18 May 2015
Beyond the Boat Race – Rowing at Cambridge University
The annual fixture between Oxford and Cambridge Universities is what most outsiders and the world media see and think of when they imagine rowing at either school. Its establishment in 1829 makes it the second oldest inter-university sport in the world (The Oxford-Cambridge Cricket Match began in 1827).
Cambridge, like its rival Oxford, is divided into numerous colleges that collectively form the university. College rowing races actually pre-date The Boat Race with the first races between the colleges beginning in 1827 at Cambridge and even earlier at Oxford (1815).
Most of the rowing on campus, however, goes on in the colleges, and has nothing to do with The Boat Race, which attracts athletes of a much higher calibre. Simply put, many students row at Cambridge, but few will ever row for Cambridge. Those who do row for Cambridge have the honour of being called “Blues”.
Rowing is now as much a part of student life as studying for exams. “If you go to Cambridge and don’t try rowing,” says Peter McClelland, who raced as a Blue for Cambridge in 2010, winning the 156th edition of the Boat Race, “you must not have left your desk very often and have missed out on a very special part of the experience.”
As with many Blues, McClelland came to Cambridge with an international resume. A Canadian, McClelland was a World Championships medallist in the coxed pair and went on to be a spare at the London 2012 Olympics.
The Blues rowers rarely mix with their college rowing counterparts. The Boat Race team trains at a separate location due to the sheer number of college rowers on the River Cam that winds through campus. This allows space for the college clubs to go about their work of catering to all levels of participation within the sport from novices to racing enthusiasts.
Most students row “to get some exercise, join a crew or team, and make friends,” says Donald Leggat, who was a member of the winning Cambridge team in the 1964 Boat Race and has helped coach every Cambridge squad since 1968.
Once The Boat Race is over, many Blues join in the fun and race with their colleges in the May Bumps Race, whose 1,500 participants makes it the biggest event on the college racing calendar.
Bumps racing is a format uniquely adapted to the narrow River Cam.
College crews line up against the bank in single file in the most recent order of finish with about a boat length of open water in between each. A cannon fires to start the race and all boats begin simultaneously. Crews attempt to “bump” the boat ahead while trying to avoid being bumped themselves from behind.
Bumps races take place over a few days and several times a year. The goal is for a crew to bump its way to the front position and win the prestigious title of “Head of the River”. Most crews start too far back to take the lead, but crews that bump at least once each day are said to have “won their blades”.
“I personally loved joining my college eight for May Bumps because it was such an interesting way to race,” says McClelland, who attended Pembroke College while at Cambridge. “I will never forget the intensity of starting at the firing of a cannon, and racing amongst what seemed like the entire university yelling on the banks of the river.”
Despite rowing’s presence at the heart of university and college life, admission to Cambridge is no easy matter even for a world class rower. “Cambridge admits students purely on academic merit and that is the way it always has been,” says McClelland. “If you want to row in The Boat Race, or May Bumps for that matter, you have to be able to perform in the classroom as well as on the water.”
World Rowing will take a look at a different university club programmes each month to find out what makes them unique and what elements have contributed to their success. From student start-ups to Olympian production lines, is there a global definition of success in university rowing? If you would like your university to be profiled, please contact us and tell us what sets your team apart: media@fisa.org