5 Reasons to watch the boat race

1 - Come on, it’s in our tradition! You may well be aware that this race has been going on for a while. Since the 12th March 1829... to be exact. Ever since then (except during the wars), The universities of Oxford and Cambridge have exchanged challenges and subsequently faced off on the Thames. I’m pretty enthusiastic about this particular sporting event (as you might be able to tell!). It’s not just because of my ever-present passion for rowing. It’s also that there’s just something really rather amazing about watching an event so rich in history and tradition, don’t you think?

2 - It’s one of the toughest tests of physical and mental endurance in sport The challenge of rowing 4.25 miles on the River Thames is certainly not unheard of within rowing as a sport. In fact, many hundreds of crews race the same course during the Head Season (time-trial races in the springtime of the rowing year). What makes this different? It’s the fact that the crews race side-by-side. Turning it into a constant competition to get ahead and to occupy the fastest water. Oh yeah, and it’s raced upstream... just to make it even harder!

3 - The training that goes into the race is simply incredible Each member of the Boat Race crews has trained for about two hours for every single stroke of the race. In case that doesn’t seem like a lot you, consider how you’d have fitted in over 1200 hours of physically exhausting preparation in the space between September and now (remember, these guys are students too!). The on water training gets increasingly more intense. in the weeks just before the race, the university teams take on (and often defeat) the best of the best clubs from within this country and National teams from across the world (recently including Germany and the USA).

4 - The whole competition is a lot closer than you’d think I wonder how much people know about the overall closeness of the series... Because it’s really rather close. Cambridge currently lead. The Light Blues have won seventy-nine races, and Oxford have seventy-five wins to their name (somewhere along the line, there’s also been one draw). Oxford have won it for the past two years and it’ll be very exciting to see if they are able to create a bit of a winning streak and build pressure towards gaining that overall lead.

5 - It’s quality sporting action on a Saturday afternoon, why not? Exactly that. Why not? You can grab a couple of beers, place sportsmanlike bets on who you think will win and enjoy the racing with some of your mates. Let’s not forget, even though it’s a serious sporting occasion, it’s a lot of fun to watch. It’s very exciting and dramatic, so much so that around 250,000 people flock to the banks of the Thames every year to witness it (I’ve been amongst them for the past three years). So unless you’re doing anything better this Saturday at 4.30pm, I suggest you tune in and watch the Boat Race. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.

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