The Launch: Rowing stories by custom rowing clothing founder, Joline Esparza and the JL Team

National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2025

We're celebrating the 39th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day that honors not just the champions and record-breakers, but also the grassroots efforts of communities, schools, and organizations that ensure sports are accessible for all girls and women. We’re proud to amplify the voices of women athletes, and celebrate the boundless opportunities that sports create. Why do sports matter? Hear directly from some of The Boat Race athletes who inspire us to dream big and break boundaries.

February 03, 2025 — Kristin Foster

Tags: AIO Athlete Spotlight Cambridge University Boat Club CHANEL J12 Boat Race Collegiate Rowing Crew Crew Team CUBC Custom Rowing Kit DEI Female Athletes Female Rowers Inclusion JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing National Girls and Women in Sports Day NGWSD OUBC Oxford University Boat Club Partnership Regatta River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing AIO Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Kit Rowing Team Team Spotlight The Boat Race Unisuit United Kingdom Rowing Women Athletes Women in Sports Women Rowers Women's History Month

“The Boat Race is older than New Zealand as a country” – a Kiwi in Oxford

Tom Mackintosh, the Oxford University Boat Club President for 2025, is a rarity. A President who has never rowed a Boat Race; a man who took Olympic gold in the eight, then moved into the single and won World Championship bronze in the slowest and loneliest of boats. Not many people have sat on an Olympic start line in the biggest and smallest boats. Tom was Olympic champion in the New Zealand eight in Tokyo 2020, before taking some time away from rowing. He returned in the single scull, won World Championship bronze in 2023, and finished fifth in Paris 2024. This unique blend of experiences, Tom believes, sets him up well to lead the athletes at Oxford.

January 08, 2025 — Kristin Foster

Tags: Athlete Spotlight CHANEL CHANEL J12 Boat Race Crew Crew Team JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Olympics Oxford University Boat Club Partnership Regatta River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Team The Boat Race Tokyo Olympics UK Rowing United Kingdom Rowing

Presidents’ Challenge Launches 2025 Boat Race Season

The 2025 Boat Race season is officially underway following the annual Presidents’ Challenge, held this year at London’s iconic Somerset House. Marking the renewal of the legendary rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, the event featured the formal challenge ceremony and introduced a season of exciting milestones, including CHANEL’s debut as the new title sponsor. With an increasingly diverse roster of athletes, including Olympians and rowers from 18 nationalities, the stage is set for the 79th Women’s and 170th Men’s Boat Races on April 13, 2025.

December 02, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Tags: Cambridge University Boat Club CHANEL CHANEL J12 Boat Race Collegiate Rowing Crew Custom Rowing Kit JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Oxford University Boat Club Partnership Regatta River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing AIO Rowing Clothes Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Gear Rowing Kit Rowing Team Rowing Uni Rowing Unisuit The Boat Race United Kingdom Rowing

Treasure from the Thames: The Boat Race Medallion Discovery

Many people who are fans of The Boat Race may have no connection with either university or to the sport of rowing but follow the beloved 200-year-old British national institution because of a passion for the River Thames and also for history and heritage. In such cases, it is also possible that they also follow the many social media and YouTube sites dedicated to ‘mudlarking’, the searching of the Thames foreshore at low tide for items lost or discarded anytime within the last 1,000 plus years – from Roman coins to Victorian clay tobacco pipes to McDonald’s plastic toys.

November 13, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Tags: Cambridge University Boat Club Crew Crew Team JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Oxford University Boat Club Partnership River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Community The Boat Race UK Rowing United Kingdom Rowing

A Century Later: The Rowers Who Reached for Everest

In September, a little over one hundred years after George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Comyn ‘Sandy’ Irvine died in an attempt to scale the 29 035 foot high Mount Everest in June 1924, part of what is presumed to be Irvine’s remains, including his named sock, were found emerging from melting ice on the Central Rongbuk Glacier, just below the north face of the mountain, by a National Geographic documentary team. The pair were last seen alive on 8 June 1924 less than four thousand feet below the summit.

November 13, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Tags: Cambridge University Boat Club Everest JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Mountaineering Oxford University Boat Club Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Club Rowing Community The Boat Race UK Rowing United Kingdom Rowing

CHANEL and The Boat Race Announce Long-Term Partnership

CHANEL and The Boat Race Company Ltd have announced the signing of a long-term partnership with CHANEL as Title Sponsor and official Timekeeping Partner. The 2025 event will become The CHANEL J12 Boat Race. The historic race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was established nearly 200 years ago in 1829. It is the oldest major sporting event in the UK, with the dark and light ‘Blues’ crews of eight rowers pitted against each other on the River Thames every year in the Spring.

October 25, 2024 — Kristin Foster

Tags: Cambridge University Boat Club CHANEL CHANEL J12 Boat Race Crew Crew Team Custom Rowing Kit JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Oxford University Boat Club Partnership Regatta River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Kit Sponsorship The Boat Race United Kingdom Rowing

The Boat Race Signs JL Racing as Official Kit Supplier

JL Racing has been appointed the official performance wear sponsor by The Boat Race Company. The partnership will see Oxford University Boat Club and Cambridge University Boat Club outfitted with JL Racing’s custom performance rowing apparel for training and racing.

September 19, 2024 — Hannah Abbott

Tags: Cambridge University Boat Club Collegiate Rowing Crew Crew Team Custom Custom Rowing Kit High Quality Custom Gear JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Oxford University Boat Club Partnership Regatta River Thames Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Clothes Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Gear Rowing Kit Rowing Team Rowing Uni Rowing Unisuit The Boat Race UK Rowing United Kingdom Rowing

JL Racing Partners with Fulham Reach Boat Club

JL Racing has proudly announced a strategic partnership with Fulham Reach Boat Club. This collaboration aims to broaden access to rowing within their communities, particularly among those facing financial or social challenges, fostering their growth both on and off the water. Bringing together two prominent rowing organizations from the United States and the United Kingdom, this partnership seeks to enhance the rowing community on a broader scale. By reaching out to underserved communities, establishing connections within the rowing industry, and providing unique exposure opportunities, both parties aim to expand their impact.

April 29, 2024 — Hannah Abbott

Tags: Crew Crew Team Custom Rowing Kit FRBC Fulham Reach Boat Club High Quality Custom Gear JL Racing JL Rowing JLRowing Partnership Row Rowers Rowing Rowing Club Rowing Community Rowing Gear Rowing Kit Rowing Team UK Rowing United Kingdom Rowing

~The Launch~