The May Bumps 2008 were a series of rowing races held at Cambridge University from Wednesday 11 June 2008 until Saturday 14 June 2008. The races were run as a bumps race and have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. See May Bumps for the format of the races. In 2008, a total of 171 crews took part, with over 1500 participants in total.
men bumped on the first day to take the headship for the first time since 1973; the first change in men's headship since 2002. women bumped on the first day to take back the headship they lost in 2007.
Highest 2nd VIIIs
were the highest men's 2nd VIII at the end of the week, holding 14th position. were the highest women's 2nd VIII at the end of the week at 15th position, having started 16th.
Below are the bumps charts all 6 men's and all 5 women's divisions, with the men's event on the left and women's event on the right. The bumps chart represents the progress of every crew over all four days of the racing. To follow the progress of any particular crew, simply find the crew's name on the left side of the chart and follow the line to the end-of-the-week finishing position on the right of the chart. Note that this chart may not be displayed correctly if you are using a large font size on your browser. A simple way to check is to see that the first horizontal bold line, marking the boundary between divisions, lies between positions 17 and 18. The combined Hughes Hall/ Lucy Cavendish women's crews are listed as Lucy Cavendish only.
The Getting-on Race
The Getting-on Race allows a number of crews which did not already have a place from last year's races to compete for the right to race this year. Up to ten crews are removed from the bottom of last year's finishing order, who must then race alongside new entrants to decide which crews gain a place. The 2008 May Bumps Getting-on Race took place on 6 June 2008.
Competing crews
Men
7 men's crews raced for 3 available spaces at the bottom of the 6th division. The following were successful and rowed in the bumps. The following were unsuccessful.
Women
10 women's crews raced for 3 available spaces at the bottom of the 5th division, but subsequently 2 further places became available. The following were successful and rowed in the bumps. The following were unsuccessful. The following did not race.
