Women's Boat Race

The Women's Boat Race is an annual rowing race between Cambridge University Boat Club and Oxford University Women's Boat Club. First rowed in 1927, the race has taken place annually since 1964. Since the 2015 race it has been rowed on the same day and course as the men's Boat Race on the River Thames in London, taking place around Easter, and since 2018 the name "The Boat Race" has been applied to the combined event. The race is rowed in eights and the cox can be of any gender.

The Women's Boat Race The Gemini Boat Race
Contested by
CUBC	OUWBC
First boat race	15 March 1927^[1]
First side-by-side race	1936^[2]
Annual event since	1964^[3]
Current champion	Cambridge
Course record	Cambridge, 2022 (18 min 23 sec)^[4]
Current course	The Championship Course River Thames, London (2015 onwards)^[5]
Course length	4.2 miles (6.8 km)^[5]
Sponsor	Newton Investment Management (since 2011)^[6]^[7]
Official charity	Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)^[8]
Trophy	The Women's Boat Race Trophy (since 2014)^[9]
Previous courses	Henley (1977 to 2014 except 2001 at NWSC^[10] and 2013 on Dorney Lake);^[11]^[12] The Isis, Oxford and River Cam, Cambridge (1927 to 1976 with several gaps);^[13] River Thames, London (1929, 1935)^[13]^[14]^[15]
Number of wins^[3]
Cambridge	Oxford
47	30
Official website
theboatrace.org

The course covers a 4.2 miles (6.8 km) stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake. Members of both crews are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a "Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. As of 2023 Cambridge have won the race 47 times and Oxford 30 times. Cambridge has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1966. The women's race has received television coverage and grown in popularity since 2015, attracting a television audience of 4.8 million viewers that year.^[16][17][18] The 2019 race was won by Cambridge by five lengths.

History

Early years

The first women's rowing event between Oxford and Cambridge was held on 15 March 1927 on The Isis in Oxford.^[1] This was not solely a race in the years up to 1935, the two boats were not on the river together and were judged on both their speed and their "steadiness, finish, rhythm and other matters of style". The Times reported that "large and hostile crowds gathered on the towpath" and The New York Times stated "a crowd of fully five thousand persons was on hand as a willing cheering section".^[13][19] The race covered a distance of approximately 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) over which the crews were judged on their style while rowing downstream and their speed while rowing back upstream.^[20] Reports differ as to the judges' opinions on style: one suggests they failed to agree on a winner,^[20] another indicates that they deemed the style of each crew to be equal.^[21] As a result, the judges based their decision on speed:^[20] the race was won by Oxford in a time of 3 minutes 36 seconds, beating Cambridge by 15 seconds.^[1]

The next event in 1929 took place on the Tideway in London.^[14] At the 1935 race, after two intervening events, the crews took to the river together for the first time. Racing on the Thames in London Oxford's boat was sent off first with the Cambridge boat following thirty seconds later.^[15] The 1936 race, held on The Isis, was the first to take place side by side.^[2] Later, the location alternated between the River Cam in Cambridge and The Isis, over a distance of about 1,000 yards.^[13][22][23] Unlike the men's race, the women's continued in most years through the Second World War.^[14]

The Cambridge University Women's Boat Club was founded in 1941 when Girton College became the second women's college to cater for rowing. Until that year Cambridge was represented by Newnham College Boat Club. The first blues were awarded in 1941 when CUWBC raced against Oxford University Women's Boat Club, which had been founded in 1926.^[24][25] All of the Cambridge rowers in 1941 were members of Newnham College. The following year the first non-Newnham rower competed.^[14][26]

In training after the 1952 race, Oxford rowed over a weir and was banned from the river. Both OUWBC and later CUWBC suffered from lack of funds and the race fell into abeyance. After a 12-year gap, the race restarted in 1964 and has been held annually since. The number of women rowers increased as more colleges started to admit women and reserve boats from each university began racing in 1966, the year after the men's reserve boats began racing. A second reserve race was run in 1968, and the reserves have raced annually since 1975.^[27][28] The women's reserve boats were later named Osiris (Oxford) and Blondie (Cambridge).^[29]

Henley Boat Races

 

Henley Boat Races 2009: Oxford Women (dark blue) lead Cambridge Women

In 1975 the men's lightweight race started at Henley-on-Thames and the women's Boat race was relocated there in 1977 creating the Henley Boat Races.^[13][24] At Henley the race took place over a distance of 2,000 metres.^[30]

The First VIII receive university blues, and is therefore more commonly known as the Blue Boat, with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. While the crew is all female, the cox can be male or female.^[31] The Second VIII receives university colours.^[32] The 2011 race was the first to be sponsored by Newton Investment Management, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon. Previously the crews had no sponsorship and were self funded. Newton have remained the sponsor since then and increased the amount of funding significantly.^[6][18]

For the 2013 race the entire Henley Boat Races was moved to Dorney Lake because of flooding on the river,^[33][34] and they had also been moved in 2001, to the Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham.^[10] Oxford won the 2014 race on the Henley course having beaten Cambridge by a distance of four boat lengths over two kilometres.^[35] A newly designed trophy, to replace the existing wooden shield,^[36] was awarded to the Oxford president by Olympic gold medallist Sophie Hosking who had won the Women's lightweight double sculls at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[9][37]

The Boat Races

 

Oxford Women's Blue Boat at The Championship Course finish in 2015

On 11 April 2015 the 70th women's race was held on The Championship Course on the same day as the traditional male event for the first time.^[38][39] The course covers a 4.2 miles (6.8 km) stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake.^[5] Rebranded as "The Boat Races", the combined event was broadcast on national television in UK, during which the audience for the women's race reached 4.8 million viewers.^[16][40][41] OUWBC won by six and half lengths that year.^[42] The Reserves race also moved to the Championship Course in 2015, running on the day prior to the main race. In 2016 all four men's and women's boat races took place on the same day and course for the first time. Cancer Research UK were gifted the title sponsorship rights by BNY Mellon and Newton Investment Management, an arrangement which continued for the following two years.^[7][43][44] The 2016 race, again receiving national television coverage, was won by Oxford while the Cambridge boat nearly sank in the rough conditions.^[45][46][47]

The 2017 race took place on Sunday 2 April at 16:35 British Summer Time, an hour before the men's race.^[48] Cambridge won for the first time in five years after Oxford caught a crab at the start. They set a record on the new course, beating the time first set on this course in 2015 by over a minute.^[49][50] The time was faster, in different conditions, than the Cambridge men's Blue Boat in 2016 and the Oxford men's in 2014.^[51] Beginning with the 2018 race, the combined event was branded simply as "The Boat Race", consisting of "The Women's Boat Race" and "The Men's Boat Race".^[52] The 2019 race was Cambridge's third consecutive victory and the fourth consecutive victory for their reserve boat, Blondie.^[53]

The race has been won 47 times by Cambridge and 30 times by Oxford, with Cambridge leading Oxford in cumulative wins since 1966. The reserves race has been won 30 times by Cambridge and 20 times by Oxford, with Cambridge leading in cumulative wins since the inception of the race.^[3]

Results

 

Cumulative wins by Oxford and Cambridge men's and women's blue and reserve boats (in the SVG file, hover over a graph to highlight it)

Women's Boat Race

• Cambridge: 47 wins
• Oxford: 30 wins

No.	Date	Winner	Time	Winning margin	Oxford wins	Cambridge wins
1	1927	Oxford	3:36	—	1	0
2	1929	Newnham	—	—	1	1
3	1930	Newnham	—	—	1	2
4	1934	Oxford	—	—	2	2
5	1935	Oxford	4:02	6 seconds	3	2
6	1936	Oxford			4	2
7	1937	Oxford			5	2
8	1939	Oxford			6	2
9	1941	Oxford			7	2
10	1942	Cambridge			7	3
11	1944	Cambridge			7	4
12	1945	Cambridge			7	5
13	1946	Cambridge			7	6
14	1948	Cambridge			7	7
15	1949	Oxford			8	7
16	1950	Oxford			9	7
17	1951	Oxford			10	7
18	1952	Cambridge	4:04	2+1⁄2 lengths	10	8
19	1964	Cambridge			10	9
20	1965	Cambridge			10	10
21	1966	Cambridge			10	11
22	1967	Cambridge			10	12
23	1968	Cambridge			10	13
24	1969	Cambridge			10	14
25	1970	Cambridge			10	15
26	1971	Cambridge			10	16
27	1972	Cambridge			10	17
28	1973	Cambridge	4:07	2+1⁄2 lengths	10	18
29	1974	Cambridge			10	19
30	1975	Cambridge			10	20
31	1976	Oxford			11	20
32	1977	Cambridge			11	21
33	1978	Cambridge			11	22
34	1979	Cambridge			11	23
35	1980	Oxford			12	23
36	1981	Oxford			13	23
37	1982	Cambridge			13	24
38	1983	Cambridge	6:29	11 seconds	13	25
39	1984	Cambridge			13	26
40	1985	Oxford			14	26
41	1986	Oxford			15	26
42	1987	Cambridge			15	27
43	1988	Oxford	5:37	1+1⁄3 lengths	16	27
44	1989	Cambridge	6:20	1 length	16	28
45	1990	Cambridge	7:17	3+1⁄4 lengths	16	29
46	1991	Oxford	7:29	3 lengths	17	29
47	1992	Cambridge	6:20	1⁄3 length	17	30
48	1993	Cambridge	6:10	4+1⁄2 lengths	17	31
49	1994	Cambridge	6:11	1 length	17	32
50	1995	Cambridge	6:02	1+1⁄3 lengths	17	33
51	1996	Cambridge	6:12	4 lengths	17	34
52	1997	Cambridge	6:26	1+1⁄4 lengths	17	35
53	1998	Cambridge	6:25	1+1⁄4 lengths	17	36
54	1999	Cambridge	6:01	1 length	17	37
55	2000	Oxford	6:18	2+1⁄4 lengths	18	37
56	2001	Cambridge	7:27	3 feet (0.9 m)	18	38
57	2002	Oxford	6:02	2+1⁄2 lengths	19	38
58	2003	Oxford	6:35	3+1⁄2 lengths	20	38
59	2004	Oxford	6:06	4 lengths	21	38
60	26 March 2005	Cambridge	6:27	2+1⁄3 lengths	21	39
61	1 April 2006	Oxford	5:44	1⁄2 length	22	39
62	1 April 2007	Cambridge	4:03	1⁄2 lengths	22	40
63	23 March 2008	Oxford	6:39	1⁄2 length	23	40
64	22 March 2009	Oxford	6:24	1+1⁄4 lengths	24	40
65	28 March 2010	Oxford	5:56	4 lengths	25	40
66	27 March 2011	Oxford	6:24	1 length	26	40
67	25 March 2012	Cambridge	6:38	1⁄4 length	26	41
68	24 March 2013	Oxford	7:21	1+3⁄4 lengths	27	41
69	29 March 2014	Oxford	5:50	4 lengths	28	41
70	11 April 2015	Oxford	19:45	6+1⁄2 lengths	29	41
71	27 March 2016	Oxford	21:49	24 lengths	30	41
72	2 April 2017	Cambridge	18:33	11 lengths	30	42
73	24 March 2018	Cambridge	19:10	7 lengths	30	43
74	7 April 2019	Cambridge	18:47	5 lengths	30	44
75	29 March 2020	Race cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic			30	44
76	4 April 2021	Cambridge	16:27	3⁄4 length	30	45
77	3 April 2022	Cambridge	18:22	2+1⁄4 length	30	46
78	26 March 2023	Cambridge	20:29	4+1⁄2 length	30	47

Notes

  – The events until 1935 were not run solely as races, but were also judged on style merit marks. The crews were not allowed to be on the river at the same time so each eight rowed separately downstream and were judged on style. They then rowed back upstream to record a time.^[2]
  – The course was shortened in 2007 due to rough water during the Henley Boat Races. It was reduced from 2,000 m (1.2 mi) to less than 1,500 m (0.9 mi) with the start between the Upper Thames Rowing Club and Old Blades.^[12]

Women's Reserves (Osiris vs Blondie)

 

The Newton Women's Boat Race 2015: Reserve Race – Osiris

• Cambridge: 30 wins
• Oxford: 20 wins

Date	Winner	Time	Winning margin	Oxford wins	Cambridge wins
1966	Cambridge			0	1
1968	Cambridge			0	2
1975	Cambridge			0	3
1976	Cambridge			0	4
1977	Cambridge			0	5
1978	Cambridge			0	6
1979	Cambridge			0	7
1980	Cambridge			0	8
1981	Oxford			1	8
1982	Cambridge			1	9
1983	Oxford			2	9
1984	Oxford			3	9
1985	Oxford			4	9
1986	Cambridge			4	10
1987	Cambridge			4	11
1988	Oxford			5	11
1989	Oxford	6:33	1 length	6	11
1990	Cambridge	7:34	1+1⁄4 lengths	6	12
1991	Cambridge	7:36	2+3⁄4 lengths	6	13
1992	Cambridge	6:32	3+1⁄2 lengths	6	14
1993	Cambridge	6:22	1+1⁄2 lengths	6	15
1994	Cambridge	6:22	canvas	6	16
1995	Cambridge	6:08	1 length	6	17
1996	Cambridge	6:33	5 lengths	6	18
1997	Cambridge	6:36	1⁄4 length	6	19
1998	Cambridge	6:32	4 lengths	6	20
1999	Oxford	6:09	1+3⁄4 lengths	7	20
2000	Cambridge	6:27	1+3⁄4 lengths	7	21
2001	Oxford	7:32	easily	8	21
2002	Oxford	6:09	1+3⁄4 lengths	9	21
2003	Oxford	6:43	2 lengths	10	21
2004	Oxford	6:16	1⁄2 lengths	11	21
2005	Oxford	6:41	1+3⁄4 lengths	12	21
1 April 2006	Oxford	5:54	2+1⁄2 lengths	13	21
1 April 2007	Oxford	no time	1 length	14	21
23 March 2008	Oxford	7:09	easily	15	21
22 March 2009	Cambridge	6:50	1+1⁄2 lengths	15	22
28 March 2010	Oxford	6:10	3+1⁄2 lengths	16	22
27 March 2011	Cambridge	—	Oxford disqualified	16	23
25 March 2012	Oxford	6:57	3+1⁄2 lengths	17	23
24 March 2013	Oxford	7:41	6 lengths	18	23
29 March 2014	Oxford	6:01.5	1⁄2 length	19	23
10 April 2015	Oxford	18:58	15 lengths	20	23
27 March 2016	Cambridge	21:42	3 lengths	20	24
2 April 2017	Cambridge	19:06	13 lengths	20	25
24 March 2018	Cambridge	19:45	9 lengths	20	26
7 April 2019	Cambridge	19:19	5 lengths	20	27
29 March 2020	Race cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic			20	27
25 April 2021	Cambridge		7 lengths	20	28
3 April 2022	Cambridge	19:09	2 3/4 lengths	20	29
26 March 2023	Cambridge	21:20	3 lengths	20	30

Sources:^[3][25][54]

See also

• Oxford–Cambridge rivalry
• Varsity match

References

1. "Boat Race Practice – An Oxford victory". The Times. 16 March 1927. p. 7.
2. "First ever women's event from 88 years ago was rather different to modern day". The Telegraph. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
3. "Boat Race – Results – Women". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
4. "The Women's Boat Race Results". The Boat Race. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
5. "The Course". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
6. Morrissey, Helena (4 April 2015). "Helena Morrissey: 'Tide turns in favour of boat race women'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
7. "Partners". The Boat Races. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
8. "RNLI". The Boat Race. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
9. Mahoney, Lizzie (19 February 2014). "New Women's Boat Race trophy unveiled". The Cambridge Student. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
10. . www.total.rowing.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 April 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
11. . Henley Boat Races. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
12. . CUWBC. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
13. "Pulling Together". Cambridge Alumni Magazine (74 Lent 2015): 12. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
14. "A brief history of the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity event – from the perspective of women". The Telegraph. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
15. "University women's race women's success". The Times. 18 March 1935. p. 6.
16. "Boat race viewing figures delight BBC as 4.8m watch women's event". The Guardian. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
17. "Women's Boat Race 2015: equality will be true winner of historic meeting". The Guardian. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
18. "The real reason the women's Boat Race is closing in? Deep pockets". The Telegraph. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
19. "Origins – The Women's Boat Race: The Early years". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
20. "Women's Boat Race – Confetti, Streamers, and Toy Trumpets". Western Daily Press. 16 March 1927. p. 5.(subscription required)
21. "Women's Boat Race at Oxford – a novel competition". Cheltenham Chronicle. 19 March 1927. p. 11.(subscription required)
22. Howard, Philip (13 March 1973). "Nine girls in a boat beat Oxford". The Times. p. 4.
23. Railton, Jim (15 March 1974). "Most exciting Boat Race for a decade". The Times. p. 13.
24. "Race History". Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
25. . Henley Boat Races. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
26. "Crew Lists 1940s". Cambridge University Women's Boat Club 1941 – 2014. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
27. . The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
28. "Pulling together – a history of women's rowing in Cambridge". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
29. Savva, Anna (24 March 2018). "Why the Oxford reserve boat is called Isis". Cambridge News. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
30. "About Henley Boat Races". Henley Boat Races. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
31. "Male Cambridge women´s cox inspired by 'more exciting' Boat Race crew". The Argus (Brighton). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
32. "About the Club". Cambridge University Women's Boat Club. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
33. "History". Oxford University Women's Boat Club. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
34. "Clean sweep for Oxford over Cambridge at Henley Boat Races at Dorney Lake". The Telegraph. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
35. "Women's Boat Race: Oxford beat Cambridge by four lengths". BBC Sport. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
36. Rock, Lucy (30 March 2014). "Women rowers catch up with men at the Boat Race". The Observer. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
37. . Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
38. "Women's Sport Pioneers: The Women's Boat Race". BBC Sport. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
39. "Oxford, Cambridge & the fight for equality". BBC Sport. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
40. "Boat Races 2015: Oxford v Cambridge: as it happened". The Telegraph. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
41. "The Boat Races 2015". BBC Sport. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
42. "Boat Races 2015: Oxford women and men beat Cambridge". BBC Sport. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
43. "Annual Report and Accounts 2015/16" (PDF). Cancer Research UK. 2016. p. 18. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
44. "The Boat Races sponsors BNY Mellon & Newton pull together for Cancer Research UK". The Boat Race Company Limited. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
45. "Boat Race: Cambridge triumph after Oxford's women win". BBC Sport. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
46. "Oxford win Women's Boat Race as Cambridge struggle with sinking boat". The Guardian. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
47. "The Boat Race 2016: Cambridge win the Boat Race against Oxford but their women's boat nearly sinks". The Telegraph. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
48. "The 2017 Cancer Research UK Boat Races Presidents are elected". The Boat Race Company Limited. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
49. "Boat Races: Oxford triumph in men's race after Cambridge women win". BBC Sport. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
50. "The Boat Races 2017". BBC Sport. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
51. "Results – Men – Blue Boats". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
52. "The Cancer Research UK Boat Race 2018". The Boat Race. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
53. "Boat Race 2019: Cambridge beat Oxford in both men's and women's races". 7 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
54. Kingsbury, Jane; Williams, Carol (2015). Cambridge University Women's Boat Club 1941–2014 – The Struggle Against Inequality. Trireme. ISBN 9780993098291.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University Boat Race.

• Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race official website
• The Boat Race course visualization on Google Earth/Maps (in Italian)
• The Telegraph
• The story of the women's race BBC Sport video
• 1927 race footage British Pathé

Coordinates: 51°28′03″N 0°12′54″W / 51.4675°N 0.2150°W / 51.4675; -0.2150 (Boat Race start)