18:48 – Apologies to loyal Cherwell readers, phone service was a persistent issue throughout the day (all updates relied on my awkward set-up of hot spotting my laptop from my phone). As such, I’ll summarise some of the key moments in what was an absolutely insane final day of racing.
To begin with the supposedly INFALLIBLE Oriel crew with not one but two Olympic medallists were toppled by Wolfson yesterday! After they got the better jump yesterday, there were signs that the Oriel crew weren’t necessarily guaranteed headship, but I don’t think anyone would have predicted that Wolfson would take it off them today.
The Women’s Division I headship also changed hands in slightly less unthinkable fashion, as it was heartbreak for Wadham who had rowed beautifully all week, but were no match for a Pembroke crew hungry for headship after summiting those heights at Torpids. In the end, both crews who achieved headship followed up on doing so at Torpids.
On top of the blades and spoons already mentioned in the period of time before my phone’s little heart gave out, blades were achieved by: Somerville W1 (making it a remarkably impressive 3/3 women’s crews achieving blades for Somerville), Linacre W1, Univ M2, Hilda’s M1, Keble W2, Reuben M1 and W1, Somerville W2, Merton W2 and Exeter W2.
In order to move up, some crews have to move down… so commiserations to Christ Church W1, Teddy W1, Anne’s W1, Catz W1, Trinity W1, and Corpus M1 and W1.
14:29 – Suggested that Wadham have bumped Oriel!
14:27 – Worcester gaining ground on Green Templeton early.
14:26 – 1 minute gun fired.
14:20 – Worcester awarded a technical row over for their Men’s Division V race, and Women’s Division IV should hopefully be starting on time.
14:07 – Delays in that race mean that Women’s Division IV will be starting 10 minutes later at 14:25.
14:02 – Wolfson are steaming towards Lincoln, but the latter seem to gotten away. Green Templeton went down to seven rowers, but with a gap carved out behind them by Teddy bumping New, they’re safe from New. Those gaps do mean that Univ have bumped Jesus to inflict spoons upon them, and at the front of the race, Exeter bumped Magdalen to become the sandwich boat for Division IV.
13:59 – New concede to Teddy! So not only do they get their blades, but they also match the +11 record for most positions gained in one Summer Eights! Catz also concede, leaving them as a spoonful crew.
13:58 – Men’s Division V is finally off to a start, and Teddy are already gaining on New.
13:50 – 1 minute gun.
13:40 – 5 minute gun for Men’s Division V. For blades watch, we have Green Templeton and the Teddy Hall boat that’s eyeing up the position gain record. To get it outright, they’ll have to hope that New can bump the strong GTC crew, but if in doubt, they’ll want to bump the former to tie it. On spoons watch, Magdalen, Catz and Jesus are all at risk. Catz will be hoping they don’t get what might be the first of three spoons for the college today if they can’t consolidate in their M1 and W1.
13:28 – From the other gaps, we can also only assume that Somerville bump Hugh’s for their blades, Merton bumped Regent’s to do the same, and Exeter bump Jesus to also get blades, leaving Jesus with spoons.
13:26 – Balliol are the last crew through, which means that they avoid spoons, and Peter’s must have been bumped by Queen’s behind them.
13:25 – Wolfson ending strong. There’s no pressure behind them, but still looking comfortable ahead of their effort at Division IV later.
13:23 – New are first through the gut.
13:22 – Finally underway, and Hertford make a beeline for the trees! Teddy Hall get them as a result.
13:18 – River is now clear, and as a result the 1 minute gun fires.
13:16 – No word on the start yet, still some traffic present near the end of boathouse island though.
13:10 – 5 minute gun for Women’s Division V. Somerville, Exeter and Merton are all eyeing up blades, while Jesus and Balliol are the ones at risk of spoons.
12:52 – Correction: Balliol banked early, which means that even though they have bumped, New think they’re still racing and Anthony’s are chasing them like they still are!
12:49 – They’re followed by Anthony’s which would imply New have bumped Balliol back after losing that position yesterday. Big gap to the sandwich boat Exeter behind, so that may be it for this race.
12:49 – Next out of the gap is John’s, which implies that Hilda’s have bumped Linacre. Univ follow them, which means Pembroke bump Oriel M4 for their blades and Oriel’s spoons.
12:47 – Mansfield get Oriel M3! Hugh’s the first crew out of the gut.
12:46 – We’re off!
12:45 – 1 minute gun.
12:40 – 5 minute gun for Men’s Division VI fires on time.
12:38 – Now some boats called over for penalty bump consideration from Men’s Division VII: it looks like Brasenose might not be off the hook after all.
12:32 – Mixed in the announcement of the results included a Catz bump on Mansfield, as well as a penalty bump consideration – representatives from multiple colleges have been called so sit tight on that one to be resolved later…
12:23 – Tight between Univ and LMH at the end, but both look fairly evenly matched and eventually row over.
12:20 – Anne’s footing the division now that Wadham have bumped, they’ve lost their lead on Peter’s, but will get a boost from their boathouse right by the end.
12:19 – Anthony’s concede to Wolfson! Unfortunately for them, that means they take home the first set of non-footship spoons of the day.
12:18 – Queen’s look clear out the gap, implying Hilda’s have bumped for their blades!
12:17 – Anne’s are closing on Peter’s early. Contact between Wadham and Oriel means that not only do they bump up, but secure blades!
12:16 – Underway, only a minute late.
12:15 – 1 minute gun fired now.
12:10 – 5 minute gun for Women’s Division VI, and there are two crews on for blades. Hilda’s will need to catch a reasonably strong Queen’s W2 to secure it, while Wadham W3 will be looking to catch Oriel W3 as sandwich boat to get theirs. Trinity, Anthony’s and Univ W3 are all hoping to escape spoons though so there’s still plenty at stake…
11:54 – That all but seals it. No more movement in the bottom three, and Exeter M4 are consigned to footship.
11:52 – Exeter M3 and Worcester M3 cruise through to the end. After John’s bump Queen’s, it’s just Hilda’s, Brasenose and Exeter M4 battling it out at the back of the division now.
11:49 – Wadham M3 get their bump, securing the first blades of the day for the college! W3 will be up again in the next race to make it 2/2.
11:48 – Wadham M3, on for blades, are closing in on Pembroke.
11:47 – Balliol bump Hertford for their blades, Lincoln concede to Anne’s!
11:47 – Anne’s closing on Lincoln early, Balliol M4 pressuring Hertford.
11:46 – Start gun has been fired for Men’s Division VII!
11:45 – 1 minute gun after marshalls have to get busy clearing the way.
11:40 – 5 minute gun for Men’s Division VII.
11:25 – The last few crews for Men’s Division VII are pushing off now. Just two sets of blades up for grabs in this division: Balliol M4 and Wadham M3. Still just the one set of spoons though, currently in the hands of Exeter at the footship.
11:23 – Big gap between John’s W3 and Hilda’s, which must mean Somerville W3 have bumped New W3 to secure the second set of blades today.
11:22 – Wadham cruise comfortably past joyous cheers from their own boathouse, while Pembroke’s form begins to break down in pursuit. Worcester behind are looking much stronger.
11:20 – Look’s like Queen’s have been bumped out of the gut, trading places back with Univ after bumping them yesterday. Hilda’s are also the last racing crew, which means Keble have escaped footship by bumping Reuben!
11:18 – Exeter concede to Jesus, and the latter secure the first blades of the day!
11:18 – John’s closing on Worcester for blades, Jesus close to Exeter for the same!
11:17 – Underway with the first race of the final day!
11:16 – 1 minute gun fired.
11:13 – Slight delay due to traffic, but the hope is that it won’t affect the start time.
11:10 – 5 minute gun for Women’s Division VII has been fired! In this race we have four crews on for blades: Somerville W3, John’s W3, Jesus W3 and Wadham W3 – although the latter will need to row over and bump up into Division VI to secure it. Just Keble are on for spoons if they can’t avoid footship.
9:50 – Plenty of narratives left to play out on the last day of Summer Eights 2025. After the conclusion of racing yesterday, a successful appeal from Christ Church M2 about their disqualification yesterday means that they were awarded a technical row over, and Wolfson M2’s penalty bump was rescinded. Unfortunately for Wolfson M2, that means that blades are off the cards for them this year, a shame after rowing so well for the first two days. They may well catch Christ Church today, but it won’t be enough. Otherwise, there are 28 crews on for blades across the divisions, and the same number staring down a spoon-shaped barrel. Finally, one of the biggest questions today will be Teddy Hall M3. A bump would see them tie the record for the most positions gained across one set of Summer Eights at +11, having gone +7 on day one, up to +8 on day two, and getting two scalps yesterday while moving up to Division V, putting them on +10 so far. Will they hope for an overbump to take the record for themselves? With a somewhat lacklustre New M3 in front of them, it may be a faint hope that they catch a Green Templeton crew in front that’s currently on for blades… At the top of both divisions, it’s going to be an incredibly interesting final day of racing, as Wadham W1 look to defend against a very strong Pembroke crew, and Oriel M1 finally felt a little bit of heat behind them from Wolfson yesterday.
