Photo courtesy of Navy Lightweight Crew
The Forster Cup is named for John J. Forster and is awarded annually to the winner of the Georgetown/Navy MVL8 race.
Forster learned to row as an undergraduate at Georgetown and continued after graduation from the Business School in 1970. In the 1972 Munich Olympics, Forster rowed with Michael Vespoli in the U.S. four-oared-shell-with-coxswain event, and in 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1977, he was a member of the U.S. National teams that competed in the World Championships. Forster won a gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in the four-without-coxswain event.
Forster is a United States Marine Corps veteran who was awarded two Purple Hearts while serving in Vietnam.
In 1982, Forster was inducted into the Georgetown University Athletic Hall of Fame.
The inaugural cup race was rowed in 2013 and won by Georgetown.
Due to a COVID-19 pandemic there were no races in 2020 and 2021.
Navy leads the Forster Cup series 9 – 2.
ADDENDUM
Navy and Georgetown have raced annually since 2002. Their first dual race was in 1959 and from 1959 – 2001 their dual races were irregular.
In 1990 Navy and Georgetown met in a three-way race with George Washington University. Navy records show that Navy placed second in the race; however, the placements of Georgetown and George Washington University are unknown.
No record of the Navy’s 1991 season has been located.
With those caveats, Navy leads the dual race series 29 – 12.
Please send any additional information regarding the Navy-Georgetown dual race series and the Forster Cup to the NavyLights Staff Historian.
Dual Race and Forster Cup Winning Crews
The following 1941 attribution to Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill is appropriately engraved on the Forster Cup: Never Give Up. Never Give Up. Never, Never, Never, Never.
| Year | Winner | Series N – G |
Trophy N – G |
Notes |
| 1959 | Navy | 1 – 0 | ||
| 1964 | Navy | 2 – 0 | ||
| 1965 | Georgetown | 2 – 1 | ||
| 1966 | Georgetown | 2 – 2 | ||
| 1967 | Navy | 4 – 2 | Raced twice | |
| 1969 | Navy | 5 – 2 | ||
| 1970 | Navy | 6 – 2 | ||
| 1971 | Navy | 7 – 2 | ||
| 1972 | Navy | 8 – 2 | ||
| 1973 | Navy | 10 – 2 | Raced twice | |
| 1986 | Navy | 11 – 2 | ||
| 1990 | 11 – 2 | Order of finish not known | ||
| 1991 | 11 – 2 | No records found for 1991 | ||
| 1992 | Georgetown | 11 – 3 | ||
| 1993 | Navy | 12 – 3 | ||
| 1994 | Georgetown | 12 – 4 | ||
| 1995 | Georgetown | 12 – 5 | ||
| 1996 | Navy | 13 – 5 | ||
| 1997 | Georgetown | 13 – 6 | ||
| 1998 | Georgetown | 13 – 7 | ||
| 2002 | Navy | 14 – 7 | ||
| 2003 | Georgetown | 14 – 8 | ||
| 2004 | Navy | 15 – 8 | ||
| 2005 | Navy | 16 – 8 | ||
| 2006 | Navy | 17 – 8 | ||
| 2007 | Georgetown | 17 – 9 | ||
| 2008 | Navy | 18 – 9 | ||
| 2009 | Navy | 19 – 9 | ||
| 2010 | Navy | 20 – 9 | ||
| 2011 | NO RACE | 20 – 9 | ||
| 2012 | Georgetown | 20 – 10 | ||
| 2013 | Georgetown | 20 – 11 | 0 – 1 | Forster Cup Inaugural Race |
| 2014 | Navy | 21 – 11 | 1 – 1 | |
| 2015 | Navy | 22 – 11 | 2 – 1 | |
| 2016 | Navy | 23 – 11 | 3 – 1 | |
| 2017 | Navy | 24 – 11 | 4 – 1 | |
| 2018 | Navy | 25 – 11 | 5 – 1 | |
| 2019 | Navy | 26 – 11 | 6 – 1 | |
| 2020 | NO RACE | 26 – 11 | 6 – 1 | |
| 2021 | NO RACE | 26 – 11 | 6 – 1 | |
| 2022 | Navy | 27 – 11 | 7 – 1 | |
| 2023 | Navy | 28 – 11 | 8 – 1 | |
| 2024 | Georgetown | 28 – 12 | 8 – 2 | |
| 2025 | Navy | 29 – 12 | 9 – 2 | |
| 2026 | ||||
| 2027 | ||||
| 2028 | ||||
| 2029 | ||||
| 2030 |