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The Guardian
11-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Eligibility row and water quality leave bad taste in mouth before Boat Race
Twelve months on from a dirty-water controversy, this year the toxicity has spread to the clubs in the Boat Race. The Olympic gold medallist and former Light Blue rower Imogen Grant caused a stir last month when condemning Oxford as 'slimy' for getting three Cambridge students banned from the race as they were studying for postgraduate certificates in education (PGCEs) rather than a degree, although the conservationist could also have been describing the contents of the Thames, the course for this anachronistic yet somehow endearing national event. About 200,000 spectators and revellers are expected to line the banks of the river between Putney and Mortlake to cheer on the women's race at 1.21pm on Sunday, with the men's race due exactly an hour later. Few watching will be tempted into the water. The water quality does not appear to have improved since both crews were officially banned from the traditional celebration of throwing the winning cox into the river 12 months ago. Testing carried out along the four-mile route revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status, with 29.5% of samples exceeding the safe limits for entering the water. The picture is patchy, with data from Fulham Reach Boat Club showing that E coli levels on the course range from 350 units (excellent bathing waters) to more than 6,500 units (beyond poor and unsafe). When the reading exceeds 1,000, bathing is regarded as inadvisable. Given the negative headlines surrounding last year's event, The Boat Race Company, the organiser, will not disclose its guidance to both clubs, but post-race scenes of celebrations in the water seem unlikely. 'We don't do any water testing ourselves, but there are clubs up and down this stretch of river that do,' said Siobhan Cassidy, director of The Boat Race Company. 'We'll be keeping a close eye on the results and issuing guidance. 'The guidance is straightforward. Wash your hands as soon as you come out, have a shower, cover up any wounds beforehand, as you would on any stretch of water. 'You'll have to watch on Sunday. It would be unfair to talk to these guys about how to celebrate in advance, as they're focusing on the race. I'm sure they'll be finding lots of different ways to celebrate.' Oxford's Heidi Long, who won bronze for Great Britain in the women's coxless fours at last summer's Olympics, said: 'I will definitely be washing my hands.' The race has been overshadowed by an eligibility row which led to Cambridge's Matt Heywood, Molly Foxell and Kate Crowley being barred from taking part because of a complaint from Oxford University Boat Club that the teacher training qualification 'is a diploma and that is not a degree'. Cambridge have not let the matter rest, and a legal opinion from Blackstone Chambers was commissioned which concluded: 'There are strong grounds to challenge the lawfulness of the decisions.' The ill-feeling appears largely confined to the blazers who run both clubs, rather than the Lycra-clad athletes who row for them. At a launch event near the start of the race at Putney Bridge this week both crews mingled happily on the riverbank in the early spring sunshine, although watching Sunday's race will be difficult for the excluded trio, as Cambridge's George Bourne admitted. 'Those emotions and thoughts are for other people at this stage,' he said. 'We've got a job to do. It's not for us in the crew to spend our time thinking about these kind of things. There are nine of us in the boat, and we're pretty focused on what we're trying to do on race day. We have to make an effort to dial in to what we have to do. 'Everyone else in the club will be here supporting. We'll catch up with them after the race. We have a job to do on the water and can save those emotions for afterwards.' Cambridge have dominated both men's and women's races in recent years, one reason given for what Grant also described as Oxford's 'desperate' tactics in advancing the PGCE ban. The Cambridge men lead 87-81 since the first race in 1829, have won five of the past six races, and will make it a rare hat-trick if they reach Mortlake first, although those of a superstitious bent have noted that Oxford have won the past five races following an Olympics. The light blues have already beaten Oxford once this season at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts, but for those involved Sunday's race is the only one that matters. Oxford overhauled their coaching setup last summer, with Sean Bowden stepping down after 27 years as head coach to be replaced by Mark Fangen-Hall, who was recruited from Eton, having previously coached at Cambridge. Cambridge's dominance in the women's event is even more pronounced (48-30) and they have won the past seven races. Victory on Sunday on the 10th anniversary of the women's race being staged on the Tideway Course for the first time would equal Cambridge's best winning run since the 1990s, but the returning Oxford president, Annie Anezakis, is determined to stop them. 'I'm back again because I want to win it, I'm not here just to have a fun time,' she said. 'Our team want to do it for each other and for the women that have come before us.'
BBC News
10-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
The Boat Race 2025 - How to watch Oxford v Cambridge on TV and iPlayer and follow all the action across the BBC
The banks of the River Thames will be packed this weekend as thousands of spectators come out to watch one of the world's most historic sporting fixtures as rowing crews from Oxford and Cambridge Universities compete once again. Cambridge have had the upper hand over Oxford for some time now in both the Men's and Women's races, what can the dark blue crews do this year to turn the tide? Guests including Olympic gold medallist Imogen Grant and Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan will join Clare Balding, Rishi Persad and Qasa Alom on the show and there's an exclusive film featuring husband and wife team Steve Backshall and Helen Glover exploring the environmental state of play of the capital's river. Both teams will race along the Championship Course, starting from Putney in South West London. If you're not sure who's who, Oxford traditionally wear dark blue while Cambridge sport lighter colours. Here's how you can watch and follow all the action across the BBC. When is The Boat Race 2025? The Boat Race 2025 takes place on Sunday 13 April, with coverage starting on BBC One from 12.20pm. How to watch The Boat Race 2025 Enjoy live coverage across BBC iPlayer, BBC One and the BBC Sport website and app from 12.20pm on Sunday 13 April. The 79th Women's Boat Race begins at 1.21pm, followed by the 170th Men's Boat Race at 2.21pm.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Boat Race concerns as River Thames contains high levels of E. coli bacteria, study shows
Concerns have been raised before the men's and women's Boat Races between Oxford University and Cambridge University on Sunday after testing found high levels of the bacteria E. coli in the River Thames. The Boat Race, which was first staged in 1829, is a rowing event which takes place every year between students from two of the UK's elite universities over a 4.25-mile stretch of the Thames in west London. Advertisement Testing by the environmental campaign group River Action discovered high levels of the potentially harmful bacteria E. coli throughout the stretch of water which will host the latest edition of the Boat Race this weekend. In a statement on Wednesday, River Action warned that the Thames would be classified as 'poor' under environmental regulations if it were designated as a 'bathing water' site. Despite minimal rain — which can lead to water companies releasing untreated effluent into the rivers to avoid sewage overflows — since River Action began testing for E. coli on March 10, almost 30 per cent of samples exceeded safe limits for entering the water, almost three times the threshold for bathing waters rated 'poor'. A total of 41 samples were taken at key points between the start of the Boat Race course in Putney and the finish at Chiswick Bridge, where the highest reading — 2,267 CFU/100ml (colony-forming units), more than twice the Environment Agency and World Health Organisation thresholds for safe recreation — was recorded. This is the point at which the winning Boat Race cox is traditionally thrown into the river. 'It's a real worry that in 2025, unsafe water quality in the Thames is still a concern,' five-time Olympic gold medal-winning British rower Sir Steve Redgrave said in a news release. 'Rowers, river users, and the public deserve better.' Imogen Grant, who won gold for Team GB in the lightweight women's double sculls at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is a three-time Boat Race winner with Cambridge, highlighted health concerns. 'As rowers, we train on these waters every day, and the health and climate risks are deeply concerning,' she said in the release. 'It's unacceptable that we have to compete on a river with such an unavoidable threat to health.' Treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants currently face no legal limits on E. coli levels, while storm overflows are only permitted during 'exceptional circumstances', typically during heavy or sustained rainfall that risks overwhelming the sewer system. Advertisement 'Right now, if the stretch of the Thames used for the Boat Race were an official bathing site it would be graded poor, the lowest possible rating,' said River Action's Head of Communities, Erica Popplewell. 'The government's own advice for such water is 'do not swim.' We strongly suggest that the winning team on Sunday think twice before throwing their cox in the Thames. 'We would also urge all rowers to follow the 'Guidance for Rowing When Water Quality is Poor' safety guidelines to mitigate risk. The Boat Race should be about sporting excellence—not about worrying if you'll get sick from being dunked – and attracting people to take up water sports as a healthy activity.' At the Paris Olympics in 2024, the water quality in the river Seine, where the swimming part of the triathlon took place, was deemed to be unsafe before organisers considered it of sufficient quality for the event to take place as originally planned. There had been pre-Games investment of more than £1.2billion (€1.4bn) to clean up the river, but levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the water spiked to dangerous levels following heavy rainfall in the build-up to the event. Paris' combined sewer system, which sees both wastewater and stormwater travel through the same pipes, means large quantities of rain can make pipes exceed capacity, with untreated wastewater overflowing into the Seine. It had led to concerns that the triathlon might become a duathlon and fears over athletes' health but the events were still held in full. There has been controversy already before this year's Boat Race over the eligibility of certain students which has been labelled 'a desperate ploy … to gain an upper hand in the most slimy way'. The row stems from the banning of students undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course — combining academic study of teaching with practical experience — from being able to compete. Such students had previously been permitted to participate. Cambridge has won five of the past six men's races and each of the past seven women's races, emerging victorious in both last year. When approached for comment, Thames Water — the private company responsible for the water supply and waste treatment in London — pointed to a separate study from Fulham Reach Boat club which had the E. coli threshold at 'excellent' in March. 'The boat race route is not a bathing water area and so we are not funded to routinely disinfect or sterilise final effluent,' the statement added. 'In addition, The Thames Tideway Tunnel has prevented 6,376,450M³ of sewage from entering the tidal Thames since it was connected earlier this year and will reduce the volume of discharges entering the tidal Thames in a typical year by 95 per cent.' Advertisement The Boat Race Company, which organises the event, said it 'recognises the work that groups such as River Action are doing to raise awareness and campaigning to clear up the rivers'. 'Water quality remains an ongoing concern for The Boat Race, and we will continue to follow British Rowing's Poor Water Quality Guidance to protect the health of our student athletes,' a statement added. 'This includes the covering up of open wounds, regular handwashing, showering as soon as possible after coming off the water, and highlighting the risks of entering the water. 'Clearly, the water quality testing carried out along the River Thames shows there is more work to be done to get our waterways where we all want them to be, but we are very encouraged to see the Tideway Tunnel fully operational which we hope will have a transformative effect on cleaning up the Thames.' (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With eligibility dispute rocking the storied Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge crews refocus
A dispute over eligibility criteria has rocked the build-up to the Boat Race, a nearly 200-year-old rowing contest between storied universities Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames in London. Now the two rivals are calling for calm and focus as the event approaches. Three Cambridge rowers have been banned from taking part in next month's race because they are undertaking a postgraduate teaching course — a PGCE — which Oxford argued is a certificate as opposed to a degree. An independent panel ruling on the eligibility of students in the race sided with Oxford, sparking disgruntlement from those linked to its long-time rival. 'Slimy,' was the view last week of one former Cambridge rower, Olympic gold medalist Imogen Grant. Another member of Cambridge's alumni, former world champion rower Cath Bishop, described it as 'utter madness' and a 'new low in relations' between the university boat clubs. Matt Heywood, a former under-23 world champion who is one of the three rowers affected by the ruling, said on social media the decision didn't align with the 'values of sportsmanship or race spirit that I have known in rowing." He added he felt 'disheartened by the wider implications of this decision on my future vocation.' Recognizing the growing controversy surrounding this year's men's and women's races, The Boat Race Company — the organizer of a contest that is one of the oldest sporting events in the world — said Wednesday the two clubs have sympathy for the students who are unable to race but now want to 'focus on those who are competing." 'Following this year's races, as usual we will meet to review rules and processes, to ensure maximum clarity for the future,' the company said. 'We create rules which are intended to respect the integrity and original spirit of The Boat Race, balanced against the ambitions of talented rowers pursuing their academic goals. 'Our rivalry on the water is fierce, and we disagree on things from time to time. This is part of what makes the event what it is. But we have huge respect for each other, and that will never change.' The men's race between the two universities first took place in 1829. The women's crews have been racing along the same 4.2-mile (6.8-kilometer) stretch of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake since 2015. The event has typically attracted more than 200,000 spectators along the Thames. Rarely has there been such open hostility ahead of the event, however, since the ruling that will see Heywood and female rowers Molly Foxell and Kate Cowley needing to sit out the race on April 13. It hurts Cambridge's chances of an eighth straight win in the women's race and a sixth win in the last seven men's races. The chair of the Light Blues' boat club, Annamarie Phelps, said last week it was 'supporting affected athletes through this difficult time.' 'There is no question academically about the standing of the PGCE course, which is highly valued and operates at a postgraduate level,' said Phelps, who noted that former PGCE students from both Cambridge and Oxford previously had been allowed to race. Not anymore, though, with organizers pointing to revised criteria that has been jointly agreed to by the two competing clubs. 'And likewise,' Cambridge added in a statement published Tuesday that was calmer in its tone, 'we've agreed to the authority of an independent interpretation panel. It is based on their interpretation of the rules that some athletes have been ruled ineligible, decisions which we have accepted.' For Grant, though, Oxford's tactics were underhand. 'As you can imagine, I'm seething,' she said in comments reported in the British media. '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.' The names of the crew members taking part in the races were being announced on Wednesday. ___ AP sports:
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
With eligibility dispute rocking the storied Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge crews refocus
A dispute over eligibility criteria has rocked the build-up to the Boat Race, a nearly 200-year-old rowing contest between storied universities Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames in London. Now the two rivals are calling for calm and focus as the event approaches. Three Cambridge rowers have been banned from taking part in next month's race because they are undertaking a postgraduate teaching course — a PGCE — which Oxford argued is a certificate as opposed to a degree. An independent panel ruling on the eligibility of students in the race sided with Oxford, sparking disgruntlement from those linked to its long-time rival. 'Slimy,' was the view last week of one former Cambridge rower, Olympic gold medalist Imogen Grant. Another member of Cambridge's alumni, former world champion rower Cath Bishop, described it as 'utter madness' and a 'new low in relations' between the university boat clubs. Matt Heywood, a former under-23 world champion who is one of the three rowers affected by the ruling, said on social media the decision didn't align with the 'values of sportsmanship or race spirit that I have known in rowing." He added he felt 'disheartened by the wider implications of this decision on my future vocation.' Recognizing the growing controversy surrounding this year's men's and women's races, The Boat Race Company — the organizer of a contest that is one of the oldest sporting events in the world — said Wednesday the two clubs have sympathy for the students who are unable to race but now want to 'focus on those who are competing." 'Following this year's races, as usual we will meet to review rules and processes, to ensure maximum clarity for the future,' the company said. 'We create rules which are intended to respect the integrity and original spirit of The Boat Race, balanced against the ambitions of talented rowers pursuing their academic goals. 'Our rivalry on the water is fierce, and we disagree on things from time to time. This is part of what makes the event what it is. But we have huge respect for each other, and that will never change.' The men's race between the two universities first took place in 1829. The women's crews have been racing along the same 4.2-mile (6.8-kilometer) stretch of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake since 2015. The event has typically attracted more than 200,000 spectators along the Thames. Rarely has there been such open hostility ahead of the event, however, since the ruling that will see Heywood and female rowers Molly Foxell and Kate Cowley needing to sit out the race on April 13. It hurts Cambridge's chances of an eighth straight win in the women's race and a sixth win in the last seven men's races. The chair of the Light Blues' boat club, Annamarie Phelps, said last week it was 'supporting affected athletes through this difficult time.' 'There is no question academically about the standing of the PGCE course, which is highly valued and operates at a postgraduate level,' said Phelps, who noted that former PGCE students from both Cambridge and Oxford previously had been allowed to race. Not anymore, though, with organizers pointing to revised criteria that has been jointly agreed to by the two competing clubs. 'And likewise,' Cambridge added in a statement published Tuesday that was calmer in its tone, 'we've agreed to the authority of an independent interpretation panel. It is based on their interpretation of the rules that some athletes have been ruled ineligible, decisions which we have accepted.' For Grant, though, Oxford's tactics were underhand. 'As you can imagine, I'm seething,' she said in comments reported in the British media. '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.' The names of the crew members taking part in the races were being announced on Wednesday. ___
