The Club's Results
May Bumps 2024
1st women's VIII
1st women's VIII | |||
in Queen Elizabeth I | |||
bow | Anne Schreuder | 2 | Hajna Williams |
3 | Zara Bek | 4 | Lizzie Reed |
5 | Philippa Stokes | 6 | Selene Corran |
7 | Polly Shorrock | str | Sophie Harper |
Coxed by: Alexander Watson
Wednesday
Bumped Christ's
Bumped Christ's
Sing, muse of the speed of FaT W1,
The swift ship that brought many woes to Christs
And sent them to be bumped on day 2 by Clare.*
Who made them prey for Clare’s lost blades campaign,
Bringing to fulfillment the plan of Bomber.
Sing of it, from the moment the cannon went,
when FaT held off Clare, when Bomber shouted
'get angry girls' and we did indeed get angry.
*yet to be confirmed at time of writing
We were probably all very nervous as we were chased by one of the fastest boats on the river. What is the point of being relatively fast for your position in your division, if the glaring exception is right
behind you? We all knew that we could catch Christ‘s in front of us. We had already building the case of breaking their morale on other races on the Cam this term.
It turns out the answer is: Being the bigger exception! We managed to stay in the 1:30is in the first minute or so (maybe I am being optimistic) and still below 1:50 for most of the race. The whole
things lasted over 4 minutes, but it definitely did not feel that long. It was intense yes, but the was not running slowly.
Other than that Hajna had the great idea to wear matching ribbons in our hair. Someone had the idea to put mine in my green hat which works even better. It is a fate that I have to accept that my slight
hat addiction means that this hat has reached a status of celebrity and fame that I will not reach myself (or anyone else in W1). Of course I am going to wear it tomorrow as well.
behind you? We all knew that we could catch Christ‘s in front of us. We had already building the case of breaking their morale on other races on the Cam this term.
It turns out the answer is: Being the bigger exception! We managed to stay in the 1:30is in the first minute or so (maybe I am being optimistic) and still below 1:50 for most of the race. The whole
things lasted over 4 minutes, but it definitely did not feel that long. It was intense yes, but the was not running slowly.
Other than that Hajna had the great idea to wear matching ribbons in our hair. Someone had the idea to put mine in my green hat which works even better. It is a fate that I have to accept that my slight
hat addiction means that this hat has reached a status of celebrity and fame that I will not reach myself (or anyone else in W1). Of course I am going to wear it tomorrow as well.
Thursday
Bumped Fitzwilliam
Bumped Fitzwilliam
Tell me muse, of that boat of (not) many strokes,
Who bumped Fitz in just shy of 120,
After bumping Clare the day before.
Many the crews whose boats we saw,
Whose speeds we learned and matched.
Much pain was suffered in the middle section,
When Fitz held distance and we tried to pull them close.
Yet despite their attempts we caught them up,
because they flied and died,
foolishly hoping they could catch Queens'
But we denied them the revenge bump.
Tell us these things as you will,
tell us how we bumped on First Post Corner,
Goddess, daughter of Zeus.
Took us a while to catch up to them, then a really fantastic push from the eight rowers for the bump just before first post sealed the result at the exit of the corner. Their cox could not believe how fast we took the last half a length when we discussed the result over coffee the next day! This is one of the first times I realised how effective and fast we were as a team
This day should have been easier than the first day. While technically true, we also knew – as our coach also reminded us – that we cannot slack off. Our speed is close to those of the other boats around us, we have to row our best in order to bump. We had a bit of a stalemate in the middle, but we made up for it by the most amazing bumps push I have witnessed. The distance to Fitz melted despite allegedly also having a push.
Friday
Bumped Queens'
Bumped Queens'
Beginning here, oh reader, I will recount the chase of Queen's W1.
Who bumped W1 last year, and now have fallen beneath.
We heard that Fitz gained on them, the oracle (Bomber) told us.
A good sign, but they did not give up easily.
Sustaining overlap for most of plough reach.
But not a long time after, Alex steered into them and we picked up our third bump.
Took a nice line through grassy which took us a few seats closer, then they hugged the left bank. Took me a while to take action and steer into them, was unsure if we had overlap. Turns out our bows were past their cox, oops. Great bumps push from the crew!
Today we have the most important race a second time in a row. By day 3 most crews are getting tired by the intense racing. Therefore, it is crucial to still go out there and send it. Bumping is very nice, but it means being chased by boats who would really like that sweet revenge bump. It happened to us in Lent Bumps, so we did not want to let that happen.
Saturday
Bumped Downing
Bumped Downing
Blades and of W1 I sing, who first bumped Christs,
Putting crucial distance between us and Clare.
To Fitz we went, and bumped them too,
then in choppy conditions down Plough Reach,
by the will of the crew we caught Queen's.
To satisfy Bomber and the will of the crew,
Day 4 was the most important yet.
We thought we would suffer much,
to catch Downing and at last raise the flag.
We did not have the 2000+m of suffering I anticipated. They geared up their blades and went kaboom 4.5 minutes in. We didn't have a whistle until about First Post, and I did not even hear three whistles before it went continuous. Alex's line around Ditton was incredible, and on the youtube video you can see us accelerate when he called a blades push. Never underestimate the power of pushing together and doing it for each other.
We were in it for the long haul. They pulled ahead through the first few corners (Bomber suspects a change in gearing) but we held off the crew behind and stayed strong. As we approached Ditton the gap closed rapidly and as we entered the corner I asked for a blades push (so cool, an indescribable feeling), at which point we stormed down on Downing and bumped on the corner exit. I took possibly the best line of my life round Ditton and the increase in speed from the push is legendary!- see video linked below. Very proud of the work the crew put in over the last few terms and grateful to be part of such an amazing team!
https://youtu.be/7M7VE1ahE3c?t=355
That was the moment we had not really dared to expect: It was the last race, if we bumped, which is doable, we would blade. Having looked at the video footage from mostly our beloved bankparty, but some others as well, we have also gained quite some distance via Alex‘ precision corners.
Basically, we all were super tense. Of course we had been dreaming of blading- some of us for this first time, others without a 3-month discussion on whether it should count. We can win, but we can also lose. We are tired of the last three races, but we really want to win.
I think it was also the longest race. We caught Downing on the reach. Actually, we bumped them by me slamming their boat from the bow seat. I would like to tell a heroic tale, but after 5 minutes of
intense racing one’s brain is not thinking very well. My only thought was that ANY type of physical contact between our boats counted as a bump and that I really did not want them to pull away from us. We had been going for a bumps push and that is not sustainable. It was only on the row home that it really started to click what happened.
Basically, we all were super tense. Of course we had been dreaming of blading- some of us for this first time, others without a 3-month discussion on whether it should count. We can win, but we can also lose. We are tired of the last three races, but we really want to win.
I think it was also the longest race. We caught Downing on the reach. Actually, we bumped them by me slamming their boat from the bow seat. I would like to tell a heroic tale, but after 5 minutes of
intense racing one’s brain is not thinking very well. My only thought was that ANY type of physical contact between our boats counted as a bump and that I really did not want them to pull away from us. We had been going for a bumps push and that is not sustainable. It was only on the row home that it really started to click what happened.
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1. W1 after bumping Que...
2. QE I 3. W1 Mays |
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Links
Full May Term 2024 1st women's VIII results
May Bumps 1st women's VIII results archive
Compare this crew with all May Bumps crews in the archive