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Oxford Rowing

sig.fig.

This topic is of interest to myself. Please may one of the 'boaties' among you explain some things to me.
For instance, what/when are the big intercollegiate races that occur over the year?
Which colleges are considered to be particularly strong when it comes to rowing?
What, precisely does 'bump' mean?

Thanks in advance; thought it'd make a welcome change from threads about offers, rejections and what not. :biggrin:

Reply 1

robinm

The bumps are a a form of race in which each boat has to try to catch the boat ahead of it on the river ("bump" it) in order to move upwards in the rankings

Reply 2

mikeyT

2

The bumps races are held in 7th week of Hilary term (Torpids) and 5th week of Trinity term (Summer Eights).
A bump is when the boat behind hits the boat in front- it can be a clash of oars, oars and a rower- basically when any part of one boat touches the other. Another definition is when the cox concedes that a bump will take place. The third definition is when one boat completely overtakes the other. In Torpids- once you have bumped the boat in front then you drop out of the race, the bumped boat (ie the boat in front) keeps going so they could get bumped several times. But in Eights- both boats drop out.
The standard of rowing varies every year. It depends on the standard of the novices and who can't row because they've left or have exams. But generally, I would say that Oriel, Magdalen (sp?), and Pembroke are strongest.

Reply 3

El Stevo

11

Th big races are.. First term is the novice races, second is torpids and third is 8's... Pembroke are Head of the River i think... New have strong novices across guys and girls, Pembroke's arent that brilliant... Magdalen have strong novice womens and Exeter have strong novice men.

Reply 4

mikeyT

2

Mens: Oriel are Head in Torpids and Magdalen are Head in Eights.
Womens: New are Head in both events.
Pembroke do have strong men's crews. I heard that their top two boats race off to see which boat would be their first and second boat.
Magdalen women usually have strong women's crews and this can only continue this year after their strong showing at ChCh regatta.
Exeter have good novice men but you can't really say that just from the results of ChCh. The event would have been won by either Exeter or Catz as Catz gave them the closest race- they only won because the stroke seat got stuck for two strokes.
Its still a little too early to say who will do well in Torpids since there's still about 10 weeks of training left.

Reply 5

Russell_G

yer, first term is all about the novices, christchurch regatta is for anyone at all who wants to have a go at rowing. i was in the exeter novice Ds, who provided the most entertainment of the whole thing by cutting up our opponents... twice... yer well who needs to row in a straight line eh??

sounds like a sour cats (sour puss.. no pun intended.. honest..) person there.. exeter have won ChCh 3 times in the last 4 years... we have a strong mens boat. but no doubt new are lookin good as they got the final of ChCh in both mens and womens (and lost both hehe!!).

i look forward to the coming terms..

Reply 6

Chemgeek

1

apart from the bumping races, which involve every college boat in the uni, there are also lots of little things, like the Isis winter league and fours races. these are smaller events run by OURCs that typically only have a few boats competing in each division.

there are also lots of other regattas run by the lightweight club, oriel college etc which are more lighthearted events, over a shorter course and have mixed crews competing and crews in fancy dress etc, (they do that last one in eights too - remember the trinity 'legolas boat'?).

lots of fun to be had by all.

Reply 7

fatboy06

1

Out of interest, could anyone enlighten me the appeal of rowing as a sport. It seems like it involves waking up ridiculously early in order to exert oneself rather monotonously...not intending to be offensive but what is the appeal...I'd prefer a game of football anyday!

Reply 8

Isaiah Berlin

4

Is that meant to be funny? There should be charities for people like you...

Reply 9

fatboy06

1

No, genuinely, what is the appeal? Never been exposed to it and genuinely wondering what draws people to it...no need to get personal...

Reply 10

Willa

11

fatboy06

Out of interest, could anyone enlighten me the appeal of rowing as a sport. It seems like it involves waking up ridiculously early in order to exert oneself rather monotonously...not intending to be offensive but what is the appeal...I'd prefer a game of football anyday!

You express a valid and rational point. Rowing (to a serious level) does consist of:

Getting up before the sun is up multiple times a week
Sacrificing a significant portion of your social life
Spending hours in cold/wet conditions
Using by far the most demanding cardiovascular machine (an erg) for periods far longer than most people use other equipment for in a gym.
Deliberately exerting yourself beyond your own ability (most commonly in a 2k erg test, but also in races) despite there being a chance that you will gain nothing from doing so (losing a race).

But there is, for me, just one thing that makes all this worth doing.....

Winning.

Winning at rowing is by far the most enjoyable thing I've ever done, and make up some of my life's most memorable moments. I put myself through hell and back because I want to win, I want to sit on the finish line, having ripped my lungs to shreds and have every muscle in my body hating me for what I just put them through....just to be able to look over at the other crew, and know that they did exactly the same, but gained nothing from it. Even though I inevitabley lose races as well, I row for the mere chance to win - and I train to increase my chances of having that feeling.

And this is the thing which I think someone has to experience to get the true pleasure of rowing. Yes there are some other pleasures people feel like when the boat is running smoothly etc, but I consider those minor to the taste of victory. And until a non-boatie such as yourself experiences a win, I will expect you to express your rational doubts over why on earth we do this to ourselves!

Reply 11

Isaiah Berlin

4

fatboy06

No, genuinely, what is the appeal? Never been exposed to it and genuinely wondering what draws people to it...no need to get personal...

I just get really, really bored of people who know nothing about rowing and are too narrow minded learn just because it's different to games they enjoy making endless funny quips about it and questioning it's merit.

I put it all down to insecurity - you know you lack the commitment, drive and passion to get up early in the morning to excel at your sport, but instead of admiring people who do have these qualities, you dismiss them as weird (or socially inept, or malco, or whatever...)

Doesn't it just seem a little rude to you? Put a little more clearly, your post says "I know nothing about the sport you dedicate much of your lives to. But frankly, it's really weird and seems just rubbish, and I'd prefer other sports any day of the week. Can you justify why you're so very strange as to pursue it?"

Reply 12

robinm

Isaiah Berlin

I just get really, really bored of people who know nothing about rowing and are too narrow minded learn just because it's different to games they enjoy making endless funny quips about it and questioning it's merit.

I put it all down to insecurity - you know you lack the commitment, drive and passion to get up early in the morning to excel at your sport, but instead of admiring people who do have these qualities, you dismiss them as weird (or socially inept, or malco, or whatever...)

Doesn't it just seem a little rude to you? Put a little more clearly, your post says "I know nothing about the sport you dedicate much of your lives to. But frankly, it's really weird and seems just rubbish, and I'd prefer other sports any day of the week. Can you justify why you're so very strange as to pursue it?"

There's no need to be so stroppy and defensive about it

Reply 13

Hoofbeat

14

robinm

There's no need to be so stroppy and defensive about it

Yeah I'm a boatie (although Willa wins hands down over me, both in ability and keeness!), but I certainly didn't take that guy's questions as having a go about our sport! Calm down Isaiah Berlin, he really wasn't meaning his post like that at all, so don't come over all defensive!

Reply 14

Willa

11

Hoofbeat

although Willa wins hands down over me, both in ability and keeness!

not so keen at the moment though, just about to leave for my xmas time trial: a 5k erg test. But I'm keen for winning any day....it's just a shame it's got to such a semi-professional level that you have to do so much to be able to win. The price we pay I guess.

Ergo update: silly safety instructor thought I was having a heart attack after I finished....you know you've probably pushed hard enough if you look like that! That's rowing for you! (Another great thing about rowing is that you can look at other people who use the rowing machines in the gym with utter contempt: the guy next to me before I started was without a doubt technically the worst rower I've ever seen, I felt like screaming at him to stop)

Reply 15

Isaiah Berlin

4

It wasn't the most offensive post in the world, I agree. But it's one of literally hundreds of examples I've seen and it gets very dull. It was marginally offensive, and as such I have every right to respond in kind.

I'm astonished, by the way, anyone could consider my previous two posts defensive. They were anything but!

Reply 16

robinm

Isaiah Berlin

It wasn't the most offensive post in the world, I agree. But it's one of literally hundreds of examples I've seen and it gets very dull. It was marginally offensive, and as such I have every right to respond in kind.

I'm astonished, by the way, anyone could consider my previous two posts defensive. They were anything but!

Yes, I can't imagine how listing consecutive reasons as to why rowing is a Good Thing might come across as defensive :rolleyes:

He doesn't understand the appeal of a mechanical and binary sport; lots of people don't

Willa took the time to explain why winning makes it all worth it, while you just whined about how asking that question apparently makes him a bad person

Reply 17

Calymath

How well does Wadham do at rowing?

Reply 18

mikeyT

2

fatboy06

Out of interest, could anyone enlighten me the appeal of rowing as a sport. It seems like it involves waking up ridiculously early in order to exert oneself rather monotonously...not intending to be offensive but what is the appeal...I'd prefer a game of football anyday!

I sometimes wonder why I get up before the sun rises and try to kill myself on an erg. But the feeling that you get when racing is amazing. Its great when you get 8 guys working together- its probably one of the only sports where there is a direct and immediate effect of you and the 7 other people exerting themselves.
Last year in Eights, we rowed over with Wadham just one foot away from us for at least half the course. It was such a buzz at the end when we held them off even though we all almost killed ourselves.

Reply 19

Isaiah Berlin

4

robinm

Yes, I can't imagine how listing consecutive reasons as to why rowing is a Good Thing might come across as defensive :rolleyes:

Alright, I'll explain it even more simply, as you seem to struggle with subtleties of language. Go through my posts. Check where I defend rowing. I don't think you'll find one example. Then check where I attack the arguments of the poster; you should find many. Hence my posts were anything but defensive. (with good reason, too: I'm more than happy enough with the reasons why I value rowing to need to defend them)

He doesn't understand the appeal of a mechanical and binary sport; lots of people don't

Willa took the time to explain why winning makes it all worth it, while you just whined about how asking that question apparently makes him a bad person

That's his own right; it's not his own right to question others' reasons for doing so. I didn't say anything (serious) about him as a person.

Though I'll say again his post wasn't actually that bad; it's just one of oh so many I've seen over about seven years, so my irritation threshold with them is very low.

EDIT: Calymath - Wadham are pretty good at rowing on the men's side, top division in both Torpids and Eights.

Oxford Rowing

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