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Event Info: Dad Vail Regatta Schuylkill River, Philadelphia, PA |
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The Dad Vail Regatta is held annually on the weekend of the second Saturday in May. The 2,000 meter race course is on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. It is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, with over 100 colleges and Universities from the U.S. and Canada. The Dad Vail Regatta is hosted by the Dad Vail Rowing Association. The regatta takes its name from Harry Emerson "Dad" Vail, a former coach of the University of Wisconsin. Harry Emmerson Vail was an accomplished sculler and a beloved figure on campus. Harry "Dad" Vail was a great coach, who year after year kept Wisconsin in crew. He was little recognized away off there in Madison. He was such a grand spirit, with a spiritual nature, a man of infinite patience and good character. And he knew rowing.† Deeply religious, "Dad" Vail was one of the few coaches taking crews to Poughkeepsie who refused to do any rowing on Sunday. Gradually, other coaches followed the lead of the Wisconsin mentor and until now it is quite unusual to see an eight swinging down the Hudson on Sunday.† "Dad" Vail was a lovable character, entirely devoid of secretiveness or slyness, and with a great natural sense of humor. I recall one year observing that he was going up one side of the Hudson River in his coaching launch, and across the river, about half a mile away, rowed his Wisconsin crews.† So I asked him: "'Dad,' why do your crews go up one side of the river, and you in your launch up the other side? Your lads can't hear anything you may say." He replied, "You know, 'Rusty,' I've found out from experience that the farther off they are, the better they look." That was "Dad" Vail.†
To learn more about Henry Emerson Vail read more. †excerpted from "The Dad Vail Story," by U.T. Bradley, ©1962 |
