Owing to high levels of rain and the flooding of the Isis, rowers across the university fear that Torpids will be cancelled. In a statement, OURCS said they were unable to predict whether the event would go ahead.
Michael Pontikos, OURCS Secretary, said, “Torpids has not been cancelled, and we are progressing in our preparations for running Torpids safely. Multiple contingencies are in place to allow racing in adverse stream conditions, with the final decisions made by the Senior Umpires. Weather and stream conditions are variable, and thus we are unable to accurately forecast what they will be 14 days in advance, so making predictions now would be futile.”
The Oriel Captain of Boats Maximilian Lau commented, “The possibility that one of the two main events of the year may be cancelled can be a pretty soul-destroying prospect. Our club is on the verge of feeling like a boot camp, training for a war that may never actually happen.”
If Torpids were to be held, performances are likely to lag behind previous years. According to Hertford Boat Club men’s captain Chris Jones, “Word on the tow path is that many colleges are secretly hoping of a reprieve for fear of being bumps bait, due to lack of water time and an inexperienced crew. It’s been frustrating to have a great group of keen novice rowers who think that this is what rowing is all about — lots of land training with a rare hastily thrown together water outing when the flag changes.”
Lau revealed, “Oriel has compensated by upping the social side as much as possible. We were on two crew dates a week at times, to keep the rowers keen.” Crispin Smith, the Univ Boat Club President, expressed worry that his rowers could be “catching crabs in Park End.”
