Head of the Schuylkill Regatta

The Head of the Schuylkill Regatta welcomes nearly 9,000 competitors, 40,000 spectators, and 350+ volunteers each year. The weekend features races for high school, collegiate, clubs, masters, adaptive, elite and Olympic rowers, The Gold Cup Challenge, and a free two-day Fall Festival amidst the backdrop of the beautiful and historic city of Philadelphia. Take the first step to experiencing this 2.5 mile scenic and challenging course by registering at regattacentral.com.

Competitors in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta continue a tradition of exceptional fall racing that began more than four decades ago. In 1970, three members of University Barge Club, located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row, launched the idea for a new fall race, transforming the 1000 meter "Graduate Sculls Race" into a head racing format. The aim of 1960 Olympian Lyman Perry, Jay Pattison III, and the late Raul Betancourt, was to offer rowers of all ages congenial autumn competition. In head races, competitors race the clock over a course that is typically two to three miles long, often toward the river’s headwaters.

At a time when only elite, college and junior athletes competed in “head” or distance races, the newly established Head of the Schuylkill Regatta emphasized graduate oarsmen and opened racing to newly emerging masters’ and women’s teams. Twelve women entered the first regatta; in 2013, more than 3,200 females competed, and for the first time outnumbered male competitors. The Regatta’s spirit of inclusion grew along with its size and scope. Early Regattas hosted dozens of college, high school and masters rowers. The Regatta soon welcomed recreational and adaptive athletes. The first point, or team, trophy was presented to Vesper Boat Club in 2010. Vesper has won the coveted trophy every year since.

The name change to The Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta occurred in 1975. Born in 1844, Thomas Eakins was a Philadelphia painter, whose works include scullers on the Schuylkill River. The Regatta emerged as the world’s largest one-day rowing competition. Its popularity, however, soon exceeded the river’s capacity. In 2008, the format changed to a two-day event. This step expanded racing opportunities for rowers and increased tourism for the Philadelphia region. With the new format the regatta became a 501©3 non-profit organization with an 11-member board of directors and a volunteer corps that exceeds 350 people, many of whom work year-round.

In the new two-day format, college crews race on Saturday along with the majority of elite and masters rowers, while high schools, and other elite, masters and veteran rowers reign on Sunday. Elite and Masters events are spread throughout the weekend. Other recent scheduling enhancements include high school and college alumni events and the allowance of competitors to row multiple races.

In addition to hosting thousands of competitors, the 2018 Regatta, on Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28, will again welcome an additional 30,000 – 40,000 spectators building on the Regatta’s reputation as one of the nation’s premier events at the location regarded as the home of American rowing.

Parents, family, and friends will line the course to cheer the competitors and enjoy The Three Angels Statues Festival Area, named for the Carl Milles sculpture punctuating the river’s east bank. Crews from across the country and around the world, slicing down the course to the finish line, are forever embedded in the rich tradition of Philadelphia’s Fall Festival of rowing, the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.

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