[calumsteele1]

(Original post by prog2djent)
Surely you mean upper-middle and upper class then?

Do you know any middle class people that row?

I don't.

i know plenty of middle class people that row me and many of my friends included... its a great sport which gets you very fit and is great fun to partake in, definitely not the sole preserve of the 'uppermiddle class/upper class'...

[reallytired]

If the boat race was a competition where there were more than two teams competing, that would make it more interesting.

As it is, the winning team can't claim to be the best uni rowing team in the UK.

[amime]

(Original post by prog2djent)
Do you know any middle class people that row?

I don't.

I know plenty of people that row from all different backgrounds.

Just a quick point that might have some significance, your location is listed as Huddersfield.... are there any significant places to row there? I'm not familiar with that area. Perhaps that's why?

As to the OP's point...

I think that the guy was being a dickhead, plain and simple. These people have worked for years for this moment so surely despite what this guy thinks of the 'elites' in society, surely taking it out on a few individuals that have just taken and made the most of their chances in life isn't the way to make your stand.

[ForKicks]

(Original post by reallytired)
If the boat race was a competition where there were more than two teams competing, that would make it more interesting.

As it is, the winning team can't claim to be the best uni rowing team in the UK.

There was no BUSA back in 1829

[Einheri]

"An Australian" - all that needed to be said really.

[ROYP]

Funny stuff

[Cszb44]

post by Zoe De Toledo on facebook:

"I should also say I am so so proud of Alex Woods, Will Zeng, Kevin Baum, Alex Davidson, Karl Hudspith, Hanno Wienhausen, Dan Harvey and Roel Haen. You guys are ****ing heroes. Here's the last word on this matter, from Will Zeng:

When I missed your head with my blade I knew only that you were a swimmer, and if you say you are a protester then, no matter what you say your cause may be, your action speaks too loudly for me to hear you. I know, with immediate emotion, exactly what you were protesting. You were protesting the right of seventeen young men and one woman to compete fairly and honorably, to demonstrate their hard work and desire in a proud tradition. You were protesting their right to devote years of their lives, their friendships, and their souls to the fair pursuit of the joys and the hardships of sport. You, who would make a mockery of their dedication and their courage, are a mockery of a man"

i think that sums it up quite nicely really..

[Julii92]

(Original post by Heavenly_Blues)
Hah, I found it quite funny, you get streakers in football, never seen one in rowing but I guess you get a good ol' college try!

It's not the same because every time you get a streaker in football the score isn't reset. Ie. If Chelsea were leading Barcelona 2-0 in the 70th minute of the Champions league final, and following the appearance of a streaker the decision was taken to start the whole game again, I guarantee there would be bloody uproar.

[Converse Rocker]

(Original post by tehforum)
What a showboat.

I think we went overboard on all these boat puns...

[Heavenly_Blues]

(Original post by ForKicks)
'"This act has employed guerrilla tactics. I am swimming into the boats in the hope I can stop them from completing the race."
In his manifesto, Mr Oldfield said he was targeting the boat race because of its elitist nature – saying it went past Fulham Palace, a former royal residence, St Paul's, the leading public school, and the London home of Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, who he attacked for being educated at public school.'

He sounds like a fruitcake.

Different from football as it is much much more stamina and tactic based over the entire race. Football has breaks every time the ball is out of play or for a free kick! The 2 can't be compared

Oh.
In which case what a pretentious ass.

(Original post by Julii92)
It's not the same because every time you get a streaker in football the score isn't reset. Ie. If Chelsea were leading Barcelona 2-0 in the 70th minute of the Champions league final, and following the appearance of a streaker the decision was taken to start the whole game again, I guarantee there would be bloody uproar.

My bad, I don't know much about boat races.

[Julii92]

(Original post by Heavenly_Blues)
My bad, I don't know much about boat races.

No worries, neither do I, but it seems Oxford were in the lead at the time of the incident, while Cambridge won after the restart.

[Dmon1Unlimited]

i thought it was just some dope going for a swim at the (obviously) wrong place and at the wrong time

[TheSownRose]

He didn't try to intervene, he did intervene.

[Taggart]

(Original post by sugar-n-spice)
no thisproves my point even more

if not knowing any middle class rowers proves your point then i'm here to completely disprove it there are also a couple of people i know who row and are from much worse off backgrounds than me.

rowing is not an elitist sport, my local club has a membership fee of £200 for the entire year and it is a very good club (invited to henley) etc. considering an 8 costs £20,000+ and blades cost about £800 i'd say this is pretty cheap and if even this is too much for you than my university boat club is free (excluding race fees which are about £10 each and we've done about 4 races since september and are doing another 2)

the guy in the water is completely ignorant of what elitism means, oxbridge is elitist but they are academically elitist which as far as I'm concerned is as they should be, any problems with private school students having higher grades is not oxbridges problem.

if this happened to me during a race it would be soul destroying, I put every single ounce of effort into by body into racing and I'm nowhere near at the level these guys are so well done mr idiotic protester, you have sucessfully ruined what is probably the most important athletic moment of the oxford blues lives.

[RyanT]

How many of the same people angry about this would tell cyclists to **** off if they were racing on the roads?

Double standards. So he got in the way, deal with it. Definitely not a matter for the news, typical middle class crymoar attitude.

For a protest it's a bit wet, he should of stolen a boat and blocked the way with it.

[amime]

(Original post by RyanT)
How many of the same people angry about this would tell cyclists to **** off if they were racing on the roads?

Double standards. So he got in the way, deal with it. Definitely not a matter for the news, typical middle class crymoar attitude.

For a protest it's a bit wet, he should of stolen a boat and blocked the way with it.

If it was the Tour de France then I think it would be the same reaction.

These people have put years of training in for this one moment only for it to be ruined by some ****.

[Heavenly_Blues]

(Original post by Julii92)
No worries, neither do I, but it seems Oxford were in the lead at the time of the incident, while Cambridge won after the restart.

Oh man, if he's from Oxford I bet he's gonna be real popular.

[ForKicks]

(Original post by RyanT)
How many of the same people angry about this would tell cyclists to **** off if they were racing on the roads?

Double standards. So he got in the way, deal with it. Definitely not a matter for the news, typical middle class crymoar attitude.

For a protest it's a bit wet, he should of stolen a boat and blocked the way with it.

Erm, he had a motive, he didn't just go for a swim and get caught up in a boat race

[beepbeeprichie]

(Original post by ForKicks)
Disrupting a major annual British event? If someone crashed the FA cup should they be allowed to get away with no charges?

That's not what I said. I asked what offence they had been charged with. Specifically what part of the Public Order Act. Regardless of whether you think he should have been arrested it seems difficult for me to say that he committed some kind of offence.

[james22]

(Original post by RyanT)
How many of the same people angry about this would tell cyclists to **** off if they were racing on the roads?

Double standards. So he got in the way, deal with it. Definitely not a matter for the news, typical middle class crymoar attitude.

For a protest it's a bit wet, he should of stolen a boat and blocked the way with it.

Difference is your are allowed to drive on the roads, you can't swim anywhere you like you know