The inaugural Women's Boat Race took place on 15 March 1927.

The Times reported that "large and hostile crowds gathered on the towpath", while The New York Times stated "a crowd of fully five thousand persons was on hand as a willing cheering section".

[1][2][3] The crews were forbidden from racing side-by-side, and the winners were judged "rowing down stream for style and back again for speed" along the course "from the Free Ferry from the top of Iffley Reach to the Keble barge",[4] a distance of approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km).

[5] The Cambridge crew wore "white jumpers and chocolate shorts and stockings" while Oxford sported "white and dark blue shorts".

[3] As a result, the judges based the result on speed:[5] the race was won by Oxford in a time of 3 minutes 36 seconds, beating Cambridge by 15 seconds.