‘It’s pretty gnarly’: Behind the scenes at Trial Eights, the battle for selection at the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Key Highlights

• It’s the closest thing they get to the big day, with an umpire and media attention to cope with, too.
• Some rise to the occasion; others crumble under the pressure. Oxford men’s coach Mark Fangen-Hall says: “A lot of it is how they behave in the days before, how they hold themselves, how they walk around, are they their usual jovial selves, or do they go quiet and within themselves a little bit, so there's a lot of body language observation.
• On the day itself, we just want to see people who can bring their best, wherever that may be, to the performance.”The two universities each have a day to themselves on the water, although it’s not unusual for rival coaches to snoop around the opposition too, a sign of how deadly serious Trial VIIIs is.
• On Friday, 19 December, it’s Oxford’s turn on the Tideway, and they’ve already won the smallest of victories over their rivals: the weather gods have smiled on them. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s crisp and chilly, but the sun is out, while Cambridge endured a miserable downpour the day before.
• Oxford men’s president Tobias Bernard says: “My first year [of Trial VIIIs] it was snowing, so this is much nicer!”The crews cover the 4.2 mile stretch of the Thames in around 15-20 minutes (BRCL/Row360)Coaches take performances in Trial Eights into consideration when making their final squad selection (BRCL/Row360)After a lengthy period of Cambridge domination – they have won eight years in a row in the women’s race and seven of the last nine men’s editions – is the fine weather a good omen for the Dark Blues?It seems to be for some of them, at least.