Bumpy Week....Craziest thing in a boat I have ever done!
This Place is nuts.....
I have been doing bumps-racing which only exists in Cambridge and Oxford. It is bizarre and stressful. When you lose it feels horrible and when you win it feels great. All and All it is still hard days of racing and trying to collide into another boat or facing being collided into.
It is filled with tradition and since the moments I knew I was coming here I have heard about Bumps.
I have been scared leading up to them but now I know what to expect.
1. There is a CANNON used for 4min pre-race warning, 1min. pre-race warning and Start! (Luckily we were not positioned too close to the Cannon but I was still jumpy!)
2. If you “bump” you pull over and wear Greenery (grass, leaves, ivy, etc) on your head for the row home…..so that everyone knows you won the race. I must say that on day 1 I was looking at the other crews rowing back and thinking that is so stupid and I don’t want to put crap in my hair…..but when we lost and I had to watch the winning crew put the stuff in there hair…..my heart sunk!
3. Your coach has a whistle. One whistle means you moved up a boat length. Two means your closer. Continuous whistles…means you are going to “bump” and collide into boat. All I could hear was whistles and I was soooooo confused!
4. You have to do these Races 4 day a week and it is hard to get yourself geared up to continue on the next day!
5. Last day of Races and we bumped a Boat. I had great Bump Hair and I apparently make great Ivy Wreaths in 2 seconds…. Everyone was very jealous as to how my hair and wreath looked. I looked very Goddess-like. Yeah Me!
Below are some explanations from various websites.
About the Bumps
Side-by-side racing is not possible over a long distance on the narrow and winding River Cam, so the bumps format was introduced in the early 19th century as an exciting alternative. In bumping races, crews line up along the river with one and a half boat lengths of clear water between them. On the start signal (the firing of a cannon) they chase each other up the river. When a bump occurs (when one crew is hit by it's chasing crew), they pull over to allow the other crews to continue racing. The next day all crews involved in a bump swap places and the race is run again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumps_race
I have been doing bumps-racing which only exists in Cambridge and Oxford. It is bizarre and stressful. When you lose it feels horrible and when you win it feels great. All and All it is still hard days of racing and trying to collide into another boat or facing being collided into.
It is filled with tradition and since the moments I knew I was coming here I have heard about Bumps.
I have been scared leading up to them but now I know what to expect.
1. There is a CANNON used for 4min pre-race warning, 1min. pre-race warning and Start! (Luckily we were not positioned too close to the Cannon but I was still jumpy!)
2. If you “bump” you pull over and wear Greenery (grass, leaves, ivy, etc) on your head for the row home…..so that everyone knows you won the race. I must say that on day 1 I was looking at the other crews rowing back and thinking that is so stupid and I don’t want to put crap in my hair…..but when we lost and I had to watch the winning crew put the stuff in there hair…..my heart sunk!
3. Your coach has a whistle. One whistle means you moved up a boat length. Two means your closer. Continuous whistles…means you are going to “bump” and collide into boat. All I could hear was whistles and I was soooooo confused!
4. You have to do these Races 4 day a week and it is hard to get yourself geared up to continue on the next day!
5. Last day of Races and we bumped a Boat. I had great Bump Hair and I apparently make great Ivy Wreaths in 2 seconds…. Everyone was very jealous as to how my hair and wreath looked. I looked very Goddess-like. Yeah Me!
Below are some explanations from various websites.
About the Bumps
Side-by-side racing is not possible over a long distance on the narrow and winding River Cam, so the bumps format was introduced in the early 19th century as an exciting alternative. In bumping races, crews line up along the river with one and a half boat lengths of clear water between them. On the start signal (the firing of a cannon) they chase each other up the river. When a bump occurs (when one crew is hit by it's chasing crew), they pull over to allow the other crews to continue racing. The next day all crews involved in a bump swap places and the race is run again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumps_race
posted by Reb | 11:15 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home