MONTREAL (April 25, 2008)- The 12th annual McGill-Queen's Challenge Boat Race is scheduled to be held at the Lachine Canal on Sunday, April 27 in Montreal. This race is the Canadian version of England's annual Oxford-Cambridge and the U.S.A.'s annual Harvard-Yale race.
This year's event begins with the novice boats racing at 9:30 a.m., followed by the varsity crews at 11 a.m. The launching spot will be inside the Parc du Canal de Lachine on the corner of du Musée and St-Patrick streets.
Each crew will compete in a 2.9-kilometre head race, followed by a 500m sprint. Three trophies will be up for grabs (men, women, overall) and the points accumulated from each race will decide the overall winning university, which will win the Lorne Gales Challenge Cup. Two points will be awarded for a 2.9k win and one point for a 500m victory.
Last year, the Golden Gaels swept all three categories to capture their fourth consecutive Gales Cup. Queen’s also won the men’s Challenge Blade trophy for the fifth time in 10 years and the women’s Challenge trophy for the seventh time in nine races.
Queen’s leads the all-time series, winning the Cup in six of 11 years since the head-to-head competition was first introduced in 1997.
The McGill-Queen's Challenge adds another dimension to the long-standing athletic rivalry that exists between these two schools. That rivalry also includes the fourth oldest hockey rivalry and dates back to when both Queen’s and McGill competed regularly against each other in Football.
The first Challenge, held at the Olympic rowing basin in 1997, was comprised of a 2000m head race and a 500m dash. That year, McGill won the inaugural Gales Cup.
In 1998, the Challenge Blade trophy was unveiled, intended as a competition between the top men's crew at each institution. In 1999, the Women's Challenge trophy was added for bragging rights on the female side. In 2001, an alumni race was introduced as an exhibition showcase.
As the McGill-Queen's Challenge Boat Race has evolved over the past decade, so has its format. The long-standing rivals alternate hosting the event from year to year, and the traditional format is usually a 5000m headrace followed by a 500m sprint.
Two graduates from Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute will be a part of the competition including Nick Pratt and Kristine Matusiak.
Past Lorne Gales Challenge Cup Winners
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2007 - Queen's
2006 - Queen's
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - McGill
2002 - McGill
2001 - Queen's
2000 - Queen's
1999 - McGill
1998 - McGill
1997 - McGill
Past Men's Challenge Blade Winners
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2007 - Queen's
2006 - Queen's
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - McGill
2002 - McGill
2001 - Queen's
2000 - McGill
1999 - McGill
1998 - McGill
Past Women's Challenge Trophy Winners
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2007 - Queen's
2006 - McGill
2005 - Queen's
2004 - Queen's
2003 - Queen's
2002 - Queen's
2001 - Queen's
2000 - Queen's
1999 – McGill
With files from Earl Zuckerman (McGill Sports Information)
