The Boat Race 1933
85th Boat Race | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | 1 April 1933 | ||
Winner | Cambridge | ||
Margin of victory | 2+1⁄4 lengths | ||
Winning time | 20 minutes 57 seconds | ||
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 44โ40 | ||
Umpire | Herbert Aylward Game (Cambridge) | ||
|
The 85th Boat Race took place on 1 April 1933. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Umpired by the former rower Herbert Aylward Game, Cambridge won by 2+1⁄4 lengths in a time of 20 minutes 57 seconds. The record tenth consecutive victory took the overall record in the event to 44–40 in Cambridge's favour.
Background
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2][3] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide.[4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1932 race by five lengths, and led overall with 43 victories to Oxford's 40 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[5][6]
Cambridge were coached by Francis Escombe, Harold Rickett (who rowed three times between 1930 and 1932), and Peter Haig-Thomas (four-time Blue for Cambridge between 1902 and 1905). Oxford's coaches were John Houghton Gibbon (who had participated in the 1899 and 1900 races, and umpired the 1931 race), P. Johnson (who had rowed for Oxford in the 1927 race), A. E. Kitchin (who had rowed in the 1908 race) and W. P. Mellen (who was a Dark Blue in 1923 and 1924 races).[7] The race was umpired by former Cambridge rower Herbert Aylward Game who had represented the Light Blues in the 1895 and 1896 races.[8]
According to the rowing correspondent for
Crews
The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12
Seat | Oxford |
Cambridge | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | College | Weight | Name | College | Weight | |
Bow |
W. H. Migotti | Worcester | 11 st 11.5 lb | W. L. R. Carbonell | St Catharine's | 12 st 4.5 lb |
2 | M. H. Mosley | Trinity | 12 st 0.25 lb | J. E. Gilmour | Trinity Hall | 12 st 0.5 lb |
3 | W. D. C. Erskine-Crum (P) | Christ Church | 12 st 9.5 lb | T. G. Askwith | Peterhouse | 12 st 0.5 lb |
4 | J. M. Couchman | Christ Church | 12 st 9 lb | R. B. F. Wylie | Clare | 12 st 10 lb |
5 | P. Hogg | New College | 12 st 9 lb | C. J. S. Sergel (P) | Clare | 12 st 10 lb |
6 | P. R. S. Bankes | Christ Church | 13 st 3 lb | W. A. T. Sambell |
Pembroke | 12 st 5 lb |
7 | G. A. Ellison | New College | 11 st 12.5 lb | C. M. Fletcher | 3rd Trinity | 12 st 9.5 lb |
Stroke |
R. W. G. Holdsworth | Brasenose | 11 st 13.25 lb | T. Frame-Thomson | 3rd Trinity | 12 st 0 lb |
Cox | C. Komarakul-Na-Nagara | Magdalen | 8 st 4.5 lb | R. N. Wheeler | Sidney Sussex | 7 st 12 lb |
Source:[10] (P) – boat club president[12] |
Race
Cambridge won the
Making the most of the inside of the bend in the river, Cambridge pushed on to be a length clear by The Doves pub. As both crews rowed into Chiswick Reach, they were struck by the headwind and by Chiswick Steps, the Light Blues had extended their lead by half a length, rating two strokes per minute more than Oxford. By the time they passed below Barnes Bridge, Cambridge were seven seconds ahead.[14] They passed the finishing post with a lead of two and a quarter lengths in a time of 20 minutes 57 seconds, taking the overall record in the event to 44–40 in their favour. It was the Light Blues' tenth consecutive victory, a record streak in the history of the event. It was the slowest winning time since the 1925 race and the narrowest margin of victory since the 1930 race.[5] Writing in The Observer, William Beach Thomas declared that "a good crew was beaten by a good crew after one of the finest races in the long chronicles".[13] According to the former Oxford rower E. P. Evans, "the features of the race were the superb stroking of the Oxford crew by Holdsworth and the extremely bad coxing of the Cambridge boat ... although Cambridge won, they were not really at their best."[14]
References
Notes
- ^ a b "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ "The Course". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Boat Race โ Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ "Classic moments โ the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Burnell, pp. 110–111
- ^ Burnell, pp. 49, 105
- ^ a b c "The Boat Race to-day". The Times. No. 46408. 1 April 1933. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Burnell, p. 74
- ^ Burnell, p. 39
- ^ Burnell, pp. 50, 52
- ^ a b Thomas, William (2 April 1933). "Cambridge makes history". The Observer. p. 19.
- ^ The Manchester Guardian. p. 2.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0950063878.
- Dodd, Christopher (1983). The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race. ISBN 0091513405.