The Boat Race of the North
| The Boat Race of the North | |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | River Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK |
| Inaugurated | 1997 |
| Most recent | Present |
The Boat Race of the North is an annual rowing event between the boat clubs of Durham and Newcastle universities in England. The event is staged on the River Tyne in Newcastle.
The inaugural event took place on 18 May 1997. Durham has won eight of the twelve competitions. In 2009 Newcastle took the overall title for the first time and in 2010 the event was a draw. The event was sponsored for a number of years up until 2010 by Northumbrian Water, and hence was known as the Northumbrian Water University Boat Race for this period. No races took place over the period 2011 – 2014, but the race resumed in 2015. Since 2015 the race had been sponsored by the NE1 business development company.[1]
Races
The main rowing event consists of four races, with trophies commemorating 19th century Tyne rowers[2]
| Race | Trophy | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men's senior eights | The Clasper Trophy |
| 2 | Women's senior eights | The Chambers Trophy |
| 3 | Freshmen | The Renforth Trophy |
| 4 | Freshwomen | The Taylor Trophy |
Local entertainment is often provided, and other spectacles such as a parade of tall ships, a University Sailing Contest and a University Canoe Water Polo contest have enlivened the atmosphere prior to the main race.
Presentations are made after the races have finished in Baltic Square on the Gateshead side of the river.
The 2006 race and the crews' build up to the race was filmed for an ITV television show about rowing in the North East.[3]
A race for junior rowers takes place before the main university races over the same course. It is usually contested between Tyne Rowing Club representing Newcastle and a composite of Durham Schools (usually Durham School and St Leonard's) representing Durham. The event does not count towards the overall trophy.
Recent years
2009 event
The 2009 boat race took place on Saturday 9 May; this was the 13th event, although only ten of the twelve prior competitions had taken place, owing to bad weather. River-based entertainment started at 3:30pm, with the start of racing at 4:40pm.[4] Newcastle took the overall title for the first time.
2010 event
In 2010 the event was held on Sunday 9 May, beginning at 1:00pm, following a race between schoolchildren (won by the Durham crew).[2] It was moved from the Saturday to get better spectator numbers.[5] The Boat Race was a draw, with Newcastle taking both the Freshmen's and Freshwomen's races and Durham both Senior races.[6]
Immediately prior to the first race, Durham complained that the stagger of the stake boats was too big, giving an advantage to Newcastle. It is understood that the stake boats had been placed according to set co-ordinates, as in previous years. The Umpire shortened the stagger in order for the racing to take place without undue delay.
2011 & 2012 events
The 2011 boat race was scheduled to take place on Saturday 7 May 2011 at 5pm. The weekend before, all four Newcastle boats (Men's senior eights & Freshmen and Women's senior eights & Freshwomen) had beaten their Durham counterparts in finals at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Regatta held at Nottingham. Durham declined to challenge Newcastle for the Boat Race trophies and conceded all races for this year without a contest. Newcastle therefore retained the overall trophy. In 2012, Durham again declined to challenge, leading to the event being abandoned until revived in 2015.[7][8]
2015 event
In 2015, the race was held on Saturday 9 May. Durham won both Women's and Men's Beginner races by 1 1/4 lengths and a canvas respectively. Newcastle Senior Women fought back with a win by 2 lengths, setting up a decider between the Senior Men. Newcastle won the Senior Men's race by 3 lengths. Newcastle retained the trophy.
2016 event
The 2016 race is scheduled to take place on 7 May 2016. In addition to the four main races, there will be an alumni race and a race between Tyne Rowing Club and Tyne United Rowing Club.[9]
Results
| Year | Race Number | Clasper Trophy | Chambers Trophy | Renforth Trophy | Taylor Trophy | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15 | Newcastle | Newcastle | Durham | Durham | Draw - Newcastle Retain the Trophy |
| 2011–14 ++ | - | - | - | - | - | Not contested. Newcastle Retain the Trophy |
| 2010 | 14 | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | Newcastle | Draw - Newcastle Retain the Trophy |
| 2009[10] | 13 | Newcastle | Newcastle | Newcastle | Durham | Newcastle Win |
| 2008[11] | 12 | Durham | Durham | Durham | Durham | Durham Win |
| 2007 | 11 | Newcastle | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | Draw - Durham Retain the Trophy |
| 2006 | 10 | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | Durham | Durham Win |
| 2005 | 9 | Newcastle | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | Draw - Durham Retain the Trophy |
| 2004 | 8 | Durham | Durham | Durham | Durham | Durham Win |
| 2003+ | 7 | - | - | - | Newcastle | - |
| 2002 | 6 | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | Durham | Durham Win |
| 2001 | 5 | Durham | Newcastle | Durham | n/a | Durham Win |
| 2000+ | 4 | - | - | - | n/a | - |
| 1999 | 3 | Durham | Newcastle | Durham | n/a | Durham Win |
| 1998 | 2 | Durham | Durham | Newcastle | n/a | Durham Win |
| 1997 | 1 | Durham | Durham | Durham | n/a | Durham Win |
- Notes
+ Event cancelled due to bad weather
++ Durham chose not to contest the trophies
See also
References
- ↑ Edward Gleadow. "Taking part in the Boat Race of the North". Durham University. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- 1 2 "University boat race honours Tyne rowing heroes". BBC News. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ↑ "The Boat Race of the North". Vimeo. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ↑ "Annual University Boat Race challenge is issued". Newcastle University. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ↑ "Local men lead Universities into oarsome battle". Newcastle University. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ↑ Melanie Reed (9 May 2010). "Honours even in 14th University Boat Race". Northumbrian Water. Newcastle University. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ↑ Isabella Eckert. "Aboat time! Newcastle vs Durham boat race is back". The Tab.
- ↑ "The Boat Race of the North returns". The Courier Online. 4 May 2015.
- ↑ Sarah Jeffery (20 April 2016). "The Boat Race of the North is set to row down the River Tyne in May". ChronicleLive.
- ↑ "Newcastle claim first Boat Race title". Newcastle University. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ↑ "12th University Boat Race". BBC News. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
External links
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
