Lent Bumps run from Tuesday 23rd to Saturday 27th February. Churchill College Boat Club would greatly appreciate support from the bank!

The Lent Bumps are a very exciting few days, for rowers and non-rowers alike. While not as popular as the May Bumps, they are still a major Cambridge tradition which is unmissable! Support from the crowds really can make a difference and spur ailing crews to row harder, so grab something pink and get down to the river!

We have four crews competing this year, two men's boats and two women's. The times they will be racing are below:

Yesterday was the Lent Bumps Getting On Race, where crews without a permanent place in Bumps have to qualify ("get on") for the last few available places. There are three crews for every Bumps slot, so competition can be pretty fierce! The race is a simple head race upstream from the Little Bridge (close to the Motorway Bridge) to the post just downstream of the Railway Bridge - a distance of 2km.

As usual Churchill had two crews entered in the GoR, our M3 and W2. Unluckily M3 didn't "get on" this year, but were second of the crews who didn't qualify with a respectable time of 9:02.9. Always keen to show the men up, W2 did get on and will be starting 14th in the women's third division between Downing II and Robinson II.

Full results can be found on the CUCBC website.

Last Saturday (30th January) the first three men's boats rowed in Newnham Short Course, a 1.6km head race from the Little Bridge (just before the motorway bridge) to the railings (on the reach). Their times and race reports are below, and we also have the full results from Newnham College Boat Club who organised the race.

M1 report, Will Hamilton

Last Saturday (30^th Jan) the Churchill College Men’s 1^st Boat competed at The Newnham short course - a 1.6 kilometre upstream head race (against the clock). It was an important race for us for a number of reasons. First, because of injuries and absences, it was the first occasion the current M1 has raced together, ever. Second, it is the last race we will do before Lent Bumps and covers most of the bumps course. And third, several of the crews we will be competing against in Bumps were also racing; we were eager to make our mark.

Of the last twelve days of Lent Bumps (i.e. since 2007), Churchill M1 has been bumped nine times. This year, we are determined to prove that Churchill is not a second-rate rowing club by getting the first bump for M1 in three years. The current crew has trained very hard and we went out to show what people should expect from us at the Newnham short course.

We pushed hard off the start, rating at 40 strokes per minute. This eventually settled down to a sustainable (but still very hard) rhythm. A few scrappy periods punctuated an otherwise solid performance, with Steph calling a “final push” when there was still about 800 meters to go.

We finished with a time of 6:23:51. Christ’s M1, who we are chasing Day 1 of Lent Bumps, finished nearly 15 seconds slower (6:37:94). This is a very encouraging result and hopefully predictive of good things to come. The boat chasing us Day 1, Girton M1, finished a fraction of a second faster than us (6:22:72)- a difference that can be made up by just one individual taking a single stroke better. So the results show there is everything to train for. Bumps have to be earned, and M1 will be doing our best to earn ours this Lent.

M2 report, Chris Wilson

M2 have been struggling to find a regular cox this term, but we do have a set of 8 keen rowers eager to make their mark during Bumps. For this race we were fortunate in having an experienced cox who really helped the crew (including a couple of subs) pull together. Our time puts us considerably ahead of the boat ahead of us in Bumps, but a little behind the boat behind us. That should make for an interesting first day!

M3 report

M3 luckily do have a permanent cox and have been making the most of her. Their time suggests they have a great chance of getting on in Bumps, and hopefully doing well during Bumps itself.

On Saturday 23rd January the men's and women's first boats rowed in Winter Head to Head, a 2x2km head race (time trial). The first leg is downstream and the second upstream – so tends to be quite a bit slower! Their times and race reports are below, and we also have the full results from City of Cambridge Rowing Club who organised the race.

 W1 report, Izzy Scott-Moncrieff

This was only the second time this particular crew had rowed together, and our first race of term. There was an air of nervousness amongst the crew as we warmed up, but after an incredibly inspirational crew chat which Jenny had spent the previous night writing, we all decided that the two legs of 2km which made up the race would NOT get the better of us.

After a short time marshalling, the race began and Mark (our cox) got on his rage voice to spur us on. We quickly gained on Hughes Hall who were ahead of us, and after a slight collision when they didn't move over we eventually managed to pass them. Some epic pushes out of the Grassy and First Post corners sent us flying towards the finish of the first leg.

The second leg was slightly more difficult due to the strong  stream we were rowing against, but despite this we kept up a decent rhythm and pace, almost getting overlap on a men's four ahead of us just  before the finish. So overall, a good race with reasonable results, so now onwards and upwards!

M1 report, James Davies

With rowers returning from injuries, the Men's First Boat is certainly in a strong position at this early stage of term, and we went into this race looking to lay down a challenge to our competition. However, illness, and other problems, meant that a third of the crew had to be replaced with substitutes (many thanks go to them for stepping in).

Even with a scratch crew we went into the race with a positive attitude, and the row up to the start line felt powerful and controlled. The first 2k run downstream was a very good race for us - we kept up a great rhythm and put power down in the water. The second run was not so well controlled, but by sheer force of will we pushed through the scrappiness and crossed the finish line with our heads held high.

The evening brought the results, and we were very pleased to discover that we were a whole minute faster than the boat we will be chasing in Bumps – a very pleasing result! The next few weeks of training will decide our fate in Bumps, and we will certainly not be resting on our laurels.

The Fairbairn Cup races are the climax of Michaelmas term rowing, and this year Churchill have another excellent set of results to be proud of. We entered two novice men's crews and one and a half novice women's crews (we shared a boat with Murray Edwards), as well as our senior crews.

The course starts at Jesus's boathouse, and ends at different points depending on the division. For novices, the course finishes near the end of the Reach, a distance of 2.7km. For senior VIIIs it is to just beyond the motorway bridge (4.3km), and for senior IVs it is to near the Plough, (3.4km). Check the Jesus website for full results.