Originated from 1829. The origin of this competition comes from two friends who studied at Oxford and Cambridge universities respectively. Charles Wadsworth, nephew of the famous British poet William Wadsworth, had a whim. He wrote a challenge book for Charles Merivale, a Cambridge student, at Oxford and conducted an eight-person boat challenge on the Thames. Since 1856, the rowing competitions between Oxford University and Cambridge University and the Royal Henry Cup rowing competition are held on the river every Easter. Future competitions will be held in the form of challenges, and the losers of last year will become challengers of next year. In the past 156 games, except for one draw, Cambridge has won 80 of the 75 games ahead of Oxford, maintaining a certain advantage.

The contestants in the competition are all students and amateurs, but the competition level is still very high. Many competitors have also participated in national or world rowing championships. Taking this competition as an example, David Leigh Weston won the 1999 World Youth Rowing Championship. Johnny and Glegg Hill both won the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. And many later figures of the hour also took part in the competition, such as Hawking.

With the passage of history, the scale and influence of the Oxford-Cambridge competition are growing. During the annual competition, more than 250 thousand people gathered on both sides of the Thames, and more people watched the live broadcast on TV. It is said that there are 6 million people watching, and gambling companies will also offer escort rates.