Following the recent upsurge in popularity of the Cooper river racecourse in Camden, NJ, regattas are clamoring to hold their events there. The highest-profile event to pick up stakes and come to Camden is the San Diego Crew Classic, who beat out several other regattas, most notably the "Boat Race" (Oxford-Cambridge) for the coveted early April date.
"Al Wachlin, the construction king, always does such a nice job in Camden that we felt it was the only racecourse that could truly express the style of the San Diego Crew Classic," said an unnamed SDCC organizer. Bob Ernst, Jan Harville and Steve Gladstone were reportedly seen kicking things. Organizers of the Boat Race were disappointed, but philosophical about not racing in Camden. "We're hopeful to hold our event there next year," said Dan Topolski, elbowing the Aberdeen management spokesperson and regatta officials out of the way to get to the mic.
Other regattas angling for open dates are the Pac-10 Championships, the New England Scholastic Championships, the SERCs, the Midwest Championships, the New York State Championships, the California Invitational, the Kansas vs. Kansas State dual, and the Longhorn Invitational.
In other news, the Southern New Jersey High School Championships have not requested a date yet.