Boat Crew Back In Training After Staging Mutiny Over No Foreign Crew Being Allowed In

The evolving composition of the University Boat Race crews.

The Cambridge University boat crew in training at Ely lift their boat out of the river. Anglia TV reporter Gerry Harrison refers to “Oxford’s power struggle” and says the Cambridge crew are avoiding the headlines and training hard. Cambridge Chief Coach Alan Inns says he would like the boat race to return to its traditional form as a race between undergraduates. He says they have no, objection to a few postgraduates, whatever their nationality, as he feels the postgrads help raise the standard of the event. He is concerned that the forthcoming race could be a crew of 27-year-olds against a team of 20-year-olds which would not be fair. Jim Pugh, the only American on the Cambridge crew, has no comment as he sits reading The Times with others relaxing in the boathouse. Alan Inns says Cambridge are avoiding the news of the Oxford camp, keeping their heads down, going very fast and are a strong and motivated crew. This short video was made to be shown in a sports news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

University Boat Race; Rowing; Training

Additional Description

In 1986 Oxford lost the boat race for the first time in 11 years. To avoid a repeat, American rower Chris Clark vowed to bring in more experienced Americans and recruited four US postgraduate for the Oxford crew including three international-class rowers. A series of disagreements followed leading to the mutiny of the US rowers and their eventual replacement. Oxford won the 1987 boat race in an event which race featured the tallest, heaviest, youngest and oldest crew members in the event's history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_Race_1987