The May Bumps 2012 were a set of

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

races held in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, UK with crews from the boat clubs of all Cambridge University Colleges and

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

from Wednesday 13 June 2012 to Saturday 16 June 2012. The event was run as a

bumps race A bumps race is a form of rowing (sport), 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 form is mainly used in C ...

and was the 121st set of races in the series of

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) 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 o ...

which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2012, 172 crews took part (103 men's crews and 69 women's crews), with nearly 1550 participants in total. The timing of the lower divisions on the Saturday was disrupted by a protest on the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

and its tow-path by animal rights activists objecting to the removal from the area of an infamous

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

, the so-called ''Mr. Asbo'', that had been attacking rowers. Three people were arrested for breaching the peace.

Head of the River crews

men rowed over well clear of men each day to win their blades and retain the headship they won

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. As they came also first at the Lent Bumps 2012 they hold the ''double Headship''. They also won both bumps events in 2011. Downing College Rowing Blade

women rowed-over on each day to hold onto the ''Head of the River'' title and win their blades. By winning the

Mays Mays is the surname of: * Al Mays (1865–1905), American baseball pitcher * Albert Mays (footballer) (1929–1973), Welsh professional footballer and amateur cricketer * Alvoid Mays (born 1966), American football cornerback * Aspen Mays (born ...

they also retain the ''double Headship'' having won Lent Bumps 2012. This also their second double headship, having won both bumps events in 2011. Consecutive double Headships, i.e. that the same Men's and Women's crews have won both the

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and

for consecutive years, illustrate how dominant these crews have been on the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

. men have now won 11 of the 15 May Bumps from 1998 (and 8 of the Lent Bumps), whilst men's and women's 1st VIIIs have been either 1st (head) or second on the river in Lents or Mays for at least the last 2 years (and up to 6 in the case of the Men in Lents).

Highest 2nd VIIIs

held the position of highest men's 2nd VIII despite being bumped successively by , and . Pembroke College Cambridge Rowing Blade

remained the highest women's 2nd VIII despite falling to 22nd due to bumps from and .

Pegasus Cup and the Biggest Risers

won the Pegasus cup for the first time, narrowly beating in their attempt to hold the title. boats collectively managing 15 bumps moving up 18 places in total. The Men's 1st VIII entered division 1 and two of the club's five boats won blades. rose an impressive 8 places, triple over-bumping and bumping , who themselves fell 7 places over the 4 days.

Links to races in other years

Bumps Charts

Below are the bumps charts all 6 men's and all 4 women's divisions, with the men's event on the left and women's event on the right. The bumps chart represents the progress of every crew over all four days of the racing. To follow the progress of any particular crew, simply find the crew's name on the left side of the chart and follow the line to the end-of-the-week finishing position on the right of the chart. Note that this chart may not be displayed correctly if you are using a large font size on your browser. A simple way to check is to see that the first horizontal bold line, marking the boundary between divisions, lies between positions 17 and 18. The combined Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish women's crews are listed as Lucy Cavendish only.

The Getting-on Race

The Getting-on Race (GoR) allows a number of crews which did not already have a place from last year's races to compete for the right to race this year. Up to ten crews are removed from the bottom of last year's finishing order, who must then race alongside new entrants to decide which crews gain a place. The 2012 May Bumps Getting-on Race took place on 8 June 2012.

Competing crews

Men

12 men's crews competed for 8 available spaces at the bottom of the 6th division. * * * * * * * * The following were unsuccessful. * * * The following did not race. *

Women

11 women's crews competed for 6 available spaces at the bottom of the 4th division. * * * * * * The following were unsuccessful. * * The following did not race. * * *

References

CUCBC - the organisation that runs the bumpsCam FM 97.2FM (Cambridge University Radio - formerly CUR1350) - live commentary, instant results, downloadable MP3s of race commentary
{{Reflist May Bumps results