sometimes, when I can't sleep, I log in to the oxford rowing website and scroll through to see what incidents various crews have been fined for this term, and it's always a delight https://twitter.com/oldenoughtosay/status/1313543708940406785

the entertainment level varies dramatically based on who is inputting the details of the incident

most fines happen during bumps racing in the spring and summer. Colleges have to provide umpires and marshals, so the majority of big fines are for 'absent umpire' or 'absent marshal', but then you get "provided an umpire so incompetent as to need replacing"

and they all have to attend briefings, so you get a lot of "£10, umpire 2min late to briefing" or "£25, umpire 10 min late to briefing", but then there's also "£50, umpire arrived at briefing after meeting had concluded"

sometimes fines get appealed and removed, like the fine for a late marshal when it was found that 'marshal was still on the water due to delayed race division'

Then, of course, there's the bank riders. Especially on race days, but also in general, coaches cycling down the (narrow) towpath can be a safety hazard for spectators. Most of these fines are for cyclists filming with handheld cameras (don't mobile and drive, kids)

On race days, crews are only allowed one bank rider, to ease congestion on the path. Leading to fines for: "4 bank riders in addition to coach" but also "3 bank riders, 2 bikes"

the main purpose of bank riders is to coach and guide inexperienced crews and coxes, who aren't allowed to boat without a bank rider in situ. otherwise, "no bank rider, very novice cox and crew. rowed directly into stationary [redacted] at Head, thankfully very slowly"

to be fair, most fines are safety-related. Like, crews boating before or after certain hours have to have bow and stern lights fitted. So there are a ton of '£10 for extremely dim bow light' and then '£10 for bow and stern lights dimmer than the cox'

and the (arguably) most dangerous bit of everyday rowing is spinning- each end of the Isis has locks and weirs and pointy bits, and the the longer you take to the boat, the longer you are broadside to the stream, the faster the stream is, the closer the boat is gonna get pushed

the rules about spinning are extremely strict and extremely specific and extremely mutable and confusing. you spin in limited, different locations depending on the river condition and the experience of the crew and the time of day and the colour of your t-shirt

so, lots of "spun too low on blue flag" or "spun below haystacks, novice crew" or "launched the wrong direction and spun off BH island", and my favourite pair, "spun too low, repeatedly" followed half an hour later by "spun below the white post, AGAIN"

you're not allowed to do anything else (coach, stretch, bantz) in the Spin Zone, so sometimes you also get "spinning below white post, immediately after spending 4-5 minutes coaching in spinning area, see separate fine"

if there are other crews in the area when you get there, you either wait your turn or ask permission to spin in unison. because if you don't, you get "span in front of two crews spinning together, without asking permission; all crews pushed by stream into trees"