Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category
Each year, in the 7th week of Hilary Term, the Oxford University Rowing Clubs hold Torpids, a bumps race between boat clubs of Oxford’s constituent colleges. The regatta lasts four days, and each of the six men’s and five women’s divisions race each day. Because the river is two narrow for side-by-side racing, the boats in a given division will line up along the river, one in front of the other, with their coxswains holding onto regularly spaced “bung lines.” At the sound of a miniature cannon, the crews row furiously, trying to “bump” the crew in front before being bumped by the crew behind.
I had the pleasure of rowing in Wolfson College Boat Club‘s second men’s eight. We managed to move up four places over the course of the regatta, and so will start next year’s Torpids positioned to jump into division four.
Click for more pictures!
At the end of Seventh Week of Michaelmas term (Nov 24-27), Christ Church College holds a regatta for novice crews from each of the College Boat Clubs. I had the pleasure of rowing with the Wolfson Men’s B boat, and though we didn’t progress very far in the tournament, most of us plan to continue on into the Hilary term and get geared up for Torpids in March. The Christ Church Regatta was followed by a traditional post-regatta dinner of formal dress and informal antics.
We were a bit busy rowing and cheering to get too many pictures at the regatta, but here are a couple I’ve managed to scrounge up.
Today the good people of the Wolfson College Boat Club set up a rowing taster for the freshers. We got a bit of instruction on an erg and then hit the water for some real-world experience. It was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely considering joining one of the less-intense college teams…
