Behind the scenes at The Boat Race
A Cambridge community, history, and legacy
About me
I'm Manisha Riley, and I graduated from King's in 2024. Now, I work as a Communications Assistant at the Development and Alumni Relations Office.
This year, I got the opportunity to capture content at The Boat Race, and I wanted to share this article to encourage others to come along next year!
For many Cambridge alumni, The Boat Race is one of the few university traditions you can relive year on year, without worrying about supervision essays, exams, or getting to your lectures on time.
I’ll be honest: while I was at King’s, I avoided rowing entirely. The early mornings were enough to put me off. And, for a few years, I assumed you had to be super into rowing to even attend, let alone appreciate, The Boat Race.
This year, I attended my first Boat Race, and I realised just how wrong I was.
Forget what you think you know about rowing; The Boat Race brings together alumni from all walks of life. It’s also just a fun day out in London for anyone looking to catch up and get emotionally invested in something they don’t know much about!
More than the race on TV
Although The Boat Race was broadcast on Saturday, the Lightweight Races and Veteran Races took place the day before.
The feeling during the Lightweight Races was emotional and dedicated, with parents, friends, and partners tearing up as they watched their loved ones cross the finish line first.
I managed to speak with Will, who competed in the Lightweight Race last year.
“It’s bringing back all the nerves from last year, seeing all the guys in the same shoes as us. I’m just wishing them the best of luck.”
That said, not everyone I spoke to had fallen in love with rowing at Cambridge: “I tried rowing once,” Amelie, a current student, laughed. “I had to get up really early, so I decided it wasn’t for me.”
But Amelie stayed for the whole day, soaking up the atmosphere and supporting her friends.
“It’s such a lovely day out, and it’s wonderful to see so many people from Cambridge enjoying themselves. It’s a good vibe.”
I also spoke to Sophie, who excelled in the King’s College first boat. “I started rowing at Cambridge because I told everyone at home that I would start, so I thought I had better follow through on it!”
“It’s actually my first team sport, and I love it: otherwise, doing a degree can be a bit lonely.”
And Sophie also appreciated the community of spectators. “It’s great to see everyone here supporting their friends and fellow alumni.”
Looking back, moving forward
The Men’s Blue Boat, named ‘1986’, was funded by the crew who raced nearly 40 years ago, celebrating the Race’s history as well as the progress driving the club forward.
According to Stephen Peel, 1986 was a particularly important year for the Cambridge team.
“We showed up at Ely from completely different backgrounds and outlooks. But we all came up with this one idea that at the time seemed pretty audacious: to go and win The Boat Race for Cambridge.”
From an absolute low point, with the boat nicknamed “The Hell Boat”, the crew progressed: “The day before the race, we came off the water absolutely confident that we were going to crush it the next day.”
Spoiler alert: they did!
These challenging months keep the team connected: “We speak and meet regularly, and I’m delighted that all 9 of us are here to celebrate our 40th reunion this weekend.”
You don’t have to be super into rowing to understand that winning after 9 years of defeat is a pretty big accomplishment!
I caught up with Carole, the cox from the 1986 crew
As one of the first female coxes for the Men’s Blue Boat, she faced the challenge of not having access to women’s changing rooms.
“After each outing, I just had to stand with the boats and wait for the men to come out of the changing room. It meant that I missed a lot of the crew talks and the analysis of outings.”
Hearing this whilst seeing the Cambridge women’s teams compete was a reminder of how far things had come since then.
The big day
On the Saturday, the atmosphere was dialled up several notches. With food stalls, music, Channel 4 film crew, and a brief chance encounter with Clare Balding, the start line felt more like a festival than a sporting event.
Volunteers handed out Cambridge flags, and people from all over the world, families, alumni, and others who seemed to just stumble across the event, waved them in anticipation.
I even spotted a pug wearing a Cambridge flag!
I also bumped into fellow non-rowers, like Elias (St Edmunds 2025), who was equally excited. “It’s fantastic to see everybody from different courses and Colleges come together to celebrate these achievements.”
“I’ve actually never rowed myself,” he admitted, “but maybe I’ll get inspired to start today!”
The windy weather was enough to put me off, but the atmosphere definitely made up for it.
Rosa felt more invested in The Boat Race as an alum: “I feel like I’m even more passionate about it now because I have a bit of distance from it.”
I certainly felt invested as the races unfolded. Even if you don’t know much about rowing, you can’t help but get wrapped up in the atmosphere.
I managed to get a quick interview with (unknown to me before we spoke), previous Women’s Blue Boat President 2023 Caoimhe, who also rowed in 2021 and 2022:
“It’s brilliant to be back and enjoy the atmosphere; it’s a chance for alumni to catch up on what we’ve been doing over the year.”
“Being here brings back so many memories. It’s almost more stressful as a spectator, as you can only will the teams on, but it makes it really exciting!”
For some alumni, like Andrew, The Boat Race is a non-negotiable in their calendar: “I live in Dublin now; I come back over every year for the Race.
"It’s great to meet up with friends and stay part of the community.”
Standing by the river, waving Cambridge flags with fellow alumni and new friends around me, I realised that The Boat Race isn’t all about the winning (although that certainly helps to lighten the mood): it’s about keeping a Cambridge community and a tradition alive.
See you next year by the Thames!