Trial Eights - 11th and 16th December 2008

The Trial VIIIs race is an integral part of the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Club’s preparation for the Boat Race showdown. It is a significant milestone in the season and has been undertaken by the two clubs for the majority of the history of the race. Both Oxford and Cambridge boat two evenly matched eights from their squads and race them on the river at Putney over the exact course and tide that they race on the day of the annual Boat Race.

The 16 rowers and two coxes from each club make up the core of the two boats each university puts out on Boat Race day. The aim of Trial Eights is to get those who have not previously raced the Boat Race before to learn more about the course and the race itself, as it is very different from any other race they will have done before due to conditions, distance, steering etc. It allows them to learn what they would do differently (or indeed the same) on race day. Essentially it is an invaluable experience for the athletes and coxes as they prepare for the gruelling race that awaits them on Sunday 29 March 2009.

It has been a tradition for the clubs to name their trial eights with paired words. Over the years the clubs have come up with names such as: Hammer and Tongs, Slash and Burn, Cowboys and Indians, True love and One night stand, Shirts and Skins, Hammer and Sickle, Ruck and Maul...etc. This year Oxford rather appropriately named their eights after the two forms of primary market trend: Bull and Bear (after a Bull market and a Bear Market). Unsurprisingly though the Bear crew did not seem to look on their victory with much pessimism. The Cambridge crew continued along similar lines to last year (True Love and One Night Stand) naming their eights 'Looks' and 'Personality'. In this race Looks crossed the finish line ahead of Personality, but they did not triumph; in fact Personality triumphed over Looks due to Look's disqualification. This goes to prove the age old saying 'it's what's inside that counts'.