The Boat Race 2024 - date and course for Oxford and Cambridge grudge match as crew unveiling announced

Cambridge University will look to defend The Boat Race 2024 this year after an impressive showing in 2023, reclaiming the title from Oxford University on The Thames.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to the banks of the river in London with many more watching coverage on television as the famous grudge match takes place on the historic stretch of water.

There's now little more than a month until The Boat Race returns with a new format for the crew unveiling to take place for the 169th edition of the competition.

When is The Boat Race 2024?

The Boat Race 2024 between Oxford University and Cambridge University will take place in London on Saturday, March 30 this year. The Women's Race will begin at 2:46 pm and the Men's Race at 3:46 pm.

This year's edition will be the 169th Men's Race, making it one of the UK's longest-standing sporting traditions as the Oxbridge scholars go head-to-head on the Tideway between Putney and Mortlake.

Cambridge University won both the men's and the women's races last time out in a dramatic clash headlined by some daring steering in the Men's Race. More than 250,000 spectators crowd the banks of the Thames each year to catch the race.

When are crews for The Boat Race 2024 announced?

The crews for The Boat Race 2024 will be announced at a public event for the first time ever this year. The ceremony will be held at Battersea Power Station on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:30 pm.

BBC Sport commentator Andrew Cotter and Chair of the Boat Race Company Siobhan Cassidy will host the spectacle with the audience hearing interviews with head coaches from each university ahead of the showdown next month.

The Boat Race trophies will also be on display at Battersea Power Station on March 13 and available to view in Turbine Hall B between 4 pm and 5:45 pm.

Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race Company, commented: “We’re excited to be holding the annual crew announcement at the iconic Battersea Power Station. This year we will be looking forward to bringing the event to the public and powering the imagination of future generations of rowers."

The Boat Race 2024 course

The Boat Race course is 4 miles and 374 yards long, or 6.8 km. The race starts in Putney and finishes in Mortlake on the River Thames.

The course was first established in 1845 and has been used for every race since, apart from 1846, 1856 and 1863 when it ran in the opposite direction, and in 2021 due to Covid-19.

The Fulham/Chiswick side of the course is referred to as the Middlesex station and the Putney/Barnes side of the course is known as the Surrey station. The race begins just in front of Putney Bridge and runs along the river, past Bishop's Park and Craven Cottage towards Hammersmith Bridge. Crews then pass Furnivall Gardens, Chiswick Eyot and Barnes Bridge before finishing in front of Chiswick Bridge.