Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
Thursday March 30, 2006
The annual boat race takes place this weekend, on Sunday 2 April.
The idea for a rowing race between the two 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, where Oxford were the clear winners. The event was such a resounding success that the townspeople later decided to organize a regatta of their own which duly became the 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).
The idea for a rowing race between the two 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, where Oxford were the clear winners. The event was such a resounding success that the townspeople later decided to organize a regatta of their own which duly became the 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).
- Get more information on The Boat Race
- Learn more about the history of The Boat Race
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