Hello, Mercer Parents,
This weekend is the first regatta of the summer: the IDR in Philadelphia. The event spans 2 days, with time trials on Friday, and races on Saturday. Mercer has entered boats in both the U17 and U19 categories. The coaches will post the line-ups shortly. Here is what you need to know:
The Independence Day Regatta (IDR) is an “away” regatta on the Schuykill River in Philadelphia. The City closes down Kelly Drive, which is the road that runs along the River on one side (fun fact: Kelly Dr is named for Grace Kelly’s father). Also, as it is 4th of July weekend in Philadelphia – the area will be particularly crowded. This means you need to plan travel time accordingly.
Please drop your athletes off at the Gillin Boathouse, St Joseph’s University: 2200 Kelly Dr, Philadelphia. Most phone apps recognize the location if you enter Gillin Boathouse. It is NOT located on Boathouse Row, so please be sure to check before you get down there. Please send water and snacks with your athlete!
We will have a Mercer tent set up on Saturday, farther down the course near the Grandstand. The athletes will be up near the start; parents will be down near the finish. This will be an informal affair, a place for us all to gather and cheer for our team. In years past, parents have brought drinks, snacks, chairs. There is no planned food, so it’s up to you whether you want to bring things to share.
Time trials and heats are on Friday. Time trials are races that set the boats up for semi- finals on Saturday. Not every boat that races on Friday will advance to the Saturday races. They are set up in Heats, so they do race against other boats, as opposed to against the clock. The finals are on Saturday. Results are posted by the Grandstand or on www.regattacentral.com.
Where to park? IDR offers parking passes to display on your windshield so you can park farther down the course near the Grandstand and beyond. The pass allows you to get through the police barricades at either end of the course on Kelly Dr, which is useful when you are dropping off your athletes (the drop off point is inside the barricaded area). In addition, many park up the hill from the course and walk down. The passes are on the regatta website: www.independencedayregatta.com. Most of this is pretty self-explanatory when you get to the site, but feel free to give me a call if it looks confusing (it was to me my first time): Jen cell (202) 360-8683.
If your LAST NAME begins with A-M, please send a case of water or Gatorade to share with the team.
If your LAST NAME begins with N-Z, please send a box of Clif bars or a few servings of fruit (bag of apples, bunch of bananas) to share with the team.
PLEASE NOTE: Because the athletes have varying race schedules and times that they need to be at the course, they should each bring whatever food (including lunch) he or she would like for the day.
GO MERCER!