Veslanje: Trka izmedju Oxforda i Kembridza :: Kosarka ~ Odbojka ~ Tenis ~ Ostali sportovi

The Boat Race

The Boat Race is a rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club. It is rowed annually each Spring on the Thames in London. The event is a popular one, not only with the alumni of the universities, but also with rowers in general and the public. An estimated quarter of a million people watch the race live from the banks of the river, around nine million people on TV in the UK, and an overseas audience estimated at anywhere from five million to 120 million. The first race was in 1829 and it has been held annually since 1856, with the exception of the two world wars.

Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a "Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue.

The course

The course is 4 miles and 374 yards (6,779 m) from Putney to Mortlake, passing Barnes and Hammersmith; it is sometimes referred to as the Championship Course. The race is for heavyweight eights (i.e., for eight rowers with a cox steering, and no restrictions on weight). Whereas international rules forbid crews of mixed sexes, female coxes are permitted in the Boat Race, the first being Sue Brown for Oxford in 1981.

The race is rowed upstream, but is timed to start on the incoming flood tide so that the crews are rowing with the fastest possible current[1]. The coxes compete for the fastest current, which lies at the deepest part of the river, frequently leading to clashes of blades and warnings from the umpire. A crew that gets a lead of more than a boat's length can cut in front of their opponent, making it extremely difficult for the losing crew to overtake back. For this reason the tactics of the race are generally to go fast early on, and few races have a change of the lead after half-way (though this happened in 2003).

The championship course follows an S shape and is rowed east to west. If a strong wind is blowing from the west it will be against the tide in places along the course, causing the water to become very rough. The conditions are sometimes such that an international regatta would be cancelled, but the Boat Race has a tradition of proceeding even in potential sinking conditions.

The course for the main part of the races' history has been from Putney to Mortlake, but there have been a few other courses:

* 1829 — At Henley-on-Thames
* 1839 to 1842 — Westminster to Putney
* 1846, 1856, 1862, 1863 — Mortlake to Putney

In addition, there were four unofficial boat races held during World War II away from London — 1940 (Henley-on-Thames), 1943 (Sandford-on-Thames), 1944 (River Great Ouse, Ely), and 1945. As none of those competing were awarded blues, these races are not included in the official list.

History

The tradition was started by Charles Merivale, a student at Cambridge, and his schoolfriend Charles Wordsworth who was at Oxford. Cambridge challenged Oxford to a race, and the challenge was repeated the next year. The tradition continues, with the loser challenging the winner to a re-match annually.

The race in 1877 was declared a dead heat. Legend in Oxford has it that the judge, "Honest John" Phelps, was asleep under a bush as the crews came by leading him to announce the result as a "dead heat to Oxford by four feet", but this is not borne out by contemporary reports. The Times said:

"Oxford, partially disabled, were making effort after effort to hold their rapidly waning lead, while Cambridge, who, curiously enough, had settled together again, and were rowing almost as one man, were putting on a magnificent spurt at 40 strokes to the minute, with a view of catching their opponents before reaching the winning-post. Thus struggling over the remaining portion of the course, the two eights raced past the flag alongside one another, and the gun fired amid a scene of excitement rarely equalled and never exceeded. Cheers for one crew were succeeded by counter-cheers for the other, and it was impossible to tell what the result was until the Press boat backed down to the Judge and inquired the issue. John Phelps, the waterman, who officiated, replied that the noses of the boats passed the post strictly level, and that the result was a dead heat."

Though the contest is strictly speaking between amateurs and indeed the competitors must be students of the university for whom they race, the training schedules each team undertakes are very gruelling. Typically each team trains for six days a week for six months before the event. Such is the competitive spirit between the universities it is common for Olympic standard rowers to compete, notably including four times Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent who rowed for Oxford in 1990, 1991, and 1993. Olympic Gold medallists from the 2000 Olympic games Tim Foster (Oxford 1997), Luka Grubor, and Kieran West (Cambridge 1999, 2001, 2006) have also raced for their university. This has led to unproven accusations that these students are admitted entrance to university not because of their academic ability but rather their rowing skill. Recent evidence suggests that this is not the case. The 2005 Cambridge crew, for example, contained four Ph.D. students, including a fully qualified medical doctor and a veterinarian. There are no sporting scholarships at Oxford or Cambridge, so in theory every student must obtain a place at their university on their academic merits. Accusations of favoritism in granting oarsmen places are likely to continue to be raised, however.

The question also remains as to whether the Boat Race crews are of the high standard they are considered by the non-rowing public. It is difficult to judge, since the Boat Race crews train for a long-distance race early in the season, so their training schedule is quite different for crews training for international regattas that take place over 2000m later in the year. The Boat Race crews take on selected club and international crews in the build-up to the race, and are competitive against them, but again these matches are over various distances, against crews that have not been together as long as the Oxbridge crews, and on the tideway where absolute pace is hard to determine. Supporters point to the flow of oarsmen between international squads and the Boat Race crews.

In 2007 Cambridge were entered in the London Head of the River Race where they should have been measured directly against the best crews in Britain and beyond. However, the event was called off after several crews were sunk or swamped in rough conditions. Cambridge were fastest of the few crews who did manage to complete the course.[1]

While the Boat Race remains strictly amateur in terms of payments to the competitors, it has been sponsored since 1976, with the money spent mainly on equipment and travel during the training period and some being passed to the womens' and lightweight rowing clubs. The sponsors do not have their logos on the boats or kit during the race, but provide branded training gear and have some naming rights. Boat Race sponsors have included Ladbrokes, Beefeater Gin, Aberdeen Asset Management and Xchanging, the current (2007) sponsors[2].

The Oxford Mutiny

In 1987, a disagreement arose amongst the Oxford team which became known as the "Oxford mutiny."[3] A number of top class American oarsmen refused to row when a fellow American was dropped in preference for the Scottish President, Donald Macdonald. They became embroiled in a conflict with Macdonald and with coach Dan Topolski over his training and selection methods. This eventually led most of the Americans to protest what they perceived to be the president's abuse of power, by withdrawing six weeks before the race was due to start. As Gavin Stewart, the stroke and mainstay of the winning Oxford eight, stated:

"As for the Americans starting the 'mutiny', well they didn't. The 'mutiny' happened because the squad had lost respect for Donald Macdonald as president, not least because he made it clear that he had a guaranteed seat... The spark was the decision to set aside the result of a trial between Donald and one of the Americans (which Donald lost), giving them both seats and dropping another (British) rower. The Americans began by supporting British rowers, not the other way round."

To the surprise of many, Oxford, with a crew partially composed of oarsmen from the reserve team, went on to win the race. One aspect of the race was Topolski's tactic, communicated to the cox while the crews were on the start, for Oxford to take shelter from the rough water in the middle of the river at the start of the race, ignoring conventional wisdom that centre stream is fastest even if rowing conditions are poor.

A further surprise was that the captains of the Oxford college boat clubs, who had voted in support of McDonald and Topolski and precipitated the Americans' withdrawal during the mutiny, voted one of those Americans, Chris Penney, as OUBC president for 1988, a break with the tradition that the president is a returning Blue (the other candidate being Tom Cadoux-Hudson, who was a British member of the 1987 winning crew).

Topolski wrote a book entitled True Blue: Oxford Boat Race Mutiny on the incident. A movie based on the book, True Blue, was released in 1996. Topolski's account was seen by some as one-sided, and Ali Gill, who had been a member of the university womens' Boat Club at the time of the mutiny, wrote a book "The Yanks at Oxford" to put the other side of the story.

Reported facts of the "mutiny" still differ greatly depending on the source, and with the historians having been personally involved in the events or the small community in which they occured, a definitive, unbiased version has never been agreed upon.

Recent years

Recent years have seen especially dramatic races. In 2002, the favoured Cambridge crew led with only a few hundred metres to go, when a Cambridge oarsman collapsed from exhaustion and Oxford rowed through to win by three-quarters of a length. They did so on the outside of the last river bend, a feat last accomplished in 1952. Few observers expected the 2003 race to match the 2002 for excitement. Cambridge were substantially heavier and appeared to be the favourites. Two days prior to the race, however, the Cambridge crew suffered a collision on the river in which oarsman Wayne Pommen was injured. With a replacement in Pommen's seat, Cambridge went on to lose to a determined Oxford crew by a record slim margin of one foot. In that year, there were two sets of brothers rowing; Matt Smith and David Livingston for Oxford and Ben Smith and James Livingston for Cambridge. All four had been pupils together at Hampton School in south west London. Cambridge gained revenge in 2004 in a race marred by dramatic clashes of oars in the early stages, and the unseating of Oxford's bowman.

The 2006 race was won by Oxford, with some attributing their victory to a pump that was getting rid of excess water from their boat. However, this is not against the rules, and it remains unclear as to why Cambridge did not also use a pump: Cambridge had in fact introduced pumps as early as 1987 (the year of the Oxford mutiny, and a day of rough conditions).

In 2007 Cambridge were strong favourites based on the team members' individual successes, and 9lb heavier per man on average. The Cambridge crew had 5 returning blues compared to Oxford's one. Furthermore, the international achievement of Cambridge's rowers far exceeded that of Oxford's: the World Champion stern pair of Germans Thorsten Englemann (the heaviest ever boat race oarsman at 110.4kg) and Sebastian Schulte; Olympic Gold medallist Kieran West MBE and GB medal winner Tom James. Also of note, only a week before victory at the prestigious Head of the River Race (on the boat race course, but backwards) placed Cambridge as the fastest crew, on paper, in Britain. Although Oxford rowed strongly as underdogs at the beginning, the light blues showed their class by holding Oxford while they had the advantage, and pushing on with tidier rowing from Chiswick steps. They rowed on to win by a length and a quarter in a time of 17mins 49s. The heavily fancied Cambridge crew did not win by the margin expected by many, thanks in part to a strong row from Oxford, and the sagging stern containing the heaviest Cambridge oarsmen. The dark-blue president fought through bitter disappointment to declare his pride for his crew. Tom James, his Cambridge counterpart, was elated to have won The Race on his fourth attempt.

It was speculated by 2006 Oxford winning president Barney Williams that the race was won by Cambridge while Oxford still had their lead. Around Hammersmith bridge the Cambridge crew (with their backs to Oxford) had no view of their rivals and the calm orders delivered from Cambridge cox Rebecca Dowbiggin "they're throwing the kitchen sink at this boys", and "keep loose, loose, loose..." ensured that they stayed in contention despite a push from Oxford going into Hammersmith. Beyond this point the advantage of the Surrey station to Oxford had been lost and the race was Cambridge's.

Although the heavyweight men's eights are the main draw, the two universities compete in other rowing boat races. The main boat race is preceded by a race between the two reserve crews (called "Isis" for Oxford and "Goldie" for Cambridge), which in 2007 was won by Goldie.

The women's eights, women's reserve eights, men's lightweight eights, men's lightweight reserve eights, and women's lightweight eights race in the Henley Boat Races a week before the men's heavyweight races.

The event is now a British national institution, and is televised live each year. As of the 2005 race, the BBC handed over broadcasting rights to ITV, after 66 years. The current score in all races is Cambridge 79 wins, Oxford 73, and one dead heat.

Build-up

Training for the boat race officially begins in September, before the start of term. The first tests are in November at the British Indoor Rowing Championships where each university sends around 20 rowers to compete. Everyone races 2 km on an indoor rower with the club presidents using adjacent machines. Both universities also send crews to the Head of the River Fours race in London which is raced over the reverse Boat Race course, that is to say the Championship course from Mortlake to Putney.

In December, the coaches put out Trial Eights where two crews from the same university race each other over the full boat race course. These crews are given names such as Kara and Whakamanawa (Māori words for strength and honour, Cambridge 2004) or Cowboys and Indians (Oxford 2004).

Over the Christmas period the squads go on training camps abroad, where final places for the blue boats are decided. After the final blue boat crews have been decided they race against the top crews from the UK and abroad (e.g. in recent years they have raced Leander, Molesey, and the German international crew). These races are only over part of the course (from Putney to Chiswick Eyot).

In case of injury or illness, each university has ten extra rowers, eight in the reserves boats (called Isis at Oxford and Goldie at Cambridge) and two as the spare pair. Isis and Goldie boats race 30 mins before the Blue Boat event over the same course. As for the spare pair, in the week before the main event they race each other from the mile post to university stone (i.e. from a point one mile into the Championship Course back to the Boat Race start). In the final week, there is also an official weigh in and the average crew weights announced.

Trivia

* "I can't see who's in the lead but it's either Oxford or Cambridge." — John Snagge (BBC radio commentator).
* "Boat race" became such a popular phrase that it was incorporated into Cockney rhyming slang, for "face".
* In the arms of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which covers much of the course, two griffin supporters hold oars, one light blue, one dark, in reference to the Boat Race. These colours are highly unusual in English heraldry.
* The first female to take part in the race was Susan Brown, who coxed for Oxford in 1981.
* Famous participants in the race include George Mallory (Cambridge 1906,1907,1908), Andrew Irvine (Oxford 1923), Lord Snowdon (Cambridge 1950), David Rendel (Oxford 1974), Colin Moynihan (Oxford 1977), and Hugh Laurie (Cambridge 1980).
* One entertainment for spectators is the possibility of a boat sinking. This happened to Cambridge in 1859 and 1978, and to Oxford in 1925 and 1951. Both boats sank in 1912, and the race was re-run, and in 1984, Cambridge sank after crashing into a stationary barge before the race had started.[4][5] Cambridge's sinking in 1978 was named in 79th place on Channel 4's list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
* At Putney, Oxford boats from Westminster School Boat Club, and Cambridge from King's College School Boat Club.
* The race which took place on March 30, 1895 became the subject of one of the worlds first motion pictures directed by Birt Acres.
* In the modern era, the Boat Race is usually run the weekend before the Grand National at Aintree racecourse.

Results

* Cambridge: 79 wins
* Oxford: 73 wins
* Dead heats: 1

Date      Winner      Time    Oxford Wins    Cambridge Wins
June 10, 1829      Oxford    14.03      1      0
June 17, 1836     Cambridge    36.00    1    1
April 3, 1839      Cambridge    31.00    1    2
April 15, 1840      Cambridge    29.03    1    3
April 14, 1841      Cambridge    32.03    1    4
June 11, 1842      Oxford    30.01    2    4
March 15, 1845     Cambridge    23.03    2    5
April 3, 1846      Cambridge    21.05    2    6
April 29, 1849 Cambridge    22.00    2    7
December 15, 1849 Oxford    foul    3    7
April 3, 1852      Oxford    21.36    4    7
April 8, 1854      Oxford    25.29    5    7
March 15, 1856 Cambridge    25.45    5    8
April 4, 1857      Oxford    22.05    6    8
March 27, 1858     Cambridge    21.23    6    9
April 15, 1859      Oxford    24.04    7    9
March 31, 1860     Cambridge    26.05    7    10
March 23, 1861      Oxford    23.03    8    10
April 12, 1862      Oxford    24.04    9    10
March 28, 1863      Oxford    23.06    10    10
March 19, 1864      Oxford    21.04    11    10
April 8, 1865      Oxford    21.24    12    10
March 24, 1866      Oxford    25.35    13    10
April 13, 1867      Oxford    22.39    14    10
April 4, 1868      Oxford    20.56    15    10
March 17, 1869      Oxford    20.04    16    10
April 6, 1870      Cambridge    22.04    16    11
April 1, 1871      Cambridge    23.01    16    12
March 23, 1872     Cambridge    21.15    16    13
March 29, 1873     Cambridge    19.35    16    14
March 28, 1874     Cambridge    22.35    16    15
March 20, 1875      Oxford    22.02    17    15
April 8, 1876      Cambridge    20.02    17    16
March 24, 1877 Dead Heat    24.08    17    16
April 13, 1878      Oxford    22.15    18    16
April 5, 1879      Cambridge    21.18    18    17
March 22, 1880      Oxford    21.23    19    17
April 8, 1881      Oxford    21.51    20    17
April 1, 1882      Oxford    20.12    21    17
March 15, 1883      Oxford    21.18    22    17
April 7, 1884      Cambridge    21.39    22    18
March 28, 1885      Oxford    21.36    23    18
April 3, 1886      Cambridge    22.03    23    19
March 26, 1887     Cambridge    20.52    23    20
March 24, 1888     Cambridge    20.48    23    21
March 30, 1889     Cambridge    20.14    23    22
March 26, 1890      Oxford    22.03    24    22
March 21, 1891      Oxford    21.48    25    22
April 9, 1892      Oxford    19.01    26    22
March 22, 1893      Oxford    18.45    27    22
March 17, 1894      Oxford    21.39    28    22
March 30, 1895      Oxford    20.05    29    22
March 28, 1896      Oxford    20.01    30    22
April 3, 1897      Oxford    19.12    31    22
March 26, 1898      Oxford    22.15    32    22
March 25, 1899     Cambridge    21.04    32    23
March 31, 1900     Cambridge    18.45    32    24
March 30, 1901      Oxford    22.31    33    24
March 22, 1902     Cambridge    19.09    33    25
April 1, 1903      Cambridge    19.33    33    26
March 26, 1904     Cambridge    21.37    33    27
April 1, 1905      Oxford    20.35    34    27
April 7, 1906      Cambridge    19.25    34    28
March 16, 1907     Cambridge    20.26    34    29
April 4, 1908      Cambridge    19.02    34    30
April 3, 1909      Oxford    19.05    35    30
March 23, 1910      Oxford    20.14    36    30
April 1, 1911      Oxford    18.29    37    30
April 1, 1912      Oxford    22.05    38    30
March 13, 1913      Oxford    20.53    39    30
March 28, 1914     Cambridge    20.23    39    31
March 28, 1920     Cambridge    21.11    39    32
March 30, 1921     Cambridge    19.45    39    33
April 1, 1922      Cambridge    19.27    39    34
March 24, 1923      Oxford    20.54    40    34
April 5, 1924      Cambridge    18.41    40    35
March 28, 1925     Cambridge    21.05    40    36
March 27, 1926     Cambridge    19.29    40    37
April 2, 1927      Cambridge    20.14    40    38
March 31, 1928     Cambridge    20.25    40    39
March 23, 1929     Cambridge    19.24    40    40
April 12, 1930      Cambridge    19.09    40    41
March 21, 1931 Cambridge    19.26    40    42
March 19, 1932     Cambridge    19.11    40    43
April 1, 1933      Cambridge    20.57    40    44
March 17, 1934     Cambridge    18.03    40    45
April 6, 1935      Cambridge    19.48    40    46
April 4, 1936      Cambridge    21.06    40    47
March 24, 1937      Oxford    22.39    41    47
April 2, 1938      Oxford    20.03    42    47
April 1, 1939      Cambridge    19.03    42    48
March 30, 1946      Oxford    19.54    43    48
March 29, 1947     Cambridge    23.01    43    49
March 27, 1948     Cambridge    17.05    43    50
March 26, 1949     Cambridge    18.57    43    51
April 1, 1950      Cambridge    20.15    43    52
March 26, 1951     Cambridge    20.05    43    53
March 29, 1952      Oxford    20.23    44    53
March 28, 1953     Cambridge    19.54    44    54
April 3, 1954      Oxford    20.23    45    54
March 26, 1955     Cambridge    19.01    45    55
March 24, 1956     Cambridge    18.36    45    56
March 30, 1957     Cambridge    19.01    45    57
April 5, 1958      Cambridge    18.15    45    58
March 28, 1959      Oxford    18.52    46    58
April 2, 1960      Oxford    18.59    47    58
April 1, 1961      Cambridge    19.22    47    59
April 7, 1962      Cambridge    19.46    47    60
March 23, 1963      Oxford    20.47    48    60
March 28, 1964     Cambridge    19.18    48    61
April 3, 1965      Oxford    18.07    49    61
March 26, 1966      Oxford    19.12    50    61
March 25, 1967      Oxford    18.52    51    61
March 30, 1968     Cambridge    18.22    51    62
April 5, 1969      Cambridge    18.04    51    63
March 28, 1970     Cambridge    20.22    51    64
March 27, 1971     Cambridge    17.58    51    65
April 1, 1972      Cambridge    18.36    51    66
March 7, 1973      Cambridge    19.21    51    67
April 6, 1974      Oxford    17.35    52    67
March 29, 1975     Cambridge    19.27    52    68
March 20, 1976      Oxford    16.58    53    68
March 19, 1977      Oxford    19.28    54    68
March 25, 1978      Oxford    18.58    55    68
March 17, 1979      Oxford    20.33    56    68
April 5, 1980      Oxford    19.02    57    68
April 4, 1981      Oxford    18.11    58    68
March 27, 1982      Oxford    18.21    59    68
April 2, 1983      Oxford    19.07    60    68
March 18, 1984      Oxford    16.45    61    68
April 6, 1985      Oxford    17.11    62    68
March 29, 1986    Cambridge    17.58    62    69
March 28, 1987      Oxford    19.59    63    69
April 2, 1988      Oxford    17.35    64    69
March 25, 1989      Oxford    18.27    65    69
March 31, 1990      Oxford    17.22    66    69
March 30, 1991      Oxford    16.59    67    69
April 4, 1992      Oxford    17.44    68    69
March 27, 1993    Cambridge    17.00    68    70
March 26, 1994    Cambridge    18.09    68    71
April 1, 1995      Cambridge    18.04    68    72
April 6, 1996      Cambridge    16.58    68    73
March 29, 1997    Cambridge    17.38    68    74
March 28, 1998    Cambridge    16.19    68    75
April 3, 1999      Cambridge    16.41    68    76
March 25, 2000      Oxford    18.04    69    76
March 24, 2001    Cambridge    17.44    69    77
March 30, 2002      Oxford    16.54    70    77
April 6, 2003      Oxford    18.06    71    77
March 28, 2004    Cambridge    18.47    71    78
March 27, 2005      Oxford    16.42    72    78
April 2, 2006      Oxford    18.26    73    78
April 7, 2007      Cambridge    17.49    73    79

Unofficial wartime races

Date      Location      Winner
1940    Henley-on-Thames    Cambridge
1943    Sandford-on-Thames    Oxford
1944    River Great Ouse, Ely      Oxford
1945    Unknown      Cambridge

Isis v. Goldie

* Cambridge (Goldie): 28 wins
* Oxford (Isis): 15 wins

Date    Winner
1965    Isis
1966    Isis
1967    Goldie
1968    Goldie
1969    Goldie
1970    Goldie
1971    Goldie
1972    Goldie
1973    Goldie
1974    Goldie
1975    Isis
1976    Isis
1977    Goldie
1978    Goldie
1979    Goldie
1980    Isis
1981    Isis
1982    Isis
1983    Isis
1984    Goldie
1985    Isis
1986    Isis
1987    Goldie
1988    Goldie
1989    Isis
1990    Goldie
1991    Goldie
1992    Goldie
1993    Goldie
1994    Goldie
1995    Goldie
1996    Goldie
1997    Goldie
1998    Isis
1999    Goldie
2000    Isis
2001    Goldie
2002    Isis
2003    Goldie
2004    Isis
2005    Goldie
April 2, 2006    Goldie
April 7, 2007    Goldie

Statistics

* Course Record: Cambridge 1998, 16 min 19 s
* Heaviest rower: Thorsten Engelmann, Cambridge 2007, 17 st 6 lb 4oz (110.8 kg; 244.3 lb)
* Lightest rower: Alfred Higgins, Oxford 1882, 9 st 6.5 lb (60.1 kg; 132.5 lb)
* Heaviest crew: Oxford 2005, 15 st 6 lb (98 kg; 216 lb) average
* Tallest rower: Josh West, Cambridge 1999/2000/2001/2002, 6 ft 9.5 in (2.07 m)
* Tallest crew: Cambridge 1999, 6 ft 6.3 in (1.98 m) average

Izvor: Wikipedia