The Boat Race 1882

coached Oxford for the sixth time. The Boat Race is an annual rowing eight competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. First held in 1829, the competition is a race along The Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by three lengths, and held the overall lead, with 20 victories to Cambridge's 17 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford were coached by Tom Edwards-Moss (who rowed for the Dark Blues four times between the 1875 and 1878 race) and Walter Bradford Woodgate (who represented Oxford in the 1862 and 1863 races). There is no record of Cambridge's coaches. The Oxford boat was manufactured by Swaddle and Winship and was used in preference to one built by Harry Clasper which had been tested extensively in practice. and the starter was Edward Searle. ==Crews==

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 11 st 11.125 lb (74.7 kg), more than their opponents. The Light Blue crew also included the only non-British competitor in the race in Australian Steve Fairbairn (whose brother Charles had competed in the 1879 race). Oxford's crew also contained five individuals with Boat Race experience, including R. S. Kindersley and David Edward Brown, both of whom were rowing in their third race. ==Race==

, along which the race is conducted Oxford were firm pre-race favourites, having rowed the course twenty seconds quicker than Cambridge in practice. Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Oxford. It was Oxford's third consecutive win and the fastest winning time since the 1873 race. The result took the overall record to 21–17 in their favour. ==References==