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 Race from 1977 to 2014, the Lightweight Women's Boat Race from 1984 to 2019, and the Collegiate Boat Races from 2010 to 2019. Between 2015 and 2020, the openweight and lightweight Varsity races previously held at Henley were relocated to the Championship Course to match the openweight men's Boat Race, at which point the Collegiate Boat Races were scrapped.
History Henley Boat Races took place annually in late March or early April the week before the University Boat Races, which are held on the Championship Course on the Thames in London.
The Henley Boat Races began as men's lightweight races in 1975 and enlarged to incorporate the Women's Boat Race and their reserve crew race from 1977 and the women's lightweight race from 1984. In 2000, the lightweight men added a race for their reserve crews, Nephthys (Oxford) and Granta (Cambridge). The races took place in 2001, at the Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. The lightweight men's race fell into abeyance after 2009 as a result of Cambridge not fielding a Granta crew from 2007, giving Oxford a row over for three years. From 2016, Nephthys and Granta raced again, sometimes on a different date or location to the main Henley Boat Races. A women's lightweight reserve race was held in 2012 prior to race day and took place from 2016 on race day. The 2013 event was moved to Dorney Lake as a result of flooding on the Thames.
In 2015, the Women's Boat Race moved further down the River Thames to the Tideway to take place as a combined men's and women's Boat Race. The event was moved to Dorney Lake again in 2018 due to "adverse river conditions on the Thames at Henley" and the collegiate races were cancelled. The Lightweight Men's Boat Race made the same move to the Tideway in 2019, followed by the Lightweight Women's Boat Race in 2020, although the Lightweight Boat Races continue to operate separately to their openweight counterparts.
The races received local and national press coverage in many years,; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and competitors from both Universities have gone on to compete at international and Olympic levels.
Events Crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge raced side by side over a 2000-meter course on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames, racing downstream—the opposite direction to the Henley Royal Regatta course—and finishing halfway down Temple Island. The collegiate races took place over a shorter 1750 m course. The races typically included: Women's Boat Race (OUWBC vs CUWBC) Lightweight Men's Boat Race (OULRC vs CULRC) Lightweight Women's Boat Race (OUWLRC vs CUWBC Lightweights) Women's Reserves (Osiris vs Blondie) Lightweight Men's Reserves (Nephthys vs Granta) [held separately on an earlier date] Lightweight Women's Reserves (Tethys vs CUWBC Lightweight Reserves) Men's Intercollegiate Boat Race (between one college representing Oxford and one representing Cambridge) Women's Intercollegiate Boat Race (between one college representing Oxford and one representing Cambridge)
An Alumnae race was typically held in later years. The lightweight races constituted the varsity race. The first crew received university half-blues, and was therefore more commonly known as the Lightweight Blue Boat. The reserve crew received university colours. The intercollegiate races were between the fastest crews from the Oxford Torpids and the Cambridge Lent Bumps; Oxford selection was done by time trial and Cambridge gave the right of first refusal to headship crews.
Results
The history of the results of the races are as follows.
Women's Boat Race
The Women's Boat Race and its Reserve race became part of the Henley Boat Races in 1977. With the Women's Boat Race moving to the Tideway Championship Course and forming part of The Boat Races 2015, the race as well as the race of the reserve boats Osiris and Blondie ceased to be part of the Henley Boat Races. For the full results tables, see the main article on the Women's Boat Race.
Cambridge: 21 wins at Henley Oxford: 17 wins at Henley
No. Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 32 1977 Cambridge 11 21 33 1978 Cambridge 11 22 34 1979 Cambridge 11 23 35 1980 Oxford 12 23 36 1981 Oxford 13 23 37 1982 Cambridge 13 24 38 1983 Cambridge 13 25 39 1984 Cambridge 13 26 40 1985 Oxford 14 26 41 1986 Oxford 15 26 42 1987 Cambridge 15 27 43 1988 Oxford 16 27 44 1989 Cambridge 6:20 1 16 28 45 1990 Cambridge 7:17 16 29 46 1991 Oxford 7:29 3 17 29 47 1992 Cambridge 6:20 17 30 48 1993 Cambridge 6:10 17 31 49 1994 Cambridge 6:11 1 17 32 50 1995 Cambridge 6:02 17 33 51 1996 Cambridge 6:12 4 17 34 52 1997 Cambridge 6:26 17 35 53 1998 Cambridge 6:25 17 36 54 1999 Cambridge 6:01 1 17 37 55 2000 Oxford 6:18 18 37 56 2001 Cambridge 7:27 3 ft. 18 38 57 2002 Oxford 6:02 19 38 58 2003 Oxford 6:35 20 38 59 2004 Oxford 6:06 4 21 38 60 2005 Cambridge 6:27 21 39 61 1 April 2006 Oxford 5:44 22 39 62 1 April 2007 Cambridge 4:03 22 40 63 23 March 2008 Oxford 6:39 23 40 64 22 March 2009 Oxford 6:24 24 40 65 28 March 2010 Oxford 5:56 4 25 40 66 27 March 2011 Oxford 6:24 1 26 40 67 25 March 2012 Cambridge 6:38 26 41 68 24 March 2013 Oxford 7:21 27 41 69 29 March 2014 Oxford 5:50 4 28 41
Notes
– The course was shortened in 2007 due to rough water during the Henley Boat Races. It was reduced from 2000 m to less than 1500 m with the start between the Upper Thames Rowing Club and Old Blades.
Lightweight Men's Boat Race
Cambridge: 28 wins Oxford: 16 wins
Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 1975 Cambridge - 1 1976 Oxford 1 1 1977 Oxford 2 1 1978 Cambridge 2 2 1979 Cambridge 2 3 1980 Cambridge 2 4 1981 Cambridge 2 5 1982 Cambridge 2 6 1983 Cambridge 2 7 1984 Cambridge 2 8 1985 Cambridge 6 ft 2 9 1986 Cambridge 2 2 10 1987 Cambridge 6:09 2 11 1988 Cambridge 2 12 1989 Cambridge 5:51 2 13 1990 Cambridge 6:40 2 14 1991 Cambridge 6:39 2 15 1992 Oxford 5:40 3 15 1993 Cambridge 5:39 3 16 1994 Oxford 5:35 4 16 1995 Cambridge 5:29 4 17 1996 Oxford NRO disq 5 17 1997 Oxford 5:49 1 6 17 1998 Cambridge 5:45 6 18 1999 Oxford 5:31 7 18 2000 Cambridge 5:40 2 7 19 2001 Cambridge 6:33 4 7 20 2002 Oxford 5:21 2 8 20 2003 Oxford 5:55 9 20 2004 Oxford 5:36 10 20 2005 Oxford 5:51 3 11 20 1 April 2006 Oxford 5:18 12 20 1 April 2007 Oxford 3:44 1 13 20 23 March 2008 Oxford 6:15 14 20 22 March 2009 Cambridge 5:49 3 14 21 28 March 2010 Cambridge 5:28 2 ft 14 22 27 March 2011 Oxford 5:54 Canvas 15 22 25 March 2012 Cambridge 6:00 15 23 24 March 2013 Oxford 6:49 16 23 30 March 2014 Cambridge 5:30 16 24 5 April 2015 Cambridge 5:55 4 ft 16 25 19 March 2016 Cambridge 6:19 Easily 16 26 26 March 2017 Cambridge 6:07 16 27 18 March 2018 Cambridge 6:26 (Raced at Dorney) 16 28
Lightweight Women's Boat Race
Cambridge: 19 wins Oxford: 17 wins
Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 1984 Cambridge - 1 1985 Cambridge - 2 1986 Oxford 1 2 1987 Cambridge 1 3 1988 Cambridge 1 4 1989 Cambridge 6:37 1 1 5 1990 Cambridge 7:35 1 6 1991 Cambridge 7:48 1 7 1992 Cambridge 6:35 3 1 8 1993 Cambridge 6:18 Easily 1 9 1994 Cambridge 6:23 1 ft. 1 10 1995 Oxford 6:19 2 2 10 1996 Cambridge 6:36 Canvas 2 11 1997 Cambridge 6:37 Canvas 2 12 1998 Oxford 6:36 Canvas 3 12 1999 Oxford 6: 4 12 2000 Oxford 6:22 5 12 2001 Cambridge 7:37 3 5 13 2002 Oxford 6:06 4 6 13 2003 Oxford 6:51 2 7 13 2004 Oxford 6:08 8 13 2005 Oxford 6:55 9 13 1 April 2006 Cambridge 6:00 Canvas 9 14 1 April 2007 Oxford 4:11 1 10 14 23 March 2008 Cambridge 7:01 10 15 22 March 2009 Oxford 6:30 11 15 28 March 2010 Oxford 6:01 12 15 27 March 2011 Cambridge 6:43 12 16 25 March 2012 Oxford 6:48 13 16 24 March 2013 Oxford 7:33 14 16 29 March 2014 Oxford 6:08 15 16 5 April 2015 Cambridge 6:26 3 ft. 15 17 19 March 2016 Oxford 6:54 Canvas 16 17 26 March 2017 Cambridge 6:45 3 16 18 18 March 2018 Cambridge 7:24 (Raced at Dorney)16 19 30 March 2019 Oxford 6:28 17 19
Women's Reserves (Osiris vs Blondie)
Cambridge: 19 wins at Henley Oxford: 19 wins at Henley
Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 1977 Cambridge - 5 1978 Cambridge - 6 1979 Cambridge - 7 1980 Cambridge - 8 1981 Oxford 1 8 1982 Cambridge 1 9 1983 Oxford 2 9 1984 Oxford 3 9 1985 Oxford 4 9 1986 Cambridge 4 10 1987 Cambridge 4 11 1988 Oxford 5 11 1989 Oxford 6:33 1 6 11 1990 Cambridge 7:34 6 12 1991 Cambridge 7:36 6 13 1992 Cambridge 6:32 6 14 1993 Cambridge 6:22 6 15 1994 Cambridge 6:22 Canvas 6 16 1995 Cambridge 6:08 1 6 17 1996 Cambridge 6:33 5 6 18 1997 Cambridge 6:36 6 19 1998 Cambridge 6:32 4 6 20 1999 Oxford 6:09 7 20 2000 Cambridge 6:27 7 21 2001 Oxford 7:32 Easily 8 21 2002 Oxford 6:09 9 21 2003 Oxford 6:43 2 10 21 2004 Oxford 6:16 11 21 2005 Oxford 6:41 12 21 1 April 2006 Oxford 5:54 13 21 1 April 2007 Oxford NTT 1 14 21 23 March 2008 Oxford 7:09 Easily 15 21 22 March 2009 Cambridge 6:50 15 22 28 March 2010 Oxford 6:10 16 22 27 March 2011 Cambridge - Disq 16 23 25 March 2012 Oxford 6:57 17 23 24 March 2013 Oxford 7:41 6 18 23 29 March 2014 Oxford 6:01.5 19 23
Lightweight Men's Reserves (Nephthys vs Granta)
Oxford: 9 wins Cambridge: 4 wins
Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 2000 Cambridge 5:50 - 1 2001 Oxford 7 1 1 2002 Oxford 5:33 2 2 1 2003 Cambridge 6:19 2 2 2004 Oxford 5:45 Canvas 3 2 2005 Oxford 6:07 4 2 1 April 2006 Oxford 5:26 5 5 2 1 April 2007 Oxford 4:08 R/O due to no Cambridge crew. Lost to Old Boys. 6 2 23 March 2008 Oxford 6:29 R/O due to no Cambridge crew. Lost to Old Boys. 7 2 22 March 2009 Oxford 6:15 R/O due to no Cambridge crew. Beat Durham. 8 2 Race in abeyance 2010 - 2015 13 March 2016 Cambridge - (Raced in 4x) 8 3 26 March 2017 Oxford 6:19 (Raced in 4+) 9 3 18 March 2018 Cambridge 7:24 (Raced in 4+ at Dorney) 9 4
Lightweight Women's Reserves (Tethys vs CUWBC Lightweight Reserves)
Cambridge: 4 Oxford: 1
Raced on the Friday before the main event in a 4+ in 2012, and incorporated into main race day in 2016. Date Winner Time Winning Margin (Lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins2012 Cambridge (Raced in 4+) - 119 March 2016 Cambridge 8:55 (Raced in 2-) - 226 March 2017 Cambridge easily (Raced in 2-) - 3 18 March 2018 Oxford 8:15 easily (Raced in 4+ at Dorney) 1 3 30 March 2019 Cambridge (Raced in 2-) 1 4
Men's Collegiate Boat Race Cambridge: 7 Oxford: 2
Year Oxford Cambridge Time Verdict (lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 2010 Balliol First & Third easily - 1 2011 Christ Church Caius 4:06 3 - 2 2012 Pembroke Caius - 3 2013 Balliol Caius - 4 2014 Oriel Downing - 5 2015 Oriel Jesus 3 1 5 2016 Pembroke Caius 12 5 2017 Oriel Lady Margaret 4 2 6 2018 Wolfson Lady Margaret - 2 6 2019 Wadham Caius 2 7 Collegiate races cancelled due to adverse weather conditions
Women's Collegiate Boat Race Cambridge: 5 Oxford: 4
Year Oxford Cambridge Time Verdict (lengths) Oxford Wins Cambridge Wins 2010 Worcester Queens' narrowly - 1 2011 Magdalen Pembroke 4:47.5 - 2 2012 Pembroke 1 2 2013 St John's Downing 1 3 2014 Wadham First & Third 2 3 2015 Green Templeton Christ's 2 4 2016 Christ Church Jesus 4 3 4 2017 Keble Jesus 2 4 4 2018 Keble Jesus - 4 4 2019 Wadham Newnham 4 5 Collegiate races cancelled due to adverse weather conditions
References
External links Official website