Torpids 2021 roundup
It has been two years since any bumps racing has been allowed to occurs, and I’ll quickly summarise the changes that were made which allowed this year’s Torpids to go ahead. It was decided earlier in Trinity term that this term’s bumps would be with Torpids rules since they are deemed safer and then the captains voted for Torpids charts to be used (rather than Eights charts). University athletes were allowed to compete. The divisions were reduced to 10 from the usual 13 and since there were more entries from women’s boats then men’s, the day finished with Women’s Div 1 for the first time. SEHBC entered six boats in Torpids, which is the first time a W2 has been in Torpids since 2012 and the first time a W3 has ever appeared.
Day 1 Tuesday
W2 and W3 started off the week, racing in Women’s Div 7 which was the second division of the day. W2 started third and executed their race plan perfectly by slowly eating away at Wolfson IV until they got the bump in the gut. This put them second, giving them the chance of making it into Div 6 on Day 2. W3 started at the foot of the river and put up a good fight but with so many boats clearing out in front of them, they had an empty river and a strong row over. The next racing crew was M3 in men's div 6 with a row over despite a malfunction with the seat which meant James Mann had to row arms and bodies only. Then M2 got an incredibly speedy bump off the start getting Catz M2 in the first couple of strokes. W1 started eighth in div 3, and were on St Hugh's W1 quickly, getting their bump just under Donnington Bridge. St Hugh's also went on to bump meaning our W1 went +2! Despite an early start gun, M1 rowed a strong race, creeping up to Christ church in their start who ended up bumping Wolfson, leaving our M1 to row over.
Day 2 Wednesday
Day 2 culminated in 7 races and 6 bumps (and 2 coxing compliments from RQ). It started off with W2 bumping Brasenose W2 and W3 bumping Catz W3 in Division 7, meaning W2 go the chance to bump up until Div 6. After a crash from Benet's W1, both our W2 and Christchurch W3 overtook them, securing their place in Div 6 for the rest of the week. M3 put on a strong performance after an inevitable concession to Pembroke M3 early on in the race. Then it was M2's chance to continue their winning streak by bumping Keble M2 nice and efficiently. Having gained 2 bumps yesterday, W1 started sixth in Division 3 and executed a neat start. They caught up with Hilda's who were chasing Linacre themselves but after a few tense moments, W1 achieved a physical bump on Hilda’s just before top gut. After a strong start, M1 were expertly steered to a bump over Wolfson M1, making them the only boat to bump in Div 1 on Day 2.
Day 3 Thursday
W3 started off the day with a neat row over having closed down the gap on Wolfson W5 after St Anthony's W2 bumped out. M3 followed Pembroke M3, getting a quick bump on Wolfson M3.
Then comes the chaos of the day - Woman's Div 6. After a bit of a pile up, Cat Campbell sailed W2 safely through the wreckage chasing Catz W2. It was unclear exactly how many bumps that was going to mean for our crew, but we found the morning after, that W2 had achieved +2. M2 delivered again today with a neat bump on Oriel M2. Then W1 achieved a record bump in about 21 strokes on Linacre W1, and pulled in just before Donnington Bridge. M1 put out another strong row all the way to the finish, maintaining their position at 5th on the river.
Day 4 Friday
4 bumps, 0 concessions and 2 BLADES!!! W3 had another powerful row and were rewarded with a bump after Trinity W2's collision with a houseboat just after boathouse Island. W2, with blades in mind, went out hard, gave it their all, and got a neat bump on Peter's W2 before parking in the gut to celebrate. M3 had a solid race, impressively holding off Wolfson and finishing their Torpids campaign level. M2, after a disappointing turn of events, had the rudder fall of their boat while they were making their way to the start. Since it was too late to get a new shell, they were not allowed to row and didn't get the chance to get their final bump for blades. W1 went off the start fast and achieved their blades with a bump on Wolfson W2 just before the gut. Wolfson W2 then went on to bump Mansfield W1, giving our W1 +2. After 5 years of falling, SEH W1 has finally managed to turn their bad luck around. This is the third time our W1 has achieved blades in Torpids, the two previous times being 2004 and 2005. Since the divisions were smaller this year, this results means our W1 will actually start at the bottom end of Division 2 in Torpids 2022 (without ever having to be the sandwich boat!) M1 fought hard to get their row over, maintaining their spot at 5th on the river. The last time our M1 has finished this high in Torpids was 1969.
TOTALS
In total, SEHBC achieved 17 bumps this Torpids campaign, the most of any other college.
M1 +1
W1 +6 BLADES
M2 +3
W2 +6 BLADES
M3 0
W3 +2
Jess Radley (President 2020/21)
Photos were taken by Freddie Soerensen and donated to SEHBC for free. Donations to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/freddie-soerensen are most appreciated.