. In 2004, St. Joe's Varsity Four finished fourth in the Grand Final at the IRAs. In recent years, St. Joseph's has qualified multiple boats for IRAs.
Henley Royal Regatta
The University Crew has competed at the prestigious Henley Royal RegattaHenley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
, a race in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1999, a crew from St. Joseph's pursued the Temple Challenge Cup
Temple Challenge Cup
The Temple Challenge Cup is one of the eights races at Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames on the River Thames in England. It is open to male crews from universities, colleges or schools. Combined entries from two colleges of the same university, or from different schools, are allowed...
at Henley
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
.
Preparatory crew
St. Joseph's Preparatory School or "The Prep" has amassed racing records unequaled by any other American high school, including winning the Stotesbury CupStotesbury Cup
The Stotesbury Cup Regatta, sponsored by the Schuylkill Navy, is "the world's oldest and largest high school rowing competition." It is held annually in mid-May over a two-day period along the Schuylkill River near Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although there is no official U.S....
ten times since 1987.
Stotesbury Cup Regatta
The Stotesbury CupStotesbury Cup
The Stotesbury Cup Regatta, sponsored by the Schuylkill Navy, is "the world's oldest and largest high school rowing competition." It is held annually in mid-May over a two-day period along the Schuylkill River near Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although there is no official U.S....
Regatta is the largest high school regatta in the United States and is considered the high school national championship. The Boys Senior Eight boat won the Stotesbury Cup in 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008, and 2010; and the Boys Lightweight Eight won in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011.
In addition, The Prep is the only team to ever sweep all of the eights races at the regatta. This feat was first accomplished in 1998, when the Prep won six events including the five men's eights events.
In 2008, St. Joe's Prep accomplished nearly the same result sweeping all five events in the eight-man category. As a result of the sweep, a poll by Row2k.com ranked The Prep as the crew of the week, over collegiate national champions. Vespoli
Vespoli
Vespoli USA is a manufacturer of racing shells for rowing. It was founded by former Georgetown University rower, Olympian, and World Rowing Champion Mike Vespoli in 1980. It is located on the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.-History:...
, a manufacturer of racing shells highlighted the team's accomplishment among other national champions.
Henley Royal Regatta
The Prep regularly competes at the Henley Royal RegattaHenley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
. Rowers from St. Joseph's Prep "have been to Henley eight times and won the prestigious Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs.-History:The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom...
in 2000." In 2008, St. Joseph's Prep was eliminated by Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
in the semi-finals. In 2005, St.Joseph's made it to the finals, but lost to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. The Prep's quest for the Princess Elizabeth Cup in 2005 made news in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as well as in the United States.
External links
- Gillin Boat Club on wikimapia.org