Despite Funding Issues, Public Schools Row On

Matt McFarland:

This afternoon, at the oldest and largest high school regatta in the country, a Fairfax County public school boys' rowing team, in its 19th year, will attempt to win the Stotesbury Cup for the fourth time in five years. It will duel with private schools such as St. Joseph's Prep of Philadelphia, a perennial national power that recently built a $3 million boathouse.

Jefferson doesn't have its own million-dollar boathouse. The Fairfax team will row down Philadelphia's Schuylkill River in a boat in which the naming rights of each seat had to be sold to raise $6,100 for the team.

The Jefferson boys' team, one of the most successful high school sports teams in the Washington area, receives no financial funding from Fairfax County. Jefferson's recent success exceeds other area teams, but like all their area public competition, the Colonials must hold fundraisers.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 18, 2008 8:33 AM
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