How to watch the Boat Race 2018 on TV
Everything you need to know about the annual contest between Oxford and Cambridge universities
Here’s everything you need to know about the 164th annual boat race (now called The Cancer Research UK Boat Races) between Oxford and Cambridge universities...
When is the Boat Race on TV?
The Oxford v Cambridge boat races are on Saturday 24th March live on BBC1. You can watch build-up coverage with Clare Balding and the race itself on BBC1 from 3:50pm. Commentary by Andrew Cotter who has been covering the event for the BBC since 2010.
The women’s race is up first at 4.31pm
The men’s race follows it at 5.32pm.
Each race is expected to last about 20 minutes.
Who’s in what colour?
As usual, Oxford will row in dark blue, while Cambridge will be light blue.
Who are the rowers to watch out for?
Look out for James Letten in the Cambridge men's boat: at 6ft 10in, he is the tallest person ever to compete in the Boat Race, over a foot taller than Cambridge cox Hugo Ramambason.
Who won last year?
In 2017, Oxford won the men’s race, but Cambridge won the women’s race (by an entire 11 lengths).
How long is the course?
The four-mile, 374-yard Championship course is on the River Thames, starting at Putney Bridge and ending at Chiswick Bridge. It’s the course that’s been used since 1845 (apart from in 1846, 1856 and 1863 when the boat race took place between Mortlake and Putney).
How many times has each team won?
In the men’s competition the scores are pretty even: Cambridge has won the race 82 times, while Oxford has won 80 times. There’s been one draw: the 1877 contest was declared a “dead heat”, although Oxford often counts this as their victory.
However, it’s not quite level-pegging in the women’s race. Since it was introduced in 1927, Cambridge has earned 42 victories, while Oxford only 30.
