The Fairbairn Cup is a head race organised by Jesus College Boat Club and raced on the Cam in the ninth week of the Michaelmas term. There are divisions for both novice and senior crews.
On this site you will find information about the races including marshalling instructions and the Rules and Regulations, as well as results and information regarding entries.
Fairbairns 2011 is over. Thanks to everyone who took part, and congratulations to the winners!
Please direct any questions or complaints to the Fairbairns Secretary.
Look forward to seeing you all again next year
Oscar Branson
JCBC Fairbairns Secretary 2011-12
Photographs of the races are available from Jet Photographic.
Final Senior Results
The senior results are now finalised, and the halfway times are up. As for the novice divisions, a list of hold-ups/incidents follows:
Impeded Crews:
284 - Clare M2 - Held up by Churchill II not conceding the racing line through Ditton and Grassy.
289 - Jesus M1 (OXF) - Sidney Sussex II failed to concede the line in the Gut, forcing Jesus (OXF) into the bank. Their blades made contact with the bank, but they did not crash.
357 - Champs W2 - Held up by Addenbrookes W1.
Clashes:
305 & 306 - Emma W1 & Champs W1 - Blade clashing through Ditton and Grassy caused a crab in Emma W1 that necessitated a re-start. Champs did move over when asked, but not enough to allow a clean overtake. Emma W1 were impeded more than Champs, who were the slower crew and should have done more to concede.
334 & 335 - Pembroke W1 and Queen's W1 - Pembroke were catching Queen's at the end of the reach. After Ditton Queen's could not clear the racing line because Pembroke already had overlap. The overlap increased along Plough reach, Queen's took a tight line around Grassy (they could not go wide because of the overlap). Pembroke also attempted a tight line, and crashed into Queen's. Pembroke could have steered wider to avoid this, which would have been considerably safer for both crews. Both crews were impeded by this. Queen's could have anticipated the problem and conceded on Plough reach.
Notable mentions/Marshal's comments:
255 - Pembroke (OXF) M1 - This crew had a halfway time 2.8 seconds faster than Caius, and finished 8.5 seconds behind them. A minor crash in the Gut probably cost them the race.
360 - Newnham W2 - Quote from marshal's report: "Intoxicated cox? Failed to corner. Were overtaken..."
Time bonuses:
390 - Peterhouse W1 IV+ - Held up by slower crew despite increased start gap - 5 second time bonus.
Time Penalties:
281 - Churchill M2 - Not conceding the racing line through Ditton and Grassy, holding up clare M2 - 5 seconds
283 - Sidney Sussex M2 - Not conceding the racing line in the Gut, almost causing Jesus (OXF) to crash - 5 seconds
Novice Division Videos
Videos of the novice divisions starting the races kindly provided by Girton boat club.
Only the men's division at the moment, but I gather women will be up there shortly.
Thanks very much guys - good work!
Novice Results
Firstly, I'd like to thank all participants for helping today run as smoothly as it did. There were a few mishaps, but that's all part of the fun of novice racing! Noone was injured, so I'm happy.
Novice Results are now available.
As per this years change to rules 7.c and 13.e, crews that did not request an increased time gap in advance of the races and were held up have not received time bonuses. The only crew to receive a time bonus was LMBC NM4, who were granted a time bonus, but were still held up.
Minor obstructions (no time bonus awarded):
141 - LMBC NM3 - Held up by Magdalene NM2.
148 - ARU NM3 - Delayed in restarting after a crash at Chesterton by a crashed Jesus NM3.
212 - LMBC NM2 - Held up by a Girton NM2 crab.
Major obstructions (no time bonus awarded):
156 - St Mary's School - Held up by Pembroke NW1 from the combined boat houses to men's top finish.
163 - Downing NW1 - Held up by Magdalene NW1 from the combined boat houses to men's top finish.
Time Bonuses Awarded:
223 - LMBC NM4 - Held up by FaT NM4 - 10 second time bonus.
Time Penalties:
147 - ARU NM1 - Aggressive language from bank party instructing Jesus NM3 to move over for an overtake before men's top finish. Jesus took a wide line to allow the overtake after Chesterton, ARU did not steer tight enough, pushing Jesus wider and causing them to crash. Time penalty: 10 seconds.
Provisional Division Times
I've had a lot of people asking, so here are the provisional division times for the Fairbairns Races. These are subject to change, depending on the number of entries we get in the various divisions, but they shouldn't move by much.
Note that the times below are starting times, not marshalling times. You will have to boat an appropriate amount of time before your division.
Thursday 1st (Novices):
09:15 - Men's Division 1
11:30 - Women's Division 1
14:00 - Men's/Women's Division 2
Friday 2nd (Seniors/Invitational):
09:30 - Men's VIIIs
12:00 - Women's VIIIs
14:15 - IVs
Policy on non-student rowers
I've had several enquiries about whether members of college staff can row in the races. We will be adopting the standard CUCBC policy on this matter, where non 'bona-fide' students (see section 4 of the Rules and Regulations) are not allowed to row above a colleges' 2nd boat. This will apply to both senior and novice divisions.
Updated Rules for 2011
There have been some changes to the 2011 Rules and regulations. Please find a complete copy here.
Notable changes are to rules 7a, 13e and 13f, and are marked in italics. All changes concern the allocation of time bonuses to crews that are held up by slower crews. In short, these changes mean that:
Crews that think they are significantly faster than the crew ahead of them should present evidence of it (e.g. previous race times) to the Fairbairns Secretary not later than 7 days before the race, and ask for a larger time gap between the crews. It is the responsibility of the faster crew to do this. Any boat that does not request an increased time gap and is held up will not be eligible for a time bonus.
Another significant change is that a crew that has been awarded a time bonus that puts them at the top of their division will not be eligible to win it. If their unadjusted time still places them at the top they will still win, but this is fairly unlikely, so it is very important that you ask for a larger time gap if you think you're fast.
Results and Awards Ceremony
Results are now availiable. The awards ceremony will be at 5pm in Jesus College boat house.
Start Order
The updated start order has now been published, any crew who submitted a scratching request by the 9th of January has been removed and will receive a full refund.
Crews wishing to have a gap longer than 30 seconds in front of or behind them must email jcbcfairbairnsentries@gmail.com with the subject "Gap" and an estimate of how much faster or slower they will be over the first 1.5km by the extended deadline of 12pm tomorrow (18/1).
Crews wishing to push off from hard should email jcbcfairbairnsentries@gmail.com with the subject "From Hard" by 12pm tomorrow (18/1).