By Leslie HackettStaff Writer
It is an event that has grown with each passing year.
The first San Diego Crew Classic, held in 1973, featured 300competitors in 12 races. Since then, the regatta has expanded toinclude more than 3,000 competitors in more than 90 races. Dependingon the weather, the event has been known to draw crowds nearing20,000.
Last year’s Classic was plagued by rain, and races were postponedfor more than four hours. Sue Neal, executive director of the SDCC,said the weather became a challenge for volunteers and committeemembers, but they were able to reschedule events, cutting out as fewraces as possible.
“Nothing has been as dramatic as the rain last year,” Neal said.
San Diego State head coach Scott Steckel said the varsity women’srace was an exciting one last year. The winner of the women’sJessop-Whittier Cup was decided by only half of a second.
The 29th annual Classic, which has become internationallyrecognized as one of the finest regattas in the world, will be heldon April 6 and feature teams from all over the world in all agegroups.
The weekend’s festivities will commence at Crown Point Shores inEast Mission Bay on Saturday morning with races beginning at 7 a.m.The closing race of the day is scheduled to take place at 4:50 p.m.
“The Crew Classic is just a huge event,” SDSU junior varsitymember Alison Abrams said.
For the SDSU coxswain, the SDCC was the first big crew race shehad attended. Abrams said it will be an extremely exciting weekend.
Sunday’s races will launch at 7 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m.
The SDCC is an event laden with tradition.
“Something that was important to the group that started the CrewClassic and has been carried along very carefully is races start ontime,” Neal said. “This year, we have 96 races in two days, so it isabsolutely mandatory that these races start on time.”
Steckel said that there are tons of intricacies that make the CrewClassic what it is today.
“Another tradition at the Crew Classic that is a little unusualfor regattas is the mix of juniors, collegians and masters,” Nealsaid. “We have a mix that we’re really hoping to keep.”
These traditions are what the more than 300 volunteers andcommittee members of the SDCC work year round to preserve.
In 1975, the Whittier Cup became the first ever invitational raceof the SDCC. Originally named after Paul Whittier, a strong supporterof the regatta, the Cup is now called the Jessop-Whittier, since thesponsorship of Joe Jessop Jr.
The other invitational race at the collegiate level is the CopleyCup. The Cal Cup, which used to be strictly for California schools,is the race open to all teams that weren’t asked to participate in aninvitational.
This year will be the first time that collegiate teams other thanDivision I will be competing. The new race, the San Diego Cup, willfeature various Division II and III teams.
Coming off a second place finish to University of SouthernCalifornia, the SDSU varsity eight boat will be looking to finishstrong in the Jessop-Whittier Cup. The junior varsity and noviceboats will be looking to carry on their winning streak after theyfinished ahead of USC March 23.
