The famous annual Boat Races take place today, 26th March. This year England’s two oldest universities Oxford and Cambridge, will once again do battle on the Tideway in one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events.
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Race Day Timetable:
16:00 – 77th Women’s Boat Race
16:15 – Women’s Reserve Race: Osiris vs Blondie
16.30 – Men’s Reserve Race: Isis vs Goldie
17.00 – 168th Men’s Boat Race
For all the information you could possibly need go to The Boat Race
History of The Boat Races
The first Men’s Boat Race took place on 10 June 1829 at Henley on Thames and saw victory go to Oxford. Their winning boat can still be seen in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley.
The Women’s Boat Race was first held in 1927 on the Isis in Oxford, but only raced intermittently until the mid-1960’s. From 1977 The Women’s Boat Race was held at Henley-on-Thames, until 2015 when it moved to The Championship Course. The women’s teams have received the same funding as the men’s teams since 2014.
The Championship Course is 4 miles (or 6.8 km) long. It stretches between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in South West London. Most head races (a time-trial rowing race, as opposed to a regatta, which is traditionally side-by-side racing) on the Thames race the course in reverse.
On 3 April 2022, Cambridge retained their title as winners of the Women’s Boat Race for the fifth consecutive year, finishing 2 ½ lengths ahead of the Oxford crew. Both crews broke the course record of 2017, with Cambridge setting a winning record time of 18:23.
Last year the Oxford men broke Cambridge’s five year winning streak, winning by 2 ¼ lengths in a time of 16:42. This equalled the winning Oxford time in 2005, which hasn’t been matched since.
The Boat Races will be shown live on BBC One from 15:30 – 17:45
