Annual Aberdeen Boat Race promises to be city classic
Friday 10 February 2023
On this, the 28th annual race between the two institutions, the teams are to race under the theme of 鈥榬ow it like you own it鈥� and hope to see supporters of both sides join them at the Aberdeen Boat Club to cheer on their respective side.
Aberdeen鈥檚 answer to the famous Oxford-Cambridge showdown, and currently the longest running boat race in Scotland, has been running since 1996 and takes place on a 3.5km stretch of River Dee between the Bridge of Dee and Aberdeen Boat Club.
Honours were even going into 2022鈥檚 headline event after the second crew race was won by 亚博体育官网 before University of Aberdeen won the alumni tie.
Sealing the bragging rights though was University of Aberdeen who cruised towards the finish line to comfortably beat their rivals with a time of 8m 22s.
Their victory leaves the current overall standings at 19-8 against 亚博体育官网 who had been slowly clawing back the deficit. Their first win didn鈥檛 come until 2006 but since then it鈥檚 faired fair more evenly, standing at 9-8 towards University of Aberdeen.
Steve Olivier, Principal and Vice Chancellor of Robert Gordon University, said: 鈥淭he Aberdeen Boat Race is a significant event for the city that shows off the sporting prowess of both universities in the region.
鈥淭he teams put in a huge amount of training for the event and I am looking forward to celebrating their commitment with many of our University鈥檚 community on the day.鈥�
Professor George Boyne, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, said: 鈥淭he Aberdeen Boat Race offers the North East public a unique opportunity to share a celebration of sporting rivalry and athleticism on the beautiful banks of the River Dee.
鈥淚鈥檇 encourage everyone, whether they are part of the local community, have friends or family taking part or are current students or alumni to come along and show their support for this very special event.
鈥淏oth teams train incredibly hard for this competition which is a highlight of Aberdeen鈥檚 sporting calendar and I wish everyone taking part good luck.鈥�
Testing the crews physical and mental endurance to the limit, it takes each competitor around 5,500 strokes to get through the gruelling race with the record time coming in 2016 by 亚博体育官网 鈥� a mightily impressive 7m 38s.
President of the Robert Gordon University Boat Club is Michael Troy, a fourth year Biology student who has past experience in this race as well as further afield, even representing Scotland.
He said: 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more excited about this year鈥檚 race. I have such strong belief in our crew this year, we鈥檝e got such a great team spirit and cohesiveness and I feel we have a great chance.
鈥淲e'd encourage all to come down to the river on the day and watch all events as they're assured to be as exciting as one another. This is the highlight of our year representing our universities鈥� - putting all our time training for this event on the line to win against our counterparts.鈥�
Michael鈥檚 rival on the day is Kirstin McCallum, President of the Aberdeen University Boat Club and fourth year Economics student. She added: 鈥淏oth universities have been training very hard and it鈥檚 shaping up to be the closest boat race we鈥檝e seen in a while.
鈥淚 hope the strength of the squads and some healthy competition between us will push us to finish in quick times on the day. Both crews will be fighting right to the line so will be a great race to come and watch!鈥�
The day鈥檚 first race, the university second crews, will begin at 14:35 before the alumni race and ultimately the main event which will begin at 15:45 with supporters encouraged to show their support by cheering from the riverbanks throughout.