A bump is the core element of bumps racing — it is the act of catching the crew in front of you. Doing so is referred to as bumping, and getting caught is referred to as being bumped.
What constitutes a bump?
A bump can occur in four ways1:
- There is any contact between the two crews (including blades, the shell, and people)
- This is often split into the subcategories of blade-on-blade contact and shell-on-shell contact
- The cox of the crew in front concedes by raising their arm
- The crew behind rows completely past the crew in front
- The crew behind finishes before the crew in front
In Torpids, the second bumping method is most prevalent, as the crew being bumped is incentivised to be able to row away cleanly (see What happens on a bump?). In Eights, it’s all to play for, and coxes typically have to force a bump through contact.
What happens on a bump?
In all formats of bumps racing, the crew that bumped exits the race (called bumping out). In Torpids, the crew that got bumped keeps rowing, remains live, and is able to be bumped again if caught by another crew. In Eights, this is not the case and both crews stop rowing.
Overbumps
In the event that the crew in front of you bumps out, it is still possible to bump; you just need to catch the next live crew. Doing so is called an overbump (as you bumped over another crew). The rules around resolving overbumps can get quite complex (especially in Torpids), but in general follow common sense.
Footnotes
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OURCs Rules of Racing §A2.13.a, accessed 2025-02-22 ↩