Issue 97 - April 1997

The Other Boat Races

'It is essential for every English girl to learn to row .... though, of course, there are 'some folks' who would run down anything that a lady does in the way of athletic exercise. Twenty years ago, ... it was not considered 'comme il faut' for a lady to row ..... Now, however, that everything is changed, it is clearly to be seen that it is the very best thing for her.'

Well, the women of Oxford and Cambridge took some years reflecting on the above before the first Women's Boat Race was held in 1927. The contest took the form of a half mile time and style contest on the Isis, and Oxford won. The 'style' restrictions were quickly abandoned and races were rowed in most years up till 1952, and again annually from 1964. The races were held alternately on the Isis and the Cam before the annual event was transferred to Henley in 1977.

The 'other' boat races are traditionally held on the Sunday before the men's Boat Race and have, through their history, been dominated by Cambridge. The main event is the Women's Boat Race, which Cambridge have won 34 times to Oxford's 17, but the large crowds which now attend have three other battles to savour. The women's reserve race, between Oxford's Osiris and Cambridge's Blondie, began in 1966 and Blondie, who lead 18 to 6, have yet to be beaten in the 1990s.

The younger races for lightweight men and women soon appeared after Great Britain recognised lightweight rowing in 1974. The Men's Lightweight Boat Race, started in the following year, produced a fourteen-year run of wins for Cambridge from 1978 to 1991, but since then the winners have alternated annually, although Cambridge's impressive score is 17 wins to Oxford's five. The Lightweight Women's Race dates from 1984 and Cambridge again have the stranglehold with eleven wins to two.

The training regime of the women's and men's lightweights now mirrors that of the heavyweight men in time, effort, professionalism and coaching. The Women's Boat Race now attracts sponsorship and television coverage and goodly numbers of female British international performers have come from the crews.

© Copyright Mike Rosewell, 1997.