The Boat Race

I had forgotten that the Boat Race was on today - it's usually round about Easter so I should have remembered!

If you have no idea what I am talking about then you wont know why I have capitalised Boat Race and not given you any idea as to who the race is between or where it is held. If you do you know, then you wont need any further explanation at all and so I can ask you who you fancy for the winners this year?

For all you other poor unenlightened people there is absolutely no reason for capitalising Boat Race, it's just that if you ask pretty much anyone in the UK who they think will win The Boat Race, they'll know exactly what you mean! The Boat Race is a race between Cambridge and Oxford Universities although they don't race at either Cambridge or Oxford but in London on the Thames between Putney and Mortlake - which doesn't actually mean all that much to me - so I have to refer the Race website for more information about that!

According to that website the first Race was held in 1829, so you would imagine that it hasn't got long to go before it's 200th anniversary, except that it has not been run every year so there haven't been 179 races with this one being the 180th. It is in fact the 155th Boat Race today with Cambridge (light blues) leading the tally with 79 races to 74 although Oxford (dark blues) won last year.

The race starts at about 3:40pm but the coverage on the television has been quite intensive - it started at 2:20pm and will go on until 4:30pm by which time we should know who has won!! Just over two hours of coverage for a race that usually lasts under twenty minutes - which just goes to how much of a fixture it is in the sporting calendar - only if you are British of course. But that said - apparently many of the racers are not British - the only qualifier is that they must be studying at Cambridge or Oxford University.

Anyway - the race starts in about three minutes! I plump for Cambridge to win this year. (it was not to be - Oxford had a very good race!)