The 83rd Boat Race took place on 21 March 1931. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In a race umpired by the former rower John Houghton Gibbon, Cambridge won by two and a half lengths in a time of 19 minutes 26 seconds. The victory took the overall record to 42–40 in their favour. It was the first race for which John Snagge provided a radio commentary for the BBC.