Torpids

[chrisvenus]

So... Torpids... Its a rowing thing right? How does it all work? How is it structured, is it worth me popping down on Saturday if I'm free to watch? Where would I pop down to?

I've never done the whole rowing thing and have no clue about it apart from hearing terms like "bumped" occasionally but just having some vague idea of crashing boats into each other...

So, anybody care to explain it to me?

Comments

[secondhand-rick.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpids

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Down the towpath from the back of the Head of the River, or the back of Christchurch gardens, towards the boathouses.

Or, down Abingdon Road: there's a turn-off to the left (heading out of town) at some point that lets you get through to the boathouses on that side of the river.

Whether you can get north from Donnington bridge, I don't know: never tried.

[cultureofdoubt.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can go down from Donny Bridge to the towpath, which runs the entire length of the river to the Head.

Best viewing for carnage is generally in 'The Gut' - where the river narrows just upstream of Donny Bridge and just below the Longbridges Boathouse. Ask anyone dressed in fluorescent yellow and they'll point that out.

The Longbridges Boathouse may offer refreshments from one of the bays on the balcony.

You can also watch from the Boathouse Island, where you'll get not such a great view of the action, but still a good view, and where refreshments will probably be more easily available.

[liriselei.livejournal.com]

there's a turn-off to the left (heading out of town) at some point

a narrow dirt track / drive just opposite the playground and the grassy bit that is Hinksey Park.

[elethiomel.livejournal.com]

You were at Oxford for 4 years, with me and you don't understand Torpids?

For shame.

It's all about drinking whilst watching fit girls (both in the 'cute' and 'athletic' senses) getting hot and sweaty and occasionally wet in lycra.

I'm also told there may be boats involved. *shrug* seemed a fairly minor part of the sport from what I remember - like the Wicket Keeper's hat rule in cricket, really.

[cultureofdoubt.livejournal.com]

Actually, Eights is about drinking whilst watching fit girls getting hot and sweaty in lycra.

Torpids is about watching fit girls freeze their nipples off.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Torpids is about watching fit girls freeze their nipples off.

But no mention of lycra I note. No wonder they're cold if they've taken their lycra off !

[cultureofdoubt.livejournal.com]

It's done in divisions of 12 boats (plus at the bottom the top boat of the division below, for 13 in all). Each boat chases the one in front, except the top one that tries to stay ahead of all boats below.

A bump is obtained through:
physical contact
a clean overtake, so there's a gap between boats
a concession from the crew ahead

Following a bump, the crew that does the bump (the chasing crew) drops out of the race, and the remainder continue to chase. The next day bumped crews swap places.

eg...

Crews start in order E D C B A, with A leading the race.

C bumps B. C drops out. Order is now:

E D B A

B bumps A. B drops out. Order is now:

E D A

Remaining boats finish the course.

Tomorrow the order is

E D A B C

since C gets ahead of B, and B gets ahead of A. Since C got in first, they get put up to the top after B knocks A down.

Clear?

Now, this isn't the end of it as C now has to row at the bottom of the next provision, having knocked A down, but that should give you the gist of what's happening.

[uon.livejournal.com]

Torpids (or Eights) in two easy steps:

• Get into a boat, and, with the rest of the crew, row it to somewhere below Donnington Bridge. There will be other boats there.
  
• When you hear a gun fire, row as hard as you can and try to crash into the boat in front of you without getting killed or letting the boat behind crash into you. Repeat for four days.
  

It's well worth going to see, especially if you've never seen it before. Any given day will have the full spectrum, from punter crews who are just out for a bit of a laugh (and who occasionally smash their boats up in horrific but entertaining ways), to the serious hardcore boaties in the first division with shiny lycra and scarily precise technique.