The various University Boat Races will be taking place over the next couple of weeks and, although I see that the bookmakers haven't yet set up their stalls, I'm going to predict that the men's and women's Blue boat results are going different ways to last year. I don't have much information on the lightweight crews but I'm planning on going along to Henley next Sunday to see for myself.

Finally a request from a Catz alumnus who seems to have discovered — unfortunately rather too late to be of any service to the Boat Club — a sudden desire to get in a boat and row rather further than seems really necessary.

Results

Bumps Charts

Men	Women

Crawling back from a fairly unfortunate Michaelmas, Catz women trained intensively with returning alumnus Malcolm Spencer in the run-up to Torpids. This was a massive success in bringing the crew together and instilling us all with some Catz spirit (as well as bringing some set to the boat), and had we had a few more weeks we might've made a more respectable run at racing.

Fien B-N, Women's Captain

W1 dropped ten positions, leaving division two on the second day when a sudden gust drove us into a tree. Despite spoons, we are looking on with positivity and energy. We have taken it in our stride there are now ten wooden spoons painted like Catz blades and we will come back to Eights with something to prove.

With more Catz women expressing interest to start in Trinity every week, it is looking likely that we will have three boats for Eights. I myself will be proud to hand over to future co-captains Caitlin Gray and Rachel Ibbetson, who will take the energy we have recaptured this term and keep driving it forward into the year ahead.

The men began the term with an eventful IWL race. A high speed collision with a poorly steered barge lead to major damage to the M1 boat and blades. However the men didn't let this complication faze them and so came back to secure 2nd and then 1st place in IWLs D \& E. The second boat were at this stage in a slightly less established position, struggling for water time the crew took a while to come together. However, in the last two weeks prior to Torpids both squads fully committed to training and entered the competition ready to reap therewards.

James Winder, Men's Captain

The campaign started well with M2 bumping before the Gut for the first three days and M1 bumping at the start of Green Bank for the first two followed by a powerful bump on Wolfson that saw them drop significantly. The last day didn't go quite to plan with both crews just missing out on their respective Wadham crews (M2 chasing the overbump). However although +3 for both crews is a more than respectable result, including moving M1 back to its joint highest ever position on the river, the men are unanimous in that their main takeaway is to move even higher next term. Bring on Eights.

The Men's 1st Torpid

Meanwhile, the Cambridge women's Blue Boat continues to look ominous: finishing 2nd (to Leander) in the Women's Eights Head with Blondie, their reserve crew, 7th. This year they have the advantage over the Oxford women in height, weight and years (despite one of the Oxford crew being 34). Added to that, Oxford have a new coach and no returning Blues. If all that's still not enough for the light blues to secure their first Women's Boat Race on the Tideway then I really don't know what else we can do for them. Oxford, however, won't be a pushover. Despite a seemingly slow start they've beaten Oxford Brookes and Molesey (6th and 5th in the WeHORR). If Cambridge don't manage to drop Oxford early on, I think we could actually have a decent race.

The lightweight and intercollegiate races take place next Sunday, 26th March, at Henley, with the Tideway Boat Races a week later, Sunday 2nd April.

I am currently in the process of planning to row 3000 miles across the Atlantic in December with another Oxford alumnus.

This is a huge campaign as part of a race that has a global reach. However, we need to raise funds both to make the trip possible, through sponsorship, and for our two chosen charities (Alzheimer's Research and Against Malaria Foundation).

Do check out our website: www.theoardinaryboys.com

Anu Dudhia (email: anu.dudhia@physics.ox.ac.uk )