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The 163rd Boat Race will be held on the 2nd April.
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Cambridge has won 82 matches compared to Oxford’s close 79. However, Cambridge won last year so Oxford need to close the gap this year!
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Rowers age range from 19 to 27.
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The race’s charitable partner for this year is Cancer Research UK.
With the Oxford & Cambridge 163rd Boat Race due to go ahead in just under two weeks time on the 2nd April, we are covering this in even more detail on our Oxford Walking Tours!
Here is this inside scoop on everything you need to know before match day.
Starting in 1829, the race is 4 miles 374 yards long and starts from the University Stone (just above Putney Bridge) and ends at the Finish Post (just below the Chiswick Road Bridge). Having secured 82 victories to Oxford’s 79, Cambridge is the overriding winner so far. However, Oxford has won 11 of the 17 matches since the Millennium.
Interesting Facts:
- The fastest race to date was set by Cambridge in 1998 at 16 minutes and 19 seconds.
- There have been six incidences of sinking in the last 150+ years, the most recent being in 1984.
- Famous faces of the race include Oxford’s Sir Matthew Pinsent and Hugh Laurie.
- 2012 is seen as the most controversial race in history. It started when a swimmer protesting elitism caused the match to be halted. Once resumed, Oxford and Cambridge drifted too close together and had a clash in oars. Despite Oxford initially leading, these turn of events helped Cambridge row to victory.
Oxford University Boat Club:
Known for wearing a dark blue kit, the OUBC squad train six times a week and twice in a day.
Their chief coach is Sean Bowden. He is viewed as one of the most successful Boat Race coaches due to Oxford’s success rate since his arrival in 1997. Previous to joining the OUBC, Bowden was a coach for Team GB.
The president for the OUBC is American-born Morgan Gerlak. A previous economics and MSc student at Brown and Oxford University, Gerlak is currently studying towards an MBA at Said Business School. Along with Gerlak, here is a complete list of the OUBC crew for the 2017 race:
- President: Michael Disanto (27, Trinity)
- Stroke: Vassals Ragoussis (23, Linacre)
- Cox: Sam Collier (20, New).
- Oliver Cook (26, Christ Church )
- Matthew O’Leary (26, Keble)
- Joshua Bugaski (26, Keble)
- Oliver Siegelaar (30, Keble)
- James Cook (24, Keble)
Cambridge University Boat Club
Known for wearing a light blue kit, Cambridge U
niversity Boat Club’s current Head Coach is Steve Trapmore. Previously a gold medalist for Team GB at Sydney in 2000, Trapmore has also worked as Head of Rowing at Imperial College. 2016 will signal Trapmore’s sixth year as Head Coach.
CUBC’s president is Henry Hoffstod. Similarly to Oxford’s president, Hoffstod is also American and previously studied at Georgetown University before taking his place at Hughes Hall to read Geography. He was recently elected in December 2015. In addition to Hoffstod, here are the other members of Cambridge’s squad:
- President: Lance Tredell (28, British, Hughes Hall
- Stroke: Henry Meek (24, Hughes Hall)
- Cox: Hugo Ramambason (20, Trinity)
- Ben Ruble (26, Hughes Hall)
- Freddie Davidson (18, Emmanuel)
- James Letten (23, Hughes Hall)
- Tim Tracey (22, Queens)
- Aleksander Malowany (23, Wolfson)
- Patrick Eble (22, Hughes Hall)
Unfortunately for keen rowing fans, there has been little said about who’s tipped to win this year’s race. Irregardless, our guides at Oxford Walking Tours, as part of Footprints Tours, are sure to be making an appearance on the Thames to cheer on the Oxford team!
To find out more about the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race, click here to book onto one of Footprints Tours’ Oxford Walking Tours today!
(Sources: Time Out, The Boat Races, Oxford University Boat Club, Cambridge University Boat Club, Cambridge News, The Telegraph. Sites / Images: The Boat Races)
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