About Bumps

On hearing the start gun (see header photo), the cox releases the chain as the rowers start rowing, attempting to catch up with the crew ahead.  

The 'bank party' encourage crews with whistles to indicate when they are gaining on the boat ahead. They typical code is one whistle to indicate the gap has been closed to about one boat length (~20 metres), two whistles indicates half a boat length, three whistles indicates a 'canvas' (a bit less than a quarter of a length), and then continuous or rapidly-repeating whistles to indicate that there is overlap between the boats. If any part of the boats or oars touch or, in the early part of the course, if there is sustained substantial overlap, then that is a ‘bump’, which the cox of the caught crew acknowledges by raising a hand. Both crews stop and attempt to get out of the way of crews behind them, who continue racing, each engaged in trying to bump the crew in front, and avoid being caught (‘bumped’) themselves. Crews who have made  a bump adorn themselves with willow twigs to signal their success, before rowing back to their boathouse. 

Crews that neither bump nor get bumped row-over to the end of the course. Occasionally, after a pair of crews have bumped out, the crew behind them manages to catch up with the crew that started three places in front, which is called an overbump. Very rarely there can be a double-overbump, when a crew catches up the boat five places ahead, and even greater multiples are possible, but extremely unusual.

On the next day of racing, each pair of crews involved in a bump swap places, so over the days of racing, faster crews move up the division and slower crews move down, although bad luck e.g. equipment failure or being obstructed by crews that have bumped out ahead, may interfere with this! 

A crew that reaches the top of a lower division is known as the sandwich boat, and they row again at the bottom of the division above, attempting to bump up to become a regular member of the higher division. The crews that reach the top of Division One are declared ‘Head of the River’. However, part of the appeal of bumps racing is that there can be exciting competition at every level: crews who bump up every day, (or at every opportunity, or who achieve four bumps, depending on the rules of their individual club) are deemed to have won their blades. When these crews row off the course after their last race of the week, the cox will hold their club’s flag to signal their achievement. Members of the crew may choose to have oars painted up with a record of their achievement. On the flip-side, crews that are bumped four times are said to have got spoons.