The Boat Race 2019 took place on 7April 2019. Held annually,
The Boat Race
The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...
is a
side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
along a tidal stretch of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
in south-west London. This was the 74th women's race and the 165th men's race, and, for the fourth time in the history of the event, the men's,
women's and both reserves' races were all held on the
Tideway
The Tideway is a 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 on ...
on the same day.
The women's race was the first event of the day, and saw Cambridge lead from the start, eventually winning by a considerable margin. It was their third consecutive victory, taking the overall record in the Women's Boat Race to 44–30 in their favour. The men's race was the final event of the day and completed a second consecutive
whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.
...
as Cambridge won; it was their third victory in four years, taking the overall record to 84–80 in their favour. In the women's reserve race, Cambridge's ''Blondie'' defeated Oxford's ''Osiris'', their fourth consecutive victory. The men's reserve race was won by Cambridge's ''Goldie'', who defeated Oxford's ''Isis''.
The races were watched live by thousands of spectators lining the banks of the Thames. They were also live-streamed on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and by multiple media organisations around the world, including in Germany, South Africa and China.
Background
The Boat Race
The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...
is a
side-by-side rowing competition between the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")
and the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").
[ First held in 1829, the race takes 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 th ...
, between Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
and Mortlake
Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many cen ...
on the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
in south-west London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; the race is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as champions, having won the 2018 race by a margin of three lengths, and led overall with 83 victories to Oxford's 80 (excluding the 1877 race, a dead heat).
It was the fourth time in the history of The Boat Race that all four senior races – the men's, women's, men's reserves' and women's reserves' – were held on the same day and on the same course along the Tideway
The Tideway is a 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 on ...
. Before 2015, the women's race, which first took place in 1927, was usually held at 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 ...
along the course. However, on at least two occasions in the interwar period, the women competed on the Thames between Chiswick and Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
. Cambridge's women went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 2018 race by seven lengths, and led 43–30 overall.[
The autumn reception, where the previous year's losing team challenges the winners to a rematch the next spring, was held at the ]Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
in London on 8November 2018. As Cambridge's women had won the previous year's race, it was Oxford's responsibility to offer the traditional challenge to the 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). To that end, Eleanor Shearer, President of Oxford University Women's Boat Club
Oxford University Women's Boat Club (OUWBC) is the rowing club for female rowers (and coxes of either sex) who are students at the University of Oxford. The club was founded in 1926 and is now based in Wallingford at the Fleming Boat Hous ...
(OUWBC), laid down the gauntlet to Abigail Parker, her Cambridge counterpart. Cambridge's victory in the men's race meant that Felix Drinkall, President of Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century.
The Boat Race
The club races agai ...
(OUBC), challenged Dara Alizadeh, President of Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC).
The 74th women's race was umpired by Richard Phelps, a former rower who successfully represented Cambridge in the 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
, 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
and 1995 races. He had previously umpired the men's race once, in 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. The 165th men's race was umpired by Rob Clegg, who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 races. He umpired the women's race in 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. The women's reserve race was overseen by Tony Reynolds, while the men's reserve race was umpired by multiple Olympic gold-medallist Matthew Pinsent
Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...
.[ As well as rowing for Oxford in the ]1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
, 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
and 1993 races, he was assistant umpire in the 2012 race before umpiring the 2013 men's race and the 2018 women's race.
On 30 January 2019, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was announced as the official charity partner for the event. The event was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Numerous broadcasters worldwide also showed the main races, including
in China. It was also streamed live on
and YouTube.
The Cambridge men's crew coaching team was led by their chief coach, Rob Baker, who had previously coached CUWBC to victories in both the 2017 and 2018 races.
.