UDMC to Compete at 2021 Dad Vail Championship
Following a long hiatus from competition because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Blue Hens are returning to the water at this year’s Dad Vail Championship on Saturday, May 8th. Despite the unprecedented challenges with training for a team sport during a global pandemic, UDMC has maintained the high level of performance which won them the 2018 Dad Vail Men’s Point Trophy, the 2019 Knecht Cup, and the 2019 ACRA Championship. The team is enthusiastic about the opportunity to compete against new teams and old rivals after over a year of isolated training.
While Dad Vails is typically a two-day event, this year the regatta has been compressed to one day with heats in the morning and finals in the afternoon. UDMC is fielding 4 boats for competition on Saturday:
| 1V8+ | 2V8+ | 3V8+ | N4+ |
| Charlie Bird | Amelia Meldrum | Victoria Mello Quinones | Will Beardwood |
| John Hill | Kyle Comegys | Henry Lambert | Ralph Wilkinson |
| Michael Campone | David Chapman | Colin Leary | Andrew Place |
| Andrew Woods | Jake Milburn | Miguel Palacios | Tyler McKenna-Hansen |
| Mahmoud Khalifa | Kyle Rumaker | Tucker Deluca | Elliot Stevenson |
| Ada Dildar | Sam Beck | Tyler Cook | Nathan Williamson |
| Brendan Kipnis | George Rogers | Luis Padilla | |
| Zach AbuAwad | Charlie McNamara | Tom Roman | |
| Justin Schmidt | Michael Zuppas | Joe Angevine |
The schedule of events is as follows:
N4+: Heats @ 9:20, Final @ 1:40
3V8+: Heats @ 10:15, Final @ 2:44
2V8+: Heats @ 10:30, B Final @ 3:00, A Final @ 3:08
1V8+: Heats @ 11:25, B Final @ 4:36, A Final @ 4:50
All times are Eastern Standard Time.
The six boldface names are the seniors who will experience their last race at Dad Vails. These rowers have had nearly half of their career destroyed by the pandemic but remain enthusiastic and are determined to make their last race one of their best.
While UDMC loves the busy regatta environment and thrives off the support of its fans, a typical regatta is not possible this year, and we are in complete support of Dad Vails policy for absolutely no spectators at this regatta. See the official statement at the bottom of the page. If you want to support and cheer on your favorite Blue Hens, there will be a live stream at www.dadvail.org, which we highly encourage you to use. Do not, under any circumstance, go to Philadelphia to watch the races in person. Any teams that have spectators, whether the team was knowledgeable or otherwise, will be disqualified. Furthermore, if Dad Vails draws a large crowd, as it has done in the past, future regattas will be canceled because of the health risks. UDMC implores you to watch from home; they know your support is with them, and they will pull their hardest regardless of the circumstances.
The team owes many thanks to The University of Delaware for facilitating a safe environment for us to train and allowing us to compete during a complicated and stressful time. The team would also like to thank the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta and the City of Philadelphia for going through the difficult process of organizing this regatta while maintaining the highest levels of safety. We cannot wait to return to the course and show the rowing world that not even a global pandemic can hold us back.
Jefferson Dad Vail No Spectator Policy
The 2021 Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, presented by Independence Blue Cross, Coca-Cola, and PECO, scheduled to be held on the Schuylkill River on Saturday, May 8, has put in place a no spectator policy due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and this policy will be strictly enforced. The Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta will be live-streamed, so spectators will be able to follow the action at the most prestigious intercollegiate rowing event in the country. The live stream can be viewed from our website www.dadvail.org. “We truly value all of the fans of intercollegiate rowing, as well as the families of the student-athletes competing for their fine institutions at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. With that said, due to the current health concerns in the city of Philadelphia as well as our nation, we will not be allowing any spectators at this year’s Regatta.
If it is determined that a team has spectators in violation of our policy, that program will be immediately disqualified from the Dad Vail Regatta.” – Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee President Jim Hanna. We know local match races have not enforced this to near the level that Dad Vail will. If our event is seen to have spectators, subsequent regattas will be canceled. We are not going to allow that to happen. Your fans must stay home and watch the live stream, or your athletes are going to be extremely disappointed when they get disqualified.