New Boat Race selection policy 'very unfair'

Olympic golden medallist Imogen Grant says the enactment betwixt Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs implicit enactment for this year's Boat Races is "very unfair".

The enactment involves the banning of PGCE students from competing due to the fact that the qualifications are not "degree level", which means 3 Cambridge rowers are incapable to race.

The 3 rowers ruled retired are Matt Heywood - a erstwhile under-23 satellite champion - Molly Foxell and Kate Cowley.

Each year, unit names and details are exchanged betwixt clubs and the rules were agreed by some teams.

However, Oxford University raised objections astir the 3 students connected PGCE courses, claiming they were "certificates" and not degrees.

The last determination was made by an autarkic mentation panel.

"Nothing has changed successful the associated agreement. PGCE students were racing earlier - it's written down," said Grant, who won golden successful the lightweight treble sculls astatine Paris 2024 and is simply a three-time Boat Race victor with Cambridge.

"It's the mentation which has changed. The information that it is truthful adjacent to the Boat Race is precise unfair.

"It upsets maine due to the fact that the Boat Race is iconic, due to the fact that it's a monolithic showcase, an age-old rivalry.

"It lone stays breathtaking if you person the champion crews racing and we are getting tied down successful semantics.

"We privation to spot the champion race. That's wherefore we watch, not quibbling whether a grade counts oregon not."

The yearly Boat Races instrumentality spot connected 13 April.

Cambridge person 7 consecutive women's titles and person 5 wins successful the past six years successful the men's event.

Annamarie Phelps, seat of the Cambridge University Boat Club, said: "There is nary question academically astir the lasting of the PGCE course, which is highly valued and operates astatine a postgraduate level.

"This determination comes contempt the university's proposal connected the PGCE's lasting and contempt the precedent acceptable by PGCE students from some Oxford and Cambridge being allowed to contention successful preceding years."

The Boat Race Company, which runs the contention connected behalf of the clubs, said: "This is an highly competitory process and determination are strict (publicly available) eligibility criteria for being considered for a spot successful a crew.

"Those criteria are jointly agreed by the 2 competing clubs, with nary engagement from immoderate 3rd party.

"Similarly, some clubs hold to the beingness and eventual authorization of an autarkic mentation sheet to supply rulings connected immoderate disputes, oregon to clarify rules wherever necessary.

"The clubs are signatories to a associated statement and hold to beryllium bound by a ruling of the mentation sheet with nary further recourse."