New silverware will be raised on the Thames in 2027, timed to mark a centenary a long time coming.
CHANEL and The Boat Race have unveiled the design for new trophies to be presented to the winning men's and women's crews at The CHANEL J12 Boat Race, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the first Women's Boat Race in 1927. The trophies were revealed at the Presidents' Challenge on 30 September, the centuries-old ceremony where the previous year's losing crews formally challenge the victors to a rematch.
2027 marks CHANEL's third year as Title Sponsor and Official Timekeeping Partner of the historic Oxford-Cambridge race. It is also the first time the French house has created sporting trophies of any kind.
The design comes from Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the CHANEL Watch Creation Studio. Traditional trophy curves have been streamlined and set within bold rectangular frames: polished white with matte black lines for the Women's trophy, polished black with matte black lines for the Men's. Both carry a gold-plated silver medallion at their centre, a crest-like seal marking the meeting of CHANEL and The Boat Race.
The two trophies are equal in size, a deliberate choice. Both were designed for ease of handling, their frames crafted to give the winners maximum comfort in the moment of the victory showcase.
British trophy specialists Thomas Lyte, who hold a Royal Warrant as Goldsmiths and Silversmiths to His Majesty King Charles III, brought the design to life. The process took almost two years and more than 320 hours of workshop craftsmanship.
There's a scheduling change to go with the new hardware. For the Women's Centenary year, the race order flips: the Men's Boat Race goes off first on the Championship Course at 3.40pm, followed by the Women's Boat Race at 4.40pm, timed at 2.5 and 1.5 hours before high tide respectively.
That first women's race, in 1927, looked very different. Oxford and Cambridge weren't even permitted to race each other directly; instead they rowed separately and were judged on style and speed rather than a straight head-to-head. Olympic rowing for women was still 50 years away. Those students were trailblazers in every sense, and 2027 is built to honour that legacy, and the generations of women who followed.
The audience for the women's race keeps growing too. The CHANEL J12 Women's Boat Race 2026 was the fifth most-watched women's sports production of the year, ahead of plenty of Winter Olympic coverage.
Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race Company Limited, said: "The Boat Race only takes place after the Presidents' Challenge, a tradition dating back more than 200 years, where the Presidents of the previous year's losing crews formally challenge their victorious opponents to defend their titles. It is this tradition that we are glad to uphold as we look forward to the next 100 years of the Women's Boat Race. The Centenary is the perfect time to deepen our longstanding partnership with CHANEL, with the unveiling of the J12 Boat Race trophies. Our three organisations commit to precision and an unwavering standard of form and function that we are immensely proud to carry into the next 100 years."
Chastaingt added: "I was humbled and honoured to lead the creation of trophies for the winners of this momentous race. The ambition was to preserve the trophy's symbolism as a beacon of victory, while reinterpreting and refining it for today. My guiding principle was to illustrate the relationship between CHANEL and The Boat Race through its design, to have CHANEL's presence felt without overshadowing the significance of either the trophy or the race."
Frédéric Grangié, President of CHANEL Watches and Fine Jewellery, said: "Our ambition is to support and safeguard what makes this historic event so exceptional: its traditions, uncompromising standards and the remarkable collective endeavour it celebrates. The creation of these trophies embodies that commitment. Conceived with humility and respect for the heritage of The CHANEL J12 Boat Race, they unite CHANEL's creative vision in tribute to the athletes whose precision, discipline and teamwork define every edition. We hope they will become enduring symbols of achievement for the crews who raise them, today and for generations to come."
The first crews to lift the new trophies will be whoever wins the men's and women's races at The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2027.
