Dad Vail

THE LOSS OF the Dad Vail regatta for 2010 to Rumson, N.J., is, for some, an outrage - as bad as closing library branches to cope with the financial crisis. Those crushed by the defection of the rowing regatta claim that the mayor and the city blew it by not acting fast enough to keep the tradition and the economic benefits in the city. And that's a convenient story, but it's not the whole story. In fact, the more we find out about the circumstances leading up to the defection, the more we have to marvel that the regatta managed to stay here as long as it did. The details of the communication between Dad Vail and the city bears repeating: The Oct. 26 letter from organizers which in its entirety reads: "Dad Vail has an important matter of special urgency to address with you or your representative in the near future.

The Saint Joseph's and Temple men's and women's teams have advanced to the semifinals of the Dad Vail regatta. The Saint Joseph's men's varsity heavyweight eight won their heat in 5 minutes, 49.40 seconds in rainy and damp conditions on the Schuylkill yesterday. The Temple men's varsity heavyweight eight had a winning heat time of 5:46.34. The two join Florida Tech, George Mason, Lehigh and San Diego in one semifinal. In another are Boston College, Delaware, defending champion Purdue, Colgate, Minnesota and Florida, while the third has Santa Clara, Jacksonville, Grand Valley, Drexel and Michigan.

The 72d Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, hailed by organizers as the largest collegiate rowing regatta in the United States, is scheduled to be held Friday and Saturday on the Schuylkill. Last year's winners included Michigan in the men's varsity eight and Grand Valley State in the women's varsity eight. The teams from Delaware and Buffalo tied for the overall points title. Delaware and Michigan tied for the men's points title, and Buffalo won the women's points title. Regatta officials expect more than 100 schools to attend the event, which almost was not held in Philadelphia this year.

The severe winds that whipped up and down the Schuylkill on Saturday afternoon made it a hold-on-tight adventure for most crews in the 72d Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta and, in several cases, swayed the balance of power. In the men's varsity heavyweight eight final, No. 12 seed Brock, from St. Catherines, Ontario, claimed the Richard O'Brien Trophy with a clocking of 6 minutes, 28.35 seconds. The Badgers became the event's first Canadian champion. Brock's regular season runs from September to November.

Drexel director of rowing Paul Savell appreciates the support his men's and women's crews receive - from the student body to the alumni to the athletic administration - and doesn't mind if all that enthusiasm creates some pressure on his Dragons. "We like that pressure," Savell said Friday on the banks of the Schuylkill. "You wouldn't have any diamonds if you didn't have pressure. No, we like that. " The Dragons thrived in Friday's day-long heats at the 74th Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, advancing eight boats - equally divided between men and women - into the semifinals.

The Dad Vail Regatta nearly took the low road to a new home in Rumson, N.J. But now the rowing race is on the high road - meaning that the 75-year-old event will remain on the Schuylkill - thanks to generous corporate sponsors who hail from Scotland. Kudos to Aberdeen Asset Management, the Scottish investment firm with its U.S. headquarters in Center City. In signing a four-year deal worth "six figures" to become the name sponsor of the rowing competition, Aberdeen put the regatta on the firm financial footing that Dad Vail officials sought with a possible move to North Jersey.

Just off Kelly Drive, Frank McCloskey held up a hand Thursday afternoon, stopping a boat trailer from running over any rowers from St. Joseph's or Florida State or Purdue. Mission accomplished, McCloskey took a moment to reminisce about his first Dad Vail final, when he sat in the No. 6 seat for La Salle College in 1956. "I switched side from starboard to port with one week's preparation," McCloskey said Thursday. "When the race was over, somebody could have hit my arm with a brick and I would have had no idea at all. " Three years running, from 1956-58, La Salle won the Dad Vail heavyweight eight.

The Dad Vail rowers will be back on the Schuylkill in 2010, after regatta organizers realized that problems at the proposed new site in Rumson, N.J., outweighed any benefits of going there. The return of the country's largest intercollegiate rowing competition to Philadelphia is a public-relations win for the city, which had struggled with the perception that it failed to support one of its most cherished institutions. But even as the city yesterday announced its victory, questions remained about how regatta officials would fill the $250,000 funding shortfall that had prompted Dad Vail organizers to seek out sugar daddies in Rumson in the first place.

It is quiet out here on the river at 5:30 in the morning. The sun is just beginning to rise above the trees, above the old mills in East Falls, above Liberty Place in downtown Philly. All that can be heard is the rhythmic slicing of oars in and out of the water from magna-cum-serious rowers in sleek shells. I am on the Schuylkill with Temple University's crew team as it prepares for today's Dad Vail, the biggest intercollegiate regatta in the country. Each year on the second Saturday in May, the east banks of the Schuylkill for two miles turn into one big amphitheater, with more than 100,000 people partying and pulling for their school to win the Dad Vail.

The Dad Vail regatta's departure from Philadelphia next year became almost official last night, when local leaders tentatively agreed to host the collegiate rowing event in May. In a letter approved by the Borough Council last night, the town made a number of stipulations to the organizers before final approval is granted, including a clause stating that $250,000 in local fund-raising is not guaranteed. "We'll probably raise it. People here are very excited," said Mayor John Ekdahl.

FAMILY Mt. Airy Kids Literary Fest This weekend-long book fest aims to please tots through teens. Visits from authors of Poppy's Pants and Boy + Bot , plus kids' yoga, craft time, music, creative writing, poetry slamming and loads more fill the kid-genda. Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. today, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. tomorrow, 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sunday, most events are free, 215-844-1870, bigbluemarblebooks.com and Color Book Gallery, 6353 Germantown Ave., noon-4 p.m. tomorrow, free, 215-844-4200, colorbookgallery.com.

  Henry A. Backe, 82, a longtime director of the Dad Vail Regatta, who played a pivotal role in the creation of the boathouse shared by St. Joseph's University and St. Joseph's Prep, died Monday, May 6, at Devon Manor in Devon of complications from cancer. A moment of silence for Mr. Backe was observed Saturday before the final race of the day at this year's 75th edition of the annual weekend classic. Despite "an anticipated washout" due to threatening weather, said Mr. Backe's son Kevin, skies stayed clear, as if guided by the spirit of his father.

It was an indication that this would be Drexel's day at the 75th annual Dad Vail Regatta when one winning unit had to momentarily stop celebrating to cheer for another. The members of the Dragons' men's novice heavyweight eight were being presented their gold medals at the victory stand near the finish line when the rowers turned to their left and began cheering for Drexel's women's junior varsity eight, which also captured first place. "It's unbelievable to be celebrating for the guys and then seeing the girls win right by us," said Drexel men's and women's rowing coach Paul Savell.

Kurt Linton couldn't have scripted a better ending. Both Linton and his team ended up on top in his final Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, the largest collegiate rowing competition in the country. A two-time Drexel captain, Linton was part of the gold-medal-winning heavyweight varsity eight that propelled the Dragons to the men's title and the overall points championship in the 75th annual regatta on the Schuylkill. After the victory Saturday, Linton took in the cheering of the sizable Drexel crowd and summed up what it meant to go out a winner in his final Dad Vail appearance.

THERE CERTAINLY WAS some home cooking going on at the 75th annual Dad Vail Regatta on the weekend. The largest collegiate rowing event in North America saw Drexel capture its first overall Dad Vail victory, and doing so in grand fashion with a men's overall victory as well. As a dark and cloudy sky set the stage for the final day of the event on Saturday, Drexel was coming off an impressive day of competition on Friday. All 12 boats that entered the competition qualified for the final day. Those included nine first-place finishes and three second-place finishes.

The Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta is such a big event that six members of Philadelphia University men's and women's crew teams, along with coach Chris O'Brien, will be competing on Saturday despite a conflict with the school's commencement ceremony. So the university did the next best thing. It brought the graduation to the Dad Vail. Thus the rowers, who wouldn't have been able to both attend Saturday's graduation and compete at the Dad Vail, had their own commencement a day earlier.

The race on the Schuylkill was nearing its end above the Columbia Railroad Bridge when the coxswain for the Drexel women's novice eight called out sharply, "Look at your ribbons! We're doing this!" The coxswain shouted a little more, about whom and what they were doing it for. At that point, Drexel was within range but still trailing a La Salle boat in the final of the Kerr Cup on April 20. "Everybody just let go, and we just picked it up and went," said Jordan Marinchak, in the No. 6 seat.

FAMILY Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta Today begins the 75th anniversary of America's biggest collegiate rowing meet. The two-day affair will dot the Schuylkill with some of the country's best rowers. Free shuttle buses run every 20 minutes from the Art Museum to the race's main attractions, including the Grand Stand. (Note: Kelly Drive is closed until 8 p.m. tomorrow between Strawberry Mansion and Fountain Green drives.) Grand Stand, 2200 Kelly Dr. (2 miles north of Boathouse Row)

Friday and Saturday on the Schyulkill When: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, rain or shine. Where: On the Schuylkill. Races start at the intersection of Kelly Drive and Hunting Park Avenue and end just before the Columbia Avenue Bridge. TV: Saturday's finals will air live on 6ABC, starting at 11 a.m., and will be streamed on ESPN3.com. Admission: Free. The grandstand at the finish line is the best place to watch. Parking: Park in remote lots in Fairmount Park.

Jack Galloway has enjoyed a long association with the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, from his days as a rower for La Salle University to his tenure since the mid 1970s as chairman of the event. This will be the 75th anniversary of the Dad Vail, which takes place Friday and Saturday on the Schuylkill. The first race went off in 1934. But there were years during World War II when the event was not held, which is why this year is the 75th anniversary. At first the event would rotate among sites such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.