PRINCETON, N.J. – The Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup Foundation announced a partnership with USRowing, the Head Of The Charles Regatta (HOCR) and the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta (HOSR) to host the inaugural Herb Lotman United States Rowing Challenge in 2017.
The Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup Foundation created the Lotman Challenge to further promote and develop single sculling in the United States and will award prize money to the top American men and women scullers accumulating the most points over the course of the three-race series.
The Lotman Challenge will be comprised of three separate open weight events starting with the USRowing Club National Championships on July 12-16 in Bethel, Ohio followed by the Head Of The Charles Regatta on Oct. 21 and culminating on Oct. 28 at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.
“We’re excited to honor our organization’s founder with the creation of the Herb Lotman United States Rowing Challenge. When Herb resurrected the Gold Cup, which was created to honor one of the greatest American scullers, John B. Kelly, Sr., Herb envisioned an exciting competition that would bring back the glory days of American sculling. He also knew the power of sport to bring people together and to inspire young people. This new event will serve as a catalyst to inspire the next generation of great American scullers.” Bill McNabb, chairman, Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup Foundation.
“The Herb Lotman United States Rowing Challenge offers a unique opportunity to continue to grow the sport of rowing in the United States and USRowing is proud to be associated with the race series,” said USRowing High Performance Director Matt Imes. “Opportunities to advance sculling in the U.S. to the elite international level and have Americans race to qualify for the Gold Cup is a great platform. We believe the exposure brought by the Lotman Challenge will go a long way in achieving that goal.”
Elite U.S. scullers must compete in all three events to be eligible for the Herb Lotman United States Challenge Series. Rowers placing in the top 12 of any given event will be eligible for points. Scullers finishing in the top 12 at the USRowing Club National Championships will then compete in the Championship single events at the Head Of The Charles Regatta and Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.
At the conclusion of the series, the American sculler in the men’s and women’s divisions with the most points will receive $5,000 with second place earning $2,500 and $1,000 going to third. In the event a rower finishes in the first position for all three events, the foundation will award $10,000.
The Gold Cup began in 1920 and is the most storied race in Philadelphia’s rich rowing history and one of the most exciting rowing competitions outside of the Olympics. The top amateur single scullers compete against each other in a sprint race on the famed Schuylkill River course.
Scullers interested in competing in the 2017 Herb Lotman United States Challenge can find additional information on the RegattaCentral website.