The May Bumps 2025 took place from Wednesday 18th June to Saturday 21st June, and saw Homerton College Boat Club's W1 team take home the coveted "blades".
Dating back since the early 19th century, the May Bumps have long been a fixture in the May Week calendar for students at the University and spectating locals from the town alike. Due to the narrow and winding nature of the River Cam, side-by-side racing is not possible over a long distance, and thus the bumping races were introduced as an exciting alternative for Cambridge Colleges to compete.
For those not familiar with the rules, at the start of the race crews line up, in their finishing order of the previous year, along the river with one and a half boat lengths of clear water between them. On the start signal they chase each other up the river. When a bump occurs (when one crew is touched by its chasing crew), they pull over to allow the other crews to continue racing. The next day, all crews involved in a bump swap places and the race is run again. After the days of racing, the aim of the top crews is to be at the "head of the river," i.e. to lead the first division, and crews can win their "blades" by bumping up every day.
It was this act of "bumping" their competitor every day of the four day event which resulted in Homerton's W1 team winning their blades. This 2025 victory is particularly notable, as it is the highest that Homerton's W1 has been on the river since 1999, and the first time they have achieved blades in division 1 since 1981.
The 2025 May Bumps W1 crew consisted of:
Cox: Molly Doran (Geography, 2022)
Stroke: Kira Dhariwal (Mathematics, 2021)
7: Angelina Naujoks (Education, 2022)
6: Eva Dziadurski (Archaeology, 2024) and Phoebe Pryce (HSPS, 2024)
5: Lucia Taylor (Theology, 2023)
4: Anna Linda Elvre (HSPS, 2024)
3: Dimity Shorrock (MML, 2023)
2: Beth Merrifield (Veterinary Medicine, 2019)
Bow: Charlotte Apsey (PhD Plant Sciences, 2023)
Stroke Kira Dhariwal said of the victory: "Winning blades in my final bumps campaign has been an absolute honour. The brilliant results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of all the women involved, and I couldn’t have asked for a more powerful and inspiring group to train and compete with."
Cox Molly Doran added: "Being part of the boat club has been the highlight of my degree. Achieving my second set of blades with W1 in my final set of bumps feels like a perfect way to finish my time at Cambridge, but it is the friendships and memories that I have made with HCBC that I will treasure forever! I am so grateful to have been part of a club filled with brilliant people who allowed me to find my voice, and feel so lucky to have shared this experience with such a wonderful crew!"
A huge congratulations to all of the HCBC's W1 team!
