PHILADELPHIA – The Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia announced today the cancellation of its marquee spring event – the Stotesbury Cup Regatta originally scheduled for May 15 to 16 on the Schuylkill River racecourse. The largest high school rowing regatta in the world, the Stotesbury Cup draws close to 6,000 student-athletes and thousands of spectators to the annual event.
The decision follows continuing consultation between Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and the regatta officials and monitoring of crisis developments, including Philadelphia Mayor Kenney’s stay-at-home order issued on March 22 and the postponement of this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo for which Toyota is also a lead sponsor.
“The well-being of our athletes, coaches, families, fans, referee corps, and volunteers is at the forefront of this decision. With increasingly comprehensive guidelines being issued by health experts and city, state and federal officials, as well as sporting events at all levels suspending play, we feel it is morally and ethically responsible to make this determination,” said Erika McCormick, Regatta Director.
Paul Horvat, Commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, added, “We know that the spring season is the most important of the year for our scholastic athletes. We deeply regret that this disappointing outcome is added to all the things with which they must cope. We’re comforted knowing that they have coaches and others in their lives to help them through this difficult passage and to remind them that the lessons they’ve learned on the water are ones they will carry with them through life, even in the absence of crossing the line at an event like Stotesbury.”
Regatta officials thanked Presenting Sponsor Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association and Media Sponsor Entercom for their support and consultation during the past weeks.
ABOUT THE SCHUYLKILL NAVY
Founded in 1858, the Schuylkill Navy is the oldest amateur sporting association in the country and is chartered by its member clubs on Boathouse Row and upriver “to secure collective action and promote amateurism on the Schuylkill.” Besides promoting the sport of rowing at all levels, the Schuylkill Navy has staged over 600 events, many dating back to the mid-19th century. www.boathouserow.org
ABOUT THE TRI-STATE TOYOTA DEALERS ASSOCIATION
The Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association (TDA) is comprised of 25 Toyota Dealers in the Greater Philadelphia market dedicated to providing customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Northwestern Delaware and Southern New Jersey communities with Toyota sales and service. The Tri-State TDA has an ongoing partnership with multiple community organizations and causes, including the association’s focus on sports and its partnerships with organizations related to the Olympic/Paralympic movement.
ABOUT TOYOTA
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.
CONTACT:
Bonnie Mueller, Vice Commodore, Schuylkill Navy, Bmueller81@me.com, (215) 815-0599
