Harvard–Yale Regatta

The Harvard-Yale Boat Race or Harvard–Yale Regatta is an annual rowing race between Yale University and Harvard University. First contested in 1852, annually since 1859 except during major wars fought by the United States, The Race is America's oldest collegiate athletic competition, predating The Game by 23 years. Originally rowed on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, it has since moved to the Thames River, New London, Connecticut. Although other locations for the race have included the Connecticut River at Springfield, Massachusetts, and Lake Quinsigamond at Worcester, Massachusetts, the Thames has hosted The Race on all but 5 occasions since 1878 and both teams have erected permanent training camps on the Thames at Gales Ferry for Yale and at Red Top for Harvard. The race has been exclusively between Harvard and Yale except for 1897 when the race was held as part of a three boat race with Cornell on the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, New York, where, although it lost to Cornell, Yale was deemed the winner of the Harvard-Yale race.^[1][2]

History

On May 24, 1843, with the arrival of the shell Whitehall in New Haven, Yale University founded the first collegiate crew in the United States.^[3] A year later, Harvard founded their boat club.^[4] These boat clubs served primarily a social purpose,^[4] until Yale's 1852 issuance of a challenge to Harvard "to test the superiority of the oarsmen of the two colleges".^[5] The first Yale-Harvard Boat Race—and the first American intercollegiate sporting event—took place on August 3, 1852. In this two-mile (3 km) contest, Harvard's Oneida prevailed over Yale's Shawmut by about two lengths, with Yale's Undine finishing third.^[3] The first place prize was a pair of black walnut, silver inscribed trophy oars. The trophy oars were awarded to Harvard by General Franklin Pierce who in 1853 became the 14th President of the United States of America. Today the 1852 trophy oars are the oldest intercollegiate athletic prize in North America.^[6]

While the first race was held over 2 miles (3.2 km), this was extended to 3 miles (4.8 km) for the races through 1875, and has since been raced over 4 miles (6.4 km). The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race is the only longer side-by-side rowing event in the world, though slower stream makes the Yale-Harvard Race one to three minutes longer.^[7]

Originally the race was just between the varsity crews but there are now 3 events on the day: the 2 mile (3.2 km) freshmen race, the 3 mile (4.8 km) junior varsity and the 4 mile (6.4 km) varsity race. The varsity crews compete for the Sexton Cup, the junior varsity for the F. Valentine Chappell Trophy, and the freshmen for the New London Cup. The Hoyt C. Pease and Robert Chappell Jr. Trophy are awarded to the team that wins the majority of these three races.

Typically the day before the freshman, junior varsity and varsity races, there is a 2-mile (3.2-kilometre) race between the spares for both crews. These "combination" boats are made up of second freshman boat and third varsity boat rowers (i.e. the "combi" or "combo" race). The winner of this race gets the James P. Snider Cup, as well as the right to paint its school's colors on the "rock" at Bartlett's Cove for the next day's races. It is traditional for the coxswains of all four crews to race each other in a half-mile race. The coxswain fours are coxed by the captain of each program.

Currently Harvard leads the varsity series at 88-54, the second varsity (JV) at 68-37, and the freshman series at 64-39-1. The full results for the coxswain races are unknown, but it is generally accepted that Harvard leads the series comfortably. Harvard also holds the upstream record with its time of 18:41.9 in 1995. Yale's fastest upstream time (18:45.5) was also posted that year. The Crimson set the downstream—and Thames River course—mark of 18:22.4 in 1980.

Results^[8]

Varsity Race^[9]

• Harvard: 91 wins
• Yale: 54 wins