The World's Oldest Boat Race: Interview with Sean Collins by Thames Festival Trust

"You’ve heard of Henley and the University Boat Race... but what do you know about Doggett’s?"

Since 1715, The Race for Doggett’s Coat and Badge has been passionately rowed by apprentice river workers on the Thames. It is believed to be the oldest continually competed sporting event in the world. Despite its fascinating history, little of Doggett’s is documented and it has long been overshadowed by the much more famous Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

Listen to the accounts of Doggett’s competitors, who bring to life this hidden history at the heart of London. Hear stories of family pride and family rivalry, and tales of a tradition handed down through generations of Thames waterman families. Discover a community who have fought passionately to keep this race alive through two world wars, a schism between ‘gentlemen amateur’ and professional rowers, the decline of the docks and a fast-changing capital.

Learn what working on the Thames means to watermen today, and the continued significance The Race for Doggett’s Coat and Badge has in the river’s apprenticeship system.

Find out more: http://bit.ly/2fy9i4s
A Thames Festival Trust project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund