Boat Race On Sunday

[Maydup]

It appears to begin at 5.55pm. Is that much later than normal?

[twix123]

The timing each year depends on the time of the high tide.The race is rowed upstream, but is timed to start on the incoming flood tide, usually an hour before high tide, so that the crews are rowing with the fastest possible current.

[anneasquith]

my money is on Oxbridge.

[Buenchico]

The timings are effectively determined by the BBC in order to fit in with their schedules. So much so that the original planned start time of 6pm has been brought forward to accommodate other programming:
http://theboatrace.org/men/news-article/153/race-start-time-changed-for-the-2014-bny-mellon-boat-race

However I agree that the timing is a lot later than it used to be. Last year it was 4.30pm. but then it was held a week before the Grand National, which this year takes place tomorrow at 4.15pm.

[puternut]

Sorry to disagree with you Buenchico but twix123 has the correct reason.

http://www.thamespilot.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=thames&f=generic_theme.htm&;_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3Dtheme_record_id=tp-tp-enjoying_boatrace

[Buenchico]

Twix's answer might appear to conflict with mine (and, indeed, should probably take precedence). However I'm confident that the BBC's programming schedule will also play a big part in determining exactly when the race starts [even though, as Twix says, the tide obviously restricts the overall time interval available].

I certainly don't remember the race starting anywhere near 6pm when I was a child in the 1960s.

[puternut]

Sorry missed an excerpt from above link


"The hour of the race varies according to the tide, for the race is rowed at the "top of the tide" - when it is at it's fullest. If the weather is promising, and especially if the reports of the prowess of the crews give reason to believe the race will be a close one, then the crowd is very large indeed".

[tonyav]

I certainly don't remember the race starting anywhere near 6pm when I was a child in the 1960s.

Same here, Chris, always seemed to be early to mid afternoon.

[Wharton]

anneasquith - There's always the chance of a dead heat :-)

[anneasquith]

awe naw :(

[Maydup]

Thank you all, of course i hadn't considered the tide.

I agree too that the BBC are likely to have an additional influence on Grand National day. It did always used to be mid afternoon and this is an unusually late start.

My money's on Oxford.

[Wharton]

Maydup - Make it a double with Long Run in the Grand National.

[ELVIS68]

The BBC don't have any influence on any horse racing any more

[Svejk]

although i believe the boat race is the longest race run under jockey club rules.

[Buenchico]

I assume that the 'top of the tide' rule (or should that be 'guideline'?) is something that the organisers would always like to aim for but must, inevitably, be quite hard to achieve sometimes.

There are only two tides per day, roughly 12 hours apart. If (for example) the top of the tide happened to occur at 8am and 8pm I can't imagine that the race would start at either of those times, as there would either be very few spectators or they'd end up rowing in the dark!

[puternut]

The 'BBC have an influence' can't be used for 2 reasons

1] National is on Saturday - Boat Race is on Sunday
2] National is on Channel 4 - Boat Race on BBC

[Buenchico]

>>>National is on Saturday - Boat Race is on Sunday

An excellent point, Puternut, with which it's impossible to argue! (I think that I'm probably still stuck in the 1960s when the Boat Race nearly always followed the Grand National on TV).


>>>National is on Channel 4 - Boat Race on BBC

That's probably irrelevant anyway (given the above) but broadcasters do sometimes deliberately choose to schedule programmes to avoid clashes with major events on other channels, so that they don't end up with a minuscule audience.

Even so, the BBC still has to fit the Boat Race in between other programming, such as live coverage of the Davis Cup. My first link above (from the official Boat Race website) shows that the BBC does have some influence over the timing.

[weecalf]

They have moved song of praise I'm sure that will cause an almighty Wait for it. ROW

[vansop]

OK so you've answered the question about the late start but why are the National and the Boat Race on the same weekend? In previous years it has always(?) been the National followed by the Boat Race the following weekend, followed by the London Marathon the next weekend??

[Svejk]

that was a stroke of genius, weecalf.

[Maydup]

Maybe if the boat race was next weekend, the tide would have been even later?

But next weekend is the Masters from St Augusta and we don't want to be missing that on Sunday afternoon.