159th Boat Race Between Crews From Oxford & Cambridge Universities

---

Starts at 4.30pm on 31st March

March 31st 2013 will see the 159th Boat Race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. First raced in 1829 The Boat Race is one of the oldest sporting events in the world.

Watched by thousands along the banks of The Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world, The Boat Race is a unique sporting event. With two very strong squads of athletes, expect to see another great race this year. Currently Cambridge lead with 81 wins over Oxford's 76 - come down and see them set off from Putney, watch along the river bank or watch the teams finish in Mortlake.

The Course
The Boat Race course, known as the Championship Course is 4 miles, 374 yards or 6.8 Km long. It stretches between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in South West London. The race starts from two stake boats moored so that the competitors' bows are in line with thMarch 26, 2013src="images/universitystone.jpg" width="147" height="193" hspace="2" vspace="3" border="1" align="left">The University Stone is set into the towpath on Putney Embankment a few metres below Putney Bridge. There is an equivalent stone set into the bank, adjacent to The Ship pub in Mortlake, at the finish of the race.

This course was first used for the Boat Race in 1845 and has been used for every race since, (apart from 1846, 1856 and 1863 when the race was held in the opposite direction between Mortlake and Putney).

The Fulham/Chiswick side of the course is known as the Middlesex side. The Putney/Barnes side of the course is known as the Surrey side.

The race is rowed upstream, but is timed to start on the incoming flood tide, usually an hour before high tide, so that the crews are rowing with the fastest possible current.



Before the race starts at 4.30 the two reserve crews knows as Isis (Oxford) & Goldie (Cambridge) will race at 4pm.

March 26, 2013