Enjoy live invitational rowing racing ahead of The Gemini Boat Race 2024
Each year Oxford and Cambridge select top opponents from the UK and beyond for a series of short match races along the Boat Race course. Whether you’re a supporter, fan, pundit or just love a good day out, you’re in for some great racing action and this page will tell you how you can get involved!
How does it work?
Fixtures are match races that the clubs organise themselves against opposition that they expect to give them a robust challenge (you learn nothing when one crew is much faster than the other).
They won’t race the full Boat Race course, typically they’ll break it up into two or three shorter pieces so that the crews can race, learn some lessons and then have an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in the next piece.
How to watch.
The best place to watch any live sport is in person and like Trial Eights we’ll be hosting spectators at rowing clubs in Putney where you’ll be able to cheer the crews out, watch the start from the balcony and then enjoy the rest of the race on the big screen.
For those of you who can’t be there in person, the next best thing is to watch on the live stream where you’ll be in the company of expert commentators and can watch all the action from the comfort of… well, pretty much anywhere!
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A lively crowd watch the Trial Eights action at London Rowing Club
Full details for each day of racing will be published below, all times are provisional and are subject to change due to weather and tidal movements so please check back for updates.
Fixture Series 1 – 28th January 2024
Trial eights were fun, but the time for play is over. Even though they’re ‘friendlies’ and don’t really matter, they really, really do… especially when your opposition is watching for weakness!
We’ve got two great races that we’ll be featuring in their entirety on the live stream as well as showing what we can of the other races in between PLUS we’re once again hosting spectators at the historic London Rowing Club so book your place using the button below and enjoy a warm fireside welcome!
Provisional Times:
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- 13:20 – Broadcast Starts
- 13:40 – Oxford University BC Women v Oxford Brookes University
- 14:45 – Cambridge University BC Men v Dutch National Team
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Fixture Series 2 – 25th February 2024
We’ve got two more fantastic races that we’ll be featuring in their entirety on the live stream as well as showing what we can of the other races in between.
This time we’re hosting spectators at Thames Rowing Club
Provisional Times:
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- 12:20 – Broadcast Starts
- 12:40 – Cambridge University BC Women v Thames Rowing Club
- 13:45 – Oxford University BC Men v Leander Club
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