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Rowing in Cambridge: Bumps, Fairbairns and the Boat Race

Every Cambridge college has a boat club, and most rowers start from scratch as novices in their first term. Here is how college and University rowing work, how the Bumps are raced, and the year’s races.

Facts checked 8 Nov 2026 · every fact links its source

Who runs student rowing

Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC) is the umbrella organisation for student rowing at the University of Cambridge. Its members are the University and college boat clubs. It runs the Lent and May Bumps and regulates how student clubs use the River Cam. Its Boat Clubs page lists 36 member clubs: Cambridge University Boat Club, a boat club for each of the 31 colleges, and a few others (Addenbrooke's Student BC, Anglia Ruskin BC, Theological Colleges BC and Vet School BC). [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

On CAMsocs: CUCBC

Starting as a novice

Most college rowers learn from scratch. First and Third Trinity BC says that everyone can learn to row at college from scratch and nearly everyone does, starting with 'tubbing' sessions in pairs before joining novice crews. Lady Margaret BC (St John's) takes on over a hundred new rowers at the start of Michaelmas term, with a taster day in the first week. The term builds up to races just for novice college crews in weeks 6 to 8. CUCBC rules say a rower needs at least twelve training outings before racing on the Cam, and no Lent Bumps crew may include more than two novices who started in the Lent Term. [First and Third Trinity BC (opens in a new tab)] [Lady Margaret BC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

Where crews train

College crews train and race on the River Cam. All the main races (Fairbairns, the Bumps and the novice regattas) take place on the stretch that CUCBC's closures list describes as Green Dragon to Baitsbite. The University squad (CUBC) is based at Goldie Boathouse in Cambridge, where it does erg, weights and tank work. On the water it trains on the River Ouse at Ely, travelling there by club minibus or train. Before the Boat Race it uses Crabtree Boat Club in Putney while training on the Tideway. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUBC (opens in a new tab)]

The year’s races

Dates as the rowing bodies publish them, checked 8 Nov 2026. “Provisional” dates are on CUCBC’s river closures list but not yet on its race pages.

Rowing races in 2026–27
RaceWhen
Emmanuel Sprints Regatta 202622 Nov 2026 [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Clare Novices Regatta 202628 Nov 2026 [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Fairbairn Cup 2026 (novices)3 Dec 2026 [Jesus College BC (opens in a new tab)]
Fairbairn Cup 2026 (seniors)4 Dec 2026 [Jesus College BC (opens in a new tab)]
Trial Eights 2026 (CUBC)12 Dec 2026 [CUBC (opens in a new tab)]
Lent Bumps Getting-On Race 20275 Mar 2027provisional [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Lent Bumps 20279 Mar 2027 – 13 Mar 2027provisional [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Lightweight Boat Races 202710 Apr 2027 [CUBC (opens in a new tab)]
The Boat Race 202711 Apr 2027 [The Boat Race (opens in a new tab)]
May Bumps Getting-On Race 202711 Jun 2027provisional [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
May Bumps 202716 Jun 2027 – 19 Jun 2027provisional [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Town Bumps (CRA) 2027Not yet announced [Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (opens in a new tab)]

Coming up on CAMsocs

The Fairbairn Cup

The Fairbairn Cup is run by Jesus College Boat Club, which has organised it since 1929, and is described as the longest head race in the University rowing calendar. Novice eights race on the Thursday and seniors on the Friday of the ninth week of Michaelmas Full Term. Novice crews start at the Jesus College Boat Club flagpole and finish at The Railings, 2,700 m away; senior eights row 4,300 m to The Little Bridge. A novice crew is one in which no rower has rowed, and no cox has coxed, before September of the current year. Jesus BC calls the novice races 'Novice VIIIs'; 'Novice Fairbairns' is an informal name that its page does not use. [Jesus College BC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

On CAMsocs: Jesus College Boat Club

Other novice races

CUCBC's timetable of college-run events lists the Clare Novice Regatta on the 8th Saturday of Michaelmas Full Term, and the Emmanuel Sprint Regatta on the 7th Sunday. Lady Margaret BC also names Queens' Ergs, Emma Sprints and Clare Novices as novice races in weeks 6 to 8. For 2026 the CUCBC river closures list (updated 11 October 2026) gives Sunday 22 November for the Emmanuel Sprints Regatta and Saturday 28 November for the Clare Novices Regatta. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [Lady Margaret BC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

How bumps racing works

The Cam is too narrow for crews to race side by side, so they race in divisions of 17 boats instead (the lowest division may have 18). Each crew starts one and a half boat lengths behind the next, in the order they finished the previous year. The cox holds a chain fixed to the bank, cannons fire at four minutes and one minute to go, and the chain is dropped when the starting cannon fires. A crew that catches and touches the crew in front makes a bump; both crews then pull into the bank and swap places for the next day. Under CUCBC rules, between the start and the Grassy Corner towpath gate a bump also counts once the chasing boat's bow ball passes the other boat's cox, contact or not. The top crew of each lower division races again at the bottom of the division above as the 'sandwich boat', which links all the divisions into one chart. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

Overbumps, blades and spoons

If the crews ahead have bumped out, a crew can catch the crew three places ahead (or even five or seven) and move up that many places in one day; CUCBC calls this an 'overbump'. A crew that neither bumps nor is bumped 'rows over' and starts the next day in the same place. The top crews aim to finish Head of the River, first in the first division. CUCBC says crews further down can win their 'blades' by bumping every day; crews that go up four places are given an oar painted in their college colours with the crew's names. Spoons are the opposite: the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association's explainer for the town bumps, which use the same format, says crews bumped four times 'are said to have got spoons'. CUCBC's own pages do not define spoons. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [Gonville & Caius College (opens in a new tab)] [Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (opens in a new tab)]

Lent Bumps and May Bumps

There are two University bumps races a year, both run by CUCBC. The Lent Bumps run over five days near the end of Lent Term, with seven divisions, though not every division races every day. The May Bumps run over four days, Wednesday to Saturday in mid-to-late June, with ten divisions. Despite the name, the May Bumps take place in June; the 2026 races ran from Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 June. If there are more new entries than places, the bottom crews and all new entries row a timed Getting-On Race on the Friday before. In the Lent Bumps the women's (W1) and open (O1) top divisions take turns to race last: W1 in odd years, O1 in even years. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]

Town Bumps

The town bumps, run by the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (CRA), are a separate summer bumps race on the Cam for members of local town clubs rather than students. Competitors range from 14 to over 70. There are two competitions, women's and open, with divisions of up to 18 boats. The CRA says town bumps have run in most Cambridge summers since the mid-1890s. The CRA spectator site does not yet give 2027 dates. [Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (opens in a new tab)]

University rowing and the Boat Race

Since 1 August 2020 the University's three separate rowing clubs (CUBC, CUWBC and the lightweight club CULRC) have been one club for all men and women: Cambridge University Boat Club. It has openweight and lightweight squads for both men and women. Trials start each September and are open to experienced athletes and coxes. Students who learned to row at their college can join a Development Squad, which mainly runs in the Summer Term, and coached ergo sessions run at Goldie during Michaelmas and Lent. Each December the squad races Trial Eights, then has a January training camp and Lent-term fixtures. The season ends with the Boat Race against Oxford, which is six races in all: men's and women's Blue Boats, the reserve crews (Goldie and Blondie for Cambridge) and, the day before, the Lightweight Boat Races. [CUBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUBC (opens in a new tab)]

On CAMsocs: Cambridge University Boat Club

The Boat Race course

The Boat Race is rowed on the Championship Course on the Thames, 4 miles 374 yards (6.8 km) from Putney to Mortlake. It starts by the University Stone on Putney Embankment and finishes just before Chiswick Bridge. The organisers suggest watching at Putney, at the Fan Zone in Bishops Park and Craven Cottage, and at Barnes Bridge. For 2027 the order is reversed, with the men racing first. [The Boat Race (opens in a new tab)] [The Boat Race (opens in a new tab)]

How to watch the Bumps

The course is about 2.6 km long and runs downstream from the start of the towpath on the north bank at Chesterton, where CUCBC's Control Desk is. You can walk down the towpath from there. The Plough at Fen Ditton is a popular place to watch because many bumps happen around Grassy Corner and Ditton Corner; you may not bring your own picnic into the pub garden. Camboats runs a river crossing between The Plough and the towpath. Only umpires and designated bank parties may cycle with the races (at most four cyclists per crew), and runners are not allowed. During the May Bumps, Fen Ditton Recreation Ground opens for parking (suggested £5 per car); for the Lent Bumps there is limited parking at The Plough only. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [Gonville & Caius College (opens in a new tab)]

Words you will hear

Bump
Catching and touching the crew in front during a bumps race. Both crews then pull into the bank, and they swap places for the next day. Under CUCBC rules, between the start and the Grassy Corner towpath gate a bump also counts once the chasing boat's bow ball passes the other boat's cox; elsewhere, drawing level bow ball to bow ball counts. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Overbump
Bumping a crew three (or even five or seven) places ahead, after the crews in between have bumped out, and moving up that many places in one day. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Row-over
When a crew neither bumps nor is bumped. It rows on to the finish and starts in the same place the next day. [Gonville & Caius College (opens in a new tab)] [Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (opens in a new tab)]
Blades
In general, 'blade' just means an oar. In the Bumps, a crew that bumps up every day 'wins its blades'. Crews that go up four places are given an oar painted in their college colours with the crew's names on it. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Spoons
The opposite of blades: a crew that is bumped on all four days 'gets spoons' (definition from the CRA town bumps explainer; CUCBC's pages do not define it). In CUCBC's glossary, the 'spoon' is also the end of the oar that goes into the water. [Cambridgeshire Rowing Association (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Sandwich boat
The crew that finishes top of a lower division. It races again the same day at the bottom of the next division up. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Head of the River
First place in the first division: the top crew on the river. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Cox
The person who steers and commands the boat, using strings or wires attached to the rudder. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Eight
A boat for eight sweep rowers. It always has a cox. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Novice
Someone with very little rowing experience. For the Fairbairn Cup, a novice crew is one in which no rower has rowed, and no cox has coxed, before September of the current year. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)] [Jesus College BC (opens in a new tab)]
M1 / W1
A college's first men's and first women's boats. Note that CUCBC's bumps rules use W1 and O1 for the top women's and open divisions, not for crews. [First and Third Trinity BC (opens in a new tab)] [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Erg
Short for ergometer: a rowing machine used for training on land. [CUCBC (opens in a new tab)]
Tubbing
Beginners' learn-to-row sessions, done in pairs. [First and Third Trinity BC (opens in a new tab)]

Every college boat club

The 31 college boat clubs CAMsocs lists. Most take novices every October.

Sources

Each fact above links the page it comes from. These are the pages, and when they were read. Their publishers are the authority: check them for anything that matters, as dates and rules change from year to year.

  1. CUCBC, cucbc.org (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  2. CUCBC, cucbc.org/clubs (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  3. First and Third Trinity BC, firstandthird.org/novices/learntorow.shtml (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  4. Lady Margaret BC, ladymargaretboatclub.org/novicing (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  5. CUCBC, cucbc.org/handbook/racing/bumps (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  6. CUCBC, cucbc.org/closures (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  7. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/facilities (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  8. Jesus College BC, jesusboatclub.co.uk/fairbairns (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  9. CUCBC, cucbc.org/college_events/timetable (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  10. CUCBC, cucbc.org/bumps (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  11. CUCBC, cucbc.org/bumps/how_bumps_work (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  12. Gonville & Caius College, cai.cam.ac.uk/news/heres-what-you-need-know-about-may-bumps (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  13. Cambridgeshire Rowing Association, sites.google.com/view/crabumps/about-bumps (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  14. CUCBC, cucbc.org/mays (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  15. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/about (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  16. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/row-with-us-2 (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  17. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/development-squad (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  18. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/row-with-us-2/parent-information (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  19. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/the-boat-races (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  20. The Boat Race, theboatrace.org/the-course (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  21. The Boat Race, theboatrace.org (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  22. CUCBC, cucbc.org/bumps/spectating (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  23. CUCBC, cucbc.org/lents (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  24. CUCBC, cucbc.org/handbook/coxes_coaches/glossary (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.
  25. CUBC, cubc.org.uk/2026/10/01/countdown-starts-to-the-boat-race-2027 (opens in a new tab). Read 8 Nov 2026.

CAMsocs is an independent, unofficial project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or run by the University of Cambridge, any of its colleges or Cambridge SU. This guide sums up what those bodies publish; it is not their advice. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Use the request form or the address in the footer.