Boat Race squad gets into shape

Great Britain’s 2011 Oxford vs. Cambridge University Boat Race is just over 100 days away and trials to pick the rowers in the final boat line up for the race have upped in intensity with both universities narrowing down to 16 rowers. 

In a classic head-to-head trial race, Cambridge University raced each other first with two eights giving it their all to impress new coach and Sydney 2000 Olympic Champion Steve Trapmore. Cambridge named their two crews ‘Shake’ and ‘Bake’, with the trial finishing with four boat lengths between the two crews – Shake in the lead. The triallists for Cambridge included a mix of Australians, a New Zealander, one American and British rowers.

Trapmore also used the race as an opportunity to trial two brands of boats. One crew was in a new Hudson and the other in a Filippi bought in 2009. Cambridge won the 2010 Boat Race in an Empacher.

Oxford University raced one hour after Cambridge, eagerly watched by their long-standing coach Sean Bowden. Oxford chose the names ‘Nature’ and ‘Nurture’ for their two boats with Nurture winning in the end. This put the Oxford squad president, Ben Myers in the losing boat with Nurture stroked by Ben Snodin. 

Both Myers and Snodin are from Great Britain and the majority of Oxford triallists are also from Great Britain. The only exception is Tom Watson from Canada and Germany’s Moritz Hafner. 

The Oxford race finished much closer than their Cambridge counterparts with less than a boat length between the two crews at the end. 

Last month the two universities raced against each other for the first time in the lead up to the 2011 Boat Race. They competed in the Head of the River Fours on London’s River Thames. Oxford came out as the better crew finishing three seconds ahead of Cambridge in the coxed four over the 6.8km course. 

The 2011 Boat Race will take place on 26 March. For more information go to:http://www.theboatrace.org/