a good view. The railroad tracks on the west side of the river had a flatbed train which held grandstands from which spectators could watch the race. As the crews rowed up the river, the train would keep pace with them, giving the people on board the best view possible. Hundreds of boats, yachts, and occasionally even Navy destroyers sailed to Poughkeepsie, and moored on the sides of the river to watch the event. The town of Poughkeepsie came alive on the day of the Regatta, with parades, bands, vendors, and banners. In addition, colorful pennants displaying the school colors of all the participants were flying everywhere. The Regatta was extensively covered by newspaper reporters, and as time went on it was even broadcast over local and national radio stations. But the crowds, the cheers, the reporters, parades, and pennants were not the reasons why the Regatta became so intensely popular, the explanation lay in the physical feats of the crew teams. To race at full-speed for four miles required such a breathtaking amount of strength, skill, and endurance that it was awe-inspiring to watch. After 55 years, the IRA Championship Regatta moved in 1950 to Marietta, Ohio; in 1952 to Syracuse, New York; and in 1995 to Camden, New Jersey. Harvard and Yale remained self-segregated for a century, long after the IRA championship left Poughkeepsie and the Hudson River. Revival The Hudson River Rowing Association "welcomed back" the Poughkeepsie Regatta in October 2008, running races in eight classifications on a 2.3-mile segment of the traditional course. In October 2009, to celebrate the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's exploration of the Hudson River, Marist College hosted a reenactment of the Poughkeepsie Regatta at Longview Park. 2009 competitors included Marist, Columbia, Cornell, Navy, Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Army, and Vassar College. There was a repeat in 2010 and a cancellation caused by foul weather in 2011. The September 2012 rendition was called "annual" by Marist. References Citations Peter Mallory. The Sport of Rowing: Two Centuries of Competition. Four volumes. Henley-on-Thames, England: River Rowing Museum. 2011. Selections published online in advance as row2k.com Exclusive Features. "American Collegiate cows Rowing Takes Shape". Mallory (2011), vol. 2, ch. 28 (pp. 319–29). Featured online by row2k.com in (Mallory, chapters 27–35) (pages 312–60). Retrieved 2013-05-11. External links 1997 Exhibit: "Rowing on the Hudson River" by Allynne Lange, curator, at Hudson River Maritime Museum (Archived 2012-02-04) Intercollegiate Rowing Association: Poughkeepsie