The 1999 Race The 1999 Boat Race marks the first time that Oxford and Cambridge Universities will race for the Aberdeen Asset Management trophy. This follows a sponsorship deal with the fund management group that is headquartered in Aberdeen and also has offices in the City of London, Continental Europe, Asia and the USA, announced on January 25, 1999. The Boat Race is one of the most popular events in the British sporting calendar and attracts a massive crowd of over 250,000 to the banks of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake. Over the last five years, the live BBC television audience for the Boat Race has averaged over six million, making it a top five live televised annual British sporting event (along with the Grand National, the FA Cup Final, Wimbledon finals and the British Grand Prix.) The BBC recently signed a new contract to cover the event through to 2004. The event also has a huge international following with a potential viewing audience of 400 million in around 160 countries. The 145th Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race took place at 3.30pm on Saturday 3rd April 1999. The race course is four and a quarter miles long, with pubs, bars and rowing clubs dotted along the towpath and Embankment for spectators to visit. Diary October 1998: Training started November 1998: Final search for sponsors for the 145th Race. December 1998: Cambridge and Oxford hold their Trial Eights races, to help select their best oarsmen and coxes. First-hand reports from Regatta Magazine. January 1999: Aberdeen Asset Management sponsor the Boat Race. March 1st 1999: The Challenge: Oxford and Cambridge announce their squads. March 28th 1999: The Henley Races: the women and lightweights of the two Universities stage their own head-to-head. March 29th 1999: The Weigh-In. March 31st 1999: The Veteran Boat Race. Cambridge won by 1 length after much clashing April 1st 1999: The coxswains steer over the course in an Umpire's Rehearsal, to ensure they both know how to avoid clashing on the unbuoyed stream. April 2nd 1999: The World Sculling Challenge, 3:30 pm. April 3rd 1999: 3 pm The Reserves Race, 3:30 pm The Boat Race For further press information please contact: The Boat Race Press Office, c/o Ketchum Sponsorship, Tower House, 8-14 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HA Tel: 0171 379 3234, Fax: 0171 465 8241. © Copyright Regatta Magazine, 1999.