It's Easter and that can mean only one thing - the traditional battle for supremacy on the River Thames between Oxford and Cambridge. Witness the incredible rowing skills of these top but amateur athletes as they put their heart and soul into one emotional day each year. There's no second place, it is winning or losing, and both teams want to be victorious more than anything. The race itself is just fifteen or so minutes, but what an exciting quarter of an hour!
The Boat Race
Published by Christine Blachford on
Since when has the boat race been on a Sunday?
might be the first time? i approve of it starting after i woke up though :)
It's meant to be on Saturdays, not sure why they've changed it. It starts after 4pm, you better be awake by then!
i am very happy this is televised here, it makes commenting easy.
but as I said on twitter, theres no way this last happened a year ago.
mr swimmer dude, broken oary thingy doodle, i swear that was 6 months ago tops.
I read a Boat Race book to build up to today. Pluggage: http://mrschristine.com/2013/03/27/casual-reader-the-last-amateurs-by-mark-de-rond/
Weirdly, I can remember that race better than I can all the F1 races in between. There's something to be said for one event a year :)
people here don't understand my interest in it since its just so very british, but whats not to like?
Greetings Is this the B-movie slasher like film "Teppenyaki with Mr. C" or am I off an hour due to you guys just switching to BST?
I hope marussia remembered their canoe
Yep. Just switched overnight
I am so glad Christine didn't tell me the boat race has been on a Sunday for 15 years and I hadn't noticed.
Same two teams in the final again this year
:)
theres something terribly wrong with you guys being on summer time already.
We got sick of our never ending winter, suddenly today it's like summer here in south wales. Coincidence? I THINK NOT
Coldest Easter Sunday in 100 YEARS yells the daily fail.
We even had two 5 minute spells of sunshine at the football yesterday and a load of (cold) sunshine at Loch Lomond on Friday
I'm more than happy to go back. Stupid hour stealers.
i will be taking your hour next weekend. mmm, backwards.
Yes, they are definitely correct :)
You guys at having a "Boat Race?" Have not you guys figured out that unless you make Bassano's team massivly handycapped - like making him drink four times, his team is going to win.....
Did anyone find a reason why the day of the boat race changed this year? Damn those lazy students
Both of the cox (coxs?) are taller than me :(
http://theboatrace.org/men/blue-boats
I think I want cambridge to win as they have a boat man called Toyota
I assume because there is so much other sport on a Saturday they expect to get more attention on a Sunday. Amazing that two universities with so many colleges named after religious figures are racing on Easter Sunday
Didn't someone also collapse after the finish last year? How much happened!?
but his competition in the other boat is a new zealander thus i like him.
Can't believe that url is "men"!
They did, muted celebrations all round I remember.
ahh, theres also http://theboatrace.org/women/blue-boats
In which case I don't understand. There are women in the men's url and men in the women's.
i didnt even know there was a womens boat race, but now that i see its not held in the same place, and its already been and gone this year, i guess it doesn't quite get the same media coverage.
They've beefed up security a bit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21975466
I particularly like: The Met Police said it had contacted Oldfield, of Whitechapel, east London, to establish if he was planning any action this year.
They contacted him by letter and on Twitter, saying they were "keen to facilitate any peaceful protest".
In other words, "please don't ruin it again!"
The rowers all need to be the same sex but the cox doesn't
Stay home, David Walliams!
Ah, okay, that makes more sense.
I love the idea that contacting someone by letter is considered a security measure.
Every year the previous year's losing crew has to issue a formal challenge to the winning crew and the winning crew has to formally accept. The first year there was a woman as cox the exchange went like this.
Challenger (Cambridge) - Our crew of 9 good men and true challenge a crew of 9 good men and true from Oxford.
Oxford - We accept the challege from the 9 good men and true of Cambridge but we will have 8 good men and true and one bird.
Ah, progress :)
@theboatrace: #Cambridge toss. Oxford win the toss and choose Surrey #BoatRace
Who knows if that's good or bad, but it's something.
With a cox being more or less dead weight you had to wonder if Cambridge thought that Oxford was being along a parrot... It could say "stroke" just as well as a human cox....
I will be cheering the Light Blues and Goldie, as always :-)
Actually, that book I read helps a bit: "Different tactics are required depending on whether one starts at the Surrey or Middlesex station, even if both crews cover the exact same distance. Middlesex has the advantage of the first bend... that, in real terms, is worth the equivalent of a quarter length of a boat...
The Surrey station, on the other hand, confers the distinct advantage of rowing on the inside of the long Surrey bend. This bend is worth a full boat length and has the added advantage of some shelter from the wind in the wider reaches of the river."
Huh, knowledge from reading. Who knew?
A cox is not dead weight. The cox is vital. They steer the boat, they pace the crew, they decide how much to squeeze the other crew, they see their position better than anyone.
They say that same speech every year in the commentary but I can never remember which side is which
Ohh, knowledge from listening too. I'm not so good at that bit :)
That means Oxford are confident of keeping up at the start, and then will push on.
Well, I still have sun this morning and rain expected for this afternoon, so I am going to do some yardwork and see you all for the hangout.
Bye everyone.
Probably because the commentary is at 1X speed and you think they must be drunk
That's probably it.
Claire Balding. What a surprise
I forgot to go out and get munchies!
although it doesn't start for another hour...
There's time to bake some
This rivals Sky's epic F1 buildup. An hour and a bit of Boat race for 15 minutes of drama :)
boo i am still 40 minutes away from my coverage starting
Likewise. We're catching up on last week's Broadchurch ep until then.
i've just started watching that after seeing ads for it months ago and then complettely missing when it started, soo goooooood.
Don't tell me, don't tell me, I have them all saved up for some David Tennant marathon goodness.
i wish i had done that for another month, watching 4 in one night wasn't enough :D
No #spoilers from this direction - is a good watch. Mrs^'s not sure about the beard though.
some cyclist dude has just crossed the finish line of this race thats on, that must mean its over. stupid eurosport, making me wait.
Love the Oxford guy on why they picked Surrey: "There's not much in it, but we have to pick one. [shrugs]"
Oxford choose Surrey. When asked why the president says you have to choose one.
#kimiesque
"Stop talking to me, I just want to race" kind of thing :)
There is a line in one of Spike Milligan's books about his war experiences. In his first few days in the Army and officer shouted at him and asked him what he thought he was doing being where he was. Milligan replied "Everyone has to be somewhere"
i have gone for some super buffery bbc streaming because im bored of cycling.
Clare says the snow is starting to come down. Rowing in the snow!
I thought Cambridge were going to snap off their on board camera
is it too late to move it to near lukehs? sounds like the only nice bit of sun around.
i dont think i like that light shade of blue.
Not sure I approve of individual introductions for the boat race crews
anyone fancy a game of guess-christines-favourite-rower?
Checks to see how many Frenchmen are involved
wooo, sam
6 foot 10?
I didn't think that was physically possible :)
mental
Sounds like Tight End material
There are basketball players who are 7 foot 6
3 london olympic medalists, that feels like cheating somehow.
Constantine Louloudis is an excellent name.
it seems very oxbridge.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_Ming
Whoops, I forgot Tesco is closed being easter and all that
You need to have a few ridiculously posh names in the boat race
i hope their wellies are well named since they all just throw them onto land together.
Really?
Oh no, I've said that before: http://sidepodcast.com/post/the-2011-boat-race#data-8330
who the hell has time to train as much as they do?
I know! It's the largest tesco in south wales as well. I was shocked to see the shutters.
I think they probably use all the time we spend on the net
They have to train and keep up their studies too. Crazy.
is it not the law there? its illegal to open shops in nz on easter sunday unless you're a garden centre, randomly.
I think it's optional as a Costa next door was open. Just surprisied someone as big as tesco stayed shut
Mmmmm. Flags. I feel at home now.
It's law that shops with a floor-area larger than a certain amount must be closed today.
What is the point of the umpire showing flags to the back of the cox's head?
Apparently, there's lots of communication between cox and the stroke seat. I've never noticed before but I'm on the lookout this time.
I would doubt any large shop this side of the border is closed
Unfortunately there is no telemetry data today as rodents have come home from malaysia and australia
is it too late in life for me to drop 10kg and be an award winning cox?
I would have thought the stroke would be too over-worked to chat to the cox about flags
:) :)
Remind me which blue is which?
Absolutely! If I'm rowing that hard, I've probably got my eyes closed.
I doubt age has anything to do with it. You just need to be light enough and like shouting
ugly blue is cambridge
Oxford are dark
I do think they need a boat live timing though
Rudder 1: SPLASH
Rudder 2: NO SPLASH
Rudder 3: SPLASH
no legard this year, what a shame.
Dark blues it is then.
man with an 8-pack of fosters letting the side down a bit.
oooh on world news as well? coverage choice!
Any excuse to drink / get on TV.
everybody do the dinosaur!
oh ms balding is on eurosport anyway. same coverage on two channels :(
Dinosaur crazy golf?
Constantine appears to be known as Stan. Can't see what's wrong with Constantine.
Jurassic Park ??
or tina.
Connie.
If I was called constantine, I would feel like a roman GOD.
Stan makes me feel like I work at the local chippy
:)
claire is gone from eurosport again. i am confused so ive gone to bbc world news
Constantine's mother sounds ridiculously posh
Hyacinth Bucket
you'd have to be to name your son constantine. at my school he'd have been beaten up. daily.
All I could hear was a posh noise
I think there should be a boat race for the two lowest rated universities too
That would have happened at most schools but he probably went to Eton where there were 17 other Constantines
poor mr constantine loulou doesn't even make the wikipedia list of constantines.
:) :)
In fact, it was the constantine's beating up the jim's
That happens in most of the bars every weekend.
no probably about it "He was a Kings Scholar at Eton College, where he learnt to row in 2007 "
Who's our comms team this year? Was is Maurice Hamilton last time out?
well it's all well and good that he was a king's scholar but in my primary school, I was a a tuck shop attendant. I think we know who the winner here is
Either I am psychic or that was obvious
Gosh, last year was so dramatuc
Enough drama to warrant all the build up.
I want nothing short of a third mysterious boat appearing mid race this year
tiny, tiny woman.
Lighter the cox the better :)
She was the Coxford.
boo, shes 3cm shorter than me. my not-long-held dreams of being an award winning cox are over.
Coxes must permanently have sore necks because they spend all their time with people who are a foot taller than them
Walk around on your knees with your shoes on your knees and call anyone mad who notices your shins and feet trailing behind you
Boat race's charlie whiting
Jennie Gow was a cox
Legard is doing text commentary
i'm not sure being that short would help :(
really?
Dunno if it was s BoatRace cox though.
Jennie Gow @JennieGow
Boat race time...one day I'd love to be presenting this. I used to cox and this event is still very special!
I don't think she got as far as the boat race
My logic was working fine up until the getting in the boat bit
its like the biggest loser except the numbers are smaller.
I think I want the blue ones to win
i dont want to be a cox if they have to know how to read rivers and stuff. i just want to sit in a boat and have 8 large men row me around.
Is there a pitlane channel to choose?
hooray for oxford guys who aren't good enough but are still very good.
Dunno why they run the reserves earlier... Surely the reserves need to be fresh in case they are required to jump in.
heeh
these people are all smart AND athletic, that doesn't seem fair.
"reading the classics" doesn't seem that clever. beano is easy to read.
I guess the reserve crews give them information about the river. A bit like ice notes crews in rallying
trust constantine to be the only one who doesn't seem to be doing science/engineering/medicine
They have a line up the middle like the help thing on racing games
"racing line ON"
the problem with this sort of racing is you finish miles away. at least cars have the good grace to go past a few times :D
One day i dream of tuning in to seeing "Hello, I'm Bob, and I'm studying the life of Harry Potter at Cambridge"
We should have a poll :-)
i'm supporting the williams team (colours and location).
gooo blue!
they'd make it sound all posh like an "MPhil in Contemporary Literature of Wizards"
:)
I am going for Cambridge to win. Don't know why because I have never been there and I did a course at Oxford University
I'm for Oxford, mostly because of Connie.
Ox to win, cheering Light Blues though. As always
changed my mind, i want matthew pinsent to win
Brother-in-law at Ox = DarkBlues for us.
do you think they'd appreciate me suggesting a better shade of light blue?
Gladiators.., REEADDYYY
mercedes would work.
Contenders READYYYY
it's what this needs! john anderson!
Choppy from onboard
gooooo Cambridge!!
This is the clearest cox radio I think I've ever heard. Wait for the swears.
they have way more to do than i thought. i'm out.
they're holding up the queen's flotilla
Where's the stroke-rate graphic?
:)
:)
does the cox wear a microphone just for tv or do the rowers have little ear pieces?
oooh theyre getting close.
Overlapping oars
After last year, you'd think they'd be on opposite sides of the river.
oxford probably wanted to go down the river taff in cardiff instead for good measure
they're quite bad at moving apart.
i can imagine it's not as straight forward as we think.
what they need are sails
Just like with cars there is one line that is the fastest and they both want it
That's why the guys are soo big - to catch the breeze
i guess neither of them want to give up the racing line :D
I think Rob Smedley would make a good cox
And Christian Horner would be hopeless
Showing his socks off?
are the bicycling people coaches like in normal boat racing?
c'mon now oxford, this is silly.
:)
He can't get 2 drivers to work together. Can you imagine him trying to get 8 to row in sync
Long left-hander favours Ox
Grand Prix Diary @GrandPrixDiary
There is a dry line appearing under Putney Bridge. Time for Jenson to try slicks. #SorryForceOfHabit
come on tim!
#notsurewhattoshout
I believe tally ho chaps is appropriate
woah, the docked boat in the background was all over the place from all the waves
That island could be split course, like in Crashed Ice.
Cambridge must be careful to not fall >1s behind, they'll lose DRS
yes!
i loo forward to the thames loop the loop.
That is what this race needs. That and a big slope
boat wash is mental, when cruise ships used to go really slowly past my parents old house we'd get waves crashing onto the road for about 30 minutes after it had gone past.
Cambridge need to dig deep now and not let Oxford move over. If they don't they will get a blue flag
Super impressed with Cambridge hanging on so long.
When do they go onto the option oars?
Who ever puts in the biggest effort now will be holding the best hand towards the finish
♥
Language.
woop woop go Cambridge!
Swears!
They have the wind and the tide with them but the time is very slow
Oops I thought I heard a swaery word
they're quite far off the record times. is that because of the boats, the rowers, or the river?
Ox broken clear?
I am sure he said FuF
I think he's just singing now
Stan mention!
Cambridge just got the blue flag
Geordie McCloud is a superb name, like a Northern superhero
Cambridge rowing in dirty water.
*insert multi 21 joke somewhere*
That guy is going to have no voice left.
i would hate to have someone yelling 'THATS IT' at me for 20 minutes while i physically exert myself.
all in the legs!
That man is very loud,
guess it helps to not break your oars.
worst thunderbirds countdown evah.
More language from loud man
There is a reason why they lod him in the river after the race
He still has two to go...
I need closure!
Well done Williams
the moral of the story is, don't choose ugly blue as your colour.
I think I would want to lose rather than get chucked in that filthy ice cold water.
Funnily they muted his celebration
He looks pleased
why are so many rowing boats yellow.
Because they stand out against the water?
it was a question i pondered a lot at the olympics when 99% of the boats were yellow or white, but we had black ones
i dont much fancy getting in that water in my socks either.
needs more man in the water
How can such a loud voice come from such a tiny man?
theodora?
i want to punch them all :)
:)
Dangit. Were behind from early on though, never really looked like we'd win...
his name is alex.
(hopefully not alexandristantino)
I bet when the kids were born the doctor slapped the mother for those names
I was tutoring a girl yesterday who's name was Justice - one from the other end of the spectrum.
constantines mother was princess dianas lady in waiting and her father was the 20th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallin which sounds quite posh or something.
*blinks*
Viscounts are yummy chocolate from the supermarket
Sad Cambridge huddle.
*looks at their jacket*
I guess... they couldn't Hackett
#sorry
Clare tells it how it is: "Now is not the time to speak to losers."
Wonga!
both of my channels have gone to other shows, they do not like the post race. maybe because its 3am. I think thats trying to tell me something.
goodnight all :)
Night Amy
Night Amy
Night Amy. :)
Night.
why is rowing so early in the morning? can you not row after lunch??
How many times does she have to say BNY Mellon in order for the sponsorship cheque to clear?
One of those Cambridges is limping a bit.
National anthems time yes?
chaaaaamp.....
no champange?
Champagne is not posh enough for some of these boys.
chaaaaaaaammpaaaagneeee
All those posh boys and they can't figure out how to open a champagen bottle
They have people to do that for them
:)
"mother, do open this bottle of bubbly for me"
Cox: Just making sure he's taken his watch off and put his phone down
Eeek.
How cold was it?
Does the cox need to give them instructions on how to throw him in?
If you will throw someone into the freezing cold river live on TV, what do you think they're gonna say??
Broken the cork on that one
Anna Watkins' husband works for McLaren
Greetings everyone. Just making Pizza for the hangout. Did you know that when you open the Pizza Box, it comes in a Plastic seal? Fortuneately for me, I spent years making plastic models, where to get at the said model I had to cut open the plastic bag. Same thing here. I even used a meat cleaver to do so....
Not trying to prove a point or anything.... :p
Woo, ladies' race on the Thames in 2015.
Double header
I guess the letter worked.
top notch security.
brilliant fun, cheers peoples.
:) 38 minutes to do something 'useful'.
Thanks awesome boat race fans. See you at the same time next year.
Or in the Hangout at 6pm.
Sorry I missed this with you guys, I was at my Mum's with family, we timed our food and activities around when the race was on.. and then they talked most of the way through it. Good race though! I liked the tribute to Acer.
PS - the seaside scenes of Broadchurch are filmed here, just about a mile from my flat.