The University's finest rowers took on a challenge with a difference last weekend when they agreed to race crews from North Cornwall in traditional Cornish wooden gigs.

Two Cornish crews drove up to Cambridge from Rock towing a pair of impressive racing gigs more used to being rowed on the open sea than on the River Cam.

After a few hours training to get used to the challenge of rowing the boats, far bigger and heavier than the eights they are used to, the Cambridge elite rowers competed against the visitors in a friendly regatta on the Long Reach last Sunday.

The students in the squad are currently being put through their paces as Chief Coach Duncan Holland begins the selection process for the Blue and Goldie Crews to race against Oxford next March.

Meanwhile The Boat Race Company, organisers of the annual Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race have appointed Xchanging, the international pure play business process outsourcing company, as the continued official sponsor of the Boat Race for the next five years.

Xchanging began its Boat Race sponsorship in 2005 at a period when the races were becoming closer and more exciting than ever before. This year, over a quarter of a million people watched the Race from the riverside and millions of television viewers tuned in from over 150 countries worldwide.

Cambridge won the 153rd Boat Race, by one and a quarter lengths, although experts had predicted a bigger margin for the crew with five returning Blues and two world champions on board. Cambridge now lead the overall series by 79-73 (with one dead heat since 1829).

David Andrews, CEO of Xchanging said, “We are delighted to sponsor this prestigious event for another five years. For me, this historic event, more than any other, captures the extremities of emotion that follow success and failure in sport and business – unbridled elation or bitter disappointment. Xchanging operates in an uncompromising business landscape where the winner takes all - there are no prizes for second place!”

Giles Vardey, Chairman of the Boat Race Company Limited commented, “In Xchanging, we have a sponsor which matches the internationalism and excellence of the event. Over the past three years, Xchanging have brought the energy and momentum of their business success to The Boat Race. We look forward to continue working with Xchanging to further enhance the event and its international coverage".

As the Boat Race grows in international recognition, so too Xchanging which listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year and entered the FTSE 250. The business process outsourcing specialist has grown from scratch to 3,800 employees in 8 years, operating in 7 countries and servicing blue chip customers in 34 countries, the latest being China.

Xchanging performs complex large scale processing on behalf of its customers to reduce their back office costs.

The 2008 Boat Race will take place on Saturday March 29th at 5.15pm.

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