Oxford Cambridge Boat Race

[DixieRoy]

The boat race?
Non event for poor little rich boys mate.

[Nick2]

The boat race?
Non event for poor little rich boys mate.

You're a long way behind the times Dixie. Your assertion may well have been true in the distant past, but this is no longer the case. The Boat Race crews these days are up to Olympic standard. As a consequence the "posh" boys you talk about would not have the fortitude to maintain the level of physical training needed to achieve these standards.

As an example Steve Redgrave (whose father was a builder and his mum the daughter of a bus driver) one of the worlds greatest ever rowers, was a Comprehensive schoolboy who struggled to pass one GCSE subject. And was never, originally, a member of any elitist group.

[Styx]

The boat race?
Non event for poor little rich boys mate.

Your assertion is somewhat different from reality.

Interest in the race goes far beyond those people who have rowed or who went to either University. Since 1829 the Boat Race has become a national sporting event comparable in the public mind with only three other highlights of the sporting calendar: the Grand National, the Derby and the FA Cup.


The UK television audience averages about 9 million viewers and the BBC figures for worldwide TV and radio audience for all or part of each year's Boat Race is above 400 million.

[Albion102]

You're a long way behind the times Dixie. Your assertion may well have been true in the distant past, but this is no longer the case. The Boat Race crews these days are up to Olympic standard. As a consequence the "posh" boys you talk about would not have the fortitude to maintain the level of physical training needed to achieve these standards.

As an example Steve Redgrave (whose father was a builder and his mum the daughter of a bus driver) one of the worlds greatest ever rowers, was a Comprehensive schoolboy who struggled to pass one GCSE subject. And was never, originally, a member of any elitist group.

Steve Redgrave also never went to or rowed for Oxford or Cambridge.

It depends what you mean by "in the past" - at the 2016 Olympics, 12 Oxford rowers of both genders competed, of whom 8 "medalled". But this is linked to the improvement in rowing performance at the Olympics.

In 1980 there were 4 and 2 respectively. It is becoming less common for crews to contain full heavyweight internationals, but more common for crews to progress to this level.

However, because they peak before the season starts, the winner of the boat race is probably the fastest 8 in the UK on boat race day.

[bensherman]

The captain of the winning Cambridge ladies' boat was invited to speak about their competitors.
She said it wouldn't have been the same without them.