The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race 2024: when is it, what time and what TV channel

This year’s edition features twin sisters racing for rival universities, and Thames water so dirty that crews have been told not to throw in

This year’s Boat Race will be the 169th time that Oxford and Cambridge’s men have raced against each other and the 78th time the women’s crews have done so. 
The course is the usual 4.2-mile affair from Putney to Mortlake, commonly referred to as the Championship Course. There is a coin toss before the race, to determine which team gets to pick their station: either Middlesex or Surrey. 
Approximately 250,000 people will line the banks of the Thames to watch the race with many more following on television.
This year’s racing is this Saturday. 
The date of the boat race changes every year dependent on tides, university calendars and major London events. The March 30 date is inauspicious: on that day in 1912 both boats sank and the race had to be re-run the following week. On another March 30 race, in 2002, Oxford achieved a clean sweep. 
The main events for Saturday are as follows:
BBC One will carry live coverage, starting at 2pm, which is also available to stream online on the BBC website. Coverage is broadcast in about 200 countries worldwide. 
Sarah Marshall (bow)Ella Stadler (President)Tessa HainingClaire AitkenJulia LindsayAnnie SharpLucy EdmundsAnnie Anezakis (stroke)Joe Gellett (cox)Coach: Allan French
Gemma King (bow)Jo MatthewsClare HoleJenna Armstrong (President)Carina GrafCarys EarlIris PowellMegan Lee (stroke)Hannah Murphy (cox)Coach: Paddy Ryan
Saxon Stacey (bow)Harry GlenisterJelmer BennemaJames DoranElias KunFrederick RoperLeonard JenkinsElliot Kemp (stroke)William Denegri (cox)Coach: Sean Bowden
Sebastien Benzecry (bow, President)Noam MouelleThomas MarshAugustus JohnKenneth CoplanThomas LynchLuca FerraroMatt Edge (stroke)Ed Bracey (coxCoach: Rob Baker
Cambridge took a clean sweep last year, winning each of the four races (men’s, women’s, men’s reserves and women’s reserves). It was only the fourth time that one university has won all four races in the half century that the four races have been staged. 
In the history of the men’s Boat Race Cambridge lead Oxford by 86 wins to 81. There was a dead heat in 1877. Cambridge are even more dominant in the history of the women’s race, with 47 victories to Oxford’s 30. 
In the build-up to Saturday’s race, the water in the Thames has been declared too dangerous to swim in, owing to high levels of E. coli. As a result, crews have been warned against throwing the winning coxes into the river. 
This year’s race will put twin sisters against each other, although not in the same race. Catherine and Gemma King raced alongside each other for Cambridge until Catherine moved to Oxford University in order to study for her PhD. Gemma will be in the No 1 Cambridge boat while Catherine, who is returning from injury, will be in the No 2 boat for Oxford. Read more on this story in Jim White’s joint interview with the sisters.