Lent BumpsHead of the River (The Headship) Caius Men Jesus College WomenHighest 2 Eight (Men)Caius (Division II)Highest 2 Eight (Women)Jesus College (Division II)CourseCam (upstream)Course lengthc. 2200m for the Head boatNote: Last Lents 3-7 March 2026
The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there had been a single set of annual bumps dating from its inception in 1827.The Bumps:An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827–1999, John Durack, George Gilbert & Dr John Marks, 2000, The races are open to all college boat clubs from the University of Cambridge, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and Anglia Ruskin Boat Club. The Lent Bumps take place over five days (Tuesday to Saturday) at the end of February / start of March and are run as bumps races.
Structure
The races are run in divisions, each containing 17 crews. The number of crews in each bottom division varies yearly depending on new entrants. Each crew consists of eight rowers and one coxswain. Unlike the May Bumps, rowers trialling for places in university crews are not allowed to take part in the Lents. A total of 120 crews took part in 2020, totalling around 1080 participants. There are currently four open divisions (referred to as O1, O2 ... O4) and four divisions for women's crews (similarly W1 to W4). Both O4 and W4 are "short" divisions which marshall together; W4 goes off 5 minutes separated from O4 whereas other divisions are separated by 40 minutes. The divisions represent an overall race order, with Division 1 at the top. The ultimate aim is to try to finish Head of the River (also said as gaining the 'Headship'), i.e. first position in Division 1.
At the start, signalled by a cannon, each crew's coxswain holds onto a chain attached to the bank. Chain points are 150 ft (approx. 45 m) apart, meaning each crew is separated by a distance of about 1½ boat lengths (approximately 30 m or 90 ft) of clear water. Once the race has begun, a crew must attempt to catch up with the crew ahead of it and bump (physically touch or overtake it) before the crew behind does the same to them. A crew which bumps or is bumped must pull to the side of the river to allow other crews to continue racing. A crew which neither bumps the crew ahead nor is bumped by the crew behind before crossing the finishing post is said to have rowed over. Any crew which bumps then swaps places with the crew that it bumped in the following day's racing. A crew which rows over stays in the same position. Crews finishing at the top of a division, the sandwich boat, row at the bottom of the next division to try to move up a division. The process is repeated over four effective days, allowing crews to move up or down in the overall order of boats. The finish order of one year's Lent Bumps is then used as the starting order of the following year's races. Due to the shortness of reliable daylight, the races are actually currently run over five days, with one division level dropped out each day except Saturday: on Tuesday M/W 1, on Wednesday 2, Thursday 3 and Friday 4.
Between 2010 and 2019, the leading men's and women's crews of the Lent Bumps went on to race the leading Oxford Torpids men's and women's crews at the Henley Boat Races around Easter. However, following the move of The Lightweight Boat Races to the Championship Course, this competition ceased to be held.
Crews finishing Head of the River Men's Lent Bumps (1887–2026)
1887 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 No result 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Lent Bumps were cancelled from 1915 to 1918 due to war, and in 1895 and 1963 due to ice; in 2018 two days were lost to the towpath being too icy for bank parties and umpires; in 2023, the Friday day was lost due to high rainfall and resulting high stream. The Lents in 1888 were not completed due to the death of an oarsman. When the races ceased, were in 1st position. The Lent Bumps 2001 were not completed due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK. The outbreak closed the towpath along the river, where all of the umpiring for the bumps takes place. When the races were abandoned on Friday 2 March 2001, were in 1st position. The Lents were also cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 1919, college 1st VIIIs did not race as it was the first race after World War I. The start order for the 1920 races was the finish order for the 1914 races. Prior to 1946 were two separate rowing clubs: 1st Trinity and 3rd Trinity, hence both separate and combined titles.http://www.firstandthird.org/ First and Third Trinity Boat Club website
Women's Lent Bumps (1976–2025)
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 No result 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
NB. The Lent Bumps were not completed in 2001 due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK. When the races were abandoned on Friday 2 March 2001, were in 1st position. The Lents were also cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table of Winning Boats (1887–2026)
Nineteen boats have been head of the river. Blade Boat Head of the River : Men Head of the River : Women Head of the River : Total Winning years : Men Winning years : Women Jesus 1905–12, 1914, 1922–24, 1926–27, 1929, 1932, 1934–38, 1940–41, 1944–47, 1952–53, 1955, 1957, 1959–64, 1970, 1972, 1974 1985–87, 2016–18, 2023–26 Trinity (Combined) 1892–96, 1898–1902, 1904, 1913, 1919*, 1921, 1925, 1951, 1958, 1967, 1971, 1998, 2000, 2007–10 2007–08, 2010, 2014 Lady Margaret 1889, 1897, 1903, 1920, 1943, 1949–50, 1954, 1965–66, 1975–81, 1990, 2017–18, 2020–25 1992–93 Downing 1984–88, 1994–97, 2014 2004–05, 2011–13, 2020 1st Trinity 1892–96, 1898–1902, 1904, 1913, 1919*, 1921, 1925 n/a 1st & 3rd Trinity 1951, 1958, 1967, 1971, 1998, 2000, 2007–10 2007–08, 2010, 2014 Caius 1999, 2002–06, 2011–13, 2015–16, 2019, 2026 2003 Emmanuel 1930 1988–91, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000, 2002, 2009 Trinity Hall 1890, 1948, 1982–83, 1991–93 1996, 1999 Newnham n/a 1977, 1982–83, 2019, 2022 Pembroke 1931, 1933, 1942, 1989 Clare 1939, 1973 2006 New Hall (Murray Edwards) n/a 1976, 1978, 1980 Corpus Christi 1887, 1891 Girton 1979, 1981 Churchill 1984 Fitzwilliam 1969 Peterhouse 1956 Queens’ 1968 Christ's 2015
* The head of the river in 1919 was, unusually, 1st Trinity’s second boat. It was the first race after World War I and 1st eights did not race. The start order for the 1920 races was the finish order for the 1914 races.
Prior to 1946 were two separate rowing clubs: 1st Trinity and 3rd Trinity, hence both separate and combined titles.
Anglia Ruskin, Clare Hall, Darwin, Homerton, Hughes Hall, King's, Lucy Cavendish, Magdalene, Robinson, St. Catharine's, Selwyn, Sidney Sussex, St Edmund's, Wolfson, Addenbrooke's and the Veterinary School are the regular entrants never to have finished Head of the River in either the men's or women's events.
See also Links to individual Lent Bumps results May Bumps, the equivalent event in the summer Torpids, a similar event in Oxford
References
External links
CUCBC — the organisation that runs the bumps Cambridge bumps charts — archive of results 1992-2015