The Boat Race

Each year since 1829, on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April, the Oxford and Cambridge University rowing team have competed against each other in The Boat Race upstream between Putney Bridge and Chiswick Bridge, a distance of four miles and 374 yards. It is timed to coincide with the incoming flood tide to provide the fastest possible current. The race sometimes takes place in what can only be described as sinking conditions.

The teams consist of eight rowers and a cox. The event is televised ever year and around a quarter of a million spectators line the course along the banks of the river Thames and another 10 million viewers watch the event on television in the UK with up to another 120 million viewers from abroad. The Oxford team race in dark blue and the Cambridge team in light blue. The right to choose which side of the river to start from is decided by a toss of a coin and the weather conditions and water flow will influence the winner’s choice. The main objective is to gain the fastest current in the deepest part of the river and a crew that gains a lead of more than a boat’s length can cut in front of their opponent making it difficult to be overtaken.

Spectators can watch from both sides of the River Thames but the most sought after spots are Putney Bridge, Putney Embankment (nearest rail Putney, nearest Tube Putney Bridge on the District Line), Hammersmith (rail and tube to Hammersmith) and Barnes (Barns Bridge railway station), towards the middle of the course and Chiswick Bridge at the end of the course. It is not advisable to attempt to travel to this event by car.

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