Henley Challenge Marks Five Days to go Until The Historic Women’s Boat Race

Today, at the Official Henley Boat Races Challenge, the two Blue Boats that will race The 2014 Newton Women’s Boat Race faced off against each other for the last time until they line-up on the start in five days’ time. The challenge this morning also officially announced the crews that will race in The Women’s Reserve Boat Race, The Lightweight Women’s Boat Race and The Lightweight Men’s Boat Race.

Becoming part of the Henley Boat Races in the 1970s provided much needed stability and a home for The Women’s Boat Race, therefore this year’s Race is set to be a historic final Henley encounter before it relocates to the Tideway Championship Course next year. On Sunday we will see a heavier, entirely British Light Blue line-up take on a more international experienced outfit from the Dark Blues.

In the Oxford Women’s Boat, there are five different nationalities represented – including Canadian senior international, Elizabeth Fenje, Switzerland’s Nadine Graedel Iberg, American stroke Laura Savarese, and victorious returning Blues, Alice Carrington-Windo and President Maxie Scheske, who both have dual German and British nationality.

Yet again this year, the Cambridge Women’s crew is an entirely British outfit, with plenty of experience of The Newton Women’s Boat Race – double Blues Caroline Reid and Holly Game, are joined by fellow 2013 crew members Emily Day, Claire Watkins, Melissa Wilson, and President Esther Momcilovic in the coxing seat. For OUWBC, three return from their victorious 2013 crew – Carrington-Windo, President Scheske and Anastasia Chitty.

The two universities continue to prove their worth as centres for developing rowing talent, with several athletes and coxes who learnt their trade at their respective university graduating to the Blue Boats this year. The OUWBC Blue Boat contains Nadine Graedel Iberg and cox Erin Wysocki-Jones who both came up to the Club from the college system; while in the CUWBC crew seven of the nine announced today first got into the sport at Cambridge – Caroline Reid, Kate Ashley, Holly Game, Melissa Wilson, Claire Watkins, Emily Day and cox Esther Momcilovic.

The 2014 Newton Women’s Boat Race will be raced at Henley on Sunday 30th March at 3pm.