2025 Boat Race season begins with Presidents' Challenge

This event marks the start of the competition between the university boat clubs of Oxford and Cambridge.

Hosted by Olympic champion Constantine Louloudis, the challenge sees the presidents of the previous year's losing teams formally challenge those from the winning teams.

This year, Oxford presidents Tom Mackintosh and Annie Anezakis challenged Cambridge presidents Luca Ferraro and Lucy Havard.

Oxford president Annie Anezakis with Cambridge president Lucy Havard (Image: The Boat Race) The pairs faced off at Somerset House in London before shaking hands on stage in front of the men’s and women’s trophies.

The umpires for the season were confirmed as Sarah Winckless and Sir Matthew Pinsent, for the men’s and women’s races respectively.

Ms Winckless becomes the first woman to umpire the men’s race on The Championship Course.

The 2025 Boat Race will take place on Sunday, April 13, with the 79th Women’s Boat Race to be followed shortly after by the 170th Men’s Boat Race.

Around 200,000 spectators are expected to line the banks of the River Thames to watch the event, which is free to attend and broadcast live on the BBC.

The squads for 2025 will be more diverse than ever, with 157 student rowers spanning 18 different nationalities.

Oxford’s Luisa Fernandez Chirino, should she be selected to face Cambridge, would be the first Mexican woman to compete at the Boat Race.

Cambridge president Luca Ferraro with Oxford president Tom Mackintosh (Image: The Boat Race) The squads also feature rowers from Nigeria, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Sri Lanka, and China, as well as six Olympians.

They include Claire Collins and James Robson for Cambridge, and Nick Rusher and Heidi Long for Oxford.

Siobhan Cassidy, chair of The Boat Race Company, said: "The 2025 CHANEL J12 Boat Race marks a year of significant milestones.

"From welcoming CHANEL as our new title sponsor to introducing new competitors from all over the world, including current Olympic champions, the mass appeal for one of Britain’s most historic sporting events is more widespread than ever.

"I’m excited for another fiercely contested Battle of the Blues and for the rowers’ competitive spirit to reach new people and places."

The Boat Race, first raced by crews from Oxford and Cambridge University in 1829, is now one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events.

The famous Championship Course stretches over 4.25 miles of tidal Thames in West London between Putney and Mortlake.

The 2024 season saw Cambridge complete the double across both the men’s and women’s boat races, leaving the overall records at 87-81 in favour of Cambridge men and 48-30 to Cambridge women.