Huskies, Italians & Badgers Preparing For 2024 Windermere Cup
Washington Rowing, along with Windermere Real Estate, welcomes men's and women's crews from the Italian National Team and the University Wisconsin to the 38th annual Windermere Cup, scheduled for this Saturday, May 4.
Seattle's greatest annual, free sporting event features 23 races, culminating with the men's and women's Windermere Cup races, where the Huskies will take on the Italians and Wisconsin.
The annual spring rowing event on the Montlake Cut is held in conjunction with the Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day parade, which signals the beginning of boating season in Seattle. The entire event is a joint effort between Washington Rowing, the Seattle Yacht Club and Windermere Real Estate, with Windermere serving as the title sponsor of the main racing events.
"With the recent release of the Boys in the Boat movie, we thought it would be exciting to bring Italy to race in this year's Windermere Cup and set the stage for a rematch of the 1936 Olympics when the Huskies and Italy fought it out for gold and silver respectively," said Windermere Real Estate president, OB Jacobi. "We can't wait for the iconic match-up between these teams and Wisconsin, and to celebrate this legacy of champions."
The week's festivities will include a visit from six of the actors who portrayed members of the 1936 UW and USA crew, who will be on hand at various events on Friday and Saturday.
The UW and Windermere Real Estate have hosted more than 15 nations over the 37-year history of the regatta.
Italy earned its first Olympic medal in rowing at the 1920 games and has been a constant among the higher tier of international rowing since then. At the 1936 Berlin Games, in the thrilling men's eight final depicted in the book and film "The Boys in the Boat," it was the Italians who earned the silver medal behind the UW crew that won gold for the United States. The Italians narrowly edged the host Germans, who finished a close third.
Despite a long association between the two programs, Wisconsin's men and women will be competing in the Windermere Cup for the first time ever. The Badgers men's varsity eight has won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship seven times, and the James Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy (for overall points) on 15 occasions, second-most only to Washington's 17.
The Wisconsin women have earned 17 NCAA Championships berths and, more specifically to Washington, produced Huskies head coach Yasmin Farooq, a former Badgers captain. who coxed the U.S. women's eight at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and is a member of Wisconsin's Athletics Hall of Fame.
"Of course it's my dream to have the two 'UW's' meet up on Montlake," said Washington women's head coach Yasmin Farooq. "Yes, it's a preview of our future together in the Big Ten, but it's deeper than that. Wisconsin coach Vicky Opitz is a fellow Olympian, and Washington and Wisconsin women were teammates in the 1984 Olympic gold medal eight. There is a lot of history between these programs, and we can't wait to welcome them to Windermere Cup."
"Washington and Wisconsin have a long history of competing against one another," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan. "In fact, this year's race will give us the opportunity for the Huskies and Badgers to once again compete for the 'W' trophy, as we have for many years.
UW's current rosters include just two Italians – Giulio Acernese, a two-time World Rowing Under 23 Championships gold medalist; and newcomer Matteo Belgeri, a World Rowing Under 19 Championships gold medalist in 2022. Among a handful of other Italian men who rowed for UW is Roberto Blanda, a two-time Olympian (1992 and 1996 men's eight).
Several Italians have played key roles for the Washington women's program in recent years. Chiara Ondoli, a 2020 Olympian, was the stroke of the Huskies' 2017 NCAA Champion varsity eight. Carmela Pappalardo and Valentina Iseppi both earned multiple NCAA gold medals, with both of them in the varsity eight that came back from sixth place to win the 2019 NCAA grand final. Iseppi finished fourth in the women's quad at the Toyko Olympics and is training for Paris.
The Italian crews that will race in Seattle this week both feature experienced athletes, all of whom have competed at World Championships at the senior, under-23 and/or junior level.
Here is a schedule of races for the day, including masters, juniors and collegiate races:
10:15 a.m. – Men's Masters 8+ 30+
10:17 a.m. – Men's Masters 8+ 50+
10:19 a.m. – Men's Masters 8+ 60+
10:21 a.m. – Women's Masters 8+ 30+
10:23 a.m. – Women's Masters 8+ 40+ B
10:25 a.m. – Women's Masters 8+ 40+
10:27 a.m. – Women's Masters 8+ 50+
10:29 a.m. – Women's Masters 8+ 60+
10:32 a.m. – Men's Junior 4x+ George Corkley Jr. Cup
10:35 a.m. – Women's Junior 4x+ Dewitt Whitman Cup
10:38 a.m. – Women's Junior 4+ Colin Sykes Cup
10:41 a.m. – Men's Junior 4+ Sara Nevin Cup
10:44 a.m. – Women's Junior 8+ George Corkley Jr. Cup
10:47 a.m. – Men's Junior 8+ Colin Sykes Cup
10:50 a.m. – Men's Open 4+
10:53 a.m. – Women's Collegiate Varsity 4+
10:57 a.m. – Women's Collegiate Open 8+
11:01 a.m. – Men's Collegiate Freshman/Third Varsity 8+
11:05 a.m. – Women's Collegiate Third Varsity 8+
11:10 a.m. – Women's Cascade Cup (2V8+)
11:20 a.m. – Men's Cascade Cup (2V8+)
11:30 a.m. – Women's Windermere Cup (V8+)
11:45 a.m. – Men's Windermere Cup (V8+)
Last year, Washington won both the men's and women's races, beating Australia.
There are Windermere Cup-related events all week long leading up the May 4 races, including the Windermere Party on the Cut, Twilight Sprints, and the annual Media Cup. More information below:
WINDERMERE PARTY AT THE CUT: Boats, Bites, Brews, and Bands
Kick off Windermere Cup weekend at the fourth annual Party on the Cut and enjoy Boats, Bites, Brews, and Bands!
Who: Open to the public, 21+
What: Enjoy live music, food trucks, drinks, games, and fun!
When: Friday, May 3rd, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Where: NE Corner of Montlake Cut, near the UW Waterfront Activity Center and ASUW Shellhouse
Tickets: $35 per person.
TWILIGHT SPRINTS
For just the fourth time, UW Rowing will host "Twilight Sprints" the evening before the Windermere Cup/Opening Day Regatta. The boats that will race the following morning in the two Windermere Cup races will compete in a sprint from the traditional Montlake Cut finish line and travel approximately 600 meters from west to east down the course, finishing right in front of the old ASUW Shellhouse at the east end, where the annual "Party at the Cut" will be in full swing.
MEDIA CUP
On Tuesday, April 30, at 11:00 a.m. Seattle's local television will battle it out along the Montlake cut for the seventh annual Windermere Cup - Media Cup crew races. The field consists of teams from KOMO TV, KING TV, KIRO TV and Q13 TV. The winning team receives a $500 donation from Windermere Real Estate to go to their non-profit organization of choice.
WHERE TO WATCH THE RACE
Saturday's races begin at 10:15 a.m. Paid parking is available at the University of Washington. Fans are invited and encouraged to watch the races, free of charge, along the Montlake Cut. For more information, maps, and parking visit http://windermerecup.withwre.com/directions-parking/
AWARDS CEREMONIES
Award ceremonies will take place following the conclusion of Windermere Cup races AT THE FINISH LINE (i.e., not at the Shellhouse) on the north side of the Cut, for the Windermere and Cascade Cups. The award ceremony for Masters, Collegiate, and Junior's races will take place on the same stage at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Results of the races are posted, in real time, at HereNow.com. You can also follow via Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter at @UW_Rowing and @WindermereCup.
https://herenow.com/results/#/races/21085/results
Windermere Cup History & Information
The Windermere Cup rowing regatta got its start 37 years ago when Windermere Real Estate founder, John Jacobi, joined up with the University of Washington to create the annual rowing event. They wanted to bring the best team in the world to Seattle's Montlake Cut, which at the time was the Soviet Union. After that, the precedent was set for what has become one of the world's premier rowing events, and certainly a staple of Seattle's rowing community. For more information, please visit WindermereCup.com (http://windermerecup.withwre.com/).