Corpus Christi College Boat Club (Cambridge)

Corpus Christi College Boat Club
Image showing the rowing club's blade colours
Location Cambridge
Coordinates 52°12′38.9″N 0°7′56.71″E / 52.210806°N 0.1324194°ECoordinates: 52°12′38.9″N 0°7′56.71″E / 52.210806°N 0.1324194°E
Home water River Cam
Founded 1831
Membership Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Affiliations BR
Website corpus.cam.ac.uk/cccbc

Corpus Christi College Boat Club (often shortened to Corpus) is the rowing club for members of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. It represents one of the smallest colleges in Cambridge, meaning that as crews are selected from a small student pool ability often varies from year to year.[1] It shares a boat house with the boat clubs of Sidney Sussex, Girton and Wolfson colleges.

The club currently has five crews rowing in eights.[2] This year all 4 men's crews and the women 1st VIII entered May Bumps 2012. Two men's crews entered Lent Bumps 2012 but the women's 1st VIII were unable to get a full boat together in time for entry.[3]

History

Corpus III bumps Girton III in May Bumps 2005

Corpus Christi benefited greatly when the Lent and May Bumps became separate events in 1887. The 1st VIII started 3rd in the first Lent Bumps in 1887 and managed to take the headship that year. They did again in 1891, but fell away into the 2nd division thereafter, although rising as high as 6th in 1953.[4] Due to how the May Bumps start order was derived in 1887, Corpus started relatively low down and has since spent all of its time in or around the 2nd division. To date, 1887 and 1891 are the only headships Corpus has achieved. A women's crew first appeared in 1984 and has spent most of their early years in the 2nd division of both the Lents and Mays, briefly making the 1st division in the 1987 Lents.

In the bumps, a periodic shortage of well-trained crews has meant Corpus is prone to yo-yo. In the extreme cases, winning blades one year followed by spoons the next. For example in the 2005 Mays, the 1st women's VIII made their first bump since 1997. They had also only managed one bump in the Lents since 1997; a run of bad form which saw them drop to the middle of the 3rd division in both competitions. In the 2006 Lents, however, both male and female 1st VIIIs made 4 bumps, thus winning their blades. This was followed the same year in the Mays by the women's 1st VIII winning their second set of blades that year and the men's 2nd VIII moving up 9 places over the four days.[4] More recently, in 2011, the women won their blades at Lents and the Men won theirs at Mays.

See also

References

  1. http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/component/content/article/14-maps-a-tours/236-rowing
  2. Corpus Christi College Boat Club
  3. Crews of 2011-2012 | Corpus Christi College Boat Club
  4. 4.0 4.1 Durack, John; Gilbert, George; Marks, Dr. John (2000). The Bumps: An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827-1999 ISBN 0-9538475-1-9