The Race
The 2010 Henley Boat Races against Oxford University take place on Sunday 28nd March on Henley Reach.
The Boat Race is a 2000m race held over the Henley Royal Regatta course but downstream: the start is the flagpole outside Phyllis Court and the finish is halfway down Temple Island. Winning the Boat Race against Oxford is the sole aim of CUWBC.
History of The Henley Boat Races
The Henley Boat Races were founded in 1975 by Richard Bates, an undergraduate at St John’s College, Cambridge, when he arranged the first Lightweight Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge over Henley Reach. This echoed the first Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, which took place at Henley in 1829.
Although the Women’s Boat Race was first raced in 1927, in the form of a time and style contest, it was also undergoing a revival in the 1970s and the event joined the men at Henley in 1977. The Blondie-Osiris race followed, and with the inauguration of the women’s lightweight race in 1984 a successful 4-race formula ran for more than 15 years. In 2000, a Lightweight Men’s Reserve race was also added to the programme, with the Granta-Nepthys race leading the programme until 2006 after which CULRC were forced to withdraw Granta for funding reasons. Nepthys have continued to row over and claim a trophy each year since then.
As Race Day became more popular so the duties required to run the organisation became too demanding for the unfortunate crew president on whom they fell. In 1989 a committee was set up, comprising the club presidents under the chairmanship of Mark Blandford-Baker, to agree the umpire, the date and other race details for the benefit of all. The chairman co-ordinated event development and helped maintain the excellent working relationship with Henley Royal Regatta, Leander Club, Remenham Club and the myriad of contractors and organisations that are now essential for the smooth running of the event. In the early days Mike Sweeney was frequently race umpire and used his rowing skills to help draft the initial version of the Race Agreement under which all subsequent races have been run. This goodwill continues with the Henley Boat Races still relying heavily on the support of HRR.
In 1995 Patrick Gillespie (CULRC 1989/90, OULRC 1992) who holds a unique title as the only man ever to have won Boat Races representing both universities, joined the committee as chairman’s assistant, in the knowledge that Mark Blandford-Baker could not stay indefinitely, and took over the lead role in 1999 until he handed over the reins to Robert Treharne Jones after the 2003 event.
It has only been in the last few years that the Henley Boat Races have been able to rely on the support of sponsors. It was in 1998 that a Sponsorship Committee was set up by Rebecca Caroe (Blondie 1986) with the purpose of increasing the exposure of the clubs and Race Day to potential corporate sponsors. The following year Chase Manhattan Bank signed a three year deal to support the races and crews from 2000 to 2002, and this successful relationship has continued with JPMorgan continuing their support for the 2003 to 2005 races. Alongside this support for the event itself other sponsors are supporting the crews in a variety of different ways. A long-term plan is for the Henley Boat Races to achieve a sound capital base that may in future feed back to the clubs themselves.