Day 4 May Bumps 2018

M1 – bumped Selwyn M1 to 14th Div 1
On the last day M1 only had one goal and that was to bump Selwyn M1 as quick as possible. We settled into a chunky rhythm and quickly made gains on them. We then kept gaining until the bump just after Ditton. The best ending to what has been a tough week. I am incredibly proud of the crew that gave everything each day and managed to turn around the week and end up level. Best of luck to the crew and captain next year! // Anton Nilsson, Men’s Captain

W1 – bumped by Pembroke W1 to 12th Div 1
The crew’s main focus on the final day was to feel like we had rowed our own race, to the standard we know we can execute, and to enjoy what was for a number of the crew our last ever Bumps race. Pembroke were undoubtedly faster than us, and we knew this, but the focus was to be on our boat and our performance. While we couldn’t produce enough to keep them off for long, the crew felt happier with our rowing than we had all week. While to go down four was obviously a very disappointing result, and we failed to conquer our nerves as early as we should have in the week, the crew can still be happy with what we have achieved this term. Due to several injuries and illness, we had rowed as a full crew only twice before day one of bumps, and considering this managed to bring it together reasonably well. It has been a year of ups and downs but the commitment of all the girls involved has been unfailing, and I hope this will continue in to next year under Emily’s Captaincy. // Caitlin Hogan-Lloyd, Women’s Captain and Captain of Boats

M2 – bumped Queens’ M2 to 2nd Div 3
The final day of bumps proved a satisfying conclusion to M2’s Mays campaign, with a bump on Queen’s M2 (recently down to second in the division after thirteen consecutive row-overs as sandwich boat). Despite having an unfamiliar stern-pair, thanks to our seven-seat suffering from heatstroke on the previous day and our stroke being at a wedding, with some last-minute rearrangements to crew-order and two valiant subs we performed admirably (one sub had already bumped with M3 earlier that afternoon). After a decent start, we got our first whistle on Queen’s rounding First Post, and reeled them in with some of our steadiest rowing all week down the Gut, bringing it to two then three whistles as we took a tighter line round Grassy. Technique lapsed a little as we went in for the kill going past the Plough, with crowds roaring, but Queen’s were panicking at this point, allowing us to move into overlap. Queen’s conceded late just coming around Ditton, several strokes after we had made contact, and our two-seat’s blade had clashed with that of their seven. Jubilant, we held it up, and pulled over onto meadow side to the welcoming crowds. A happy and rewarding way to finish Bumps, especially after our earlier row-overs. // Sebastian Marshall, M2 Captain

W2 – bumped by Darwin W2 to 13th Div 3
While aiming to make it to our camp on the bank on the final day of rowing, W2 still unfortunately were bumped fairly early. Again, this was obviously a disappointing result for the women’s side of the club, but again, there are positives to be taken. Their crew had remained more or less unchanged since they had all noviced together in Michaelmas of this year, and so became a cohesive unit, while really enjoying rowing together. Their lack of experience meant they were out-competed on Bumps week, but hopefully this year of learning to row together and building confidence will have created a good platform which can be built on next year.

M3 – bumped Magdalene M3 to 2nd Div 5
We seemed to have saved our best till last, with a very strong start culminating in an early bump, much to our stroke’s disappointment as his dad had come to watch. This meant we were up on Magdalene M3 within what felt like a handful of strokes, with Queens M4 far off in the distance behind us. We had learnt from yesterday’s experience from the cheering and whistles and reached a strong and steady rhythm quickly, resulting in continuous whistles soon after the first. It really is a shame that our first day of bumps ended with a technical row over as our performance today established blades were definitely on the cards. A very happy M3 crew, and looking forward to the years ahead. // Shadab Ahmed, M3 Captain