Following the 2025 season where certain student athlete eligibility issues were raised, CUBC and OUBC have confirmed that for the coming season they will accept and abide by the established rules constituted by the ‘Joint Agreement’ between the Clubs. Neither Club will select student athletes for The Boat Race who do not comply with those rules – or interpretations of them made by the Interpretation Panel.

Both Clubs met during the summer and continue to debate the rules, and the principles behind them, for future seasons. It should be added that the Clubs are jointly and solely responsible for agreeing the rules which make up the ‘Joint Agreement’, a document that is then completed and signed by each student athlete, a senior member of the Club committee and a university academic.

Any change in established rules within the ‘Joint Agreement’ requires the consent of both Clubs and any proposal to bring that about must be completed long before the contest on the water is underway; any future changes will be made and put into effect from October 2026. BRCL does not make the rules nor interpret them in relation to any eligibility – or any other – decisions.

The Joint Agreement between the Clubs makes clear that all rules are guided by the “spirit of the race.” This means the event is to be contested by students who are genuinely balancing full-time academic workload with sporting commitment, preserving the historic ‘amateur ethos’ of the competition.

The Boat Race has a long and proud tradition, rooted in both academic and sporting excellence, with every student athlete earning their place at either Oxford or Cambridge universities through academic merit only. Neither institution affords a preference to students with sporting accolades.

The Clubs are now in the process of confirming student eligibility to race with formal paperwork exchanged in September.