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The
Boat
Race
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THE IDEA
The idea for a rowing race between the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
came from two friends –
Charles Merivale, a student at
Cambridge, and his school friend
Charles Wordsworth who was at
Oxford.
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When did it all start?
On 12 March 1829, Cambridge sent
a challenge to Oxford and thus the
tradition was born which has
continued to the present day, where
the loser of the previous year’s race
challenges the opposition to a re-
match.
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WHERE?
The course is 6,779 m from
Putney to Mortlake, passing
Hammersmith and Barnes; it is
sometimes referred to as the
Championship Course, and
follows an S shape, east to
west. 5

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RACE DAY
On Race Day up to 250,000
spectators crowd the banks of
the Thames from Putney to
Mortlake to witness the
action.
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VANTAGE POINTS
The best vantage points in the
middle section of the course
are Hammersmith (on London
Underground’s Piccadilly,
Hammersmith and City or
District Lines)
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WHO IS WHO?
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.
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FACTS?
• The first female to take part in the
race was Susan Brown, who coxed
for Oxford in 1981
• 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
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FAMOUS COMMENTARY?
The most famous commentary on
The Boat Race featured BBC radio
commentator John Snagge who,
his voice filled with excitement
during the 1949 staging of the
event, reported: "I can't see who's
in the lead but it's either Oxford or
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THE SPONSORS
• Xchanging began its Boat Race sponsorship in
2005
• Xchanging is a fast-growing international business
processing company
• Xchanging also provides procurement, finance and
accounting, and human resources services to
customers across industries.
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2008
After an epic battle over the
first half of the course, with
Cambridge stealing a brief
lead after Hammersmith,
Oxford regained the
initiative and moved steadily
away to their third boat race
victory in five years.
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2009
• 28 March 2009
• Live on ZDF and Eurosport
• A huge push around the Surrey bend
from favourites Oxford earned them
victory in the 155th University Boat
Race.
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You can find much more
information on The Boat Race
here
www.theboatrace.org
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The End
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