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2007 Handbook

Word Version

General Information

Selected rowers will represent the Hylton High School Crew Team at the prestigious Stotesbury Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. This regatta is the largest and oldest high school regatta in the United States and is a highlight of our competitive crew season. Rowers (and alternates) are chosen by the coaches based on their capabilities, skill, team dedication and in accordance with the entry regulations for this national level competition.

• A day pack or small duffel bag for the bus with your practice clothes, weather gear, snacks if desired, bus entertainment stuff like cards, books, etc.
  • Any movies you bring to share on the bus must be rated PG-13 or below. We do not know if the bus has video or DVD capabilities.
• Uni
• Blue and gold cool max shirt if you've got one
• Rain gear (It's a strange phenomenon, but even during those years when Philly is in a drought, it rains for Stotesbury!)
• A watch
• Layers, layers, layers!
  • You need to be prepared for every weather condition – hot, cool or downright cold; wet, dry, windy or oppressively still! Do NOT assume you'll be fine for the three days with just a cool max shirt over your uni.
• All the stuff you regularly bring to an Occoquan regatta, such as:
  • Sleeping bag or blanket and pillow
  • Reading material, cards, games, music, etc, to relieve monotony when not rowing or cheering on teammates
  • Extra socks
  • Maybe a towel in a large zip-lock bag in case you're soaked after a rainy race
• Spending money for bus rest stops and regatta vendors if desired

General Regatta Info

• You can expect about 180 schools and over 780 boats to be entered in this year's regatta. The regatta starts with head style time trials on Friday for all the events, with only the top half or so advancing to the semifinals, depending on the number of entries in the event. This means boats will be racing the clock, not each other! Rowers may enter and compete in only one event.
• For events with more than 12 entries – the top twelve boats from each time trial will advance to conventional semi-finals.
• For events with 12 or fewer entries – the top six boats from each time trial will advance directly to finals on Saturday afternoon.
• Some semifinals are on Friday afternoon, some on Saturday morning, with finals on Saturday afternoon. If a crew does not make it to the semifinals, they are done rowing. The team stays until Saturday afternoon, so some competitors will not be rowing on Saturday, others will.
• All contestants will receive ribbons. Medals will be awarded to all first, second, and third place crews.

The Regatta Site

• The team tent will probably be somewhere towards the middle or end of the race course. You can watch races from there or go down to the grandstand, which is at the finish line, and could be a half mile or more from the team tents. The launch area and many of the vendor tents are about a mile (or more) from the finish line area, so a comfortable pair of walking shoes is needed for both rowers and spectators.
• There are a lot of fun booths set up at Stotesbury and all kinds of merchandise to buy (T-shirts, sweats, blankets, knick knacks, jewelry, bumper stickers, cheese steaks, etc) – you may wish to bring additional spending money.

Parking

Parking along Kelly Drive is restricted during the regatta. Most parking will be on the plateau above. The Fairmount Park Commission charges $7 per car to park there. The Regatta provides free shuttle bus service from the parking areas to the venue and back again.

1. Each team will be issued parking passes at registration on Thursday evening. The number of passes will be proportionate with the number of rowers, with very small programs getting one pass and very large programs getting 4 or 5 passes. Each school should plan to distribute the parking passes to vehicles bringing food into the venue.
2. Entry to the venue thru the police barricades on Kelly Drive at Strawberry Mansion bridge will be restricted to vehicles with a valid Stotesbury parking pass and school buses.
3. All other parking will be on the grassy plateau above Kelly Drive. In 2007, the cost is $8 per vehicle. The regatta will provide complimentary shuttle bus service. Four school buses will be in constant rotation.
4. Parking on the grass is absolutely forbidden. Parking is only permitted on the river side of Kelly Drive; no parking is permitted on the other side of the road. Violators will be ticketed by the Philadelphia Police.
5. School buses should parallel park along the river side curb beyond Columbia Bridge at the finish line.
6. Cars and vans should park diagonally at the river side curb.
7. Parking is permitted in the lot near the grandstands. The lot at the Canoe Club is reserved for volunteers and officials.

Accompanying Boosters' Activities

Accompanying Boosters fill two separate needs: Rower and coach support and rower chaperoning. The more Boosters who attend and help out, the more free time we'll all have to shop and watch races! You'll definitely get to see your own rower race!

• Rower and Coach support
  • Boosters who arrive early (Wednesday night or Thursday morning) will help get the tent site set up and ready to go for Friday morning.
  • Boosters try to get to the racecourse before the rowers so we can prep breakfast and make any weather-related adjustments to the tent. Boosters get to the racecourse via their own cars – carpooling is strongly recommended.
    • There is a possibility that there will be a few empty bus seats available to Boosters on Friday and Saturday.
  • Boosters generally stay throughout the day and attend to the coaches' and rowers' needs, both at the team tent area and at the launch area.
    • At the team tent, Boosters will do stuff like: help monitor the food table, grill chicken for sandwiches, cook spaghetti, serve food and drinks, make sure trash bags are taken care of, help clean cook gear, etc.
    • At the launch area, Boosters are needed to carry oars, shoe buckets, and slings to and from the dock for launch and recovery. Each boat has just 90 seconds to put in, oar up, and launch; likewise on the recovery. There is no time for removing excess clothing on the dock like we do at Sandy Run, so yet another person is needed to collect that stuff before the rowers reach the dock.
• Chaperoning
  • Basically, chaperones are responsible for the health and safety of our rowers.
  • Duties include: Riding the bus with the rowers; helping Team Captains do head counts before every bus departure; keeping an eye out for inappropriate behavior; helping with nightly curfew room checks; periodically cruising through the vendor areas and grandstand areas to check up on our rowers, and whatever else comes up!

What Boosters Should Bring to Stotesbury

• A sack lunch for Thursday if you're traveling as part of the set-up team.
• Rain gear (It's a strange phenomenon, but even during those years when Philly is in a drought, it rains for Stotesbury!)
• A watch
• Layers, layers, layers!
• You need to be prepared for every weather condition – hot, cool or downright cold; wet, dry, windy or oppressively still! Do NOT assume you'll be fine for the three days with just a cool max shirt over your uni.
• All the stuff you regularly bring to an Occoquan regatta, such as:
  • Folding camp chair
  • Small cooler for your beverages and snacks – just remember you may be hauling whatever you're carrying for a couple of miles, so keep it small, or maybe on wheels!
    • Note: The food provided by the Boosters in the rower tent is for the rowers – that's part of their $200 fee.
  • Plenty of spending money for food, regatta program, vendors, T-shirts, etc.
  • Binoculars
  • Sunscreen
  • Hand wipes or hand sanitizer
  • Camera
  • Tissues or "important papers" in case the port-a-johns run out of paper.
  • Whatever else you want to bring along!

• Take I-95 North through Wilmington to Philadelphia International Airport and follow signs for Phila Center City via Route I-76 or Schuylkill Expressway.
• Take exit, I-76, Schuylkill Expressway, west. This takes you across the Penrose Ave. Bridge across Schuylkill, a.k.a. Route 291.
• As soon as you come down bridge get in left lane, as you will turn left at first light onto 26th Street.
• This will take you directly onto I-76 west. Follow I-76 about 8 miles, past Boathouse Row and the race course.
• Follow I-76 West to exit 340 on the right.
• Take this exit, turn right at foot of exit and get in the left lane as you go over City Avenue Bridge across the Schuylkill River.
• Stay left and follow signs for Kelly Drive.
• The ramp will spiral downwards in a counter-clockwise direction and will merge you onto Kelly Drive, southbound. Be very careful, especially if you are pulling a boat trailer on this tight, descending curve!
• Move to right lane of Kelly Drive after merging at the bottom of the spiral.
• Take Kelly Drive past four traffic lights.
• The first building on the right, between the river and Kelly Drive, is the Canoe Club, where all out-of-town crews launch, except for Dad Vails or Stotesbury.
• Take a right into the parking lot, except for Dad Vails or Stotesbury.
• For Dad Vails or Stotesbury, continue another 3/4 mile to the Athlete's Village near the Three Angels.
• OR, continue two miles on Kelly Drive to Boathouse Row and Regatta Headquarters at #4 Boathouse Row.

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