Lent Bumps

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1st & 3rd Trinity 1st Women about to overbump Girton in the women's 1st division on day 3 of the 2005 Lent Bumps

The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there had been a single set of annual bumps dating from its inception in 1827.[1] The races are open to all college boat clubs from the University of Cambridge, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and Anglia Ruskin Boat Club. The Lent Bumps take place over five days (Tuesday to Saturday) at the end of February / start of March and are run as bumps races.

The most recent in the series was the Lent Bumps 2024, held from 27 February to 2 March 2024.

Structure[edit]

The races are run in divisions, each containing 17 crews. The number of crews in each bottom division varies yearly depending on new entrants.[2] Each crew consists of eight rowers and one coxswain. Unlike the May Bumps, rowers trialling for places in university crews are not allowed to take part in the Lents. A total of 120 crews took part in 2020, totalling around 1080 participants. There are currently four divisions for men's crews (referred to as M1, M2 ... M4) and four divisions for women's crews (similarly W1 to W4). Both M4 and W4 are "short" divisions which marshall together; W4 goes off 5 minutes separated from M4 whereas other divisions are separated by 40 minutes. The divisions represent an overall race order, with Division 1 at the top. The ultimate aim is to try to finish Head of the River (also said as gaining the 'Headship'), i.e. first position in Division 1.

At the start, signalled by a cannon, each crew is separated by a distance of about 1½ boat lengths (approximately 30 m or 90 ft). Once the race has begun, a crew must attempt to catch up with the crew ahead of it and bump (physically touch or overtake it) before the crew behind does the same to them. A crew which bumps or is bumped must pull to the side of the river to allow other crews to continue racing. A crew which neither bumps the crew ahead nor is bumped by the crew behind before crossing the finishing post is said to have rowed over. Any crew which bumps then swaps places with the crew that it bumped in the following day's racing. A crew which rows over stays in the same position. Crews finishing at the top of a division, the sandwich boat, row at the bottom of the next division to try to move up a division. The process is repeated over four effective days, allowing crews to move up or down in the overall order of boats. The finish order of one year's Lent Bumps is then used as the starting order of the following year's races. Due to the shortness of reliable daylight, the races are actually currently run over five days, with one division level dropped out each day except Saturday: on Tuesday M/W 1, on Wednesday 2, Thursday 3 and Friday 4.

Between 2010 and 2019, the leading men's and women's crews of the Lent Bumps went on to race the leading Oxford Torpids men's and women's crews at the Henley Boat Races around Easter.[3] However, following the move of The Lightweight Boat Races to the Championship Course, this competition ceased to be held.

Crews finishing Head of the River[edit]

Men's Lent Bumps (1887–2023)[edit]

1887 Corpus Christi 1889 Lady Margaret 1890 Trinity Hall 1891 Corpus Christi 1892 1st Trinity 1893 1st Trinity
1894 1st Trinity 1896 1st Trinity 1897 Lady Margaret 1898 1st Trinity 1899 1st Trinity 1900 1st Trinity
1901 1st Trinity 1902 1st Trinity 1903 Lady Margaret 1904 1st Trinity 1905 Jesus 1906 Jesus
1907 Jesus 1908 Jesus 1909 Jesus 1910 Jesus 1911 Jesus 1912 Jesus
1913 1st Trinity 1914 Jesus 1919 1st Trinity II 1920 Lady Margaret 1921 1st Trinity 1922 Jesus
1923 Jesus 1924 Jesus 1925 1st Trinity 1926 Jesus 1927 Jesus 1928 1st Trinity
1929 Jesus 1930 Emmanuel 1931 Pembroke 1932 Jesus 1933 Pembroke 1934 Jesus
1935 Jesus 1936 Jesus 1937 Jesus 1938 Jesus 1939 Clare 1940 Jesus
1941 Jesus 1942 Pembroke 1943 Lady Margaret 1944 Jesus 1945 Jesus 1946 Jesus
1947 Jesus 1948 Trinity Hall 1949 Lady Margaret 1950 Lady Margaret 1951 1st & 3rd Trinity 1952 Jesus
1953 Jesus 1954 Lady Margaret 1955 Jesus 1956 Peterhouse 1957 Jesus 1958 1st & 3rd Trinity
1959 Jesus 1960 Jesus 1961 Jesus 1962 Jesus 1964 Jesus 1965 Lady Margaret
1966 Lady Margaret 1967 1st & 3rd Trinity 1968 Queens' 1969 Fitzwilliam 1970 Jesus 1971 1st & 3rd Trinity
1972 Jesus 1973 Clare 1974 Jesus 1975 Lady Margaret 1976 Lady Margaret 1977 Lady Margaret
1978 Lady Margaret 1979 Lady Margaret 1980 Lady Margaret 1981 Lady Margaret 1982 Trinity Hall 1983 Trinity Hall
1984 Downing 1985 Downing 1986 Downing 1987 Downing 1988 Downing 1989 Pembroke
1990 Lady Margaret 1991 Trinity Hall 1992 Trinity Hall 1993 Trinity Hall 1994 Downing 1995 Downing
1996 Downing 1997 Downing 1998 1st & 3rd Trinity 1999 Caius 2000 1st & 3rd Trinity 2001 No result
2002 Caius 2003 Caius 2004 Caius 2005 Caius 2006 Caius 2007 1st & 3rd Trinity
2008 1st & 3rd Trinity 2009 1st & 3rd Trinity 2010 1st & 3rd Trinity 2011 Caius 2012 Caius 2013 Caius
2014 Downing 2015 Caius 2016 Caius 2017 Lady Margaret 2018 Lady Margaret 2019 Caius
2020 Lady Margaret 2022 Lady Margaret 2023 Lady Margaret 2024 Lady Margaret

Lent Bumps were cancelled from 1915 to 1918 due to war, and in 1895 and 1963 due to ice; in 2018 two days were lost to the towpath being too icy for bank parties and umpires; in 2023, the Friday day was lost due to high rainfall and resulting high stream. The Lents in 1888 were not completed due to the death of an oarsman. When the races ceased, Jesus were in 1st position.[1] The Lent Bumps 2001 were not completed due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK. The outbreak closed the towpath along the river, where all of the umpiring for the bumps takes place. When the races were abandoned on Friday 2 March 2001, Emmanuel were in 1st position. The Lents were also cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1919, college 1st VIIIs did not race as it was the first race after World War I. The start order for the 1920 races was the finish order for the 1914 races.[1] Prior to 1946 1st & 3rd Trinity were two separate rowing clubs: 1st Trinity and 3rd Trinity, hence both separate and combined titles.[4]

Women's Lent Bumps (1976–2023)[edit]

1976 New Hall 1977 Newnham 1978 New Hall 1979 Girton 1980 New Hall 1981 Girton
1982 Newnham 1983 Newnham 1984 Churchill 1985 Jesus 1986 Jesus 1987 Jesus
1988 Emmanuel 1989 Emmanuel 1990 Emmanuel 1991 Emmanuel 1992 Lady Margaret 1993 Lady Margaret
1994 Emmanuel 1995 Emmanuel 1996 Trinity Hall 1997 Emmanuel 1998 Emmanuel 1999 Trinity Hall
2000 Emmanuel 2001 No result 2002 Emmanuel 2003 Caius 2004 Downing 2005 Downing
2006 Clare 2007 1st & 3rd Trinity 2008 1st & 3rd Trinity 2009 Emmanuel 2010 1st & 3rd Trinity 2011 Downing
2012 Downing 2013 Downing 2014 1st & 3rd Trinity 2015 Christ's 2016 Jesus 2017 Jesus
2018 Jesus 2019 Newnham 2020 Downing 2022 Newnham 2023 Jesus 2024 Jesus

NB. The Lent Bumps were not completed in 2001 due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK. When the races were abandoned on Friday 2 March 2001, Jesus were in 1st position. The Lents were also cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table of Winning Boats (1887–2024)[edit]

Nineteen boats have been head of the river.

Blade Boat Head of the River : Men Head of the River : Women Head of the River : Total Winning Years : Men Winning Years : Women
Jesus College Boat Club Jesus
39
8
47
1905–12, 1914, 1922–24, 1926–27, 1929, 1932, 1934–38, 1940–41, 1944–47, 1952–53, 1955, 1957, 1959–64, 1970, 1972, 1974 1985–87, 2016–18, 2023-24
Trinity (Combined)
25
4
29
1892–96, 1898–1902, 1904, 1913, 1919*, 1921, 1925, 1951, 1958, 1967, 1971, 1998, 2000, 2007–10 2007–08, 2010, 2014
Lady Margaret Boat Club Lady Margaret
24
2
26
1889, 1897, 1903, 1920, 1943, 1949–50, 1954, 1965–66, 1975–81, 1990, 2017–18, 2020–24 1992–93
Downing College Boat Club Downing
10
6
16
1984–88, 1994–97, 2014 2004–05, 2011–13, 2020
1st Trinity
15
n/a
15
1892–96, 1898–1902, 1904, 1913, 1919*, 1921, 1925 n/a
First and Third Trinity Boat Club 1st & 3rd Trinity
10
4
14
1951, 1958, 1967, 1971, 1998, 2000, 2007–10 2007–08, 2010, 2014
Caius Boat Club Caius
12
1
13
1999, 2002–06, 2011–13, 2015–16, 2019 2003
Emmanuel Boat Club Emmanuel
1
11
12
1930 1988–91, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000, 2002, 2009
Trinity Hall Boat Club Trinity Hall
7
2
9
1890, 1948, 1982–83, 1991–93 1996, 1999
Newnham College Boat Club Newnham
n/a
5
5
n/a 1977, 1982–83, 2019, 2022
Pembroke College Boat Club (Cambridge) Pembroke
4
-
4
1931, 1933, 1942, 1989
-
Clare Boat Club Clare
2
1
3
1939, 1973 2006
New Hall Boat Club New Hall
n/a
3
3
n/a 1976, 1978, 1980
Corpus Christi Boat Club Corpus Christi
2
-
2
1887, 1891
-
Girton College Boat Club Girton
-
2
2
-
1979, 1981
Churchill College Boat Club Churchill
-
1
1
-
1984
Fitzwilliam College Boat Club Fitzwilliam
1
-
1
1969
-
Peterhouse Boat Club Peterhouse
1
-
1
1956
-
Queens' College Boat Club Queens’
1
-
1
1968
-
Christ's College Boat Club Christ’s
-
1
1
-
2015

* The head of the river in 1919 was, unusually, 1st Trinity’s second boat. It was the first race after World War I and 1st eights did not race. The start order for the 1920 races was the finish order for the 1914 races.[1]

Prior to 1946 1st & 3rd Trinity were two separate rowing clubs: 1st Trinity and 3rd Trinity, hence both separate and combined titles.[4]

Anglia Ruskin, Clare Hall, Darwin, Homerton, Hughes Hall, King's, Lucy Cavendish, Magdalene, Robinson, St. Catharine's, Selwyn, Sidney Sussex, St Edmund's, Wolfson, Addenbrooke's and the Veterinary School are the regular entrants never to have finished Head of the River in either the men's or women's events.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d The Bumps:An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827–1999, John Durack, George Gilbert & Dr John Marks, 2000, ISBN 0-9538475-1-9
  2. ^ "Lent Bumps Getting-On Race | CUCBC".
  3. ^ "The Light Blue men's and women's Lightweight crews race Oxford from Phyllis Court to Temple Island this spring". Cambridge University Alumni Events. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b http://www.firstandthird.org/ First and Third Trinity Boat Club website
  • Durack, John; Gilbert, George; Marks, John (2000). The bumps : an account of the Cambridge University bumping races, 1827–1999. Cambridge: G. Gilbert. ISBN 9780953847501.

External links[edit]