This Sunday, 6th April, people will be lining the streets of London, shouting encouragement and enjoying the thrill of this traditional, historic, exciting competition. And what are we talking about? The fantastic University Boat Race, and this year it’s running for the 160th time!
It all started in 1829 in Henley-on-Thames – two old school friends challenged each other to a rowing race, and the Boat Race was born. The race has taken place on the Thames since 1836 between two teams of eight strong, skilled, motivated, determined and current students out to fight their university’s colours… in the case of Oxford, that’s dark blue; in the case of Cambridge, that’s light blue.
These brave men who have been training for months on the choppy waters of the Thames face their biggest challenge – 4 miles and 374 yards of hard, exhausting rowing from Putney to Mortlake. But there’s one more member of the crew, quite an important person really, and they are the cox. The cox is responsible for steering the boat, dishing out the orders, keeping the motivation in their crew members… oh, and they are the ones that get the traditional dunking in the Thames should be the a member of the winning team!
Here’s some facts (you might find them useful if you’re part of a quiz team!). To date, there’s been one dead heat, back in 1877; and the series is currently led by Cambridge, with 81 wins to Oxford’s 77 wins – they added their 77th win last year. The fastest race was in 1998 and was just 16 minutes, 19 seconds. Oxford has had a mutiny on their hands twice – in 1959 and due to Ronnie Howard’s choice of coach; and in 1987 over the dropping of an American crew member in favour of Donald Macdonald. This mutiny led to a book, written by Dan Topolski, coach of that team, and a movie, True Blue, which was released in 1996.
Want to be there in person? Then you can! But it is recommended that you get there early to make sure you get a good spot! The best locations from which to watch the race are at Bishop’s Park and Furnivall Gardens; or on one of the bridges – Putney Bridge, Hammersmith Bridge (about halfway through the course), and Chiswick Bridge (see the finish line!). And there’s plenty going on, too; entertainment, food stalls and other events. Make a day of it!
At Airport Pickups London we’re ready and waiting to take you to see the Boat Race, continuing to provide our customers with the best, innovative taxi transfer service you can find and trust, at extremely competitive rates.