One of the most quintessential Oxbridge sports you will find in Oxford is rowing. However, it is not something to be intimidated by. Rowing at Oxbridge tends to be very accessible as there are different levels to it. If you want to compete for the university, there are the Blue boats. However, if you are a beginner or just want to row casually, colleges have their own boat club which you can join and colleges usually run taster sessions at the start of every year (if not every term). Additionally, within college boat clubs there are different levels of boats: Men's 1 (M1), Women's 1 (W1), M2, W2 - the M1 and W1 being the top boats in the boat club. Thus, if you can choose how committed you want to be to the sport and that will dictate which boat you are in.
Rowing can be an amazing way to make new friends and boat clubs provide a community within college. Rowing, like a lot of team sports in uni, especially helps you meet and make friends with people from other year groups who you might not end up interacting with otherwise. It can also be a great opportunity to make friends from other colleges as often there are opportunities to row in other college's boats. Furthermore, it is a good excuse to take a break from work and relax while spending some time outdoors.
However, if you hate the rowing part but still enjoy the sport, do not fear there is a solution! Crews on a boat usually consist of four or eight rowers and a coxswain (you will usually see it shortened to cox). The role of cox is a great way to take part in the sport if you don’t want to do all the physical training required from rowers. The cox is in control of the boat, they steer the boat and make calls (basically orders) to the rowers so that the crew can work well together and perform their best. So there are definitely positions for everyone!
The key rowing social calendar events are Torpids in Hilary term (Lent Bumps in Lent term at Cambridge) and Summer Eights in Trinity term (May Bumps in Easter term at Cambridge). These take the form of bumps races, which are races where boats start in a line with a little space in between each boat. The aim is for boats to 'bump' the boat in front and avoid being 'bumped' by the boat behind - a bump constitutes one of 3 things: an overtake, a concession or light contact between boats. Overall, these are fun opportunities to go down to the boathouse and socialise while watching some exciting races (no need to participate)!