5 April 2021

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch is all of a Twitter.

In the unlikely event that any HTBS Types missed the 2021 Oxford – Cambridge Boat Races, recorded coverage is available on YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

My summary of the day would be: good organisation, good weather, good rowing, good coxing, good umpiring, good racing. Not as good for Oxford as for Cambridge but, in the absence of my hoped-for double draw, half the crews racing had to be disappointed. The Telegraph’s Rachel Quarrell has a longer and more articulate report online. 

With the exception of the small number of people allowed into the “Ely Bubble”, we all saw the same coverage of Boat Race Day 2021. However, social media platforms show that we do not all see the same thing in the same way and I am going to look at the day through the medium of Twitter posts with the hashtag “TheBoatRace”. 

The Build-Up

Posting “preview” pictures after the races are done may seem a little redundant, but local residents in Ely and Littleport were in a unique position to legally photograph some of the build-up to the event following the recent relaxation of the COVID restrictions. Most notable of these was Glynis Pierson, a talented amateur photographer.

The bizarre light show/pyrotechnics/1970s stadium rock that accompanied each crew member from the boathouse to the boat was the subject of many Tweets. Suggestions as to what was happening included:

WWE wrestlers?
I thought I was watching Gladiators
Tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be…
Miss World is back
Is this the NFL?
More like a monster truck show
Disco lives!
It’s Formula 1 from Ely   

The Race

Meanwhile back on the Tideway…