The cheers and shouts rang across the water as the Boys’ Latin crew team rounded the bend in the Schuylkill. The four rowers glanced over and ripped their blades through the current, speeding their boat - the 40-foot jet-black Darth Vader - to a second-place finish in the race.
It was their first competition. They were the only team of Philadelphia public school students rowing April 19 at the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association’s fifth Manny Flick regatta this year. They were also the only Philadelphia public school crew team in recent memory to row in an official school-sponsored program. Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, which emphasizes a classical education and four years of Latin, is the only publicly funded high school in Philadelphia with a varsity crew program.
Boys’ Latin team rows against the current | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/27/2009
