EACH year we talk about the colour, the sheer parochialism and the loud roar along the spit but we should never play down how special this is.
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Ballarat Associated Schools' Head of the Lake is an evolving legend.
In an Olympic year, we are a city behind rowers Lucy Stephan and Kat Werry on the road to Paris and then what might unfold should they enter the ultimate arena.
And for all their incredible achievements in the sport, to us they will always be members in winning Head of the Lake crews.
Stephan, a Tokyo Olympic gold medallist in the women's four, tasted Boat Race glory with Ballarat Grammar on the Barwon River in 2009 - a warrior of our lake with no water era, as too was Werry.
A two-time Ballarat Clarendon College Head of the Lake champion (2010-11), Werry rowed in the Australian women's eight final in Tokyo.
Boat Race is not a feature of most town and certainly is not so for our neighbours in Bendigo or Geelong, or even in Melbourne.
Sure, other cities have big regattas, but this is nothing like the folklore Ballarat has built.
It should be not be forgotten that the girls have only been rowing in this event for about four decades in, let us admit, what was so long an old boys' show for Head of the Lake's 112-year history.
Since returning to our lake for the regatta's centenary celebrations in 2012, Boat Race has expanded to feature crews from Damascus College and Phoenix Community College. Loreto College has only been back in the mix since 2007.
This is an event that continues to draw people across the city together from a wide cross-section of school communities, alumni and those simply intrigued by all the tradition and passion on show at Lake Wendouree.
This is back on Sunday, February 25, and for schools' top rowers who spoke to The Courier for this year's profile and who have raced for Head of the Lake titles before overwhelmingly said the end is the best part.
They can hardly wait to taste, once again, that electric atmosphere they know will surround them as they approach the finish line.
Just to have been out there.
We can boast a feature only one other Australian city can lay claim to: an Olympic rowing course.
Our rowing reputation is incredible with an incredible roll call of athletes who have rowed or coached at international level, including Ballarat's first Olympic medallist Gary Gullock and five-time Olympian Anthony Edwards.
Gullock rowed in the 1975 and 1976 Head of the Lake crews for Ballarat High School and in 1984 captured Olympic silver in the men's quadruple scull.
Edwards stroked St Patrick's College to victory in the 1990 Boys' Head of the Lake and progressed to make his Olympic debut in the Atlanta Games six years later.
It does not matter whether any of the rowers vying for the marquee title on Sunday become Olympians.
This is about shaping our legend, carrying on a proud, rich tradition in their own way.
