The Australian Boat Race is an annual rowing race between the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne. The event hosts men's and women's races in eights, with the venue alternating each year between the two cities, typically on Sydney Harbour and the Yarra River in Melbourne.
History
editSydney and Melbourne University are Australia’s oldest universities, and their rowing clubs - the Sydney University Boat Club (SUBC) and Melbourne University Boat Club (MUBC) - were founded in 1860 and 1859 respectively.[1][2] An informal race was held between the two clubs in 1860 on the Yarra River in Melbourne. With the addition of the University of Adelaide in the late 19th century and further universities throughout the 20th century, the annual "Inter-Varsity" rowing competition between Australian universities continues to the present day.[3]
In 2009, the first Australian Boat Race, contested between the University of Sydney and University of Melbourne, was held as a time trial as part of the Head of the Yarra regatta in Melbourne. Following this event, the Vice-Chancellors of the two Universities agreed to an annual "match race" between men's eights and women's eights.[4]
The race
editThe men compete for The Edmund Barton Trophy, named in honour of Edmund Barton, who was Australia's first Prime Minister, and who represented the University of Sydney in the first official intervarsity race between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide universities in 1870.[4]
The women compete for The Bella Guerin Trophy, named in honour of Bella Guerin who was the first woman graduate of the University of Melbourne, and who was active in women’s causes and fought for the inclusion of women in political life.[4]
Each of the women's and men's events are raced as eights in a side-by-side format, with the boats starting at the same time from a stationary position, and the winner being the boat that crosses the finish line first. The location of the race alternates each year, with the event typically being held on Sydney Harbour and the Yarra River in Melbourne.
Results
edit| Year | Host | Mens | Womens | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Melbourne | Melbourne | Melbourne | Raced as part of the Head of the Yarra regatta |
| 2010 | Sydney | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2011 | Melbourne | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2012 | Sydney | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2013 | Melbourne | Melbourne | Melbourne | |
| 2014 | Sydney | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2015 | Melbourne | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2016 | Sydney | Sydney | Melbourne | |
| 2017 | Melbourne | Sydney | Sydney | |
| 2018 | Sydney | Sydney | Sydney | |
| 2019 | Melbourne | Sydney | Sydney | |
| 2020 | - | - | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2021 | - | - | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2022 | Sydney | Sydney | Sydney | |
| 2023 | Melbourne | Sydney | Sydney | |
| 2024 | Sydney | Sydney | Sydney |
| Mens | Womens | |
|---|---|---|
| University of Sydney | 12 | 6 |
| University of Melbourne | 2 | 8 |
Note, summary as at end of 2024 event.
References
edit- ^ "Sydney University Boat Club". SUBC. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Home - Melbourne University Boat Club". www.mubc.asn.au. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "UniSport Australia". UniSport Australia. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ a b c "History". Australian Boat Race. Retrieved 2024-10-29.