The May Bumps 2021 were a set of rowing races at Cambridge University scheduled to take place from Wednesday 16 June 2021 to Saturday 19 June 2021.[1] The event was to be run as a bumps race and would have been the 129th set of races in the series of May Bumps which had been held annually in mid-June since 1887. In this edition of the Mays, the women's divisions were due to be raced before the equivalent men's divisions.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the races were cancelled in mid-April,[2] with a side-by-side regatta held in their place.
Cancellation
On 4 January 2021, England's third national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced.[3] Although students had returned to Cambridge following the gradual easing of measures throughout the spring of 2021 by the time the Mays were due to be held in June, CUCBC announced the cancellation of the races in mid-April. They cited the announcement by the University's Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope that students would be unlikely to be able to return to the university en masse before Monday 17 May, leaving insufficient time available for the requisite twelve training outings that all crews competing in Bumps must have completed in preparation to ensure crew competence and safety. As an alternative, they suggested that a "non-contact rowing event" would allow more crews to complete safely given the relatively low level of experience in comparison to other years.[2] An Eights Regatta was run by CUCBC in place of the cancelled Bumps races.[4]
June Eights Regatta
The June Eights Regatta which replaced the 2021 May Bumps took place over five days from Sunday 20 June 2021 to Thursday 24 June 2021. The first day of racing comprised the getting-on race which seeded the crews for the Swiss-style tournament that took place on the subsequent four days of the competition. Racing was held on a course of 1.1 kilometres in length on the Long Reach, with two boats racing side-by-side in each race. Each boat had the opportunity to participate in four races.[4]
In total 154 crews were entered into the competition, of which the majority were women's crews - a historic first for a CUCBC-run event. However, due to an increase in COVID-19 cases among the student population in the days preceding the event,[5] several crews were forced to withdraw before or during the competition.
Eight divisions were run in total, including first and second divisions for men's and women's senior and novice crews. The inclusion of novice divisions in a competition so late in the academic year is unusual but it was deemed appropriate given that student rowing had not been possible for much of the year due to the ongoing pandemic.
Cumulative results by division
Division 1
Division 2
Novice Division 1
Novice Division 2
Links to races in other years
Preceding year | Current year | Following year |
---|---|---|
May Bumps 2020 (cancelled) | May Bumps 2021 (cancelled) | May Bumps 2022 |
Lent Bumps 2020 | Lent Bumps 2021 (cancelled) | Lent Bumps 2022 |
See also
References
- ^ CUCBC: Lent and May Races - Eligibility and Conditions of Races - Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC). Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b "CUCBC Cancels May Bumps 2021". Varsity. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "As it happened: PM announces new England lockdown in TV address". BBC News. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Eights Regatta Round-Up". Varsity. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "Corpus closes College facilities following Covid-19 outbreak". Varsity. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h CUCBC: Eights Regatta (2021) Results - Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC). Retrieved 2 March 2022.