Wolfson and Pembroke claim headship at 2025 Oxford Summer Eights
Emma Watson and Boat Race stars part of this year’s Summer Eights where Wolfson College make history with their first ever Summer Eights Headship while Pembroke is back on top for the first time since 2018
Credit: Nikola Boysova
In front of thousands of spectators lining the Isis, Wolfson College M1 wrote themselves into the history books, securing the club’s first-ever Summer Eights Headship for their men’s squad.
Momentum built throughout the week for Wolfson with successful bumps coming on Wednesday and Thursday against Keble and Christ Church respectively. Wolfson raced well on the penultimate day and the crowds were set for a thrilling encounter from the defending champions and the inform stars of Wolfson.
However, disaster struck for Oriel and they were forced to pull out of racing due to a damaged rudder. Oriel College has won headship on 36 occasions, more than any other Oxford College, but on the final day of racing, they were forced to make an emergency stop.
After struggling with their steering just a few strokes into their row, Oxford University Boat Club and Olympic Champion Tom Mackintosh climbed from the seven seat up past the cox to examine the broken fin on his boat. Up until this point, the Oriel Crew were in fine form bolstered by five athletes who had raced for the dark blues in this year’s Boat Race.
For the women of Pembroke College, a Summer Eights win rounds out what has been an incredible season for their squad. Earlier in the season, W1, steered by two-time Paralympic Champion Erin Kennedy won the women’s squad’s inaugural headship at Torpids. At Summer Eights, Pembroke was like a steam train.
They gradually got up to speed, maintaining position on Wednesday before building an unstoppable momentum that saw them bump Christ Church and University College. Saturday’s final bump was even sweeter as they bumped Wadham to win headship right in front of their opposition’s boathouse. Pembroke was able to call upon OUBC President Annie Anezakis who sat at four in the victorious crew.
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Bumps racing at Oxford or Cambridge are a tradition like no other. Started by the blast of a cannon, there are fourteen divisions every day for four days during the fifth week of the Trinity Term.
Throughout the year, Oxford students will compete in two major bumps races, Torpids and Summer Eights. While the two events follow the same format, in Summer Eights, both the bumping and bumped crews stop racing for the day, and the bumped crew is removed from its position. However, in Torpids, the bumped crew continues racing, potentially moving down the order.
Despite the disappointment of Oriel losing its headship, the club achieved success further down the divisions, with M2 finishing as the highest-placed second boat and 19th overall. Wolfson continued a brilliant Summer Eights campaign with M3 and W3 the highest-ranked third boat for both the men and women.
Elsewhere, there was continued success for Keble W2 and Balliol M4 who have now had 12 and 14 days respectively of rises while on the flip side, tough streaks continue for the men of St Catherines and the women of Trinity who have now had eight continuous days of falling each.
Credit: Nikola Boysova
New College W3 would have been hoping for a touch of magic with Harry Potter Star Emma Watson coxing their crew down the Isis. However, after rowing over on the first day of racing, the crew were unable to conjure up a charm through the rest of the racing and were bumped three times.
Pembroke and Wolfson will now celebrate their success and headships with a parade through Oxford and will burn a boat in honour of their headship.
Full results from Summer Eights 2025 are available here.
