A history of the club…

Worcester College Boat Club is indeed a venerable institution; it first took part in Oxford’s prestigious bumps racing in 1825, as one of the first five colleges to do so.

The race of 1825 was the first to be raced on the present principles, each crew starting in an order above Iffley lock with the aim to bump up the order over successive days. Racing over three days, they bumped Exeter on the second, but Exeter took their revenge on the third, leaving Worcester third in the division. Since then, Worcester M1 have bounced up and down between Summer 8s Divisions 1 and 2 with the highest Summer 8s finish being second in 1834 and in 1848 with many third place finishes in more recent history. In Torpids (Hilary term bumps racing), Worcester M1 have been equally successful, winning Headship (first on the river) 3 times in 1838, 1922 and 1930.

The Women’s side of the club has a shorter history, first competing in Summer 8s and Torpids in 1980. They have been nonetheless very successful with highs of 7th in Summer 8s and 6th in Torpids.

For more information on Worcester historic bump charts and crew statistics click here.