May Bumps started this year with weather reminiscent of its sister race in Lent, yet the rain was not the only similarity between these busy boatie weeks. At the top of the men’s divisions, First and Third retained headship for the third consecutive year, maintaining their strong performance as Head of the River from the bumps earlier this year. Whilst First and Third dominated the river, Caius looked set to row over each day, following their success in Lents, but as the sun appeared on Saturday, they were bumped by the steadily rising Pembroke crew.

Competition was tough at the top of the men’s crews, with only First and Third obtaining blades along with their ‘Double Headship’, in spite of the bumps made by Pembroke, St Catherine’s and King’s, each rising three places for their efforts. Other crews did not enjoy the same good fortune, however, with Clare collecting spoons once again this year, following their descent in Lent, whilst Churchill also finished four places lower.

In the women’s divisions, Pembroke celebrated a similar victory to the leading men’s crew, pushing away from the other boats to retain the Headship three years in a row. They managed to resist the outstanding advances made by Downing on the first day, who overbumped Jesus to rise three places in the charts, a feat rarely seen in the first divisions, posing a threat to the Pembroke’s supremacy on the water. The women’s races were especially exciting lower down in this division, as carnage on the river on Friday afternoon led to a re-row of just two boats, Churchill and King’s. Despite King’s strong start, they were unable to bump the pink stern of Churchill who gained several boat lengths on the Reach.

Following behind Downing, Christ’s was the only other W1 crew other than Pembroke to receive blades, overtaking Emmanuel on the final day to become third overall. Jesus saw the greatest fall from glory this week, never recovering from Downing’s overbump and obtaining spoons as they descended six places in the first division, although Girton were also unable to withstand the pressure, finally bumped to spoons by Queens’ on the last day.

Whilst there was little movement between the first and second divisions, the lower leagues saw greater changes, with Christ’s II rising into the second men’s division and Emmanuel III gaining six places to secure a place in the third division next year. Pembroke V was also successful in rising through the boats, entering M5 from M6. The most exciting crew to watch was arguably Caius III, overtaking nine other boats in their bumps campaign and achieving two overbumps on their way into the third division.

Among the women’s crews, both Newnham II and Clare Hall received blades and places in the next division up, W2 and W3 respectively. Christ’s success was not limited to the women’s first division, displaying a particularly impressive standard throughout their three women’s crews, with each receiving blades. Christ’s II and III both rose six places, as Friday saw Christ’s II overbump St Edmunds and Christ’s III finished the week by crushing King’s II’s hope of blades, forcing them back to their starting position this year.

After three years of success with the Headship, both First and Third and Pembroke have demonstrated their power and technique, representing the highest level of college rowing. But with the strength of both Pembroke’s M1 and Downing’s W1 bumping through the boats behind them, the stage is set for a fierce battle in the year ahead.