SEATTLE – Washington Rowing, along with Windermere Real Estate, welcomes men's and women's crews from the Italian National Team and the University of Wisconsin for the 38th annual Windermere Cup, scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2024.
 
The Italian men's team will be competing in the Windermere Cup/Opening Day Regatta for the third time. In 1989, the third year of the Windermere Cup, Italy won the men's race, beating second-place UW, as well as crews from New Zealand and California. In 2004, and Italian men's eight finished third to UW and Navy.
 
The Italian women have competed in Seattle just once, in 2004, finishing second in the featured race, behind UW and ahead of UCLA. Wisconsin will be making its first Windermere Cup appearance.
 
"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."
 
Italy earned its first Olympic medal in rowing at the 1920 games and has been a constant among the higher tier of international rowing since then. At the 1936 Berlin Games, in the thrilling men's eight final depicted in the book and film "The Boys in the Boat," it was the Italians who earned the silver medal behind the UW crew that won gold for the United States. The Italians narrowly edged the host Germans, who finished a close third.
 
Despite a long association between the two programs, Wisconsin's men and women will be competing in the Windermere Cup for the first time ever. The Badgers men's varsity eight has won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship seven times, and the James Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy (for overall points) on 15 occasions, second-most only to Washington's 17.
 
The Wisconsin women have earned 17 NCAA Championships berths and, more specifically to Washington, produced Huskies head coach Yasmin Farooq, a former Badgers captain. who coxed the U.S. women's eight at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and is a member of Wisconsin's Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"Of course it's my dream to have the two 'UW's' meet up on Montlake," said Washington women's head coach Yasmin Farooq. "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, and Washington and Wisconsin women were teammates in the 1984 Olympic gold medal eight. There is a lot of history between these programs, and we can't wait to welcome them to Windermere Cup."  
 
"Washington and Wisconsin have a long history of competing against one another," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan. "In fact, this year's race will give us the opportunity for the Huskies and Badgers to once again compete for the 'W' trophy, as we have for many years.
 
UW's current rosters include just two Italians – Giulio Acernese, a two-time World Rowing Under 23 Championships gold medalist; and newcomer Matteo Belgeri, a World Rowing Under 19 Championships gold medalist in 2022. Among a handful of other Italian men who rowed for UW is Roberto Blanda, a two-time Olympian (1992 and 1996 men's eight).
 
Several Italians have played key roles for the Washington women's program in recent years. Chiara Ondoli, a 2020 Olympian, was the stroke of the Huskies' 2017 NCAA Champion varsity eight. Carmela Pappalardo and Valentina Iseppi both earned multiple NCAA gold medals, with both of them in the varsity eight that came back from sixth place to win the 2019 NCAA grand final. Iseppi finished fourth in the women's quad at the Toyko Olympics and is training for Paris.
 
The annual spring rowing event on the Montlake Cut is held in conjunction with the Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day parade, which signals the beginning of boating season in Seattle. The entire event is a joint effort between Washington Rowing, the Seattle Yacht Club and Windermere Real Estate, with Windermere serving as the title sponsor of the main racing events.
 
"With 'The Boys in the Boat' film rekindling interest in the 1936 UW crew, it's terrific that we are able to bring the Italians to the Windermere Cup this year," said Callahan. "Italian rowers have a well-earned reputation for spirit and grit, and Italy is among the nations most devoted to the success of its national rowing program."
 
"We've been fortunate to have some outstanding Italian oarswomen on our team over the years," said Farooq. "All have been excellent racers who know how to 'throw down' for 2,000 meters. Women's rowing in Italy is on the rise. More and more Italian women are competing at the World Championship level every year. We will be prepared for an epic race, and we'll be glad to have Husky Nation lining both sides of the Cut and cheering for the Dawgs!"
 
On the Friday night before the Opening Day Regatta, all of the Windermere Cup crews will race in the annual Twilight Sprints, a race from the traditional Montlake Cut finish line to the eastern end of the Montlake Cut.
 
The Washington women finished second at NCAA Championships last season, the program's eighth consecutive top-five finish at the national championships. The men also finished second at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships, having won the title two seasons ago.
 
There will be more information to come on other Opening Day and Windermere Cup-related events, including the annual "Party at the Cut" on Friday night.
 
Windermere Cup History & Information
The Windermere Cup got its start 37 years ago, in 1987, when Windermere Real Estate founder, John Jacobi, joined up with the University of Washington to create the annual rowing event. They wanted to bring the best team in the world to Seattle's Montlake Cut, which at the time was the Soviet Union. That occasion marked one of the few athletic competitions for the Soviets inside the U.S. in 25 years, since relations were strained during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union brought both its men's and women's crews and won both races in convincing fashion. After that, the precedent was set for what has become one of the world's premier rowing events, and certainly a staple of Seattle's rowing community.
 
Washington's men have won the Windermere Cup 27 times in 36 attempts, while the UW women have won 26 out of 36.
 
This year's event marks the 53rd running of the Opening Day regatta, which has included the Windermere Cup for the last 37 years. The 2024 event will include a number of events during the week leading up to race day. The Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day parade through the Montlake Cut will immediately follow the racing. Further details will be announced at a later date. For more information visit www.windermerecup.com.