By David Langran
dl@adm.au.dk
The end of the month will see the highlight of AU’s sporting calendar, the now infamous Aarhus Boat Race. Doubtless many of you are already signed up for this event on facebook, but you might still have questions about this curious, alcohol-fuelled tradition. I undertook the task of revealing the mysteries of the Aarhus Boat Race to us ignorant foreigners, and spoke to organisers (and 2008 winners) Nis Jørgensen and Tine Bichel from Umbilicus – the medical students’ Friday Bar Committee – about the event.
Origins
The beginnings of the Aarhus Boat Race are shrouded in myth and legend. What is known is that about 25 years ago the students of medicine and dentistry agreed to arrange a sporting competition in order to establish which of the two white-coated groups was superior. Inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race in the UK, the two teams decided to settle their differences through rowing. However, these early duels were dogged by persistent cheating, and the rules were revised in 2000 to clean up the race. Nis Jørgensen explains the current format:
“Currently teams from 12 different departments take part. As the original teams, the medics and dentists always take part, and the lawyers and economists always field a team too. Otherwise there is great competition for places – one team even came along to our bar with a song to try and win us over!” he says.
How does it work?
Once they have been chosen to take part , the teams have to prepare hard for the event itself – a sort of relay race across the lake in the University Park. Team members take turns to row across the lake, down a beer as fast as possible, spin around ten times, and then attempt to sail back across the lake to their team in the straightest line possible. Serious teams undertake serious training: 4 or 5 times a week for a month and a half before the event, not to mention the hundreds of beers downed in ‘preparation’. And aside from the race itself, each team puts in substantial time and effort to introduce itself in the grandest possible way…
A spectacular entrance
Before the race, each team takes turns to make a spectacular entrance – a competition in itself as each team tries to outdo the others with the most outlandish and most spectacular intros, as Nis Jørgensen and Tine Bichel reveal:
“Previous introductions have featured a reproduction of Pirates of the Caribbean, and teams arriving on elephants and camels, armoured cars and almost every other vehicle you can think of!” they say.
This year’s entrances promise to be no less spectacular, so make sure you rise early to secure a prime position to catch them. The event is attended by around 15,000 people, so space can be tight!
Returning for the Boat Race
Such is its attraction that even former Erasmus students are returning for the Aarhus Boat Race this year. German student Constanze Wedding, on exchange here last semester, plans to come back to Århus for the event:
“I was disappointed that the race was going to take place after I left Denmark. I’d heard about the event from a student from my home university who had also been on exchange at AU – they said that the race was the biggest and most spectacular party of the year. It sounded really exciting, so early on I decided that if I was going to come back to Århus to visit my friends, I would make sure my trip coincided with the race!” she tells UNIvers.
So there you have it – boats, beer, and what promises to be a fantastic experience. Make sure you don’t miss out!
The Aarhus Boat Race starts at 12:00 on April 29th, and lasts until 17:00 in the evening. There is also an after-party at Train, which you can buy tickets for from your own Friday Bar Party Committee. Be warned though – they tend to sell out fast!
