*Captains please forward this message to your Clubs*
Dear all,
I hope you're all looking forward to the upcoming set of Bumps races, which of course cannot run without sufficient umpires. This is only the third set of Bumps since the pandemic saw the races cancelled, so we still require a large proportion of those around with two more sets of Bumps under their belts to help out and umpire, so please do encourage members of your Clubs to sign up - especially if they're not rowing in the top four divisions.
Some carrots:- Umpiring is a great way to get involved in the racing and you get the chance to be right at the centre of the action - either by cycling along with the crews or acting as a static umpire along the course
- As a 'thank you' for your time, all umpires are offered a free dinner (including drinks) at a pub the week after Bumps.
- Each Club will have a certain allocation of marshalling to ensure the safe and smooth running of the Bumps. Everyone who volunteers for umpiring by noon on Saturday 17 February will count towards this marshal allocation. Trust me: umpiring is a lot more fun than marshalling.
You don't need to have umpired before to sign up. There will be a briefing on the evening of either Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 February for all umpires ahead of racing where we explain everything, and all new umpires are paired with a 'senior' one during racing. However, we do ask that you have rowed or coxed in at least 2 sets of bumps (Lents, Mays, or Towns) before so that you understand how the races work.
Please remember that you can both compete and umpire. We suggest you leave two divisions clear before your race and one after to allow you to get to and from the boathouses. The division times are available here: https://www.cucbc.org/lents/times
The umpires briefing will be in the evening of Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 February - with an online option - and last about 25 minutes, and I’ll endeavour to distribute a first draft of the umpiring rota before the meeting.
You can sign up here: http://www.cucbc.org/lents/umpires/signup
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at lukeba...@cucbc.org
Many thanks,
Luke 
