Racing

2008 Racing Committee Report with Upcoming Regattas

(Downloadable PDF coming soon!)

VESPER WINNERS AT FISA WORLD MASTERS REGATTA 2006

(for photo gallery, click here)

Men: Tony Schneider Men's E single  (E1x) Michael Glick Men's D single  (D1x),  men's D4x (D4x) Frank Biller/Adam Scholl Men's A double (A2x) Women: Ellen St. Clair Women's D quad (WD4x),  women's  D eight (WD8+),  women's C single (WC1x) Judy Kaplow: Women's G coxed four  (WG4+),  women's H eight (WH8+),  mix H eight (mixH8+)

Alexis Franklin Women's E straight four  (WE4-),  women's H eight (WH8+)  Karin Constant Women's E quad (WE4x),  women's E coxed four (WE4+), women's F quad (WF4x), women's G double (WG2x), women's E eight (WE8+), mixed F quad (mixF4x) Pete Simone, Bob Wilson, Ann Jonik, Marie Jonik Mixed D quad (mixD4x)

Vesper brings home medals from 2005 Canadian Henley.
Congratulations to our outstanding athletes for their performance.

2005 World Rowing Championship in Japan

Vesper Summer 2005

CONGRATULATIONS to the Vesper Rowers at the Middle States Regatta

Rowing News Interviews Head Coach Michiel Bartman

1st Place 2004 Masters Nationals: Light Men D 4x
Marc Daemen, Michael Glick, Ed Gribbin, Chris Doyle

Vesper Winners at Canadian Henley Regatta, 2004

OLYMPIC ROWING CHAMPION MICHIEL BARTMAN NAMED
HEAD COACH AT VESPER BOAT CLUB IN PHILADELPHIA

Three-time medal winner and internationally-acclaimed rowing legend will spearhead new initiative to reclaim Vesper’s historic position as one of the nation’s leading training venues for Olympic championship rowers.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 29, 2005) – Internationally renowned rowing champion Michiel Bartman has been named new head coach at Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia. Bartman, winner of many international rowing honors including a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics and silver medals in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, will spearhead a new Vesper initiative to identify and train leading rowers from throughout the United States for Olympic and other senior level competition.

Marking his official retirement from competition and concluding a successful four-year term as athlete/coach of the Dutch national rowing team, Bartman will assume coaching responsibilities at Vesper effective today.

“Joining Vesper and helping to build a strong and successful training program for future rowing champions represents an exciting and challenging opportunity for me. I am especially pleased to be joining an organization with such a long history of success in preparing Olympic-caliber rowers for the rigors of international competition,” said Mr. Bartman.

Bartman joins the current coaching team at Vesper including Todd Craun, former national champion out of Brown University, Vesper Boat Club and Potomic Boat Club, and Nick Tripician, 1999 World Championship US National Team Lightweight Eight and University of Pennsylvania Varsity Crew.

The appointment of Mr. Bartman as head coach marks a new milestone in a continuing program to improve the resources and training at Vesper, building on the Club’s 140+ year history of success in rowing. The program will position Vesper to regain its historic position as one of the nation’s leading training venues for Olympic championship rowers. Vesper Boats took the gold medal in the eight-oared event in the Paris Olympics in 1900, in St. Louis in 1904, and again in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Vesper is the only boat club in the United States to win the title three times.


“Over the last decade, Vesper has made great strides in efforts to upgrade our facilities and resources. Our goal is to help expand the pool of elite athletes for the National Team and to send Vesper boats to international competitions. With Michiel Bartman leading our coaching efforts in the years ahead, Vesper’s opportunity to prepare rowers for Olympic competition in 2008 and beyond has never been better,” said John B. Kelly III, president of Vesper Boat Club.

Many other rowers associated with Vesper have also won international honors. Vesper scullers John B. Kelly, Sr. and Paul Costello won gold medals in the single and double events in the 1920 Olympic Games. John B. Kelly, Jr., represented Vesper at four Olympics from 1948 – 1960 and won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1947 and 1949. Other national sculling champions from Vesper include Harry Parker, Gus Ignas, and the current US Nationals Champion Jonathan Burns.

In 1972, Vesper was the first men’s boat club to admit women, and the Women US Eight that competed in the 1976 Olympic Games included four Vesper members. Among them was Anita DeFranz, the current US representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since 1970 when the US changed to a national camp selection process for the eight and other large boats, Vesper has had many representatives on the National Team, including Mike Teti, who is now the US National Team Coach, and Josh Inman, who stroked the US Four to a Bronze medal at the 2004 World Championships.

Located on historic “Boat House Row” along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Vesper Boat House was founded as the Washington Barge Club in 1865. The club was renamed Vesper Boat House in 1870. In addition to sending Gold Medal winning boats to four separate Olympic Games, Vesper has been associated with many of the most accomplished rowers in the United States throughout its history. With the guidance of many legendary rowers and coaches including Mike Manning, Dr. Charles Riggall, Allan Rosenberg and Dietrick Rose, Vesper rowers have collectively won more national races than any other rowing club in the United States.

Head of the Schuylkill Regatta 1st place winners from Vesper Boat Club

Members Called-up to U.S. National Team

Open Men Josh Inman

Silver Medal U.S. Light Eight Andrew Bolton

Men's Eight Travels to Regatta in Ireland

Joanne Iverson: Masters Coach

Joanne Iverson has been coaching and rowing on the Schuylkill River for more than four decades. A major force in organizing women’s rowing, she co-founded the National Women’s Rowing Association in 1962 with Ted Nash and Ed Lickiss. She has been involved with the United States Olympic Rowing Committee, and was secretary of that organization from 1972-1975. She was the manager of the U.S. Olympic Rowing team at the World Championships in Moscow (1973) and at the Olympics in Montreal (1976). Joanne was active at Philadelphia Girls Rowing Club for many years and recently joined Vesper.

Joanne will make coaching available to all Masters and will work with each person to help him/her reach full rowing potential. She will ask all athletes to set goals for each session and then measure their performance against the goal at the end of each session.

Team boats will be a priority. If you already have a boat put together Joanne will work with you or she will help set boats for a race. All workouts will include at least one 1,000 piece – longer pieces will be common. Recreational Masters are welcome and time has been set for those rowers who just want to be coached for technique only.

Private coaching is available on a limited basis.

Masters coaching sessions:

ANNOUNCEMENTS & "HOT OFF THE PRESS" INFORMATION! (CLICK HERE)

For more information: jiverson@iversongaming.com