Summer Eights is an annual intercollegiate competition held over four days in late May in which boats compete to 'bump' each other, getting close enough to make contact, overtake, or scare the other cox into 'conceding' their position in the running order.
St Anne's started on the back foot this year with many of our senior rowers unable to compete due to exams, and this hit our M1 particularly hard. With a new cox and predominantly novice crew, the men's racing week was not ideal, but strokeseat and then-SABC-president Leo White did a great job of keeping everyone's spirits up, and the squad had a great week of post-race snacks, watching, and cheering. W1's strong torpids campaign set them in good stead, and they were relieved to be rejoined by OUWBC members Amelia Standing and Joe Gellett! Conflicting busy schedules meant that the final crew had only four outings together in which to prepare for racing, and while everyone was looking forward to a fun week they knew under the circumstances not to expect too much... how wrong they were! By race week the stash had been swapped, the crews were all lined up, and the rowers had enjoyed their preparatory pasta party. Read on for a day-by-day account, or scroll to see a summary and find the photo gallery!
Both tired and happy crews celebrated in style at the St Anne's barbecue, with some rowers still river-soaked as they listened to the entertaining speeches. 2023 will see the women build on their success and gaining ground into Div1, as the men use the years' experience to climb back up and hopefully win some blades!
Summary:
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Women
Bumped: Linacre W1, St John's W1, Balliol W1. Three row-overs. Ending position: top of Division Two
Men
Bumped by Somerville M1, St Peter's M1, Keble M2, Linacre M1. Ending position: 10th in Division Three
Bumped: Linacre W1, St John's W1, Balliol W1. Three row-overs. Ending position: top of Division Two
Men
Bumped by Somerville M1, St Peter's M1, Keble M2, Linacre M1. Ending position: 10th in Division Three