The Boat Race
Rowing races between Cambridge and Oxford / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
The Men's Boat Race | |
Contested by | |
CUBC | OUBC |
First boat race | 10 June 1829 |
Annual event since | 1856 |
Current champion | Cambridge (2024) |
Course record | Cambridge, 1998 (16 min 19 sec)[1] |
Course | The Championship Course River Thames, London[lower-alpha 1] |
Course length | 4.2 miles (6.8 km) |
Sponsor | Gemini (since 2021)[2] |
Official charity | Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)[3] |
Trophy | The Boat Race Trophy |
Number of wins | |
Cambridge | Oxford |
87 | 81 |
There has been one dead heat, recorded in 1877. | |
Official website | |
www |
The Women's Boat Race | |
Contested by | |
CUBC | OUWBC |
First boat race | 15 March 1927[4] |
First side-by-side race | 1936[5] |
Annual event since | 1964[6] |
Current champion | Cambridge (2024) |
Course record | Cambridge, 2022 (18 min 22 sec)[7] |
Course | The Championship Course River Thames, London (2015 onwards)[8] |
Course length | 4.2 miles (6.8 km)[8] |
Sponsor | Gemini (since 2021)[2] |
Official charity | Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)[3] |
Trophy | The Women's Boat Race Trophy (since 2014)[9] |
Previous courses | |
The Isis, Oxford and River Cam, Cambridge |
1927 to 1976 with several gaps[10] |
River Thames, London | 1929, 1935[10][11][12] |
Henley | 1977 to 2014 except |
NWSC | 2001 |
Dorney Lake | 2013 |
Number of wins[6] | |
Cambridge | Oxford |
47 | 30 |
Official website | |
www |
The men's race was first held in 1829 and has been held annually since 1856, except during the First and Second World Wars (although unofficial races were conducted) and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The first women's event was held in 1927, and the Women's Boat Race has been an annual event since 1964. Since 2015, the women's race has taken place on the same day and course, and since 2018 the combined event of the two races has been referred to as "The Boat Race".
The Championship Course has hosted the vast majority of the races. Covering a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake, it is over three times the distance of an Olympic race. Members of both crews are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a "Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford in dark blue. As of the 2024 race, Cambridge has won the men's race 87 times to Oxford's 81 times, with one dead heat, and has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1930. In the women's race, Cambridge has won the race 47 times to Oxford's 30 times, and has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1966. A reserve boat race has been held since 1965 for the men and since 1966 for the women.
In most years over 250,000 people watch the race from the banks of the river. In 2009, a record 270,000 people watched the race live.[13] The race is broadcast internationally on television;[14] in 2014, 15 million people watched the race on television.[15]