<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" class=""><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i class="">*Captains please forward this message to your clubs*<br class=""></i></b><br class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Dear all,</span></font><br class=""><br class=""><font color="#000000" class="">With this being our first set of Bumps since Lents 2020, umpires are going to be more important than ever. We’re going to have to call on a large proportion of the people associated with college rowing who have experience of two or more sets of Bumps to get enough Umpires to allow us to run the Lents. In particular, people who have sufficient experience and who won’t be competing in the top four divisions will be invaluable - if that is you, please consider signing up!</font></span><div class=""><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></span></font></span></div><div class=""><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">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 </span></font><br class=""><br class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">As a 'thank you' for your time, all umpires are offered a </span></font><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">free dinner</b><font color="#000000" class=""> (including drinks) at a pub the week after Bumps (fingers crossed - we need to confirm this will be possible Covid wise, but I’m optimistic). Furthermore, everyone who volunteers for umpiring by Sunday 20th February will count towards their college's marshal allocation (if you sign up after Wednesday 23rd February, please drop me an email, or I may miss you off the rota!).</font><br class=""><br class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">You don't need to have umpired before to sign up. There will be a briefing 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 </span></font><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i class="">rowed or coxed in at least 2 sets of bumps (Lents, Mays, or Towns)</i></b><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> before so that you understand how the races work. Unfortunately, given the very unique nature of Bumps, June Eights Regatta experience is not sufficient.</span></font><br class=""><br class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Please remember that you can both compete and umpire. We suggest you leave </span></font><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">two divisions clear before</b><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> your race and </span></font><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">one after</b><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> to allow you to get to and from the boathouses. The division times are available here: </span></font></span><a href="https://www.cucbc.org/lents/times" class="">https://www.cucbc.org/lents/times</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" class=""><br class=""><br class="">The umpires briefing will be in the early evening of Sunday 27th February - exact time TBC. It'll last about thirty-forty minutes, and I’ll endeavour to distribute a first draft of the umpiring rota before the meeting.<br class=""><br class="">You can sign up here: </span><a href="http://www.cucbc.org/lents/umpires/signup" class="">http://www.cucbc.org/lents/umpires/signup</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" class=""><br class=""><br class="">If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at <span dir="ltr" class=""><a href="mailto:conor@cucbc.org" class="">conor@cucbc.org</a></span><br class=""><br class="">Many thanks,<br class="">Conor</span></div></body></html>