Attention has been turned to the Cam this week as Lent Bumps got underway on Tuesday, and continues to run on until Saturday, with the great and the not-so-great crews bidding to outdo each other and to end up with the coveted "blades", whilst those above their station will be looking to avoid the shame of "spoons". For those uninitiated into the delights of bumps, Lent Bumps provides a foretaste of what is to come in the Mays.

Designed to allow competitive racing along rivers as narrow at the Cam, the aim of a boat in bumps is to catch the boat in front of you. All boats start at the same time, and once you have caught them, known as a bump, you and the boat that has been bumped drop out of the race. At the same time, the boat behind you is attempting to catch you and avoid being bumped by the boat behind them etc. If you bump a boat more than once place ahead of you in the chart, then you earn an overbump. The boats are organised into divisions, from the order they finished last year – with the boat at the top of the first division being known as Head of the River – their aim is to row over (not get bumped and to row the whole course) every day. Boats at the top of the second division and below are known as sandwich boats – they have to race twice in a day, and attempt to bump the lowest boat in the division above to move into that division.

The getting on race took place last Friday to determine which boats will make up the lower half of the bottom divisions. Emmanuel M4 and Christ’s M4 will be looking to hold their own amongst the second and third boats, after already beating many to qualify. On the women’s side, Newnham W3 will be confident of moving up after a strong term so far, including recording a faster time than St Edmund’s W1 at Newnham Short Course. But part of what makes the lower divisions of Bumps great is the sheer unpredictability of the events to take place, and it is difficult to predict what will happen, though there will be a lot of crews happily holding blades come the end of the day.

Looking at the top divisions, where the racing is the most competitive, FaT M1 are looking good for holding on to their headship, though Downing will push them hard all the way. With the clear water granted to the head, I fancy that FaT will hold on. It looks to be a double headship too, as FaT W1 are almost certain to bump an Emmanuel W1 that have been disappointing this term, and could plummet as low as fourth. Downing W1 will come snapping at FaT’s heels on the Friday and Saturday, looking like a FaT-Downing 1-2 in both the Men’s and Women’s top division. Further down the Men’s top division, LMBC should hold on to third, whilst Clare M1 may well get spoons as Pembroke (fifth) and Trinity Hall (seventh) have been better than them throughout this term. Jesus M1, starting in sixth, remain an enigma as they have yet to be seen on the Cam this term, though should hold their own. Queens’, starting in 13th will be confident in making great strides up the division, and Fitz, Magdalene and King’s will be trying to hold them off. King’s may well bump Magdalene on the first day, leaving Queens’ chasing the overbump on an inexperienced Fitz if they want blades. Peterhouse, after an excellent Bedford head will also be looking to carve up the division ahead of them.

In the Men’s second division, whilst FaT M2 were the fastest M2 at Pembroke regatta, Selwyn M1 and Robinson M1 are both quicker – unless Robinson get Selwyn on the first day then FaT M2 should be bumped at least twice. Catz M1 will also be looking to move a long way up the second division, and should get blades.

On the women’s side, Jesus W1 remain an enigma as they too have not been seen on the Cam all term. Christ’s, starting in seventh, will be looking to get a lot higher, with blades a possibility for the crew that finished second at Pembroke Regatta. Clare W1 will also be looking to replicate their Pembroke Regatta victory over LMBC W1 and bump on the first day, using that as a stepping-stone to move higher up.

Tuesday saw the first of the action, as the top division sat out the first day. In the Men’s second division, FaT M2, Selwyn M1 and Robinson M1 all looked closely matched as Selwyn came away with the bump on FaT M2, leaving Robinson with the row-over. A strong St Catz M1 caught Caius M2, whilst there were row-overs for the crews above and below them, LMBC M2 and Jesus M2. Downing M2 made the most places, managing an overbump on Corpus M1 whilst Pembroke M2 bumped Darwin M1 in between. Emmanuel M3 also managed to gain an over-bump on Downing M3 in the Men’s fourth division. In the women’s races, a bizarre mistake from the ARU W1 cox was the talk of the river as she cost her boat the bump on Pembroke W2. To make matters worse, Murray Edwards W1 then bumped ARU. Girton W1 managed the row-over thanks to Magdalene W1 bumping Jesus W2, but Magdalene will be confident of the bump come Thursday. In the Women’s third division, Downing W2 also earned an over-bump with their male counterparts, catching Emmanuel W3.