Summary Proposals – Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race

• 2004 marks the 150th running of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and this yearly event has strong links and traditions with the Chiswick Area. The Committee might feel it appropriate to mark this occasion with a feature that could mark the significance of the event and add value to the landscape near to the finishing line in Duke’s Meadow.

• The proposal is to install high quality townscape furniture in the form of two naturalistic wooden seats and one litter bin along the new Thames path, running from Barnes Bridge to Chiswick Bridge and to tidy and clear the area at a cost of £2,350 for supply and installation. This will also include the installation of a commemorative plaque marking the event.

• The installation of the Thames path, which was funded by the Countryside Agency, has greatly improved the accessibility of the area and the proposal of the fitting of two durable amenity seats and bin will further improve the amenity of the path for walkers and the local community.

• The 150th Boat Race, will take place on Sunday March 28th at 6pm. It is also the 175th anniversary of the event. Oxford has won 71 races, Cambridge 77 and there has been 1 dead heat.

History

The idea for a rowing race between the universities came from two friends - Charles Merivale, a student at Cambridge, and his Harrow school friend Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth), who was at Oxford.

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.

The first Boat Race took place at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and contemporary newspapers report crowds of twenty thousand travelled to watch. The race was stopped soon after the start and, following the restart, Oxford were clear winners. The event was such a resounding success that the townspeople later decided to organise a regatta of their own which duly became Henley Royal Regatta.

After the first year, the early Boat Races took place at Westminster in London, but by 1845, when Westminster had become too crowded, the Boat Race moved six miles up-stream to the then country village of Putney. In 1856 the race became an annual event (excepting only the war years).

A summary chronology:

1829: First Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race held on 10 June at Henley-on-Thames

1836: Second race from Westminster to Putney

1845: First Boat Race held on The Thames between Putney and Mortlake

1873: First year the crews raced on sliding seats

1877: The race resulted in a dead heat

1898: The Cambridge crew was waterlogged but finished

1912: The Race was scheduled for 31 March but both boats sank and it had to be re-run on 1 April

1925: Oxford sank

1927: First year the BBC broadcast a running commentary on The Boat Race

1938: BBC Television covered The Boat Race for the first time

1952: Oxford won by a canvas in a blizzard

1954: The 100th Boat Race. Oxford won

1976: First sponsorship of The Boat Race, by Ladbrokes. Oxford broke the 17 minute barrier

1978: The Cambridge Blue Boat sank

1981: Sue Brown was the first female to participate in the race. She steered Oxford to victory

1982: Hugh and Rob Clay were the first twins ever to row in The Boat Race

1984: Cambridge wrote off their boat minutes before the start of the race

1986: Carole Burton became the first Cambridge female cox

1987: The year of the famous Oxford mutiny caused by a number of top class American oarsmen who refused to row when a fellow American was dropped in preference for the English President, Donald MacDonald. Oxford, with Macdonald, won. Beefeater Gin became the official sponsor of The Boat Race

1989: The first time both Blue Boats were coxed by women - Alison Norrish (Oxford) and Leigh Weiss (Cambridge).

1990: The record for the heaviest crewmember ever to row in The Boat Race was broken by Chris Heathcote, weighing in at 17st 5lbs

1994: For the first time in 21 years, Cambridge won two Boat Races in succession.

1998: Cambridge fielded the heaviest and tallest crews in Boat Race history. Both crews broke the course record with Cambridge winning for the sixth consecutive year in a course record time of 16 mins 19 sec. Beefeater Gin's sponsorship ended after 12 years

1999: The Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs signed a three year sponsorship deal with Aberdeen Asset Management. Cambridge broke their own record for the tallest crew, helped by Josh West, the tallest man in Boat Race history at 6'9"

2000: Oxford won the 2000 Boat Race after seven consecutive wins by Cambridge. Matt Smith became the youngest oarsman to win the Boat Race. Of the 12 British oarsmen who won gold medals at the Sydney Olympics, five had rowed in The Boat Race

2001: The 2001 Boat Race ended with a clear win for Cambridge, despite early clashes when Oxford were half a length ahead, then a restart after Cambridge bowman Swainson lost an oar

2002: Oxford won in one of the tightest races of recent history. Cambridge man Sebastien Mayer seemed to collapse as The Race progressed.

2003: Oxford won by just one foot - probably the closest Boat Race of all-time given that the 1877 Dead Heat was recorded as "by six feet to Oxford". Two sets of brothers rowed in opposing boats setting a Race precedent. David Livingston and Matt Smith were in the winning Oxford crew. James Livingston and Ben Smith rowed for Cambridge.