A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each crew attempting to catch and 'bump' the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind.
The May Bumps are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of March. Prior to the separation there had been a single set of annual bumps dating from its inception in 1827. The races are open to all college boat clubs from the University of Cambridge, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and the Anglia Ruskin Boat Club. The May Bumps takes place over four days in mid-June and is run as a bumps race.
Caius Boat Club is the boat club for members of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. The club has rowed on the River Cam since 1827, and like the other college boat clubs its aim is to gain and hold the headship of the Lent Bumps and May Bumps, now held in eight-oared boats, separately for men and women.
Fitzwilliam College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Prior to the 1960s, Fitzwilliam House occupied a position near the bottom of the 2nd division or top half of the 3rd division of the Lent and May Bumps, even finding itself in the 4th division of the Lent Bumps briefly. Between 1959 and 1969, the 1st men's VIII were not bumped in the Lent Bumps, rising to Head of the River in 1969. Between 1960 and 1971, the 1st men's VIII were bumped only once in the May Bumps, taking the headship for three years between 1969 and 1971. From then until the mid-1980s, the 1st VIII held a position in the top-half of the 1st division and won both the Fairbairn Cup and the Emmanuel Sprints Regatta in the Michaelmas Term of 1982. The 1982 crew completed the traditional (1929–1989) Fairbairn course in 14.34, becoming the second crew ever to post a winning time of under 15 minutes over the original race distance.
Churchill College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Churchill College, Cambridge.
Magdalene Boat Club (MBC) is the rowing club for members of Magdalene College, Cambridge. The foundation of the MBC in 1828 coincided with the 400th anniversary of the Monk's Hostel or Buckingham College - the original foundation of Magdalene.
Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC) is responsible for the day-to-day running of college rowing in Cambridge. It is also responsible for organising May and Lent bumps which are the main races of the Easter and Lent terms respectively.
Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the Women's Boat Race. In April 2020 it was agreed that the club would be combined with the men's club CUBC and the lightweight men's club CULRC.
The May Bumps 2009 were a set of rowing races held in Cambridge, UK from Wednesday 10 June 2009 to Saturday 13 June 2009. The bumps featured crews from all Cambridge University Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The races were run as a bumps race and were the 118th set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2009, a total of 171 crews are expected to take part, with over 1500 participants in total.
The May Bumps 2010 were a set of rowing races held in Cambridge, UK with crews from the boat clubs of all Cambridge University Colleges, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and Anglia Ruskin University from Wednesday 9 June 2010 to Saturday 12 June 2010. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 119th set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2010, a total of 172 crews took part, with nearly 1550 participants in total.
Anglia Ruskin Boat Club (ARBC) is the rowing club for members of Anglia Ruskin University. It was known as CCAT Boat Club until 2008. The name CCAT derives from a former name for the university, the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, which is abbreviated to CCAT. The boat club kept the name CCAT much longer than its linked place of education – it was once thought the club would lose its positions in the bumps races if the name were changed, but that is urban legend.
The May Bumps 2011 were a set of rowing races held in Cambridge, UK with crews from the boat clubs of all Cambridge University Colleges, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and Anglia Ruskin University from Wednesday 15 June 2011 to Saturday 18 June 2011. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 120th set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2011, 172 crews took part, with nearly 1550 participants in total.
The Lent Bumps 2012 was a series of rowing races at Cambridge University from Tuesday 28 February 2012 to Saturday 3 March 2012. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 125th set of races in the series of Lent Bumps which have been held annually in late February or early March since 1887. See Lent Bumps for the format of the races. 121 crews took part, with nearly 1100 participants in total.
The May Bumps 2012 were a set of rowing races held in Cambridge, UK with crews from the boat clubs of all Cambridge University Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University from Wednesday 13 June 2012 to Saturday 16 June 2012. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 121st set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2012, 172 crews took part, with nearly 1550 participants in total.
The Lent Bumps 2013 was a series of rowing races at Cambridge University from Tuesday 26 February 2013 to Saturday 2 March 2013. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 126th set of races in the series of Lent Bumps which have been held annually in late February or early March since 1887. See Lent Bumps for the format of the races. 121 crews took part, with nearly 1100 participants in total.
Lucy Cavendish College Boat Club (LCCBC) is the rowing club for students and members of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. It is primarily based at Emmanuel Boat Club, Cutter Ferry Lane, Cambridge.
The May Bumps 2013 were a set of rowing races at Cambridge University from Wednesday 12 June 2013 to Saturday 15 June 2013. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 122nd set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887.
The May Bumps 2014 were a set of rowing races at Cambridge University from Wednesday 11 June 2014 to Saturday 14 June 2014. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 123rd set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887.
The Lent Bumps 2014 was a series of rowing races at Cambridge University from Tuesday 25 February 2014 to Saturday 1 March 2014. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 127th set of races in the series of Lent Bumps which have been held annually in late February or early March since 1887. See Lent Bumps for the format of the races. 103 crews took part, with nearly 950 participants in total.
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. 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.
