Head of the River Race only open to men's eights and is considered to be the peak of the head race season — attracting the top UK crews as well as foreign clubs. Composite crews, drawn from more than one club or institution, are not permitted. The Championship Course is that of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race but, unlike the Boat Race, the Head of the River Race is raced on an ebb tide from Mortlake to Putney. The starting time for the race is different every year and depends on the tide — the first crew (winner from the previous year) starts the
The Boat Race 2003 as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the Championship Course, between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in south-west London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the 2003 race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by three-quarters of a length, but Cambridge led overall with 77 victories to Oxford's 70 (excluding the "dead heat to Oxford by five feet" of 1877). The race was sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management for the