Women's Boat Race

The Women's Boat Race
The Boat Race Oxford x Cambridge
Event information
Race areaThe Championship Course
River Thames, London (2015 onwards, except 2021 on the River Great Ouse),[1][2] Henley (1977 to 2014 except 2001 at NWSC[3] and 2013 on Dorney Lake);[4][5]
The Isis, Oxford and River Cam, Cambridge (1927 to 1976 with several gaps);[6]
River Thames, London (1929, 1935)[6][7][8]
Dates1927, annual since 1964[10]
SponsorGemini (since 2021)[11]
CompetitorsCUBC, OUWBC
Distance4.2 miles (6.8 km)[1]
First race15 March 1927[9]
Websitetheboatrace.org

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 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. 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.[12][13][14] As of the 2024 race, Cambridge have won the race 48 times and Oxford 30 times. Cambridge has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1966.

  1. ^ a b "The Course". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Boat Race: 2021 races to be moved from the Thames to Ely over safety concerns". BBC Sport. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2001 move was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "History". Henley Boat Races. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference HBR2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CAM1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Telegraph1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference TimesMar35 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Boat Race Practice – An Oxford victory". The Times. 16 March 1927. p. 7.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ResultsWomen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Partners". The Boat Race. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Boat race viewing figures delight BBC as 4.8m watch women's event". The Guardian. 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Women's Boat Race 2015: equality will be true winner of historic meeting". The Guardian. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  14. ^ "The real reason the women's Boat Race is closing in? Deep pockets". The Telegraph. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.