Unfamiliar waters for Oxford as Boat Race moves to Cambridgeshire
FOR almost two centuries, the boat crews of Oxford and Cambridge have got to know every twist and turn of the Thames – and where best to steal a march on the opposition.
But now, the Boat Race organisers face accusations of giving Cambridge a home advantage after announcing that it will be relocated to the Great Ouse at Ely next year.
The decision was taken owing to safety concerns about Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed for 18 months because of structural problems, as well as a desire to stage the race in a more remote area to deter large crowds of spectators.
The 2021 race will be one of only a handful not to have taken place on the Thames between Putney and Mortlake.
It will be the first time the race has moved outside London since the Second World War, when it was cancelled but unofficial races were organised.
But the decision to relocate the race to a stretch of the Great Ouse, just a mile away from the Cambridge University boat house, has led to claims that the Light Blues will have an advantage. Richard Phelps, a former Olympic rower who sits on the Boat Race Umpires Panel, said there is “no doubt” that the Oxford crew will not have the same “robust knowledge” of the river as their competitors.
James Cracknell, the former Olympic champion who became the oldest Boat Race champion when he joined the Cambridge crew at the age of 46 last year, said: “The switch of venue is a psychological challenge for both crews.
“Oxford can feel hard done-by, knowing that their opponents will be much more familiar with the course. But I wonder if it might actually be harder for Cambridge. They will be installed as favourites because Ely is their training base. That makes it very easy to feel flat, like it’s just another day at the office.”
But Matthew Holland, who coxed for Cambridge men’s team in last year’s Boat Race, admitted that the Cambridge signs would leave the Oxford team feeling like they were “prisoners of war” racing “deep inside enemy territory”.
Mr Phelps added that it was a “fairly straight, featureless course” which the Oxford crew could easily familiarise themselves with by practising there.
“If it was a course that was full of bends and bridges and other such features, I can imagine in that case yes there would be some home advantage. But Ely is fairly straight, there is an inlet and that’s it. The Oxford rowers will fairly quickly get their orientation.”
Dr George Gilbert, chairman of Boat Race Company’s race and operations committee, said organisers were trying to make it fair. “Moving out of London, while a painful decision to make, was the only realistic option,” he said.
He explained that they did not want crews to travel too far and wanted a location that could be “effectively closed off ”. He said the Oxford crew would be given as much access for training as they needed.