Even the weather-related conversion of this year’s Torpids to TorpHeads wasn’t enough to deter the Somerville College Boat Club. SCBC alumna Caroline Lytton (Physics, 1999) takes us through a very eventful few days! Thanks to Oxford Clarion for the accompanying photos.
After triple blades for the women’s crews in Eights last year, a solid training camp at Dart Totnes Rowing Club in the Easter vac, and blades for a women’s eight in City Bumps, hopes were high as we moved into the second half of Trinity Term.
Credit: Roger Close/ Oxford Clarion
For the first time since 2003 (we think), we had four women’s crews on the water, and with three men’s crews as well it’s likely the largest number of crews Somerville have ever entered. The day of Rowing On dawned brightly, with M2, M3, W2, W3 and W4 setting off to row as fast as they could over around half the bumps course, and try to be in the 37 fastest crews and qualify for the main event.
After missing out on qualification last year, it was fabulous to see M2 qualify in a solid 18th place in the speed order, W2 absolutely smash it by posting the third fastest time of Rowing On, and W3 clock in at 12th. Unfortunately, M3 and W4 were pipped to the post, but we remain proud of them none the less, and thrilled that so many people have been willing to pull on the red and black and represent Somerville in a boat this term.
Hopes were high for W1, with Rozzie Weir back from her year abroad, lightweight Blue Rosie Thorogood formally transferring her rowing membership back to Somerville, Catherine Stephenson, Stephanie Connell and Harriet Thomas having a full season of OUBC training under their belt, and Erin Andrews and Beth Waterfield actively training and racing with OUBC Development Squad. But just a couple of days before the cannon fired for Eights (yes, it really is a cannon), Rosie unfortunately broke her wrist falling off her bike. Having decided, in conjunction with medical advice, that racing for four days at square blades probably wasn’t a brilliant idea, Rosie had to withdraw and Captain Celine quickly reshuffled all of the women’s crews.
Day 1: Wednesday 27th May
W3 were the first SCBC crew to race, chasing Teddy Hall’s W3. Although they weren’t quite able to catch them, they rowed over, looking strong. Next up were M2, with recent graduate Hector Ravenscroft coming back as an associate member in the stroke seat, chasing New College’s M4. While New quickly bumped Univ’s M4 ahead of them, our M2 went on to achieve an overbump on Pembroke’s M3, going up three places in one race. W2 chased New’s W2 but weren’t able to catch them before New bumped a slow Hertford W2 and also had to row over. M1 chalked up our third row over of the day, not able to catch St Antony’s before they bumped Corpus. W1, by their own account, did not have their best day of rowing, but still managed to bump Merton. While the row overs might not sound spectacular, none of our crews were bumped, meaning that all Somerville crews were safe from the dreaded spoons!
Day 2: Thursday 28th May
Credit: Roger Close/ Oxford Clarion
This was a day that had everything. W3 did actually bump Teddy Hall W3, but there were some penalty bump shenanigans going on with the three crews ahead of them, and Teddy Hall ended up being given a row over, which means the bump didn’t stand. M2 rowed over, except there were some penalty bump shenanigans going on with the crew ahead of them resulting in Linacre being penalty bumped, and our M2 going up one place. W2 got the slow Hertford W2, as might have been predicted. M1 bumped Corpus, giving our M1 their first bump in Eights since 2022. Mirroring W2, W1 caught Hertford W1 very fast indeed, making them two for two.
At the end of day two, Somerville ranked number 1 in bumps per men’s crew, and number 2 in bumps per crew overall.
Day 3: Friday 29th May
W3 bumped Teddy Hall W3 again today, and with no penalty bump considerations actually made it stick this time. M2 rowed over again too, but today it actually was a row over. Don’t worry, this is all confusing to the experienced rowers too! W2 bumped Wolfson W3, adding to the college tally. The big news of the day was M1, who bumped St Antony’s to reach the top of Division 4 and bringing the opportunity (after an appeal) to row again as the “sandwich boat” at the bottom of Division 3 – where they then bumped Linacre to formally move up a division. W1 rounded out a stellar day by bumping Green Templeton.
At the end of day three, Somerville had taken the crown of most bumps per crew overall! 13 bumps, 5 crews, and a fabulous average of +2.6 places each so far.
Day 4: Saturday 30th May
The day started on the river bank, with W3 bumping Exeter W3, and M2 bumping Christ Church M3 in short order, and increasing numbers of alumni gathering including many of the 1986 Headship crew. The weather hotted up, as did the racing, with W2 bumping St John’s W2 within sight of the boathouse, giving a grandstand view to the spectators, and M1 bumping Christ Church M2, to go up four places in four days. W1 and cox Fred were pouring over previous days’ results, splits and all the speed data they could get their hands on to work out what their division might hold – expectations were that St Anne’s starting ahead of Somerville would catch the very slow St John’s crew, and Exeter (starting three places above) may well catch Jesus, leaving the only chance for blades to be a double over-bump on Linacre, starting five places ahead of Somerville. Guttingly, W1’s division was stopped before they had a chance to put this ambitious plan into place, leaving them with a technical row over after a drawn-out penalty process.
However, as we reconvened in college for pre-dinner drinks with the alumni and an amazing dinner in hall, the stats filtered through that Somerville had retained the top rank in number of bumps per crew across the whole event – 17 bumps from 5 crews, and a staggering average of 3.4 bumps each.
Credit: Roger Close/ Oxford Clarion
Conclusion
Having thought we’d seen success last year, this year was possibly even better. While there aren’t any blades to celebrate, it was fabulous to see the men’s side make such strides and particularly for M1 to bump up into Division 3. The vibe in hall at dinner, and the emotional speeches from some of the finalists, show that rowing is firmly back at Somerville.
The Boat Club is endlessly grateful for those that step up to take committee positions, both in years past and in the coming academic year, as well as the alumni who continue to support through The 1921 Club, with helping to shape the strategy of the club, or just sharing their stories to inspire us to push harder than we ever thought possible.
We’re also proud that we have a number of current students and alumni continuing to race over the summer. We’ll do our best to keep you up to date on the appropriate social channels – @someboatclub for current students and @the1921club focussed on the alumni.