The Boat Race: Interesting facts you need to know

Will you be at the Boat Race this year?

The Boat Race is a set of annual rowing races between Oxford University Boat Club and Cambridge University Boat Club which takes place on the River Thames in London. This year the event will be held on Sunday 2 April 2017.

Do you know any of these interesting facts?

• The very first race was in 1829 but annual races began in 1856.
• The course covers a 4.2 mile stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake.
• Members of both teams are traditionally known as “blues”, each boat is know as a “Blue Boat”.
• To tell the two teams apart, Cambridge wears light blue and Oxford can be seen in dark blue.
• As of April 2016 Cambridge has managed to win 82 times whereas Oxford has won it 79 times.
• More than 250,000 people watch the river from its banks each year, a further 15m or more watch it on television.
• In a 1912 race which was run in extremely poor weather conditions, both crews sank.
• The course is sometimes referred to as the Championship Course, it also follows an “S” shape, east to west.