In any normal race, crashing into your competitors would be a bad thing. But not in the ‘bumps’ rowing regattas of Oxford and Cambridge.
Not content with the conventional objective of getting as far away from their competitors as possible, students at these historic universities instead attempt to get so close to the boat in front of theirs that they can (quite literally) ‘bump’ it.
For four consecutive days each spring and summer, the boats line up in single file along the riverbank, then all set off at once to try and catch the boat in front before the boat behind catches them.
Teams who ‘bump’ on all four days win an oar as a trophy. Not exactly something to display on the mantelpiece, but definitely quirky.
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