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The 'Harvard-Yale Boat Race' or 'Harvard-Yale Regatta' is an annual rowing race between Yale and Harvard universities. 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, Mass. and Lake Quinsigamond at Worcester, Mass., 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]

Contents

History

2007 Race

Junior Varsity Race

Freshman Race

3V/2F Combination Race

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

History

On May 24th, 1843, with the arrival of the ''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".^[6] The first Yale-Harvard Boat Race—and the first American intercollegiate sporting event—took place on August 3rd, 1852. In this two-mile contest, Harvard's ''Oneida'' prevailed over Yale's ''Shawmut'' by about two lengths, with Yale's ''Undine'' finishing third.^[3]
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). This is the longest race in the western hemisphere, and while The Boat Race is the only longer side by side rowing event in the world, slower stream makes for a 1 to 3 minute longer Yale-Harvard Race.^[8]

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 km) 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.
Currently Harvard leads the varsity series at 88-54, the second varsity (JV) at 68-37, and the freshman series at 64-39-1.
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.

2007 Race

The 2007 Race was the closest in recent history and certainly one of the most dramatic of all time. The Yale varsity crew of 2007 had one of the most impressive seasons of any recent Yale varsity 8. The crew had an undefeated dual season, facing many of the same rivals that the Harvard crew faced, and defeating them by similar margins. Both the Yale and Harvard crews entered the Eastern Sprints regatta undefeated.

The Eastern Sprints grand final saw the fastest race in history, with both the Harvard and Yale crews breaking the course record and finishing first and second respectively. Yale went on to finish 9th at the IRA National Championship Regatta two weeks later while Harvard finsihed 3rd.
The 2007 Harvard Yale race took place in overcast conditions, with light current and smooth water. The start of the race saw Harvard open a margin of about 5 seats on the Yale crew, which they gradually extended until the margin reached about one seat of open water. The Yale crew did not allow this margin to grow however, and held off many Harvard attacks, while rowing with the Harvard crew out of sight.
This margin of a few seats of open water was held by Harvard as they approached the final strokes of the race. However the composure of the Yale crew paid off, as they were able to mount a vicious attack against Harvard with less than half a mile to go. This ferocious attack proved too great for the Harvard crew to match, as they began to crack meters short of the finish line.
This Yale surge, after almost 4 miles of intense racing stunned the crimson - who crumbled under the intense pressure of one of the finest finishing sprints in collegiate rowing history. Yale crossed the finish line .5 of a second ahead of Harvard, shattering their undefeated dual season.
The 2007 race marks the point at which the Yale program finally eclipsed Harvard, after a few years in which the time margins between the crews had been decreasing steadily, and will go down as one of the greatest races in the storied history of the event.
==Results^[9]==

Varsity Race

★ Harvard: 88 wins

★ Yale: 54 wins

Date Site Length Direction Winner Harvard Time Yale Time August 3, 1852 Winnipesaukee 2 - Harvard (2 lengths) July 21, 1855 Springfield 3 - Harvard 22:47 24 min. July 26, 1859 Worcester 3 - Harvard 19:18 20:18 July 24, 1860 Worcester 3 - Harvard 18:53 19:05.5 July 29, 1864 Worcester 3 - Yale 19:43.5 19:01 July 28, 1865 Worcester 3 - Yale 19:09 18:42.5 July 26, 1866 Worcester 3 - Harvard 18:43.5 19:10 July 19, 1867 Worcester 3 - Harvard 18:12.75 19:25.5 July 24, 1868 Worcester 3 - Harvard 17:48.5 18:38.5 July 23, 1869 Worcester 3 - Harvard 18:02 18:11 July 22, 1870 Worcester 3 - Harvard 20:30 (fouled) July 24, 1872 Springfield 3 - Harvard 16:57 18:13 July 17, 1873 Springfield 3 - Yale (uncertain) 16:59 July 18, 1874 Saratoga 3 - Harvard 16:56 (disabled) July 14, 1875 Saratoga 3 - Harvard 17:05 17:14.5 June 30, 1876 Springfield 4 - Yale 22:31 22:02 June 30, 1877 Springfield 4 - Harvard 24:36 24:43 June 28, 1878 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 20:44.75 21:29 June 27, 1879 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 22:15 23:58 July 1, 1880 New London 4 Downstream Yale 25:09 24:27 July 1, 1881 New London 4 Downstream Yale 22:19 22:13 June 30, 1882 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 20:47.5 20:50.5 June 28, 1883 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 25:46.5 25:59 June 26, 1884 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:48 20:31 June 26, 1885 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 25:15.5 26:30 July 2, 1886 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:05 20:42 July 1, 1887 New London 4 Downstream Yale 23:10.5 22:56 June 29, 1888 New London 4 Downstream Yale 21:24 20:10 June 28, 1889 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:55 21:30 June 27, 1890 New London 4 Downstream Yale 21:40 21:29 June 26, 1891 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 21:23 21:57 July 1, 1892 New London 4 Downstream Yale 21:42.5 20:48 June 30, 1893 New London 4 Downstream Yale 25:15 25:01.5 June 28, 1894 New London 4 Downstream Yale 24:38 23:45.5 June 28, 1895 New London 4 Downstream Yale 22:05 21:30 June 25, 1897 Poughkeepsie 4 - Yale 21:00 20:44 June 23, 1898 New London 4 Upstream Yale 24:35 24:02 June 29, 1899 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 20:52.5 21:13 June 28, 1900 New London 4 Downstream Yale 21:37.4 21:12.8 June 27, 1901 New London 4 Downstream Yale 23:45 23:37 June 26, 1902 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:33 20:20 June 25, 1903 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:19.6 20:19.8 July 1, 1904 New London 4 Upstream Yale 22:10 21:40.5 June 29, 1905 New London 4 Upstream Yale 22:36 22:33.5 June 28, 1906 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 23:02 23:11 June 27, 1907 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:13 21:10 June 25, 1908 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 24:10 (not taken) July 11, 1909 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 21:50 22:10 June 30, 1910 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 20:46.5 21:04 June 30, 1911 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 22:44 23:40.5 June 21, 1912 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 21:43.5 22:04 June 20, 1913 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 21:42 22:20 June 19, 1914 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:16.2 21:16 June 25, 1915 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:13.5 20:52 June 23, 1916 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 20:02 20:17 June 1, 1918 Derby, CT 2 - Harvard 10:58 11:04 June 20, 1919 New London 4 Downstream Yale 21:47.6 21:42.2 June 25, 1920 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 23:11 23:46 June 24, 1921 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:44.2 20:41 June 23, 1922 New London 4 Upstream Yale 22:06 21:53 June 22, 1923 New London 4 Downstream Yale 22:35 22:10 June 20, 1924 New London 4 Downstream Yale 22:11 21:58.4 June 19, 1925 New London 4 Upstream Yale 20:32.4 20:26 June 25, 1926 New London 4 Upstream Yale 20:21.6 20:14.4 June 24, 1927 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 22:35.1 22:39 June 22, 1928 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:56 20:21.6 June 21, 1929 New London 4 Upstream Yale 21:39 21:20 1934 Yale 1947 Harvard 1952 Harvard 1954 Yale 1955 Yale 1956 Yale 1957 Yale 1958 Yale 1959 Harvard 1960 Harvard 1961 Harvard 1962 Yale 1963 Harvard 1964 Harvard 1965 Harvard 1966 Harvard 1967 Harvard 1968 Harvard 1969 Harvard 1970 Harvard 1971 Harvard 1972 Harvard 1973 Harvard 1974 Harvard 1975 Harvard 1976 Harvard 1977 Harvard 1978 Harvard 1979 Harvard 1980 New London 4 Downstream Harvard 18:22.4 1981 New London 4 Yale 1982 New London 4 Yale 1983 New London 4 Yale 1984 New London 4 Yale 1985 Harvard 1986 Harvard 1987 Harvard 1988 Harvard 1989 Harvard 1990 Harvard 1991 Harvard 1992 Harvard 1993 Harvard 1994 Harvard 1995 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 18:41.9 18:45.5 June 8, 1996 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:08.5 20:01.9 June 1, 1997 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 22:06.8 22:10.3 June 6, 1998 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 20:32.3 21:53.7 June 5, 1999 New London 4 Downstream Yale 20:51.98 20:45.94 June 10, 2000 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 19:44.4 19:54.2 June 3, 2001 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 18:55.6 19:32.7 June 8, 2002 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 19:02.5 19:43.8 June 7, 2003 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 18:54.4 19:44.2 June 12, 2004 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 18:42.1 19:06.8 June 11, 2005 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 19:20.4 20:00.0 June 11, 2006 New London 4 Upstream Harvard 23:22.6 23:30.4 June 9, 2007 New London 4 Upstream Yale 19:58.0 19:57.5

Junior Varsity Race

★ Harvard: 68 wins

★ Yale: 37 wins

Date Winner Harvard Time Yale Time June 8, 1996 Yale 16:42.4 16:37.6 June 1, 1997 Harvard 13:57.2 14:11.6 June 6, 1998 Harvard 16:12 June 5, 1999 Harvard 16:17.7 16:26.6 June 10, 2000 Harvard 15:01.2 15:15.7 June 3, 2001 Harvard 14:23.7 14:37.5 June 8, 2002 Harvard 14:19.0 14:45.8 June 7, 2003 Harvard 13:57.0 14:31.2 June 12, 2004 Harvard 13:46.1 14:16.4 June 11, 2005 Yale 14:32.9 14:12.9 June 11, 2006 Harvard 16:22.0 16:30.1 June 9, 2007 Yale 15:45.0 15:27.0

Freshman Race

★ Harvard:64

★ Yale: 39

★ Dead Heats: 1

Date Winner Harvard Time Yale Time June 8, 1996 Yale 11:06.4 10:43.0 June 1, 1997 Harvard 10:53 10:57 June 6, 1998 Harvard 10:45 10:52 June 5, 1999 Harvard 10:36.97 10:47.14 June 10, 2000 Yale 9:42.6 9:33.3 June 3, 2001 Harvard 9:39.4 9:56.8 June 8, 2002 Harvard 9:23.4 9:38.8 June 7, 2003 Harvard 9:49.4 10:06.8 June 12, 2004 Harvard 8:46.1 8:50.0 June 11, 2005 Harvard 9:06.1 9:13.6 June 10, 2006 Yale 11:05 11:04.05 June 9, 2007 Harvard 10:01.13 10:11.69

3V/2F Combination Race

Date Winner Harvard Time Yale Time June 7, 1996 Yale (17 seconds) June 4, 1999 Yale June 11, 2004 Harvard 10:09.4 10:18.0 June 10, 2005 Yale 9:21.9 9:17.4 June 9, 2006 Harvard June 8, 2007 Harvard 9:29.36 9:39.79

See also

★ James P. Snider Cup, awarded to the winner of the 3V/2F Combination Race

★ Gales Ferry, the training site for Yale's Crew

★ The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge (UK)

★ The Challenge Boat Race between Queen's and McGill (Canada)

★ The Great Race between University of Waikato and Oxford or Cambridge (New Zealand)

★ Harvard-Yale football games (The Game)

★ List of Harvard-Yale football games

Notes

1. USRowing
2. Harvard-Yale Regatta
3. "Great Moments in Yale Sports", Yale Alumni Magazine, March 2001.
4. Lewis, Guy. The Beginning of Organized Collegiate Sport, ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 22, No. 2, Part 1. (Summer, 1970), p. 224.
5. Lewis, Guy. The Beginning of Organized Collegiate Sport, ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 22, No. 2, Part 1. (Summer, 1970), p. 224.
6. Veneziano, John. "America's Oldest Intercollegiate Athletic Event".
7. "Great Moments in Yale Sports", Yale Alumni Magazine, March 2001.
8. "Harvard-Yale Boat Race Turns 150", Harvard Magazine, May-June 2002.
9. An incomplete listing compiled from various sources [1] [2].

References

★ Lewis, Guy. The Beginning of Organized Collegiate Sport, ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 22, No. 2, Part 1. (Summer, 1970), pp. 222-229.

Further reading

★ Mendenhall, Thomas C. ''Harvard-Yale boat race, 1852-1924, and the coming of sport to the American college'' (1993)

★ Whiton, James M. "The First Harvard-Yale Regatta," ''Outlook'', LXVIII (June 1901), 286-89.

★ Zimmerman, Justin. "The Calling." A documentary detailing both the very first Regatta and the modern sport of crew. Official Site

External links

★ The Harvard-Yale Regatta, from Harvard Crew website

★ Harvard Crew

★ Yale Crew

★ First Harvard-Yale Race