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One of the premier rowing regattas in the world, the Windermere Cup returns to the Montlake Cut in Seattle for the 38th time on May 4, 2024. Hosted by Windermere Real Estate, the University of Washington, and the Seattle Yacht Club, the Husky men and women will battle crews from the University of Wisconsin and the Italian National team. Held annually on the first Saturday in May, the Windermere Cup is both an international sporting event and part of Seattle’s opening day of boating season celebration.
Windermere Cup 2024
This year’s international competitors were chosen to pay homage to the iconic 1936 Olympic race in Germany where the UW rowers, known as “the Boys in the Boat”, won gold and the Italian men took silver.
“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 matchup between these teams and Wisconsin, and to celebrate this legacy of champions.”
The University of Washington also has strong ties to Wisconsin. Despite a long association between the two programs, Wisconsin’s men and women will be competing in the Windermere Cup for the first time. As Washington makes the shift from Pac-12 to the Big Ten, the two teams will compete in the same conference next year. Additionally, the women’s coach, Yasmin Farooq, was team captain during her time at Wisconsin and was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021 as a two-time Olympian.
“Of course, it’s my dream to have the two UWs meet up on Montlake,” Farooq said in the Seattle Times. “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. There is a lot of history between these two programs, and we can’t wait to welcome them to the Windermere Cup.”
The regatta starts at 10:15 am PST, featuring more than twenty races with athletes ages 14 – 70+ years. The Windermere Cup races will take place at 11:30 and 11:45am. Precisely at noon, a cannon blast will sound, and the Montlake Bridge will open, heralding the beginning of the Opening Day boat parade. This family-friendly day also offers a bouncy house, a build-a-boat station presented by Home Depot, food and drink vendors, and Windermere Cup apparel and commemorative items for purchase.
The Windermere Party on the Cut
This year is the sixth annual Party on the Cut at the ASUW Shellhouse, near the UW Waterfront Activities Center. This exclusive party kicks off a weekend of fun along the Montlake Cut and features live music, food vendors, a beer tent, and lawn games. Audiences will also get a sneak peek of the regatta when all the Windermere Cup crews race in the annual Twilight Sprints.
Tickets to Party on the Cut can be purchased for $35 here, with proceeds benefitting the Windermere Foundation and the Joe Rantz Rotary Youth Fund. You must be 21 or older to attend.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit windermerecup.com and follow Windermere Cup on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Join in the fun on social media with the official hashtag of this year’s Windermere Cup: #WindermereCup2024
