Presidents’ Challenge Launches 2025 Boat Race Season
The 2025 Boat Race season is officially underway following the annual Presidents’ Challenge, held this year at London’s iconic Somerset House. Marking the renewal of the legendary rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, the event featured the formal challenge ceremony and introduced a season of exciting milestones, including CHANEL’s debut as the new title sponsor. With an increasingly diverse roster of athletes, including Olympians and rowers from 18 nationalities, the stage is set for the 79th Women’s and 170th Men’s Boat Races on April 13, 2025.
Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for Him and Her
Find the perfect gift for every rower with our curated gifts for him and her! From performance shirts to cozy base layers and our latest must-haves, each product is hand-picked, so you can find a gift they’ll truly appreciate. Whether you’re shopping for the athlete who loves a classic unisuit or someone looking for a versatile vest, this guide offers top picks that combine performance, comfort, and style. Explore this list of rowing essentials and customer favorites to make holiday shopping easy and thoughtful!
Treasure from the Thames: The Boat Race Medallion Discovery
Many people who are fans of The Boat Race may have no connection with either university or to the sport of rowing but follow the beloved 200-year-old British national institution because of a passion for the River Thames and also for history and heritage. In such cases, it is also possible that they also follow the many social media and YouTube sites dedicated to ‘mudlarking’, the searching of the Thames foreshore at low tide for items lost or discarded anytime within the last 1,000 plus years – from Roman coins to Victorian clay tobacco pipes to McDonald’s plastic toys.
A Century Later: The Rowers Who Reached for Everest
In September, a little over one hundred years after George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Comyn ‘Sandy’ Irvine died in an attempt to scale the 29 035 foot high Mount Everest in June 1924, part of what is presumed to be Irvine’s remains, including his named sock, were found emerging from melting ice on the Central Rongbuk Glacier, just below the north face of the mountain, by a National Geographic documentary team. The pair were last seen alive on 8 June 1924 less than four thousand feet below the summit.
Athlete Spotlight: Isabella Pearson
Meet Isabella, a sophomore and student-athlete at Purdue, who balances a busy academic schedule with her love for rowing, dance, and soccer. Growing up as a competitive gymnast, she never anticipated rowing to become such an integral part of her life. In fact, she was initially reluctant to trade her sparkly leotards for the waters of an estuary, but rowing quickly won her over with its technical demands and the strong sense of teamwork she found on the water. Isabella sat down with JL to share her journey into rowing, her tips for novice rowers, race day rituals, and the role models who inspire her both on and off the water.
CHANEL and The Boat Race Announce Long-Term Partnership
CHANEL and The Boat Race Company Ltd have announced the signing of a long-term partnership with CHANEL as Title Sponsor and official Timekeeping Partner. The 2025 event will become The CHANEL J12 Boat Race. The historic race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was established nearly 200 years ago in 1829. It is the oldest major sporting event in the UK, with the dark and light ‘Blues’ crews of eight rowers pitted against each other on the River Thames every year in the Spring.
Meet the Team: The Arctic Challenge 2025
In 2025, four extraordinary athletes will embark on a mission to row the Arctic Ocean, facing one of the harshest environments on the planet. The Arctic Challenge Team is made up of Hannah and John Huppi, Jimmy Graham, and Andrew Tropp—an adventurous group with shared goals to become the first mixed-gender team of 4 to row the Arctic Ocean, the fastest 4-person team to row the Arctic Ocean, and the first All-American team to row a polar ocean. As proud partners of the Arctic Challenge, we’re excited to introduce each member of this team and share their unique stories and motivations.
HOCR 2024: Survivor Rowing Network Meet & Greet
We are thrilled to welcome athletes from the Survivor Rowing Network to the JL Racing tent at this year’s Head of the Charles Regatta. These cancer survivors are not only fierce competitors but also powerful advocates for the healing benefits of rowing. On Saturday, October 19th, from 10:15am to 11:15am, we will be hosting a meet & greet with athletes who are racing in the Survivor Row event, taking place at 3:26pm the same day. Stop by the JL tent on Saturday to meet these incredible and inspiring athletes, celebrate their strength, enter a raffle to win a FREE JL swag bag, and learn more about how SRN is growing the survivor rowing community worldwide!
Team Spotlight: The Arctic Challenge 2025
Team JL Ambassadors, Hannah and John Huppi, along with their two teammates, Jimmy Graham and Andrew Tropp, will be taking on the challenge of rowing the Arctic Ocean in 2025. Along with aiming for multiple performenace goals, the team is on a mission to inspire young minds, and challenge the next generation to defy their limiting beliefs and chart their own course toward extraordinary achievements. The Arctic Challenge is also proud to support two non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting New Orleans youth. We sat down with the Arctic Challenge Team to learn more about the challenge, their goals, and what is motivating them.
Survivor Rowing Network Racing at HOCR 2024
The Survivor Rowing Network will be floating 11 boats this year at Head of the Charles, marking its second year racing at this prestigious event in Boston. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the inaugural Survivor Row at HOCR, we had the opportunity to speak with four of the athletes who will be racing in Boston this year. The Survivor Row will take place on Saturday, October 19th at 3:28pm.
The Boat Race Signs JL Racing as Official Kit Supplier
JL Racing has been appointed the official performance wear sponsor by The Boat Race Company. The partnership will see Oxford University Boat Club and Cambridge University Boat Club outfitted with JL Racing’s custom performance rowing apparel for training and racing.
Team JL 2025 Ambassador Program
Are you passionate about rowing and eager to share your love for the sport with a wider audience? Do you want to join forces with JL and help elevate our brand while building connections within the rowing community? If you enjoy creating engaging content and making an impact, we’re excited to announce that applications for the 2025 Team JL Ambassador Program are open from September 17 to September 26.
