Dad Vail Regatta

The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States,[1][2] drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America.

Marietta College, coached by Ellis MacDonald won the first leg on the new trophy by finishing second to a Penn sub-varsity boat, which was an added entry.

In February 1939, a meeting was held and the Dad Vail Rowing Association was formed in order to help promote the race and encourage schools to compete.

The first regatta organized by the Dad Vail Rowing Association, in 1939, involved seven colleges racing on the North Shrewsbury River in Red Bank, NJ.

[8] In 1974 Allison Pacha became the first women to win a gold medal at the regatta when she coxed the Florida Institute of Technology men's shell to victory in the coxed-fours race.

She was joined later that day by Sue Joyce who coxed the St. Joseph's College (PA) shell to a win in the junior varsity eights race for the Ernie Bayer Trophy.

[10] Briefly in late 2009, the Dad Vail Organizing Committee announced that the regatta would be held in Rumson, New Jersey[11] in 2010, citing loss of local sponsors.

The event was also scheduled again for 2024 for the Cooper River, the 85th anniversary of the Dad Vail The Jack Bratten Trophy was created in 1967 to recognize the best overall team at the regatta based on how well their boats performed across all of the various races.