̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - ̽��ֱ��Boat Race

Cambridge Blue Boats revealed for ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025

hcf38 — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000

With just over 2 weeks to go until the showdown on the River Thames, the Light Blues are gearing up to defend their titles. Cambridge leads the historic tally in both the men’s and women’s events and will be looking to extend their dominance when they take on Oxford on Sunday 13 April 2025.

Cambridge Crews for ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025

Women’s Blue Boat:
•   Cox: Jack Nicholas (Pembroke College)
•   Stroke: Samy Morton (Hughes Hall)
•   Tash Morrice (Jesus College)
•   Claire Collins (Peterhouse)
•   Carys Earl (Gonville & Caius)
•   Annie Wertheimer (St Edmund’s College)
•   Sophia Hahn (Hughes Hall)
•   Gemma King (St John’s College)
•   Bow: Katy Hempson (Christ’s College)

Men’s Blue Boat:
•   Cox: Ollie Boyne (Downing College)
•   Stroke: Douwe de Graaf (St Edmund’s)
•   Luca Ferraro (Peterhouse)
•   James Robson (Peterhouse)
•   George Bourne (Peterhouse)
•   Gabriel Mahler (Peterhouse)
•   Tom Macky (St Edmund’s)
•   Noam Mouelle (Hughes Hall)
•   Bow: Simon Hatcher (Peterhouse)

Countdown to ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025
̽��ֱ��prestigious race, one of the oldest amateur sporting events in the world, will take place along the 6.8 km Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. ̽��ֱ��Women's Boat Race will commence at 1:21pm British Summer Time (BST), followed by the Men's Boat Race at 2:21pm BST.

Cambridge’s women’s crew enters the race as the defending champions and currently leads the overall tally at 48-30. Meanwhile, Cambridge’s men’s crew also holds the advantage, leading Oxford 87-81, with one historic dead heat in 1877.

Praise for the athletes

Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of ̽��ֱ��Boat Race Company, congratulated the athletes on their selection for one of the Blue Boats. “I am not sure that everyone appreciates just what it takes to compete at this level,” she told the event.

“Having witnessed the intense training over a number of years, I can tell you these guys are no ordinary students; they combine their academic courses with a high-performance rowing programme. Their commitment to excellence on and off the water is truly extraordinary. It is nothing short of superhuman.”

Renowned BBC Sport commentator Andrew Cotter, who hosted the event, emphasised the purity of ̽��ֱ��Boat Race in today’s sporting landscape. “In the modern era of sport, when so much is inflated by money and professionalism, this is sport stripped back to its essence,” he said.

“It is pure competition, it is about winning and losing. And I know that’s how the athletes feel about it, but they also feel that this is where they will make friendships that will last a lifetime.”

Historic firsts and environmental commitments

This year’s event will also see a landmark moment in Boat Race history. Sarah Winckless MBE will become the first woman to umpire the Men’s Boat Race on the Championship Course. Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE will oversee the Women’s Boat Race.

Additionally, ̽��ֱ��Boat Race Company, alongside the Cambridge and Oxford ̽��ֱ�� Boat Clubs, have given their support to the London Rivers’ Pledge, a 10-year environmental initiative focused on improving water quality and sustainability on the Thames and beyond.

With the crews now announced and excitement continuing to build, all eyes will be on the Thames this April as Cambridge and Oxford prepare to write the next chapter in their historic rivalry.

̽��ֱ��stage has been set for ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025, with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Boat Club announcing its Women’s and Men’s Blue Boats at the historic Battersea Power Station in London.

Row360

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Cambridge rowers vie for place in ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025

hcf38 — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 17:03:21 +0000

̽��ֱ��annual Trial VIIIs, the UK’s final rowing event of the year, serves as a dress rehearsal for ̽��ֱ��Boat Race, with two evenly matched Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Boat Club (CUBC) crews rowing the full Championship Course for the first and only time before 12–13 April 2025.

This year, all 31 Cambridge Colleges were represented at the start of trials. ̽��ֱ��crews showcased an exciting mix of seasoned experience and youthful energy, featuring international rowers and returning Blues alongside many College rowers proudly wearing Cambridge Blue for the first time.

Read the full race report on the CUBC website.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge contenders for ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2025 have become clearer after a thrilling day of action on the Thames.

Row360 / AllMarkOne

Men’s VIIIs “Scylla” en route to victory

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Presidents' Challenge marks start of 2025 Boat Race season

hcf38 — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 12:03:48 +0000

This year’s Challenge, held at the iconic Somerset House in London, saw the Oxford and Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Boat Clubs come together in celebration of one of British sport’s most enduring rivalries. ̽��ֱ��event traditionally sees the Presidents representing the losing teams of the previous year’s races formally challenge those from the winning teams, marking the renewal of an intense competition which stretches back nearly 200 years.

Those in attendance gathered with anticipation to witness Oxford Presidents Tom Mackintosh and Annie Anezakis challenge Cambridge Presidents Luca Ferraro and Lucy Havard. ̽��ֱ��pairs faced off before shaking hands on stage in front of the coveted men’s and women’s trophies.

̽��ֱ��Umpires were confirmed as Sarah Winckless MBE and Sir Matthew Pinsent, for the Men’s and Women’s races respectively. Winckless becomes the first woman to umpire the Men’s Race on ̽��ֱ��Championship Course.

̽��ֱ��Boat Race will take place on Sunday 13 April, with ̽��ֱ��79th Women’s Boat Race to be followed shortly after by ̽��ֱ��170th Men’s Boat Race. Two hundred thousand spectators are expected to line the banks of the River Thames to watch the event - which is free to attend and broadcast live on the BBC - while millions more are expected to watch globally.

̽��ֱ��Boat Race is made up of six races and in 2024, Cambridge won five. ̽��ֱ��make-up of the squads will be more diverse than ever in 2025, with 157 student rowers spanning 18 different nationalities from countries such as Nigeria, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Sri Lanka and China. Oxford’s Luisa Fernandez Chirino, should she be selected to face Cambridge, would be the first Mexican woman to compete at ̽��ֱ��Boat Race.

There will also be six Olympians within the squads. For Cambridge, this includes two-time Olympian Claire Collins, alongside reserve athlete for the 2024 British Olympic team, James Robson. For Oxford, this includes Paris men’s eight bronze medallist Nick Rusher, Paris women’s eight bronze medallist Heidi Long, Tokyo men’s eight gold medallist Tom Mackintosh, as well as Paris Olympian Nicholas Kohl. Meanwhile, Harry Brightmore, Paris gold medallist in the men’s eight, has joined Oxford as an assistant coach.

Asked by host, Olympic champion and four-time Boat Race winner Constantine Louloudis MBE, if this year's race would be "rinse and repeat" for Cambridge, Women's President, Lucy Havard, who is pursuing a PhD in Early Modern History at Gonville & Caius College, said: "Absolutely not - it's never the same, every year it's new people and Boat Race wins don't come easily. Everyone is gunning for it, everyone is putting so much time and effort in."

Luca Ferraro, who is taking an MPhil in History of Art and Architecture at Peterhouse, was asked about how it felt to take on the responsibility of Men's President. "I would be lying if I didn't say it didn't add a certain extra layer... racing an opponent you don't really get to meet at full strength until next year," he said. "You have the odd moment of thinking are we doing the right things, are we going fast enough and no-one feels that quite as keenly as the President, but we are surrounded by such a great team and it is so rewarding to have that extra level of responsibility."

First raced by crews from Oxford and Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� in 1829, ̽��ֱ��Boat Race is now one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events, offering an unrivalled educational experience to the student athletes who take part. ̽��ֱ��famous Championship Course stretches over 4.25 miles of tidal Thames in West London between Putney and Mortlake.

̽��ֱ��countdown to the 2025 Boat Race is officially underway, with the annual Presidents’ Challenge ushering in another season of competition between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Oxford Presidents Tom Mackintosh and Annie Anezakis challenge Cambridge Presidents Luca Ferraro and Lucy Havard

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Cambridge do the double in 2024 Boat Race

hcf38 — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:10:59 +0000

Despite both the Cambridge Men and Women’s Blue Boats starting as underdogs, Cambridge emerged victorious in both races.

In the 78th Women’s Race, despite Oxford taking an early lead, Cambridge caught up and then overtook Oxford. Oxford cox Joe Gellett raised an appeal at the end of the race, arguing that the Cambridge boat had crossed their path, but after a discussion with umpire Richard Phelps the appeal was dismissed.

In the 169th Men’s Race, Cambridge took an early lead but slowed towards the end with stroke Matt Edge struggling, but with his teammates digging in they held on for what was in the end a comfortable victory.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend for Cambridge, with the Light Blues dominating the results, with Goldie winning the Men’s Reserve race, and the Cambridge Men’s Lightweight and Women’s Lightweight Crews winning on Friday.

“This Boat Race just means so much, this Club just means so much” said victorious Men’s President Seb Benzecry.

“This season has been the most amazing season, it’s been challenging, we’ve pushed ourselves harder than any team I’ve been a part of before. We knew Oxford would pose a huge challenge this year to us, we knew we had to step on. I couldn’t be prouder of the ways the guys responded to that challenge, in a year when basically every single boat was an underdog.”

Women’s President Jenna Armstrong said she was almost pinching herself at the result.

“I almost can’t believe it. This year we were slated as the underdogs going in to the race. Our race plan was to go out and row our best race, go as fast as possible and hang on and wait for an opportunity to pop up - and that’s what we did.”

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice, who was watching her first Boat Race after joining in July last year, said it had been a fantastic weekend.

“It was brilliant, utterly brilliant – everything I expected and more,” she said. “This is my first time at the Boat Race obviously and I heard Oxford started as favourites so I didn’t expect Cambridge to come out ahead like this.

“I went out to see the Women’s Blue Boat training earlier this year and today I could see the fruits of the labour that they put in, going out every day at 5.30 in the morning – it’s incredible.”

Cambridge have done the double in the Boat Race, winning both the Men’s and Women’s races in a thrilling day of action on the Thames.

Nordin Ćatić

̽��ֱ��victorious Cambridge Men and Women’s Blue Boat crews

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Vice-Chancellor visits Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Boat Club training

hcf38 — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:53:00 +0000

It might have been a chilly and dark 6am start, but a warm welcome awaited Professor Deborah Prentice, who joined Chief Women’s Coach Paddy Ryan on a launch following the crews out on the River Great Ouse.

Professor Prentice said it was an opportunity to witness the dedication of the students, who routinely set off from Cambridge at five in the morning, arrive at Ely Boathouse just after six, then complete around an hour’s training before needing to get back to Cambridge in time for morning lectures.

“These students and their coaches are doing unbelievable work, they’re out here every day at six in the morning,” said Professor Prentice.

“ ̽��ֱ��fact that they are combining this training with study is a reminder of how disciplined and committed our students are. Rowing is a team sport and they are a fantastic team for sure.”

Annamarie Phelps, CUBC Club Chair, said she was delighted the Vice-Chancellor was able to visit and meet the students, coaches and staff.

“It was fantastic to welcome the Vice-Chancellor to our Ely Boathouse, where she was able to see first-hand the dedication of these student athletes and their coaches.

“We were also able to show Professor Prentice the amazing facilities we have here – something made possible only with the generous support of the ̽��ֱ�� and alumni.

“We’re now looking forward to welcoming Professor Prentice to the Boat Race itself next month, when she will be presenting the Boat Race Trophies - hopefully to Cambridge!”

This year’s race, on 30th March, will mark the 78th Women’s race and the 169th Men’s race, with Cambridge leading across all categories in historic results.

With ̽��ֱ��Boat Race 2024 just weeks away, the Vice-Chancellor has been to meet Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Boat Club students and staff at their Ely training centre.

Nick Saffell

Yes

Cambridge dominates a weekend of varsity sport

jek67 — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 09:45:25 +0000

It was an exceptional weekend of sport between Cambridge and Oxford ̽��ֱ�� which saw Cambridge win five out of six sporting fixtures. ̽��ֱ��Light Blues won the 141st men’s Varsity Rugby Match on Saturday, followed by ̽��ֱ��Boat Race on Sunday where Cambridge won the 77th Women’s Race, the 168th Men’s Race and both Reserve races.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� RUFC men’s team dug deep at Twickenham on Saturday 25 March to deny Oxford a hat-trick of victories. ̽��ֱ��Cambridge Light Blues, led by Jamie Benson, took the match 15-10 to extend the winning head-to-head record in the fixture to 65-62.

̽��ֱ��following day, ̽��ֱ��Boat Race was dominated by Cambridge, who comprehensively won all four races along ̽��ֱ��Championship Course on the River Thames, London.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Women’s crew took victory by four-and-a-quarter lengths, making it a sixth straight win for the women's team.

̽��ֱ��men’s crew held off a late charge from Oxford to win by just over a length for their fourth victory in the past five races.

Cambridge lead the rivalry 47-30 in the women's event, while Cambridge men have won 86 times to Oxford's 81.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� RUFC women’s were defeated in the Varsity Rugby Match for the first time since 2016 with a 31-12 loss against their Oxford counterparts at Twickenham. They had racked up wins in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before last year’s meeting between the rivals ended in a first ever draw, meaning Cambridge successfully defended the title.

Light Blue victories at both the Varsity Rugby Match and ̽��ֱ��Boat Race

Benedict Tufnell / Row360

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Men and Women's Boat Race Crews celebrate their wins

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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How ̽��ֱ��Boat Race is propelling routes into rowing

jek67 — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 13:21:49 +0000

With ̽��ֱ��Boat Race mere days away, we explore how the rowing community is working to increase and diversify the entry points to this iconic sport.