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Telegraph
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
How the Boat Race turned toxic
There is a trailer for a documentary about this year's Boat Race that ends with Oxford women's president declaring: 'I will sell my soul to the devil to win this race.' If the makers of Turning The Tide were looking to cast a pantomime villain for the programme's second season, then a laughing Annie Anezakis's talk of Faustian pacts may well have clinched her the role. But despite glamorising how far those involved in the showdown on the Thames are prepared to go in pursuit of victory, this 'all-access docu-series' has revealed nothing of this year's unprecedented public row between Britain's two oldest universities – one that has left relations between their boat clubs at an all-time low. Neither has there been any mention of the six Cambridge students caught in the middle of it all – including Anezakis's opposite number – whose dreams of being part of a winning Boat Race crew have been crushed amid allegations of 'slimy' manoeuvrings by their arch-rivals. Nor has the programme explained how behind it all lies an arms race to recruit elite-level 'ringers' to take part in one of the world's longest-running amateur sporting competitions. How much Anezakis knew about this ongoing uncivil war when she made her own provocative remarks is unclear but it is others, rather than her, who stand accused of triggering a spat that has become more toxic than the sewage-ridden river on which the near 200-year-old Boat Race now takes place. Until this year, both Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) and their Cambridge University counterparts (CUBC) had managed to keep a lid on age-old tensions over their recruitment of Olympic rowers to take part in the race. Suspicion runs deep between institutions whose cheerleaders respectively insult each other with the slurs 'Shoe the Tabs' (derived from 'Cantabrigian') and 'GDBO' (God Damn Bloody Oxford). It even extends to unfounded rumours that active or retired Olympians may have historically been offered places on courses for which they were not academically qualified, and paranoia that brown envelopes stuffed with cash may have been used in a bid to lure them to study. The two boat clubs eventually decided to do something about all this – though not to prevent them selecting Olympic rowers altogether, nor to combat any suspected skulduggery. Instead came a crackdown on the over-30s following the victory in the 2019 race by James Cracknell, who, at 46, became the oldest rower to enter by a decade after enrolling at Cambridge. There was little mention at the time that a man who retired from competitive rowing 13 years earlier – albeit as a two-time Olympic champion – might be considered a 'ringer'. But, after the coronavirus crisis saw the 2020 race cancelled, both universities gave their blessing to a change to the so-called Joint Agreement between them that governs the event, with the aim of preventing anyone taking part more than 12 years after they first began an undergraduate degree. A rule change, which Telegraph Sport has been told was proposed by a lawyer for Cambridge, went unnoticed by the wider public until last month and was seemingly not fully enforced, with both this year's and last year's CUBC women's presidents – Lucy Havard and Jenna Armstrong – being allowed to race in 2024 despite breaching it. All that changed following the first post-Olympic year since the rule change came into effect which, as Havard says in the first episode of Turning The Tide, meant 'Olympians!' Both universities recruited heavily from the stars of Paris 2024, most notably Tom Mackintosh, New Zealand's Tokyo 2020 men's eight champion, and Tom Ford, who stroked Britain to gold in the same event last summer. Each rower is said to have been offered places at both Oxford and Cambridge, with Mackintosh opting for the former – becoming OUBC men's president in the process – and Ford the latter. However, multiple sources have told Telegraph Sport that Ford was warned by Oxford that he would not be able to row in the Boat Race because, unlike Mackintosh, he breached the so-called '12-year rule'. What Cambridge told Ford about his eligibility depends on who you ask but one source said Oxford became convinced their rivals were planning to put him in their crew. Indeed, as recently as March 2, the 32-year-old stroked Cambridge's 'provisional Blue Boat' (their Boat Race crew) to victory against Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands in two 'preparation' races for this weekend's event. It also depends who you ask whether it was Oxford's fears about Ford – compounded by five defeats in the last six men's Boat Races and seven in a row in the women's (hence the title of Turning The Tide) – that drove what happened next. But what is not in dispute is that OUBC were successful in getting three trainee teachers in the Cambridge squad banned from racing, including Matt Heywood, a former under-23 world champion and an LA 2028 Team GB hopeful. They did so after challenging a long-standing tradition that had seen those studying for a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) compete for both universities. A ruling in December by an interpretation panel that governs disputes over the Joint Agreement found against a trio who have become known as the 'PGCE three' amid what is said to have been a pedantic debate about whether Cambridge University's own statutes classed such a diploma as being of sufficient status to meet Boat Race rules. Multiple sources have also said that CUBC appealed and submitted fresh evidence showing that a PGCE was deemed to be of sufficient status, causing the panel to reverse its decision the following month. However, Oxford are then said to have challenged this outcome on the basis that the interpretation panel's decisions are 'binding, final and unappealable' under the Joint Agreement, forcing the panel to revert to its original – seemingly flawed – ruling. 'Desperate ploy to gain upper hand in most slimy way' It was perhaps this burning sense of perceived injustice that prompted Annamarie Phelps, the chair of CUBC, vice-chair of the British Olympic Association and a former Olympic rower, to make the whole affair public less than four weeks before the race. Phelps said in a statement that she was 'deeply disappointed' at the outcome, adding: 'This decision comes despite the university's advice on the PGCE's standing and despite the precedent set by PGCE students from both Oxford and Cambridge being allowed to race in preceding years.' The names of the 'PGCE three' emerged after Heywood took to Instagram to accuse Oxford OUBC of being behind their exclusion. Identifying Molly Foxell and Kate Crowley as the other affected athletes, he wrote: 'It's safe to say that this decision doesn't align with any values of sportsmanship or race spirit that I have known in rowing, and that I feel disheartened by the wider implications of this decision on my future vocation.' Crowley also posted: 'It is absolutely gutting to have the race that you've dreamed of doing for years taken away from you, without getting any say in the matter. I haven't come to terms with it yet, and I'm not sure that I will.' But the most scathing reaction came from reigning Olympic lightweight double sculls champion Imogen Grant, who helped Cambridge win the women's Boat Race in 2017, 2018 and 2022. Grant posted: 'I'm seething. This is an insult to teachers everywhere and a desperate ploy from Oxford to gain an upper hand in the most slimy way. I don't believe this reflects on the current Oxford squad, who have also had to train among this uncertainty all year. I believe this is entirely down to select individuals amongst the alumni who have a narrow, outdated view of who rows boat races.' Former CUBC chair and 2004 Olympic silver medallist Cath Bishop also wrote: 'Utter madness in the Boat Race world… and a new low in relations between Oxford and Cambridge boat clubs. A crying shame for any student who has trained their heart out to be a pawn in the petty disputes that the clubs consistently fight in order to get one up on each other.' Professor Sir John Bell, an immunologist involved in the development of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine and a senior member of the OUBC executive committee, hit back, saying: 'A PGCE is not a degree course, it is a diploma and that is not a degree. We didn't take the decision, the decision was made by the arbitration panel. The students were warned a long time ago they would be unlikely to be able to row and they thought they would just plough on. There is a very clear process.' Race organiser the Boat Race Company – the chair of which, Siobhan Cassidy, rowed in the contest in 1995 while studying for a PGCE – said it sympathised with any athlete disappointed over crew selection. But it added: 'We hope that any decision of the interpretation panel is respected and accepted, and not debated publicly, particularly since the IP's remit was agreed by the clubs. The panel is made up of a chair, two representatives from both clubs and two academics.' The row escalated the following day when Bishop accused Bell of being the driving force behind manoeuvrings by OUBC dating back to her days as CUBC chair a decade earlier. Bell, whose role in the boat club came to prominence three years ago when he led its public response to a rape complaint by a female Oxford rower, denied this, telling The Times: 'It was with the whole club's support. I don't look at every student. I'm in support of agreed eligibility criteria that everyone sticks to.' The same day, Telegraph Sport revealed that Ford had been blocked from racing due to the 12-year rule and that Havard and Armstrong were facing the same fate. Sources also disclosed that CUBC had secured a legal opinion from a KC in October that the rule was unlawful. But, after months of wrangling over the matter, it decided it was too late to escalate proceedings in time for this year's race. Confirming Ford was not permitted to race, the Boat Race Company said: 'It is of course unfortunate that he is not eligible to race according to the rules jointly agreed by the two clubs, but this was known to both Tom and CUBC at the time of his admission to the university last summer.' A day after that, Cracknell wrote a column for Telegraph Sport in which he said: 'It is a real travesty that the race has become governed by rules that restrict some of the best athletes from participating. It is also wrong on every level that three trainee teachers have been blocked from taking part.' Cracknell revealed as well that, in 2019, Cambridge had 'an age-discrimination lawyer ready' in case Oxford sought to challenge his participation that year. Ford has said nothing of his own omission, focusing instead on helping those on the Cambridge crew prepare for Sunday's contest. Havard broke her own silence at the announcement of both boat clubs' crews two weeks ago, saying: 'It's definitely been difficult, I'm not going to lie about it. There's been a lot of frustration but ultimately everyone has just got on with it and focused on training. Molly, Kate and Matt are very much part of our squad and we're doing our absolute best to support them. 'We're also looking forward to having a proper discussion with Oxford and the interpretation panel and just making sure this doesn't happen again next year.' Whether it can all be resolved amicably remains to be seen, with one of the 'PGCE three' said to have also secured a KC-led report by four Blackstone Chambers barristers on the IP's ruling over their omission which states 'there are strong grounds to challenge the lawfulness of the decisions'. With Sunday's race looming, the public slanging match over this year's contest has given way to a barely-concealed bitterness, those of a Cambridge persuasion privately saying they believe an Oxford victory in the men's or women's contests would be a hollow one.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Boat Race looks to the future on 10-year anniversary of gender equality — but choppy waters lie ahead
Two crews of eight rowing four miles down the Thames. The premise of the Boat Race, contested annually – and fiercely – by eternal rivals Oxford and Cambridge, is very simple. But the race has assumed not just a prize place in the British sporting calendar, but also a place in the national consciousness, like Wimbledon or the Grand National. Also like the Grand National, the Boat Race is not without its controversies. This year's race has been dominated by an ugly row over selection that has prevented three PGCE students at Cambridge from taking part, while the spectre of water pollution and sewage in the Thames has once again reared its head. The Boat Race Company – the neutral body which runs the race – has opted for a policy of sweeping both issues under the carpet. But a long-term issue the Boat Race must grapple with is over its image. From its pleasant milieu in leafy south-west London to the near 200-year history of the men's race, the Boat Race is steeped in tradition. But the flip side of that is a public perception of an elitist and backward-looking institution, populated by brigades of privately-educated, privileged students. This year, though, the Boat Race is looking both forward and back. 2025 marks ten years of the women's edition being contested on the same Championship Course as the men, while receiving the same billing and TV coverage by the BBC. Equality has been a long time coming: the first women's Boat Race took place in 1927, the year before women in the UK were finally granted full suffrage. Even that was far from a fair fight: it was more of a points race, with the rowers judged on style rather than speed. The Boat Race has continued ever since that edition, in different forms and on different courses, before the push to bring it into the modern era. Cambridge have the edge over their Dark Blue counterparts in both races but particularly in the women's, winning 48 to Oxford's 30, and have the chance to equal their eight-race winning run from the 1990s on Sunday. The storied history of the race has echoed down the generations: Oxford women's president, Annie Anezakis, a two-time returning Blue, says, 'Our team want to do it for each other and for the women that have come before us.' 'Those kinds of numbers are really impressive for women's rowing,' says Siobhan Cassidy, chair of the Boat Race Company. 'To have been going for almost 100 years of the women's boat race, is really exciting. We're moving forward to an amazing summer of sport, particularly in London with all the women's sport events that are taking place right up until the autumn with the rugby [World Cup]. So it's a special thing, and it's something we should be really proud of.' Now, though, the selection row has threatened to undo some of that progress. Preventing PGCE students – those working towards teacher training qualifications – from taking part is likely to disproportionately affect women, with statistics showing that 68 per cent of postgraduate students on such courses are female. Former Olympic silver medallist Cath Bishop even alleged that the two female students who were banned, Molly Foxell and Kate Crowley, have been 'collateral damage', with Oxford focused on removing the threat posed by Cambridge's former under-23 men's world champion Matt Heywood. This year, the Boat Race is emphasising its female contingent, with rowers Heidi Long and Claire Collins getting top billing on the cover of the race programme. The pair have raced parallel careers, meeting at least 15 times through the junior, under-23, collegiate and senior ranks. Their most recent face-off was in the women's eight at the Paris Olympics last year, when Long won bronze for Team GB and Collins' US team were fifth. Now the pair are on opposite crews once more, with Long stroking for Oxford and Collins in the six seat for Cambridge. 'To be honest, this is the event that I feel like people care about the most that I've been a part of,' Collins says. 'There's a lot of tradition and history, and amazing people that have come here and raced this race. 'It's really cool that it's the ten year anniversary for the women. There's really nothing like it: it's amazing to see people row out here every day from the clubs and such history along the Embankment. There's maybe small pockets of it in the US but I wouldn't say that the roots are quite as deep in terms of an event like this.' Both Long and Collins are making their debuts in the Boat Race, but Collins' teammate Carys Earl is an old sweat, with this her third year in the Cambridge boat. Earl grew up in Oxford, watching the college teams rowing on the Isis and Cherwell rivers, but never imagined she would be in their position. The 22-year-old went to a state school and had never rowed before her first term at Cambridge, but after a trial session for novices in Fresher's Week, she was hooked. 'From the outset it might look like it's an elitist and highly selective process, but anyone can rock up on day one, with any experience,' she says. 'When I first got in a boat three years ago I could barely put my blade in the water, I had no idea what I was doing. But Paddy [Ryan], our coach, clearly saw something in me. I'm a medic so I'm here for six years, so he was like, maybe worth investing in that one! 'Every step of the way I've had people supporting me, and that's what really kept me going, wanting to come back every year. Yes, I don't have the same level of experience as people who have managed to do it all the way through juniors, but I don't think that's necessarily held me back. I've been given exactly the same opportunities. I think that's really special about Cambridge, they don't discriminate about 'oh, you didn't row when you were 14': it's what you can do on the day.' Earl nearly didn't even apply to Cambridge, until one of her teachers, who had been in the Light Blues' lightweight boat herself, convinced her otherwise. The experience has opened up an entirely new world for Earl. 'There is that idea about it that it's unattainable, but for me it just took that one teacher to be like, you should give it a go,' she says. Cassidy combats the accusations of the Boat Race operating in rarefied air by pointing out the level playing field of college rowing. 'Both Oxford and Cambridge have amazing learn to row centres through all the colleges, there are thousands of young people learning to row every year,' she says. 'I think that's quite inspiring for people getting to watch it. 'We're in a really privileged position to shine a light on an amazing sport. It's brought these young people here to race who have got experience of national teams in the States or in the British team, and they still want to come and do it, because it's a bucket list event. That's something to be really proud of. You can criticise it, but also, you can see it's a great opportunity.' With the Boat Race marking ten years of full parity between the men's and women's races it's evident that even this most traditional of institutions is modernising. But work still needs to be done to bring its public perception up to speed as it toes the line between respecting its time-honoured traditions and moving with the times. As Earl says, 'You might want it to be old and traditional but at the same time, sport is always evolving.'
