Tag: sean bowden

What are the Fundamentals of a Good Boat Race Team?

27 March 2011

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races are due next month, so we’re looking into what makes a good boat racing team in preparation for the exciting rowing event.

In September every year, a number of hopefuls enter in for trials. Those who get through the trials can be involved in the boat races on Race Day. Three months later, each of the clubs (Oxford and Cambridge) have 24 hopefuls left.

The coach of each team then split their team into two and begin test racing them along the race course to see how they measure up. Over time, the strong candidates become clear and the teams and reserves are officially announced approximately a month before the race day.

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Will Oxford or Cambridge Win the 2011 Boat Races?

27 March 2011

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races take place in just over a month, so who is most likely to win this year’s races. Well first off, let’s look at the recent wins.

From 2004 – 2009, Oxford won four out of the five boat races, with Cambridge winning on the 2007 race. That year Cambridge had help from the German world champions Thorsten Englemann and Sebastian Schulte, as well as Kieran West MBE who is an Olympic gold medal holder, and GB medal holder Tom James, so it’s not surprising that they won. 2008 and 2009 were won by Oxford again, but Cambridge pushed on to win last year’s race although it was still very close. Oxford were in the lead most of the way but came from behind and overtook Oxford towards the end, finally winning the race by 1 1/3 lengths.

Since the beginning of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 1829, Oxford have won 75 races and Cambridge have won 80, so as you can see from these figures it’s very close with not one team taking a huge lead over the other.

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