Oxford University Women's Boat Club (OUWBC) was the rowing club for female

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

s (and coxes of either sex) who were students at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. The club was founded in 1926 and was based in Wallingford at the Fleming Boat House, along with

OUBC Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829. The prime constitutional aim of OUBC is to beat Cambridge University Boat Club in ...

, OUWLRC and

OULRC Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) was the university rowing club for lightweight men at the University of Oxford which selected crews to race against Cambridge University Boat Club in the Lightweight Boat Races at the end of ...

. In 2023, OUWBC merged with OUBC, OUWLRC and OULRC to form one

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the Rowing (sport), rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829. The prime constitutional aim of OUBC is to beat Cambridge Univers ...

. The training season ran from September through to July, with the major event, the

Women's Boat Race The Women's Boat Race is an annual rowing (sport), rowing race between Cambridge University Boat Club and Oxford University Women's Boat Club. First rowed in 1927, the race has taken place annually since 1964. Since the The Boat Races 2015, 20 ...

against

Cambridge University Women's Boat Club Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the ...

(CUWBC), happening in March or April. Up until 2015 the Women's Boat Race had taken place over 2000m as part of the

Henley Boat Races The Henley Boat Races were a series of annual rowing races between various crews representing the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The event included the Lightweight Men's Boat Race from 1975 to 2018, the Women's Boat R ...

on the Henley Reach. In 2015, for the first time, the Women's Boat Race took place on the 6.8 km

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for sport rowing, rowing races, particularly the The Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course ...

on the

Tideway The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending ...

, and was televised on the BBC alongside the Men's Boat Race. In 2023, OUWBC was dissolved as a part of a merger between the various rowing clubs that represent Oxford at a University Level into one

History

The original challenge between the Oxford and Cambridge University boat clubs was issued in 1829. As a result, two men's eights raced on the river at

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

. In 1836 the race was moved to the

in London, and it has remained there ever since. At this time rowing was not seen as an appropriate sport for a lady. However, towards the end of the century attitudes began to change. The two universities caught onto the trend a few decades later and OUWBC was formed in May 1926. Following on from this the 'Ladies' Boat Race' was founded in 1927. The first races took place on

The Isis "The Isis" ( ) is an alternative name for the River Thames, used from its source in the Cotswolds until it is joined by the River Thame at Dorchester-on-Thames, Dorchester in Oxfordshire. Notably, the Isis flows through Oxford and has given i ...

in Oxford and took the form of a time and style contest, since the Principals of the women's colleges disapproved of racing. The OUWBC was disbanded for financial reasons in 1953 but re-formed in 1964. The races were held alternately on The Isis and The Cam and in 1975 a 2nd VIII race was added. In 1977 the 'Women's Boat Race' was invited to join the men's lightweights at Henley and so the '

' were established. At this time, the women's reserve race crews were named 'Osiris' (Oxford) and 'Blondie' (Cambridge) to parallel the men's reserves 'Isis' and 'Goldie'. From 1977 to 2014 the Women's Boat Race continued to be held at Henley over 2000m (excluding 2013 where the race was moved to

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around ...

due to flooding).

Sponsorship and the move to the Tideway

Following a sponsorship deal with

Newton Investment Management Newton Investment Management is a investment management firm based in London. It is subsidiary of BNY Investments. History The firm was founded as Newton in 1978 as a joint venture with Scottish insurance broker Reed Stonehouse. In 1986, it w ...

, established shortly before the Women's Boat Race 2011, parent company

BNY Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

announced in February that they would be sponsoring both the men's and women's boat races from the 2013 race. This sponsorship was key in enabling the

to move to the Tideway in 2015. Since the 2012 race, Newton Investment Management has provided equal funding to OUWBC and CUWBC to enable the clubs to employ full time professional coaches and a support team to transition ‘from a student-run club to a pre-elite team’ on their road to the Tideway.

2015 Newton Women's Boat Race

In 2015, the Women's Boat Race took place on

the Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of t ...

between the University stones at Putney and Mortlake on 11 April. The Reserve boat, Osiris, raced the Cambridge reserve boat, Blondie, on 10 April over the same course. OUWBCWeHORR

Osiris Honours

British champions

References

External links

OUWBC WebsiteHenley Boat RacesOxford University Rowing ClubsNewton Investment Management
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs

Boat Club A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. See also * Rowing club *Yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifi ...

Sports clubs and teams established in 1926 1926 establishments in England Women's Boat Race Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames