Crews drawn from the Oxford and Cambridge 2011 Boat Race squads will race against each other for the first time this Sunday (14th November) in the annual Fuller’s Head of the River Fours event on The Tideway between Mortlake and Putney.

The main clash will be in the Elite 4+ event, where the respective club Presidents and returning Blues – American Derek Rasmussen (CUBC) and Welsh international rower Ben Myers (OUBC) – will compete as members of strong Cambridge I and Isis II boats.

Cambridge will race a total of four boats in the Elite 4+ event that also features leading club crews from Leander, Molesey and Tideway Scullers, plus a fifth boat in the coxed fours IM2 Academic event, which includes other University crews from London, Reading, Bristol and Oxford Brookes.

As well as a top boat in the Elite 4+ event, Oxford have another Isis crew competing among the Elite 4- and three other boats in the Intermediate races, with two in the coxed fours and one in the 4- event.

The top Cambridge boat includes three returning Blues – Rusmussen, George Nash and Australian Hardy Cubasch, who rowed in the winning 2010 Goldie boat, plus another Australian David Nelson. Cox Liz Box steered Goldie to victory this year.

Ben Myers, who rowed in the Dark Blue bow seat this year, is joined in Isis II by Londoners Karl Hudspith, Simon Hislop, Constantine Louloudis and cox Zoë De Toledo.

The 2011 Xchanging Boat Race – the 157th Race – will be staged on Saturday, 26 March at 17:00 and screened live on BBC 1.

 

November 12, 2010