OXFORD University’s reserve boat has one of the most interesting names in sport.
But even though the name Isis is now better known for the fundamentalist Islamic State, Oxford University Boat Club have never contemplated a name change.
Here is everything you need to know about Oxford and Cambridge’s second crews and the Isis Goldie Race.
Isis received its name in 1965 before the first ever Reserve Boat Race against Cambridge.
The crew are named after a stretch of the River Thames that runs through Oxford and is known locally as the River Isis.
Other businesses in the city named after the river, such as the former Isis Estate Agent, have changed their names, but the university boat club are unlikely to follow suit.
The university has been defiant when questioned about the name in light of the rise of the Islamic State.
In 2014, the Oxford’s director of sport, Jon Roycroft, told The Telegraph: “It is a club matter and I will raise it in ‘any other business’.
“But I would seriously doubt that changing the name of the reserve boat would be considered. It is decades old and is named after the river.
“To change the name would be to pander up to it and would give [the extremists] more publicity than they are worth.”
Goldie was named after Cambridge University Boat Club’s legendary former president John Goldie.
He died in April 1896 at the age of just 47.
The University’s boathouse is also named after John Goldie.
THE Isis Goldie Race was held at 5.01pm on Saturday March 24, half an hour before the Boat Race 2018.
Goldie won the race between the two crews in in 2017.
The Cambridge reserve crew have won 32 races, compared to Oxford’s 24.
