The bad blood between Oxford and Cambridge continues to fester in the buildup to Sunday’s University Boat Race, with the fallout from the row over would-be competitors being barred for studying for a postgraduate certificate in education rather than a degree leading to the abandonment of a trial race between the two clubs on Wednesday morning.
The Guardian has learned that Cambridge were unable to field a crew in the women’s spare race after Oxford insisted that the ban on PGCE students taking part also applied to what is a practice race for squad members not selected for the Boat Race.
Oxford are also understood to have said that the Cambridge University Boat Club president, Lucy Havard, could not take part as she was deemed ineligible due to the 12-year rule, which prevents anyone taking part in the Boat Race if it is 12 years since they first enrolled on an undergraduate degree.
As result Cambridge did not have enough rowers to fill their main women’s boat and were replaced by London Rowing Club, who beat Oxford over a shorter stretch of Sunday’s course on the Thames. Oxford declined to take part in a women’s lightweight spare race due to what sources described as “river conditions,” while Cambridge won both men’s spare races.
The so-called spare races are used to give both clubs an up-to-date insight into conditions on the Thames four days before the Boat Race, as well as a competitive outing for squad members not selected after months of training.
Cambridge are understood to have made representations that they could not fill their women’s spare boat without Molly Foxell and Kate Crowley, who were ruled out of the main race last month after the interpretation panel which governs participation in the 196-year-old race, upheld Oxford’s complaint that as PGCE students they were ineligible.
Havard was suggested as a replacement, but that solution was also rejected by Oxford due to the 12-year rule. This new regulation was added to the joint agreement between the two boat clubs that governs the race four years ago after the double Olympic champion James Cracknell rowed for Cambridge in 2019 at the age of 46. The Cambridge rower Matt Heywood was also ruled out of the main men’s race this year on those grounds.
A spokesperson for the Boat Race Company, who organise the race, told the Guardian: “The spares race forms part of the race week, but is not an annual tradition. It is an unofficial race between students that are members of the squad who would step into any of the racing crews if required, due to factors such as illness or injury. In order to give the combinations a race it was decided that informal arrangements would go ahead.”
Cambridge sources expressed surprise that Oxford had insisted that these controversial rulings should also apply to the spare races, a situation which is indicative of the continued ill-feeling between the clubs.
Cambridge could mount a legal challenge against the decision of the interpretation panel before next year’s race. The Guardian revealed last month that an independent legal opinion written by four barristers at Blackstone Chambers concluded there are “strong grounds to challenge the lawfulness” of the decision to ban three Cambridge students from the race.
