The competition was briefly disrupted Saturday as rain moved through the region.
However that didn't stop students, parents and alumni from lining up, hoping to get a glimpse of the boats as they crossed the finish line.
The cheers continued as the winners were awarded their medals on the dock.
RELATED: SEE THE FULL LIST OF RESULTS
"It was really fun watching it," said Laura Suhadolnik of Fairmount.
The rain held off until the afternoon and suspended the races as fans fan for cover.
However, spectators agree that this annual tradition is weather-proof.
"The rowing tradition in Philadelphia is enormous," said John Galloway.
Galloway is the chairman of the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. The event, in its 76th year, has brought more than 100 schools, 3,500 athletes and an estimated 15,000-20,000 spectators to Philadelphia.
Organizers for the event are all volunteers.
"We don't have a paid staff at all. Our volunteers put the regatta on," said Galloway.
The competitive open regatta draws rowers from across the United States and Canada.
"It's definitely a cool experience. It's definitely exciting for us to come all the way from Wisconsin and have a real competition. I was proud of how we rowed today," said Leelle Moss, Wisconsin.
6abc is a proud sponsor of the event and televised it live.
Besides the collegiate rowers, there is a corporate category as well.
Winners, Aberdeen Asset Management, were proud to honor their colleague Toby Wallace who was recently killed. He led their team in previous years and this year a new regatta award is named in his honor.
"We were delighted to have won today partly for Toby," said Paul Atkinson, Aberdeen Asset Management.
