Oxford College Rowing
[Chapter written by Anu Dudhia]
Rule Refinements
Curiously, the practice of making an excursion down to Sandford
prior to each evening's racing continued at least until 1839, the crews
`amusing themselves with gymnastics or skittles' for an hour or so before
collectively paddling back up to Iffley Lock to commence
the serious business of the day. Needless to say, the paddle upstream past
Kennington was an opportunity for a few practice bursts in an
attempt to impress the opposition, and a good deal of banter between the crews.
Following problems caused by high winds that same year,
bunglines and the present `three gun'
system for starting were introduced in 1840, and the start time fixed at 7.45
pm. By then, some 14 colleges were taking part, so it was also decreed that
boats involved in a bump should draw to one side so as to allow the lower crews
to continue racing. The bump itself was defined `as the touching of any part,
whether it be boat, oars, or rudder'.
At this point, the number of days racing was nominally
determined by the number
of crews entered. The theory was that even the crew starting bottom each year
should be allowed a chance of gaining the Headship, although in practice rather
fewer days were required as it was common for crews to `take off' (scratch)
before the end of the event, thus losing their day. The Eights reached a
maximum of 9 days during the 1840's before settling down to a regular 8 days,
although it was only in 1858 that these were held on consecutive nights with
a day's rest on the Sunday at the mid-way point. There were fewer
bumps than usual that year, which led to complaints that the crews had no time
to practise and improve between races.
Photo: Eights Week in 1889,
view looking downstream from the towpath near the Finish.