Little change on the river
Summer Eights: life and death or the Oxford Festival of Comedy Rowing? Whatever it meant for you, it is all over for another year and those Viking hats will be gathering dust once more in the back of the boathouse.
This year's event was run over four days of unprecedented sun and if the sounds of splintering boat were less to be heard, there was more technique and skill to be seen in all, not just the upper divisions.
In Mens' Division 1, little change was seen in the ranking of the top crews; it is said that to bump, you need to be one and a half lengths faster than the crew in front. This proved how evenly matched Oriel, Pembroke and Exeter were speed-wise; Exeter, however, will be a crew to watch as they threatened the Pembroke boys (many of them ex-Blues rowers) ever more closely over the four days.
Lower down the division, Christ Church climbed four places, bumping Teddy Hall, New, Jesus and Balliol. No doubt, this was thanks in part to the superlative coxing of Jeremy Moncrieff who was the helmsman of the blue boat this year.
One moment his eight would be at one side of the river, being hard pressed by another from behind - the next, it would be on the other side of the river, leaving the cox of the other boat mystified and shooting off in entirely the wrong direction.
Women's Division 1 saw Pembroke faring better, as the competition in the form of New College and Osler-Green both fell into the spoon-drawer, dropping a disappointing four places each.
St Catz proved more of a threat to the headship, but their crew shirts bearing the legend "Pembroke, don't lose your head" spoke more truth than the writing on the wall (or under Donnington Bridge) - nice finishes to the stroke, pity about the hubris, girls.
Somerville were on fine form, unlucky to narrowly miss out on blades. Other class acts in women's rowing came from a spirited Hertford, who won blades with both of their women's crews; their rowing was controlled, powerful, stylish almost and they kept the spectators happy too when they spectacularly broad sided Wolfson on the Saturday. Brasenose and Keble, in the lower divisions, also clawed their way up four places to win blades.
Big surprises came from unlikely sources in the lower divisions; plucky St Benet's fielded a single mens' crew, which moved up five places over the first three days. St Anthony's too, fielded only one female crew, but their coach, Jian Qin was ecstatic to see them move up six places to win blades in Eights and fame in The Times.
Both crews pulled off the tiring and tricky over-bump, even once when rowing as sandwich boat.
"If this is the sort of guts we can begin to expect in the lower divisions, from colleges with less resources and less rowing pedigree, then it should bode well for Oxford rowing as a whole" said Ylva Johnsson, who was in the winning Osiris crew this year and who learnt to row with Mansfield/Harris Manchester.
Who knows where the talent will come from for next year's Boat Races? The rowing fun doesn't stop with bumps, though, as many crews continue to train for Marlow and Henley; if this year's Summer Eights was anything to go by, they will do themselves justice.
<b>Men's Division I</b> 1. Oriel 2. Pembroke 3. Exeter 4. Balliol 5. Christ Church 6. Magdalen 7. New College 8. Jesus 9. Lincoln 10. St Catherine's 11. S.E.H. 12. Hertford <br><b>Women's Division I</b> 1. Pembroke 2. St Catherine's 3. Somerville 4. Wadham 5. Merton 6. L.M.H. 7. New College 8. S.E.H. 9. Osler-Green 10. Magdalen 11. University 12. St Hilda's
1st Jun 2001