Fun Fact Friday: March 24th-The Boat Race of Oxford and Cambridge

 

The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing competition between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between eights (a boat used for competitive rowing) on the River Thames in London, England. The race is held in March or early April, after the captain of the previous year’s losing team issues a formal challenge.

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Background

The first boat race was the result of a challenge issued to Oxford by Cambridge in 1829, has been held annually since 1856, and since 1845, has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course. The average time taken to complete the course is 20 minutes, but the Cambridge men’s crew holds the record for the fastest time of 16 minutes and 19 seconds, achieved in 1998.

The Boat Race 1877

On March 24th, of 1877, the boat race ended in “dead heat” for the first and only time. Despite the formal declaration of a tie, Oxford believed that they were the victors.  The controversy resulted in the introduction of the finishing posts, and former “Blues” as umpires. It was the last year that the result was judged by a professional waterman.

The finishing posts, known as the University Boat Race Stones, are two small stone markers on the southern bank of the River Thames in west London, and the other 112m downstream of Chiswick Bridge. A “blue” is an award earned by athletes at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level.  It is awarded at British, Australian and New Zealand universities

Sinkings

Cambridge sank in 1859 and 1978, Oxford in 1925 and 1951. In 1912, the race ended with Cambridge sinking and Oxford waterlogged. The umpire, former Cambridge rower Frederick I. Pitman, declared the result as “No Race.” The re-row took place on the following Monday. The most recent sinking occurred in 1984, when a Cambridge boat sank after ramming a barge before they were even under starter’s orders. The remains of the boat now have a place of pride in a Cambridge public house, and have been signed by all crew members.

Legacy

The current score for the men’s race stands at 82 for Cambridge, 79 for Oxford, and the controversial dead heat in 1877. The boat races are the most famous of the Varsity Matches and have a huge audience on television, radio and online. In 2015, at least 6.2 million in the UK alone tuned in, and on average more than 100 million watch the races worldwide each year. Around a quarter of a million people are estimated to watch from the riverbank this coming race day.