1864: Inaugural Varsity Match

​

How it all began: the first Oxford and Cambridge Athletic Sports was held on March 5th, 1864 at Christ Church Cricket Ground, Oxford. The competition saw 28 undergraduates compete in eight events and was attended by “many thousands of spectators”, according to an article in Bell’s Life in London. Many of these travelled to Oxford from Cambridge on a special train.

​

The record is clear that, although held at Oxford, much of the credit for arranging the first match must go to R.E. Webster (later Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England) of Cambridge. The result of this historic match was a draw, with 4 event wins each for the Light Blues and the Dark Blues.

 

Since the first Varsity Match, Oxford have won 77 matches, Cambridge 65, and there have been 7 draws.​​​

 

 

1975: First Women’s Varsity Match

​

Wednesday, 14th May 1975. A whole 111 years after the birth of the Varsity Match was extended to include a women’s Match. 19 ladies- 10 from Oxford and 9 from Cambridge competed in this first clash.

​

In this inaugural Women’s Match, Cambridge came out on top, taking the win with 67 to 61 points.

​

​

2024: The first Para Athletics Varsity Match

 

Holly Mawdsley (Cam), Ewan Richardson (Oxf), Roz Delap (Cam), and Katherine Willard made Varsity history on May 18th, 2024 at Iffley Road.