![]() “Rowing in the United States really more or less started here, and this was the epicenter of rowing well into the 20th century,” Laskow said. ![]() But it also would have meant the end of a rowing tradition here that goes back to the 19th century. No dredging would have meant the end of the economic benefits brought to the city by such regattas as Dad Vail and the Stotesbury Cup. The largest scholastic, collegiate and club regattas are held in Philadelphia, Laskow said. Famed regattas were beginning to lose competitors, he said, because organizers didn’t feel that all six lanes were safe and equal - lane six is less than 2 feet deep, while the others are closer to 10 feet deep. Paul Laskow, chair of the Schuylkill Navy’s River Restoration Committee, said access to the river has become unsafe because there is only a very narrow and shallow channel available right now. Rowing crews warm up on the Schuylkill River before their heats during the first day of the Dad Vail Regatta Friday. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor The Schuylkill Navy, as the association of rowing clubs is known, has been trying to get it dredged for four years. Silt has accumulated in the riverbed since it was last dredged in 1999, resulting in uneven depth in the racecourse and in areas around the boathouses. The Schuylkill River, and Boathouse Row, and Kelly Drive, and West River Drive have become iconic landmarks for us in the city of Philadelphia, and I just can’t imagine what the Schuylkill would be like if we didn’t have that recreational aspect to this beautiful natural asset.” “It’s just become a part of our culture here in Philadelphia, it’s become very much a part of our park system. “Philadelphia is seen nationally and internationally as a leader and as a hub for the sport of rowing,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, the city’s Parks & Recreation commissioner. The money came from members of the 10 rowing clubs of Boathouse Row universities with rowing programs the three major regatta organizations and individual donors, foundations and institutions, as well as from city and state funds. ![]() That heritage is no longer in peril now that $4.5 million has been found to dredge shallow areas of silt around Boathouse Row and the national racecourse. Philadelphians will be able to continue enjoying the long tradition of rowing on the Schuylkill River. ![]()
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