Cambridge University Boat Club has named its presidents for The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2027: Simon Hatcher leading the men's side and Eloise Etherington heading the women's programme.
Hatcher is a two-time Blue, having rowed in the bow seat on both occasions and won each time. The Oregon native began rowing in his home state before competing for the United States at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. He previously attended Brown University and has interned at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
He is now studying for a PhD in Nuclear Energy at Cambridge. He traces his connection to the race back to a poster he spotted at his first rowing club, and his advice is straightforward: "Buy yourself a candy bar every once in a while. You've earned it."
Etherington holds the distinction of having been the youngest competitor on Boat Race Day 2025. The South-East London rower learned to row at Globe Rowing Club in Docklands and has represented Great Britain at the World Rowing Under-19 Championships in both 2023 and 2024.
Studying undergraduate Natural Sciences at Gonville and Caius College, she rowed for Cambridge in the Women's Reserve Boat, Blondie, in 2025 and 2026. She credits having a top-class support system as key to managing both academic and sporting commitments at Cambridge.
