Spring officially starts in Oxford the weekend of the Torpids Spring Race -- one of the two “bumping” rowing races held in Oxford each year. The race was held three days last week. John and I rode bikes over to see the final races on a lovely, sunny but cold Saturday.
The best description I've seen for this crazy tradition was published earlier in the week in the Oxford Daily paper in an attempt to explain the pandemonium:
"Bumping is a Darwinian struggle for survival, where crews of eight rowers and a cox begin the race arrayed along the bank, then all take off at once when signalled by a cannon. The goal is not to overtake, but to crash into (“bump”) the boat in front. The defeated boat must continue racing, while the bumping crew pulls into the bank for a well-earned rest.
A bumping race combines a furious pace, as each team sprints to keep ahead of would-be bumpers, with a course that can seem endless to tired muscles. The rowing team (the cox apart) face backwards, allowing them to see when a competitor is narrowing the gap with hideous inevitability of bumping them.
Being forced to keep plying the oars, muscles burning and pride stinging, while your vanquishers move away slowly, enjoying the glow of victory, is also a feature. Crews who look likely to be bumped often concede rather than face the risk of falling several places in a single race- although the unlikely possibility of being bumped and then bumping the boat in front of them therefore not changing position overall, does spur some on.
Theoretically, bumps racing was developed because the narrowness of the Isis (Oxford's nickname for the Thames) made side-by-side racing impossible; any suggestion that rowers are sadomasochists who enjoy watching their defeated opponents struggle on from a position of comfort is a (plausible) slur.
The unflattering title arose because Torpids was originally a race solely for the second (ie. slower) boat from each college. However, the appeal of an agonizing, frustrating struggle for victory proved too much to resist, so now Torpids is open to all teams not competing in the summer Boat Race (against the Other Place). Over 130 teams, drawn from every college, take part each year, in six men's and five women's divisions.
Said appeal is reinforced by the prospect of gaining “blades”- these are oars painted with the names of a boat's crew, often to be found in the college bar. They are awarded for either bumping or crossing the finishing line on every day of Torpids, and bring much celebration. Part of this celebration is to throw your cox in the river (it's a rowing thing, I think).
The crew that manages to claw its way to the top of the first division (or maintain its place there) is awarded the title Head of the River; they will then retire to The Head of the River pub for well-deserved refreshments. A dirty pint* is the traditional reward for a victorious rowing team. It is also an excellent consolation for a losing team, as it obliterates all memory of the ignominious defeat- and, indeed, of the events of the preceding day, the location of the rower’s college, and their name.
A bumping race combines a furious pace, as each team sprints to keep ahead of would-be bumpers, with a course that can seem endless to tired muscles. The rowing team (the cox apart) face backwards, allowing them to see when a competitor is narrowing the gap with hideous inevitability of bumping them.
Being forced to keep plying the oars, muscles burning and pride stinging, while your vanquishers move away slowly, enjoying the glow of victory, is also a feature. Crews who look likely to be bumped often concede rather than face the risk of falling several places in a single race- although the unlikely possibility of being bumped and then bumping the boat in front of them therefore not changing position overall, does spur some on.
Theoretically, bumps racing was developed because the narrowness of the Isis (Oxford's nickname for the Thames) made side-by-side racing impossible; any suggestion that rowers are sadomasochists who enjoy watching their defeated opponents struggle on from a position of comfort is a (plausible) slur.
The unflattering title arose because Torpids was originally a race solely for the second (ie. slower) boat from each college. However, the appeal of an agonizing, frustrating struggle for victory proved too much to resist, so now Torpids is open to all teams not competing in the summer Boat Race (against the Other Place). Over 130 teams, drawn from every college, take part each year, in six men's and five women's divisions.
Said appeal is reinforced by the prospect of gaining “blades”- these are oars painted with the names of a boat's crew, often to be found in the college bar. They are awarded for either bumping or crossing the finishing line on every day of Torpids, and bring much celebration. Part of this celebration is to throw your cox in the river (it's a rowing thing, I think).
The crew that manages to claw its way to the top of the first division (or maintain its place there) is awarded the title Head of the River; they will then retire to The Head of the River pub for well-deserved refreshments. A dirty pint* is the traditional reward for a victorious rowing team. It is also an excellent consolation for a losing team, as it obliterates all memory of the ignominious defeat- and, indeed, of the events of the preceding day, the location of the rower’s college, and their name.
*A dirty pint: six shots of the most revolting mix of spirits that the bar can supply (Baileys and Cointreau are a popular combination, as this causes the drink to curdle), topped up with Guinness or ale. A true dirty pint has a packet of pub snacks added (crisps for the weak, pork scratchings for the brave) and must be drained in one draught."
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