Lottie McAlice Inspires our Rowing Community 155 Years Later

Written by: April Lee Uzarski

As a native Pittsburgh, who fell into rowing in my 40’s, I was pleasantly surprised to learn where I row is steeped in women’s rowing history. With three rivers in our area, it shouldn’t be surprising that we as a city have a rich rowing past. However, what continuously excites me about our rowing history is the first recorded American competitive rowing race between two women happened in Pittsburgh in 1870. Not only did this race happen 155 years ago, it was also 102 years before the passing of the Title IX legislation. 

In the late 1800’s, at the height of rowing popularity in Pittsburgh, our city had 20 different rowing clubs on our shores. With Pittsburgh’s industrial roots, rowing was dominated by blue-collar workers. Raw rowing talent tapped from factories and industries up and down our rivers. Even with its blue-collar beginnings, it was still a completely male dominated sport. 

Despite the men’s crew's domination of our waterways, a sixteen-year-old sculler named Lottie McAlice made local and national history. McAlice's journey into the world of rowing, as we understand it, began in her early teenage years. Growing up in Pittsburgh, she rowed her father to and from work. Her expertise on the water sprung from necessity but turned into her passion. 

We can’t be certain of how many other women rowed on our local waterways in the late 1800’s, but there was at least one other woman rower in the area. McAlice announced a challenge row, and that challenge was met by Maggie Lew, another 16-year-old sculler. The challenge was to row a 2,615-meter race for a purse of $2,000 (over $40,000 in today’s money) and a gold watch. 

The hills on our riverbanks made for prime viewing of this “female regatta,” as it was called in the press. It brought an estimated crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 people to the Monongahela River that day to catch a glimpse of this “freak sensation.” Press came in as far away as New York and Chicago. Everyone was excited to see these two young women race in their dresses and side-buttoned boots – not the well-fitting trou and unis we enjoy today. 

Lottie McAlice finished the course first, in 18 minutes and 10 seconds, making her the first recorded woman to win a major rowing prize in America. Lew’s finishing time has been lost to time, but from what has been written, McAlice “beat the pants off of her.”  

McAlice went on to be a member of the Max Moorhead Boat Club on the North Side of Pittsburgh, which no longer exists, and her story seemingly stops there. But for American women in competitive rowing, it was just the beginning. Women like McAlice, Lew, and those who came after, tipped off that slow progression to bring us to where we are today. 

Even though McAlice raced 155 years ago, Pittsburgh has celebrated her name on and off throughout the years with a race in her namesake. Originally a youth women’s 1x race, the Lottie McAlice Stake Races Regatta started around 1994 in Pittsburgh. The purpose of this race was to not only honor McAlice’s accomplishment in women’s competitive rowing but to showcase the fierceness of local modern youth women rowers. 

The McAlice race has consistently retained its 1x format, although the course has varied over the years. It has included routes such as a circuit around Washington's Landing and a 1000m sprint around a buoy and back. The event was held at Lake Arthur for a period before returning to Pittsburgh, and the race fizzled out by the late 2000s.

This past year, Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA) relaunched a 1x race in McAlice’s name as part of their annual Head of the Ohio Regatta. The Lottie McAlice Championship Challenge, a stakes race with both a women’s and men’s category, came back to our shores in 2024. Participants who qualified on October 5, competed in a sunrise 8000m 1X race on October 6, around the Point of Pittsburgh encompassing all three of our rivers. Similar to the original race McAlice competed in, they raced for a $2,000 purse in each category. 

Six women and nine men qualified and went on to race on October 5, 2024. Claire Friedlander of Whitemarsh Boat Club won the women’s 1x finishing the 8K race in 33:41.935. Karina Feitner of ARION came in second, and Mary Wilson of Vesper Boat Club came in third. Bradley Horvitz of California Rowing club won the men’s 1x, finishing the 8K race in 30:38.735.

Claire Friedlander, Karina Feitner, and Mary Wilson

Three Rivers Rowing Association develops and delivers safe, sustainable, inclusive programs and events that teach and promote the benefits of rowing and paddling in Pittsburgh, and supporting women in rowing has always been at the forefront of their mission. Between TRRA and a local anonymous sculling enthusiast who donated the purse, it was an amazing way to bring back the McAlice name to our rivers. 

With the success of the 2024 Lottie McAlice Championship Challenge, TRRA is planning to keep this event alive annually, for as long as possible, and open it up to more competitors in 2025 and beyond. 

Whether or not McAlice could imagine her impact on rowing history, her story is a powerful reminder of the impact one person can have on a community and a sport. Her determination not only helped transform the opportunities available to women in Pittsburgh but also inspired a broader movement for gender equality in sports.

As we look back on Lottie McAlice's life and accomplishments this Women’s History Month, we are reminded that the true measure of success lies not in personal accolades but in the ability to uplift and empower others. Lottie's legacy is a testament to the power of passion and perseverance, and we hope her story will continue to inspire generations of women rowers to come.