Gillin Boat Club

Gillin Boat Club is the rowing program for St. Joseph's University Rowing and St. Joseph's Prep Rowing.[2][3] It is situated at the 1,000-meter mark of the Schuylkill River race course in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gillin Boat Club was admitted to the Schuylkill Navy in 2004, by a unanimous vote of the Navy's members.[4]

Gillin Boat Club
Location2200 Kelly Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Home waterSchuylkill River
Established2002
Navy admission2004
Membership200[1]
ColorsCrimson   and Gray  . - These are the official hex colors as per the university's graphics guidelines.
Website sjprep.org

The club's state-of-the-art boathouse has the capacity for 42 eights, 14 fours (quads), and 14 small boats.[4] It was the first new boathouse built on this stretch of the Schuylkill River in 98 years.[5]

Gillin also hosts the Fairmount Park Commission's Community Rowing Program, which is designed to provide an experience for youth in the city of Philadelphia who have not had the opportunity to experience the sport of rowing.[6]

Robert M. Gillin Jr. Boathouse

In 1998, Philadelphia City Council approved construction of what is now known as the Robert M. Gillin Jr. Boathouse.[7] The boathouse was dedicated in May 2002.[8] The building was designed by Robert L. Owen - Architects and built by Nason and Cullen, Inc.[9] While some have praised the structure as "the Taj Mahal of Kelly Drive,"[2] others have levied criticism on the boathouse's design, calling it a "bloated hulk of a building."[8] Work has been done to repair the second floor, which began buckling shortly after construction was completed.[10]

University Crew

The Men's and women's crew teams of St. Joseph's University regularly compete on a national level.

Dad Vail Regatta

St. Joseph's University has been a perennial contender at the Dad Vail Regatta, the nation's largest collegiate regatta.

In 2019, Saint Joseph's won Gold in the Men's Third Varsity Heavyweight Eight. Saint Joseph's took home Silver in the Second Varsity Heavyweight Eight Category.

In 2018, Saint Joseph's won Gold in the Men's Third Varsity Heavyweight Eight. Saint Joseph's took home Silver Medals in the First and Second Varsity Heavyweight Eight Categories in 2018 as well.

In 2017, Saint Joseph's won Gold in the Men's Second Varsity Heavyweight Eight, as well as Gold in the Men's Third Varsity Heavyweight Eight. Saint Joseph's Men's First Varsity Heavyweight Eight took home silver that same year, their first medal in the Varsity Eight category since 1999.

In 2010, St. Joe's won gold in the Men's Frosh/Novice Heavyweight Eight.

In 2008, St. Joe's won a silver in the Women's Frosh/Novice Heavyweight Eight and a bronze in the Men's JV Heavyweight Eight.[11]

In 2007, the team finished 2nd in Overall Points and 3rd in Women's Points.[12]

In 2006, the team finished 1st in Overall Points, 1st in Men's Points, and 2nd in Women's Points.[13]

In 2005, the team finished 1st in Overall Points, 1st in Men's Points, and 3rd in Women's Points.[14]

In 2004, St. Joseph's won 2nd in Overall Points, Men's Points, and Women's Points.[15]

Earlier in its history, St. Joseph's University won a Gold medal at the 1970 Dad Vail Regatta and a Silver medal in 1959, the first year of the program's existence.

IRA Championship Regatta

The Intercollegiate Rowing Association's IRA Championship Regatta is the most competitive race in collegiate rowing and is considered to be the United States collegiate national championship of rowing.[16] In 2004, St. Joe's Varsity Four finished fourth in the Grand Final at the IRAs.[17] In recent years, St. Joseph's has qualified multiple boats for IRAs.[18]


The Men's Team has competed at the IRA National Championship twice since 2017. They look to compete at this event each year against the top teams in the country, competing for a national title.


Henley Royal Regatta

The University Crew has competed at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta, a race in England. In 1999, a crew from St. Joseph's pursued the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley.[19]


Alumni

The University Crew has placed many of its alumni along the east coast, whom regularly compete together in the fall. Most notably, the Saint Joseph's University alumni crew won a medal at the 2019 Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA.

Preparatory crew

St. Joseph's Preparatory School has amassed racing records unequaled by any other American high school, including winning the Stotesbury Cup ten times since 1987.[2]

Stotesbury Cup Regatta

The Stotesbury Cup Regatta is the largest high school regatta in the United States and is considered the high school national championship.[20] The Boys Senior Eight boat won the Stotesbury Cup in 1955, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2019; and the Boys Lightweight Eight won in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.[21]

In addition, The Prep is the only team to ever sweep all of the eights races at the regatta. This feat was first accomplished in 1997.

In 2008, St. Joe's Prep accomplished nearly the same result sweeping all five events in the eight-man category.[22] As a result of the sweep, a poll by Row2k.com ranked The Prep as the crew of the week, over collegiate national champions.[23] Vespoli, a manufacturer of racing shells highlighted the team's accomplishment among other national champions.[24]

Henley Royal Regatta

The Prep regularly competes at the Henley Royal Regatta. Rowers from St. Joseph's Prep "have been to Henley eight times and won the prestigious Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 2000."[2] In 2010, St. Joseph's Prep lost to the Kent School in the semi-finals.[25] In 2008, St. Joseph's Prep was eliminated by Eton College in the quarter-finals.[26] In 2005, St. Joseph's made it to the finals, but lost to Eton College.[27] The Prep's quest for the Princess Elizabeth Cup in 2005 made news in London[28] as well as in the United States.[29] The Prep competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2019.

Olympic Games

Several Prep Crew alumni have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games including 2004 gold medalist Pete Cippolone '89 (2000 Games as well). Other Prep Olympic rowers include Michael Peterson '85 (1996 Atlanta Games), Tom Welsh '95 (2000 Sydney Games) and Mike Gennaro '07 (2012 London Olympics alternate).

References
  1. "Gillin Boat Club". Schuylkill Navy. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. "Brendan F. Quinn, "A New Era of Rowing at St. Joseph's Prep", The Bulletin, May 15, 2009". Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  3. "Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta 2009 Program" (PDF). Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. 2009. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  4. "Rober Gillin, Jr. Boathouse, sjuhawks.com". Archived from the original on 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  5. Dedication of St. Joseph's Boathouse, First New One on the Schuylkill in 98 Years, Set for June 15, thefreelibrary.com
  6. "Fairmount Park Rowing Camp 2009 Brochure" (PDF).
  7. St. Joe’s Gets Nod For New Boathouse, Rowing News p. 5 (February 28, 1998)
  8. Steinberg, "Bloat on the Water", Philadelphia City Paper, April 17-23, 2003 Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Project Profile of Nason & Cullen
  10. "St.Josephs University - Boathouse Floor". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  11. Dad Vail Regatta Results -- 2008
  12. Dad Vail Regatta Results -- 2007
  13. Dad Vail Regatta Results -- 2006
  14. Dad Vail Regatta Results -- 2005
  15. Dad Vail Regatta Results -- 2004
  16. Since 1995, the IRA Championship Regatta has been held on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey.
  17. IRA Regatta 2004, row2k.com p. 4, Race 101
  18. For examples, search for "St. Joes" in IRA results for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
  19. "Temple Challenge Cup, 1999 Results, hrr.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  20. The Prep Rocks Nationals, Rowing News (June 20, 1998) p. 9
  21. List of Winners of every Stotesbury Cup Regatta race since 1927, boathouserow.org Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  22. Ed Hewitt, Stotesbury 2008: St. Joe's Sweeps; Bishop Eustace Repeats, Row2k.com (May 17, 2008)
  23. Crew of the Week, Row2k Polls (May 19, 2008)
  24. "EXCELLENCE ON DISPLAY: WINNING VESPOLI CREWS: Stotesbury Cup:St. Joe's Prep Varsity Boy's Eight". Archived from the original on 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2015-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2015-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup Results", Times of London, July 4, 2005.
  28. Mike Rosewell, Army steal a march on rivals, Times of London, June 30, 2005.
  29. Henley Morning Report, row2k.com (July 2, 2008) For more Henley results, see 1999 Archived 2010-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, 2000 Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine 2005 Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, and 2008 Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine.

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