The Bournemouth Rock - Issue 10

Tazz Gault

NEWS EDITOR

KEEP IT DOWN Noisy pre-drinks, house parties and anti-social behaviour cause distress to the residents of the Winton and Charminster area CHRIS FAY

SPORT

Rock Special

We take a look at the nominees for Sports Personality of the Year

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A new initiative has been put in place by Bournemouth Borough Council to help tackle noise issues and antisocial behaviour from students to the wider community.

The plans hope to integrate Bournemouth University with the neighbourhood, and to make both groups feel more comfortable in where they live.

Part of the council’s new initiative is to have a dedicated officer for these areas who is solely responsible for the concerns that arise there.

“The main focus of this job is to encourage all parties to engage and help to resolve disturbances, issues and disputes within the community,” said Matthew King, who works for Bournemouth Borough Council and is the new community officer for these areas.

“I will be working with representatives of the University, the Safer Neighbourhood team, and the community, including students.

“A lot of good work has been done by many different people over the last few years, and I am determined to enhance this to help create a better community, where people can enjoy their lives without having to fear unacceptable noise nuisances or living standards.

“But, where those responsible parties refuse to take heed of warnings, the council will be wellprepared to use robust enforcement should the situation call for it.”

Matthew will also be a first point of contact for students and tenants who are having problems with the conditions in the houses, when the

Continued on page 3

FEATURES World AIDS Day: Revealing the true facts p16

2 news

Thursday 6 December 2012

| The Rock

Uni drop-in centre for Winton THURSDAY DECEMBER 6, 2012

News

Mobile phones could cut cot deaths

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Opinion

The debate over women bishops

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A site was almost bought on Cardigan Road, but the price was too high for the University DREW SLEEP

Drew Sleep

DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Features

One woman at the centre of the abortion dispute

Plans have been unveiled for a unique university centre in Winton. The Students Union are hoping to raise funds for the project.

Bournemouth University hopes

to open a shop-like space, in order to interact with the community, as well as help students with any problems they may experience around Winton.

Alan James, the General Manager of the Students Union at Bournemouth University said: “The idea came up about four or five years ago. The fundamental idea was to use a shop-front in Winton as a RAG charity shop and a point of contact for the local community

and for student matters.

“We figured this project would cost a lot of money, £300 000 actually, I wrote to the Lottery to get funding, but sadly we didn’t get anything.”

Ian Jones, the Community Culture and Sports Manager for Bournemouth University is hoping to secure funding for the project by other means. He said: “We really want to help be a part of the community and this project is

something I have been bringing up a lot to councillors.

“Although this idea has been floating around for a while, I really want to get this going and get people talking about it. The major issue with this is ultimately the cost and finding the money.”

Ian hopes to have the shop on or close to Winton high street. He said: “Location is key for this, we need a place where both students and the community can easily pop in. An ideal location was on Cardigan Road in Winton, however the place we had in mind cost too much.”

As well as acting as a contact point for members of the Winton Community to interact with Bournemouth University, the shop would be a place where students could come for advice. Ian said: “It can be particularly hard for some students as it is their first time on their own in a house, and there are a lot of things to do, for example, put the bins out on the right day.

“Also, a student may have a big issue with their house and don’t know how to go about it, the shop in Winton would be a place where they could go and get advice and guidance on almost anything.”

Despite finding that obtaining funding for this project is hard, university staff are remaining optimistic that this is a project worth backing.

Alan James said: “It will be good if we get this going because there are three wins in this really. A win for the community as they have a place where they can talk face to face with the University, a win for students because they would have a place to go if they have any issues and finally a win for the University.”

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Self-destructing bouncers head for Baftas

Sport

Carrie Mok

The Rock reviews the F1 2012 season

27

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Graduates from Bournemouth University with links to BAFTA have finished filming an independent film in Dorset and Hampshire.

Shooting for the upcoming film, ‘Doorways’ took place in Boscombe, Christchurch, Parkstone and in venues like Bournemouth’s Priva Nightclub.

The film was written and directed by Steven Murphy of Breezeblock Productions.

Production for the film started only nine months ago and the filming finished on Friday, November 23.

The Members of Breezeblock are all from Bournemouth, having met either at Bournemouth University or a martial arts classes.

Doorways explores how in seven days the lives of the two bouncers are changed by torment, self-destruction and a path to self-discovery. The one bouncer, The Student, is on a path of self discovery and searching for his masculinity where the second bouncer, Craig, is on a path of torment and self destruction.

The film culminates in a climax that will change the lives of the films main characters.

Dominic Tomey, producer and managing director of Breezeblock Productions said: “Our film is different because the main thing is that there’s humour and dark sides to the film. I don’t think many films cover both emotions.”

The producers of the film are also looking for any help they can get in order to finish the project.

They accept donations from anyone interested and the film is sponsored

by Bournermouth businesses such as Machine Martial Arts.

Co-producer John Crissey III is a

Producers aim to have the film finished by Spring 2013 BREEZEBLOCK member of BAFTA and the makers of the independent film will be using this to their advantage.

“We’re going to give the film to BAFTA and other industry experts to see their take on it and then submit the film to festivals,” said Dominic.

“After that we’re looking to

distribute the film, whether to cinemas or as DVDs. We want to get the film out of the way first. After that we will probably try to do at least one film a year.”

Doorways will be finished by Spring 2013 and the film will be released later next year.

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The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Noise complaints on the rise Tazz Gault

NEWS EDITOR Continued from page 1

Tenants will receive a warning letter from the council HOLLIE BORLAND

response from the landlord or agent has not resolved the issues.

There are 1,020 known houses of multiple occupancies (HMOs) in Winton, Charminster, Wallisdown and Queens Park the council have said, which is where the main hub of issues stem from.

The University is one of the first to try a scheme like this, and they hope it will drastically cut the number of complaints the council and environmental health officers receive.

“When it comes to noise in the community, the issue that we face is that all students are adults. It’s not like when you’re at school and we can call up your mother – in fact, we couldn’t do that anyway because of data protection,” said Ian Jones, Community Culture and Sports Manager at Bournemouth University.

“We could go around in circles – there’s one side of things where students are here to enjoy themselves, be safe and be part of the community.

The other side of the story is that you have a member of the community who lives next to someone who parties until 4am and is constantly being disturbed. I had a brilliant one recently where two students almost ended up in a fight telling each other to be quiet,” said Ian. The University understand the issue needs to be addressed, and are

part funding the new community officer. They also contribute towards the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

If enough complaints about one HMO are received, a letter will usually be sent to the tenants from the police, university and the environmental health officers. If one house or the people living there are a consistent problem, the police and council can combine their powers to reprimand where necessary. The university can also issue fines.

The council have continually updated their plan of action to tackle such issues. Four years ago, an officer would patrol Winton and Charminster every Friday and Saturday night until 3am, but this was quickly increased to five nights.

“These noise complaints can lead to court or fines from the University, which they have done on occasions,” said Councillor David Smith.

“It is just when students drink that there really become a problem, and it is just a minority causing them. Most students are fantastic people and are incredibly responsible.

“We need to put pressure on from all angles, including from the estate agents to see more results. Students must respond and behave – in some respects it needs peer pressure to work. If students can tell their friends to be more sensible and quiet, the issue could be resolved,” said David.

“We just want to say to students to please be considerate. We want you to enjoy yourselves but to think of your neighbours. When you are getting home at night, please try to do it quietly, keep your gardens tidy and recycle properly as you are now living as part of the community.”

The system has been developed so that the police and council now focus on individuals, rather than just the individual houses.

“Certain groups were getting away with this sort of unacceptable behaviour because they were skipping houses,” said Sergeant Steve Houston, who is part of the Universities’ Safer Neighbourhood Team.

“We now look at the individual rather than the house, but the way we deal with it is still the same. If the problem is so persistent, we can, if passed through court, close your property down for up to three months. That means we can board up your house and you are not able to return, but fortunately we have not had to do this yet.”

The team are now working alongside the council on different ways to deal with these issues, including the distribution of ASBOs. They have begun using Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC). This is a formal agreement in a written form which is made between the individual and the police and council. They are designed to allow the individual to change their behaviour and learn from past mistakes.

“We will issue ABC’s if we feel it is needed to a house or individual which has had numerous complaints. If you fail to take part you are actually one step closer to an ASBO, as otherwise it looks like the student is not happy to mend their ways,” said Steve.

“I cannot stress enough how it is just the minority – we just want people to be more respectable. I would also love to try and encourage students to have silent discos – they’re more fun too.”

Half price deals on snakes and reptiles

Nikita Lewis

In the last five years, reptile sales have taken a dive and have forced shops to considerably lower their prices. One shop, Reptilarium, located in Boscombe has cut the prices of their snakes, amphibians and lizards by half, with an aim to increase sales.

Larger snakes were previously sold for £500, but this has now shifted down to a mere £250.

“We think the demand for snakes has decreased because not many people are after a certain species anymore,” said Andy Roberts, a worker at the store.

“The good news, though, is that less people are returning their reptiles after they have bought them, which is positive for both the animals and for people like us who

take care of them as our job.

“There is no guarantee that they are going to a good home, but if a person is willing to pay the price they are likely to care for them well.

“However, if a person doesn’t look like they can look after themselves we have the right to refuse a sale,” said Andy.

By lowering the prices, sales are able to remain active as more people can afford to purchase a reptile.

A recent survey done by the RSPCA actually identified that more people own reptiles than cats or dogs because of restrictions in the home that prevent people from looking after larger pets. One common reason for traditional domestic animals being unavailable for people is down to health issues, such as allergies to pet hairs and Asthma.

“We do get a lot of new and regular customers coming to the store, so many people you wouldn’t believe have reptiles in their homes,” said Andy.

Although demand for snakes have dropped studies show more peope own reptiles than dogs or cats J4XY0R

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Editorial Team Editor in Chief Julia Denni Editor’s Assistants Chris Fay & Alesia Robertson News Editor Tazz Gault Deputy NE Drew Sleep Assistant NE Hailey Hammer & Augustina Sukys Opinion Editor Oliver Hill Assistant OE Sinead Lambe Features Editor Vikki Hutton Deputy FE George Underwood Assistant FE Tom Beasley, Gabriela Vlahova & Giulia Rodilossi Sports Editor Jonny Byrne Deputy SE Tom Bennett Deputy SE Jasper Taylor Assistant SE Ash Hover Chief Sub Maisie Buchan Assistant Chief Sub Will Richards Head of Design N Briana Millett Head of Design O Shanae Staple Head of Design F Fran Tatman Head of Design S Rachel Currie Brand Designer Tom Allison Letters to the editor must be signed (including the course of Bournemouth University students, the working title and school for staff members, company name, or home address for individuals outside BU).

Prior to the publication, letters will be verified for authencity by the editor.

Anonymous letters will not be published. The editor reserves the right to edit all letters in regard to libel law, length, taste, grammar and punctuation.

Letters to the editor: jdennirocks@gmail.com Advertising: rocktheads@gmail.com

Thursday 6 December 2012| The Rock

Paid essay writing companies target Bournemouth students Hollie Borland

Websites offering to write essays on commission are targeting students at Bournemouth University. Students have become accustomed to receiving flyers from club promoters at the University gates but now they have begun to receive business cards from companies selling essays, claiming a guaranteed first or 2:1.

Gumtree, an advertising website which is popular amongst students, has listed at least two essay writing services in Bournemouth within the last month.

These services are not illegal, as they are advertised as ‘model answers’, aimed at aiding students to achieve the highest grade possible. However, the reality is that students submit the essays unchanged and pass them off as their own. The result is students cheating in their degrees.

Fiona Cownie, Head of the Student Experience in the Media School, who also chairs the Academic Offences panel, believes these services are not cause for concern. “Despite there being people outside handing out business cards, in the time that I have been chair of the panel, I have not been made aware of there being any offences within the media school. It is less of a problem than you might imagine.”

However, Cownie does stress the importance of submitting the model essays as their own has severe repercussions. If a student is caught cheating, “they would be asked to leave the university, and all the credit that they had achieved so far would be stripped from them, so it’s a very significant outcome.”

Crownie says that “it is good for students to see good, well-crafted answers,” but adds that students “should not engage in that kind of activity.”

The services are often based in London, but thanks to the internet, students from all over the country can purchase an essay with a fail-safe, high grade. Finding these companies, is as simple as entering the phrase ‘essay help’ into Google.

One of the creators and CEO of Underground Pass, a service that offers personalised essays and dissertations to students, stands by the service’s legality. “We provide an essay and it’s down to the individual if they use it,”

Leafleters for essay writing services have been approaching students at Bournemouth University CRDOTX said the CEO, who wished to remain unnamed in order to avoid the “hassle if someone is going to chase [him] up”. As a third year student at Kingston University, he set up the business with his cousin, after seeing a niche in the market. “We have people who have PhDs and degrees in the specific areas - we have people in engineering, English, all kinds of degrees.” The CEO justifies the ethical side of the business by claiming that the company is providing a job for those who write the essays. “They’re out of a job at the moment and they’re happy to do an essay for about £400-£500. Well, that’s for a dissertation.”

Recent years have seen an increase in pressure on students to succeed. In 2011, one in five new graduates were unemployed, whilst this September

has seen students’ tuition fees almost treble, with the Office for Fair Access predicting further increases in tuition fees for 2013. This year has also seen a nationwide upsurge in the number of companies offering to write students’ essays for a fee.

But would the students of Bournemouth University use this service?

Verelle Roberts who studies Business and Management said: “No, basically because they could be writing the essay for someone else, not just for me. And also, you may not know where they have got their references from.”

Becky King, who studies Applied Geography said: “I don’t know if I would trust them enough to get me a good grade. Plus, I’d be scared uni would find out and fail

me.” But not all students were so resistant to pay for their essays.

One Social Sciences student said: “I think I would pay a company to do my essay if I knew that there was no chance that the uni would find out. However, it would have to be done really cheaply, my finances are in a dire state. In retrospect, I wouldn’t pay a company because I don’t have enough money. I reckon the uni would find out and I couldn’t be sure that I would get a good mark.”

A Journalism student said: “I don’t think I would pay a company to write an essay for me, at least not an entire one. If the stress was getting to me, and I had about 20 different deadlines, then maybe I’d consider paying for a detailed essay plan. But no, not a whole essay.”

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The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Mums to get knitted knockers Tazz Gault

NEWS EDITOR Healthcare experts hope to encourage more young mums to breastfeed using a ‘knitted breast’ initiative.

Dorset Healthcare’s breastfeeding support team want as many local knitters as possible to help create these knitted breasts to be used as teaching aids for young mums and health professionals.

The scheme is part of UNICEF’s Baby Friendly initiative, and hopes to improve local and national statistics on the number of young mums who breastfeed.

Official figures now show that more than eight in ten women breastfeed their babies, which is up from three quarters in 2005, but the majority of these women are over 30 years old.

“Years ago, we used to use balloons as teaching aids, but these are much softer and more user friendly, said Caroline Baddiley, Dorset Health Care’s breastfeeding educator.

“Our aim is to attract younger mothers because statistically, their rates are very low. We want them to see these breasts and encourage them to breastfeed to help educate them. Our health professionals can demonstrate using these, how to get the baby effectively onto the breast, because soreness can occur

from latching on incorrectly.”

Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce infections and allergies in babies, and is thought to be linked to increasing a child’s IQ. It is also thought to reduce the chance of the baby getting diarrhoea and vomiting, contracting a chest or ear infection, suffering with constipation and less chance of developing eczema.

It also has benefits for the mother, including reducing the risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer, helps to build a bond between mother and baby, and naturally uses up to 500 calories a day.

The idea to use knitted breasts as a teaching aid first came from America, and many places in the UK now use them. Dorset have only recently begun to use this initiative, and so far it has proven successful.

“We have had several knitting groups making and donating these to us. Some of them are in great colours – we have had ones that are green with yellow nipples. We don’t want to make them something to laugh at, but a bit of a fun project to bring attention to breastfeeding in a light hearted way. We want to raise awareness and get people talking about them,” said Caroline.

“Not only do we run peer support breastfeeding groups, but we try to bring new ways to bring breastfeeding to the forefront if you like.”

By using these teaching aids, new mothers can learn how to attach their baby correctly, which means that breastfeeding can be more enjoyable,

effective and comfortable.

Skin-to-skin contact enables the baby to adjust to life outside the uterus. They settle and calm on the mother’s chest which keeps them warm and safe.

The knitted breasts are thought to be particularly helpful when there are language barriers, and are a great alternative to other expensive teaching aid kits that have been used before.

The project is supported by local well-known artist Pauline Stanley, who recently toured the UK with her ‘The Knitted Garden’ artwork. She wants to encourage people to knit for this initiative by using her ‘Ravelry’ Facebook page.

“We give the advice to breastfeed your baby for a minimum of six months. If you have done that, you would have done your baby a power of good for the rest of its life,” said Reg Pengelly, NHS Assistant Director for Safeguarding Children.

“We all lead really busy lives nowadays and there does seem to be an understanding and overwhelming temptation to start formula feeding, but there is so much evidence that says breast is best.”

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) launched its first World Breast Feeding Week 20 years ago this year. They are also celebrating ten years of WHO/UNICEF’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. World Breast Feeding week is usually celebrated at the beginning of August each year, and since it began has been a huge success.

These knitted knockers will be used as a teaching aid TAZZ GAULT

Lecturer becomes a ballroom dancing champion Sammy Jenkins

CHIEF REPORTER

Chindu and his partner, Janine-Nicole dancing in the Ballroom Championship CHINDU SREEDHARAN

A Bournemouth University lecturer has been crowned Britain’s top ballroom dancer. Chindu Sreedharan, 39 has won the British National Senior Ballroom Championship 2012 title, along with his dance partner JanineNicole Desai.

This year the championship took place in November, and was held at the Empress Ballroom in Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

The competition attracts hundreds of national and internatinoal participants each year, of various different ages and abilities competing for different titles.

Chindu currently works as programme coordinator for MA International Journalism.

He worked for ten years as a professional journalist before joining BU. Chindu said that winning the championship was the result of a lot

of sacrifice “I worked so very hard for three years and it is what I aimed for. It meant a great deal to have a trophy in my hand.”

Chindu has previously won other awards from pre-championships but this was his first time winning the real championship. Both Chindu and Janine will be entering the championship again in 2013.

Establishing their dance partnership in March, they get together two or three times a week to train.

They are trained by World Professional Ballroom Champions Warren and Kristi Boyce, British professional finalists Ryan and Olesia Wilson and former World Ballroom Champions Christopher Hawkins and Joanne Bolton.

Chindu explains that : “We train a lot and when we don’t meet we practice on our own. I put in between 15-18 hours a week – the whole of Saturdays and around two hours every other day.

“It is a lot of hard work, but it’s great when hard work pays off.”

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The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Council plan to close clubs and bars early Robyn Montague ONLINE EDITOR

Bournemouth Council is discussing plans to close bars and clubs at an earlier time, in an effort to reduce noise complaints.

Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, local authorities now have the power to introduce two new measures to reduce the number of people out late at night.

An early morning restriction order allows Bournemouth councillors to warrant closing times for bars and clubs.

Bournemouth central councillor David Smith is responsible for overseeing the scheme.

He said: “We could decide in Charminster that everything closes at midnight, so we can bracket off the town into certain areas and say what times we want. There is the issue that if everyone were to go out onto the street at the same time it would be very difficult for the police to cope.”

In 2003 laws on opening hours were changed in this country making 24 hour drinks licences available to all alcohol outlets.

David feels the decision by the Labour government was a mistake.

“Most people agree it’s been an unmitigated disaster for towns and cities across the country with many bars and clubs staying open all night and the result in antisocial behaviour that has come from that.” He said: “The last government were hoping it would sort of introduce a café culture and

The council hopes to charge nightclubs and bars that stay open past midnight and into the early hours of the morning MESSYCUPCAKES people would be responsible with their drinking, but it’s actually done the complete opposite. People tend to stay out half the night drinking and all sorts of problems and aggravation is caused as a result.”

The law came into power at the end of October and the council are currently going through a consultation process, having discussions with the trades, hotels

and tourism to find out what would be best for Bournemouth.

“There is an ongoing argument that we may want to change the style of the night time economy,” said David Smith.

“At the moment it’s all what we call ‘vertical drinking establishments’, where everybody piles in, stands up, cheap drinks, loud music, pushing and shoving

and all the rest of it. It may be that we want to get more cabaret club stuff, jazz clubs making a more relaxed, casual type of venue.”

They can also impose a late night levy on all bars and clubs that open after midnight. The fee depends on the size of their premises and clubs as large as Lava Ignite would pay within the region of £4,500. In total, the levy will raise somewhere

between £50,000 to £75,000 for the council.

David said: “70% of that money has to go towards the police because they have to pick up the pieces all through the night.”

The council are meeting next week to discuss on how to approach the situation and achieve the best result, without causing uproar from pubs and clubs in Bournemouth.

‘Home Office’ scam hits students Drew Sleep

DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Criminals have been contacting students over the phone and demanding their money PHILIPPE PUT

International students have been targeted by criminals who pose as workers from the Home Office and ask them for money.

They also claim to be workers from the UK Border Agency or the UK Council for International Student Affairs. The criminals telephone or email students demanding them to send money through Western Union and threaten them with deportation or the cancellation of their student visas.

One person who was contacted said: “I got a call from a person pretending to be Mr Smith from the UK Border Agency and told me my Certified Informations System Audit (CISA) registration number was missing and I needed to give £500 as a penalty. I reported the matter to

the police immediately.”

Another victim said: “I too received the call and someone claming to be from the Home Office took all my persnal details. They said they sent me two letters, one in May and one in June about my missing CISA number and I hadn’t responded to either letter.

“They told me that if I could not provide my CISA number, they will deport me. Alternatively they wanted me to pay a fine of £500 via Western Union.”

The UK Council for International Student Affairs to be vigilant and not give the caller any personal information. They also say they should not give these people any money. The UK Border Agency and the UK Council for International Student Affairs do not issue financial penalties.

If you believe that you have been targeted by these people, report the incident to action fraud by calling 0300 123 2040.

8 news

Thursday 6 December 2012

| The Rock

Mobile phones to cut cot deaths Tazz Gault

NEWS EDITOR

Falling asleep with a baby in bed can be dangerous

TAZZ GAULT

Dorset health experts are encouraging the use of mobile phones to prevent tragic infant deaths across Bournemouth and Poole.

Four sudden unexpected deaths of babies were recorded last year.

Although this is not considered to be any higher than other local authorities, health professionals are now concerned as two of these incidences involved the baby sharing a bed with the parent.

The issue is thought to arise from mothers breastfeeding their baby and then falling asleep with them rather than returning the baby it’s cot.

“A good idea that has come out of this discussion is to use your mobile phone – not to talk, but to set an alarm to ensure you do not keep your baby in the bed with you. Most times, it would be perfectly fine and safe, but this is about preventing the one time that it could become a tragedy,” said Reg Pengelly, Assistant Director for Safeguarding Children at NHS Dorset.

A recent study showed that 54% of cot deaths were caused by the baby co-sleeping with their parent. The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) say that the safest place for a baby to sleep is in a cot, and they must sleep alone.

A team of health visitors and midwives have worked in Dorset to develop a new scheme to teach mothers when it is safe to sleep with

their baby, to help raise awareness and to prevent such incidences.

“We have produced 20,000 informative leaflets to highlight when it is safe to co-sleep with your child, and when it should be avoided. These will be handed out across all three local authority areas and the real exciting news from this is that the people involved from Dorset have been working with a national team,” said Reg. “From this, we have developed an e-learning programme that has now gone national. Dorset has purchased 25,000 licenses which will be available for every new parent free of charge, and we hope that these will last for around three years. We have also made it available in all of our public libraries for parents who feel they would like some assistance.

“The great thing about e-learning is that you do not have to do it all at once - you can come back and carry on. Everyone can access it whenever they want in their own time so it is a very, very powerful tool and has a good place.”

Various factors increase the risk of sharing a bed with a baby. These include consumption of alcohol, whether the parent is a smoker or on medication, tiredness, illness or if the baby was premature when born or severly underweight.

Further research has shown that to lie down or fall asleep next to your baby on the sofa is ten times more likely to result in cot death.

“At least two cases we reviewed last year were to do with alcohol, which is a real problem,” said Reg. “One of these cases was the result of a mother sleeping on a settee - or

sofa surfing. That factor as well as the drinking really heightened the risks, and tragedy resulted. This is preventable though if we can get these powerful messages across as far and wide as we can get it.

“I am quite certain that in most circumstances there is no intention to harm the child, but such carelessness and neglect can cause death and we need to hold people accountable for that. We are not talking about a certain area of society either this sort of tragedy could happen to anyone.”

Most mothers who breastfeed will naturally sleep facing their child to help protect the baby from moving up and down the bed, but can be dangerous as they are more likely to become overheated, suffocated or trapped.

One national story that highlighted the dangers was of Vanessa Clarke, who suffocated two of her children when co-sleeping.

“The problem arises when the baby cries in the middle of the night and wants a feed. Mum is happy to take the baby to bed with her which is perfectly understandable, but it can be dangerous. If we can have one fewer infant tragedy then this will have been worthwhile.”

“The other point that I need to make really clear is that the figures in Dorset are not outside the norm, but that does not make it acceptable, and we know some of this is preventable.”

To access the e-learning course, please visit http://nhsdorset.safeguardingchildrenea. co.uk. The password to access the programme is: Dorsetsafesleep

Journalists set to host fourth charity gig Drew Sleep

DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR Students, lecturers and graduates from Bournemouth University will be performing in a charity concert next week.

The University is rallying performers to take part in the ‘Bamm Jam Charity Christmas Gig’, which will take place on Tuesday, December 11 at Sound Circus on Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth.

The concert is part of an annual tradition where students and staff from Bournemouth University will take to the stage to perform music all in the name of charity.

Graduates from the University, ‘Daniel and the Lion’ will also be playing on the night.

A member from the organising committee said: “This is less of a gig and more like a music festival.

It is a celebration of the mightily

impressive talent we have in this university. We are talking to people who have toured and even taken time out of their studies to peruse careers as professional musicians.

“It’s like Glastonbury but without the mud.”

As well as being a traditional end of term celebration, the organisers hope to raise money for a special cause. The member of the organising committee said: “I think it’s the fourth year we have been doing these gigs and we have raised more than £20,000 in that time. We have done everything from buying a wheelchair for a severely disabled boy to raising money for children with cancer.

“The main problem we have is deciding what good cause to give to – there is so many out there in these recessionary times.”

Tickets to the event cost £3.50 in advance or £5 on the door. Advance tickets are now available and can be bought in the Media School on Talbot Campus.

Those taking part in the event are hoping it will be as much of a success as last year’s gig turned out to be LEE GILES

news 9

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Through the eyes of an Israeli Chris Fay

EDITOR’S ASSISTANT Operation Pillar Defence was launched on November 14 by the Israeli Defence Force. It began with the retaliation over the death of one man, and ended up killing many civilians, including Ahmed Jaber, Hammas security chief. The operations aims were to cease the indiscriminate rocket attacks from the region and disrupt militant organisation. Launched in response to militant rocket fire and attacks against Israeli soldiers on the Israel-Gaza border, Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad denied the role of aggressor, saying: “If Gaza is not safe, your towns will not be safe.”

The conflict has cost the lives of 2 Israeli solders, 55 Palestinian militants, 6 Israeli civilians and between 57 (Israel claims) and 105 (Palestinian claims) Palestinian civilians. In all, 1456 rockets were fired upon Israel.

Amit Katz, 24, is an AmericanIsraeli living in Tel Aviv. Born in Israel, he and his family moved to the USA when he was four years old. At 22, he made Aliyah – the act of an Israeli returning Israel. Amit serves currently as an electrical engineer in an intelligence unit.

“You have to understand that Tel Aviv hasn’t felt the threat of immediate war since 1973.”

Speaking as a foreigner and as an Israeli, Amit shared his experiences. “Tel Aviv is not Sderot, it’s not Nahariya, it’s not even Haifa or Be’er Sheva.

“So when Tel Avivis hear about a conflict in Gaza, their thoughts are more cynical and political. And even when we heard rumours of rockets capable of hitting Tel Aviv, no one was particularly scared.

Distance and history gives them a sense of insulation, and the Iron Dome gave a sense of...almost invincibility, especially after the beginning of the conflict where it was so successful.”

The Iron Dome security system is near the border of the Palestinian states. Compared to Qassams, the Iron Dome missiles are on the other extreme of the technology spectrum.

“This is native Israelis I’m talking about; foreigners have a much more difficult time being chill about it. There’s a noticeable increase in the number of soldiers on the buses and trains. You see more military vehicles in the streets. When you listen to the radio, there’s an interruption every 20 minutes to say ‘Rocket alert in [city names]’ When you listen to the traffic report, you hear ‘...And Road 34 is currently reserved for security use only’, which is very freaky.”

During the rocket attacks, Tel Aviv was struck for the first time

Hope for peace fades as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensifies, placing millions of civilians from both sides under fire once more CHRIS FAY since the 1991 Gulf War. “And then there was the rocket alert in Tel Aviv; the reaction to which was, frankly, disbelief. No one really knew what to do. I was at a cafe when it happened. Everyone sort of stared at each other for a few minutes before one of the cooks came out and said ‘Everyone should probably come into the kitchen’.”

Due to the age and status of Tel Aviv rocket or bomb shelters are very scarce.

“For an awkward 20 minutes everyone sort of stood around making nervous jokes. Encouraged by those around me, I tried to sort of carry on with my life but I was definitely a little freaked out as I walked down the street, I made a mental plan of what to do if there was an alert. Not particularly horrible next to residents of Sderot or Gaza, I know but it was perhaps all the more jarring for being unexpected. The idea of taking rockets is just... not part of your world picture.”

Growing up in Denver, Colorado, this was a truly alien world for Amit.

“I don’t think just the US, almost any country. It’s not that you’re scared so much as that you simply

have no reference or experience on how to deal with the situation.

“It should be noted that out of over a thousand rockets that were launched, there were all of six dead and under 300 wounded on the Israeli side. Which is tragic, but he said that those people who died did so by acting in direct contradiction to Homefront Command orders.”

and history “givesDistance them a sense of insulation, and the Iron Dome gave a sense of... almost invincibility

”

Homefront Command is a branch of the IDF, which specializes in protecting and guiding civilians in times of conflict. It holds equal standing with the Air Force or Armor Corps.

“No rocket fell in Israel without an alert being issued. The Iron Dome had a 90% successful rate of interception. So on the domestic side, I think the IDF handled the response amazingly. Though I do

think the decision to place the fifth Iron Dome battery in Tel Aviv may have been a little...I don’t know.

Political. Frankly, an Iron Dome in the south protects the south better and Tel Aviv just as well.”

The IDF response to the rocket attacks has been supported by the USA, Great Britain, Germany and other Western nations. It has however been condemned by Iran, Egypt, Turkey and several other Arab and Muslim nations.

“The IDF always uses the minimal amount of force they think is necessary. Air strikes are the preferred method because they are more precise than artillery, but don’t endanger Israeli lives. The airstrikes are very, very precise; GPS, laser, or image-guided missiles, each one guided by hundreds if not thousands of man-hours of intelligence work.

“Often with intentionally small warheads to minimize collateral damage, of course some collateral damage happens anyway.

“And while I do honestly think a lot of it is due to Hamas’s policy of using human shields, some of it does happen due to honest screwups or, less commonly, a decision to proceed with a strike despite the

presence of civilians.

“I’ve heard a story about drone pilot who killed a child in Gaza because the child was playing in the dirt and he thought it was an adult setting up a rocket launcher.

“Night vision makes it hard to make things out sometimes. But it is my opinion that the IDF, as a matter of policy, goes above and beyond what is necessary to defend Palestinian civilians.”

On the November 29 , the UN voted overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s status to that of a “nonmember observer state”. The move has been heavily criticized by the US and Israel as having a potentially negative effect on the region and the peace process, and celebrated by nations sympathetic to Palestine.

“I think it will have no effect on the peace process. At all. Maybe a slight negative one due to Israeli folks getting annoyed.

“It was always known that if the Palestinians ever took their proposal to the General Assembly it would pass. And frankly, even if Palestine becomes a full member state of the UN, it won’t change a single thing.

“The General Assembly can’t actually do anything,” said Amit.

news 11

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Daredevil great grandmother skydives Jack Yates

An Dorset woman has taken part in a charity skydive, jumping from an aircraft at 3,000 feet.

The feat was undertaken by Helen Woolf, of Balcombe Road in Poole, who during her jump, reached speeds in excess of 175 feet per second, which equates to about 120 miles per hour. Despite the height, the free fall lasted approximately 34 seconds.

Helen chose to do the skydive to raise money for ‘About Face,’ a head

88 year-old Helen Woolf jumped from a plane at 3000 feet to help raise money for the skin cancer charity, ‘About Face’ HELEN WOOLF

and neck cancer support charity.

Helen described seeing “absolutely marvellous views” from Brighton to the Isle of Wight, and also managed a few somersaults during her descent to earth. Helen said: “I have never done anything like this, it was just one big new experience for me. I am not afraid of heights.”

Helen raised over £2,500 pounds with her jump. She said: “I originally set out to earn £1000 but now I have reached over £2,500, I don’t see why it should stop there.”

The skydive was a means of showing appreciation for the charity whose co founder, Dr Velupillao Ilankovan, saved her life. Helen has been a long time sufferer of skin cancer and had surgery a few months ago.

Helen said: “I did all my studying outdoors, never thinking anything would happen. Of course you didn’t know what the consequences would be in those days.”

Not a stranger to adrenaline, Helen used to organise skiing trips when she was a teacher. She said: “I would take a class of sixth formers skiing to Austria every year. I used to love flying down the slopes, however I am afraid it doesn’t compare much to a skydive.”

She is not the oldest skydiver in the world, her skyfall is still a huge achievement. The world record for the oldest skydiver is held by Estrid Geertsen of Roskilde, Denmark, but Helen has not ruled out the possibility of another skydive later on in her life, and may even chose to do one from a greater height.

Rowing team didn’t cox-it up Tazz Gault

NEWS EDITOR

A British record attempt has been achieved by Bournemouth University’s rowing club for the number of metres rowed continuously in 48 hours.

The team managed to row 652,396 metres on a Concept 2 indoor rower and so have been crowned the British record for the furthest distance continuously rowed.

“The event took off from the word go. We set up an online stream which got us coverage worldwide, and the reception from students and friends helped to spur us on to set a new British Record,” said Ben Johnson, Secretary of the boat club, BUBC. “It feels so good to get the club in the history books for not only challenging ourselves, but for working towards an end goal.

This is where the club needs to be

in the future and we aim to keep challenging new records as soon as we can.”

The club wanted to raise money to fund them in future races and training, and managed to reach their £2000 target.

They also raised over £100 towards Macmillan Cancer Support from cash donations left to the rowers over the two days.

Rowers were seen dressed up and taking the challenge in their stride, wearing mankinis and dressed up as Mini Mouse and Where’s Wally.

The team have seen a huge intake of first years and is thought to be associated with the success at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The season has started well for BUBC after two wins at the University of Bristol’s boat club Head, as the team continue to train hard for further races.

“We would like to thank everyone who supported us in completing this challenge and we hope that we will receive the same support for our next challenge,” said Ben.

The members of the rowing club took shifts over two days to row so they would not get too tired JACOB LEE

12 opinion

OPINION

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Editorial Why journalists get a bad press

Julia Denni

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I love the irony that journalists get a bad press in Britain. I think it shows that the public is very good at reading between the lines.

People are also distrustful of politicians, which is again a good sign. It only shows the ability of

the public to think independently in a democracy and avoid being suckered. Journalists and politicians have what is known in biology as a symbiotic relationship – organisms that need each other to thrive for their mutual benefit.

Pilot fish clean sharks’ teeth and in return they get protection from other predators – it’s a neat deal.

Politicians need journalists to spread their message. Journalists need politicians to give them something to bitch and write about.

The political forum of the 21st century isn’t the House of Commons – it is the TV screen, newspaper columns and, increasingly, Twitter.

These are the places where the real political debate takes place.

With little public affection for the

press and politicians, it was perhaps inevitable that Prime Minister David Cameron went horse riding with former editor of the News of the World, Rebekah Brooks, and sent her those dubious texts. But the relationship between the press and politicians isn’t totally incestuous.

For instance, political careers were destroyed and eviscerated over the expenses scandal. Now it’s pay back time and the journalists’ turn to suffer – in the form of the Leveson report on press standards.

Lord Leveson listened to evidence for what felt like an age. I’m shocked at how quick he was in producing a 1,987 page report. He ought to consider a career in journalism if he ever tires of the law – the man is extremely talented.

But as soon as his report was produced, Cameron, the man who commissioned the whole inquiry circus, dismissed the main recommendation for much tighter regulation of the press.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has taken a different stance to his Tory partner.

Clegg and Cameron have the luxury of choosing issues to disagree on. This is one issue that won’t cause much public outcry.

People have other things to worry about – finding a job and clinging on to the work for dear life. I hope any work they do get is also satisfying and rewarding. Despite all that hard effort by Lord Leveson, witnesses, and lawyers, it seems all their efforts will go down a £4million drain.

My money’s on Shapps

Ballots

Inmates denied the right to vote

13

Bishops

Religion alienates the masses

14

Email

ohillrocks@gmail.com

Oliver Hill

OPINIONS EDITOR I’m not a huge gambling man. It’s once in a very blue moon would you ever catch me placing a bet with my actual money. This is predominantly because I normally lose the bet no matter how far the odds might be in my favour, and I dislike this feeling of being proven wrong, coupled with the consequential lightening of my already feather-weight wallet.

This doesn’t deter me however from having a punt on real world events in my mind where there’s a ‘no win, no loser’ happy place. Let me give you an example.

The latest bet that I’ve made with myself is something that a lot of people probably won’t have thought much about given all the other political flotsam and jetsam out there concerning Europe, Leveson, prisoner votes and so on.

I’m pondering on David Cameron’s likely successor as the Conservative Party leader and one man inadvertently caught my eye a few months ago on the Andrew Marr Show. His name is Grant Shapps, he’s just become the Conservative Party co-chairman and you’ve probably never heard of him.

The fact that I’m wishing PM Cameron’s premiership away has nothing to do with me not liking him, it’s hard not too when you’re presented with the alternative

party leaders. You’ve got a spineless, gutless puppet with a troubled expression constantly emblazoned on his face or a bewildered gibbon that looks as though a pigeon has just taken a dump on his head. Between them they don’t have a single ounce of personality and that’s what you need to be a successful leader and Prime Minister.

Based on this statement if seems that our beloved Boris would make a fine leader. He’s so popular I don’t even need to mention his surname, you already know who I’m on about and that’s because he’s a genuinely interesting character.

There are noises coming from the Daily Mail that indicate the London Mayor will return to the Commons as an MP in 2016 and immediately spear tackle Mr Cameron into a leadership contest.

But then using the Daily Mail as a reference here is sort of like quoting lyrics from that Rebecca Black song in a hard-core law essay.

I think Boris would make a highly popular PM initially but his comical tales of ‘whiff whaff’ and unrelenting bon ami would begin to grate after a year or so. Meanwhile George Osborne is despised, Theresa May would forget which day PMQs takes place and only people in Yorkshire can understand what William Hague is saying.

A balance is most definitely necessary; somebody with real credibility plus a spark that brings politics to life and can even make voters like you. That’s where Mr Shapps come in.

Firstly I like his name. If James Bond ever needs a pseudonym then this should be the one that he uses.

“The name’s Shapps, Grant Shapps.”

He’s around the same age that Tony Blair was when he won the 1997 general election and I think he has something of Blair about the way he looks and talks. Regardless of liking

Shapps was made Tory Co-Chairman in September GRANTSHAPPS him or not, you have to concede that Blair was a very successful leader on the whole.

It’s said that following defeat in the 2005 election the Tories chose David Cameron to lead them because he was the closest thing to they had to match Blair’s leadership style.

Think of it as Heinz Baked Beans versus Branston’s version of the same product, the original’s the weaker candidate.

Shapps has set up a string of

successful businesses and has written a book entitled How To Bounce Back From Recession, which suggests he may know a thing or two about the economy. When Andrew Neil insinuated on the Daily Politics show a few months ago that he would like to run for Tory leader in the future, Shapps turned to him with a glint in his eye and rather than deny it he simply said “naughty”.

He’s a politician on the rise and is unquestionably one to watch.

opinion 13

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Employment hindered by service cuts Sinead Lambe

Votes for real change Adele Couchman

ASS’T OPINIONS EDITOR

“

An ugly atmosphere of outright defiance

“

Go to school they said. Go to college they said. Go to university they said. That’s the way my route to university came about.

Not once did anyone sit down and ask me what I imagined would come after that.

It’s lucky most young people have the intuition to search and find out what comes after compulsory education, especially as eight in ten schools have now made cuts to career advice. We have the Education Act 2011 to thank for that.

This really gets my goat, not only because the help was absent from school when I was young.

Most schools employ a separate team to help with careers advice, and now that the future seems very bleak this support is being taken away.

Why when the whole point of education is to get you into work are cuts being made to a service to help young people get their first form of employment?

Getting young people into work is clearly not the main agenda for our government. Labour bought in vocational courses designed to help bridge the gap between education and work and now they are in decline too.

Youngsters will soon have to stay in education until 18 but careers advice is scarce, can you really expect a 15-year-old to know what direction they need to take in life when deciding on a college course?

If you stay in education you are more likely to get a job, but whether you are in the right kind of education for a job you may want is unknown.

Schools now have complete control over how much time they spend pushing careers advice as the previous Connexions service has been abolished.

It’s an absolute joke. No wonder so many young people in today’s society are unemployed when they are axing the very people who work to combat this.

Careers England has said that 83.5% of schools have reduced provision for careers advice since the cuts came about. No wonder the country is in such a state of youth unemployment.

The one thing that is keeping young people focused on their education and the route to employment has been taken away.

My sister wants to be a children’s nurse but hasn’t received any careers advice. It’s lucky she’s young and ambitious.

Let’s hope others are too.

At a first glance, Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling allowing parliament to reject the European Court of Human Rights ruling on prisoners having the vote would be a fairly plausible one.

After all, common sense would only suggest that an individual who has preyed on society, does not deserve the right to use the ballot box.

Let’s scratch beneath the surface of this impulsive and

overly straightforward response, Grayling’s refusal to comply alienates an already problematic chunk of the population, but also dangerously playing politics with the rule of the law.

Quite simply, and also quite rightly, the European Court of Human Rights has the force of the law which requires all ministers to uphold and obey.

The cheers sparked by Grayling’s announcement that the new bill on prisoners’ votes demonstrates

nothing but an ugly atmosphere of outright defiance existing amongst the vast majority of British MPs. Grayling was quick to declare the sovereignty of parliament, meaning that it has the power to legislate contrarily to the human rights outlined by the court.

In reality this is nothing but fancy, sugar coated nonsense distracting away from the reality of the situation; a lack of compliance with international law.

It’s too extreme to suggest that denying prisoners votes equates to a denial of their humanity. This pick and mix attitude to the rulings of the court completely unacceptable.

If anything, it is ironic that some of the very ministers condemning those who have stepped outside of the law, by the means of denying them the vote, are not too compliant with the legal system themselves.

As well as a worrying sense of hypocrisy amongst Grayling and his followers, this refusal to comply with Europe even more alarmingly displays a bigoted fear of moving the nation forward.

Not only should stubborn and defiant politicians fall in the discussion of the Justice Secretary’s new bill, but so should prisoners themselves. Last year that 90% of those sentenced for serious crimes in England and Wales had offended before, re-offending is not an issue we should be brushing aside.

Instead of fulfilling their duty and actually implementing action to reduce these ever frightening figures, the majority of ministers would prefer to defy the law which would not only give prisoners a chance to vote, but potentially increase their chances of reintegrating within society and thus reduce the

likelihood of a downward spiral of crime. Understandably, the thought of a mob of mass murderers and paedophiles influencing the outcome of a nation is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

As much as the tabloids beg to differ, not everyone locked up is as savage as the latter two. Many serve time for burglary, shoplifting, or minor drug offences.

Whilst I am in no way applauding their behaviour or suggesting they should not be punished, these are people who have made mistakes and in hope, will correct themselves in the future.

By giving prisoners the opportunity to involve themselves in politics, perhaps this will reduce the alienation it is proved that these people feel and the likelihood of

them coming out resentful as a result of not having their voice heard.

Perhaps it is all too optimistic to state that by giving inmates the vote, there will be a knock on effect when it comes to re-offending.

Whether it is or it is not, ministers need to act fast to address this frightening issue.

In my eyes, allowing prisoners the chance of political participation and the hope and opportunity to engage with society may shed some light.

It is also time that our politicians act out what they signed up to do; abide by the court’s rulings.

On the topic on whether to give outlaws the vote, we must not forget the certain irony that we are in fact voting for a nation of cheats who are all too happy to openly flout the nature of the law.

Exclusive illustration for The Rock Grayling has continually ignored the EU’s ruling SAM MATTACOTT

The weather-ending story Adam Trimby

Normally there is absolutely nothing less intriguing than a conversation about the weather.

It doesn’t matter how jazzy you make the visuals on the TV, or how sexy the weather girl is, even the meteorologists aren’t that fascinated by the subject.

Seriously, those of you that bring it up as a topic down your local watering holes should be ashamed. Dull, bleak, bland and boring are all words used to describe bad weather, and they also perfectly suit anyone that mentions it.

So, how’s the weather been for you lately?

Somehow it seems like the rain

hasn’t really stopped since May. Yes over the summer months you would usually have the odd wet day and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a light shower. But this year it seems the rules have changed.

The mere hint of a warm, clear day is spoken as if it were a myth or legend. Life has become a theme park where the only ride still in use is an oddly named log flume called ‘Rain Cloud’s Revenge’.

In the early months of 2012, the big worry was that of the hosepipe ban.

Many thought we would be scarce for water this year.

How wrong they were. After a remarkably dry April, huge looks of sun burnt worry were being cast across our mad, beach driven nation.

Just how were we going to wash the Land Rover? In hindsight, everyone was a little naive as to what the elements really had in store for us. Over the next seven months we

faced one of the wettest summers on record and the real problem is currently reading this article.

Yes my friends, global warming is surely upon us and even the skeptics are starting to be convinced.

How can you not be when something has seriously changed in the last 30 years with regard to our climate, which causes frequent floods that are damaging homes and even taking lives?

Now I am no earth child that wanders around with healing stones, chanting mantras and only eating things that resemble bark, but the effects of global warming are apparent and we are to blame.

Unfortunately, the damage is done, and anything we do now will just prolong the inevitability that we may one day develop webbed feet and live in a Kevin Costner movie.

At the moment we should be more concerned with how depressed

people appear to be on a day-to-day basis, kind of the same feeling you get from watching the Kevin Costner movie. Positively happy individuals are now emoting a cascade of misery, emerging from a puddle of black, ominous expression.

Generally these moods are considered to only be accessible by tortured artists and those guys that had to wear Teletubbies costumes.

Sadly, the rain cloud over our heads is not a cartoon.

The outlook is bleak and the worst of it is that there’s not a single thing we can do. Everyone is in a foul mood these days because of the weather and reading this probably hasn’t helped.

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. Well I did tell you people that who discussed the weather were dull and tedious individuals that seriously need to lighten up. Liposuction it is then.

14 opinion

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

UK’s leading lights get head start COLUMNIST

From a young age it was always drilled into me that I could achieve anything if I put my mind to it.

But 19 years of life and learning has taught me one other important component is needed: money.

Now I know money can’t buy you happiness, but it can supply the ingredients for a tasty turnout.

I recently read that a third of the UK’s leading people went to Oxford or Cambridge to study.

Whenever I think of them I automatically picture Hogwarts with iPads, which is wrong of me as it’s not only judgemental but a little eccentric.

I’m sure they’re down to earth people but I can’t help but hate every last one of them for having opportunities that I didn’t. It’s almost like education evolution is survival of the richest. I’m not

suggesting dedication and hard work can’t achieve the same grades and standards that private schooling provides, but it makes it a hell of a lot easier.

Sitting in a class in west Yorkshire is far less distracting than one in the middle of a council estate with a

“

Education evolution is based around the survival of the richest

“

Robyn Montague

student throwing chairs across the room. Again, not all state schools are as poorly regulated as mine was, but I’ve yet to see one with a cathedral built on the grounds.

“Four out of every ten professional elites attended private schools,”

states the Higher Education Trust.

If I see a politician, I assume Eton, if I hear writer, Oxford, and if I hear Cambridge, I think snob. Insulting students from these colleges and universities is unfair, just as life can be, plus it helps me save on tissues and ice cream.

Celebrities who attended these private schools include Stephen Fry, Tony Blackburn, Rory Bremner, and Jeremy Clarkson - even the elite couldn’t salvage that car wreck.

It goes to show that not all privately schooled people are pompous twits with a gold staff up their behind, much like the cast of ‘Made in Chelsea’.

Every time I watch the programme and hear their first world problems like: ‘my iPhone isn’t the newest anymore’ or ‘I want to shop, but I own everything’, it makes me feel that little bit better about my position in society.

That is until they spend £12 on vodka lemonade with no question, then I reach for the Kleenex.

My prejudice towards the elite part of society is something I’m not proud

of and I would never think to outcast or exclude an individual based on a stereotype. I’ve come to realise that although I find the richer part of society something to envy, usually someone will look at me with the same green eyes.

There will always be a hierarchy to life which starts at Aldi, works through Asda and ends at Waitrose.

In the past I’ve spent an hour crying because my facebook account was hacked and I swear my life flashed before my eyes, to a person who’s never seen a computer I would look insane - which is probably right.

Elite education will never be within my budget, but if I’m learning at the best level I can, well, that’s Asda price.

A third of the UK’s top people are Oxbridge educated

SHISHBERG

Two thirds forward, one step back Emma Rundell

So the Church of England’s governing body has voted against the appointment of women bishops into the Church of England. Actually wait, no.

They voted against provisions which were to be put in place to appease those who opposed the ordination of female bishops.

The vote which allowed women to be bishops was actually passed years ago but sadly it can’t be implemented until those who oppose have an alternative.

There are two main reasons why some of the Church are opposed to women being Bishops.

The first comes from the side of Conservative Evangelicals.

These are the people who believe the bible should be taken literally, especially focusing on a passage that claims: “A woman may not have authority over a man.” These are the people who use religion to uphold sexism.

They focus on one tiny section of scripture and take it out of context turning a loving, inclusive, unbiased God into one who fulfils their own ideologies; one who believes that women are lower than men.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Williams, supported the idea of female bishops A man couldn’t go to a headteacher or the CEO of a company and say, ‘actually, because you’re a woman I should have your job – I’m less qualified and have no idea what I’m doing but I have XY chromosomes and therefore you’re not allowed it.’

It’s absurd. The second argument against the ordination of women bishops is from the more Catholic side of the Church of England, the Anglo-Catholics.

There are some within this wing who believe that the Church of

WORLDECONOMIC

England should uphold its unity with the Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches, of which there are few.

These people fail to take into account other churches worldwide who have introduced women

bishops. A few weeks ago South Africa ordained their first female bishop. Some countries in the Middle East have allowed them and yet we, a supposedly leading equal opportunities country, still won’t allow it because it might upset some deluded people.

It’s a fact of life that some people are always going to be offended.

Some individuals are never going to be satisfied with change.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it shouldn’t be implemented. The reformation act was lost by six votes and it needed a two thirds majority to succeed.

The vote was actually passed by the clergy and the bishops.

It was merely the Laity, the people in the pews, who let the side down by misrepresenting the wishes of their parishes.

When 42 out of 44 of these parishes pledge their support for the act being passed it loses, then something definitely doesn’t add up.

It makes it sound to the rest of the world like no member of the Church want women bishops, when in fact, the majority do.

It is only because the minority are stuck in their ways, and refuses to look towards the future where men and women would be equal in the eyes of God. Where prohibited ordination of female bishops would be classed as fundamentally, biblically, and morally wrong.

opinion 15

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Women are the ‘shallower’ sex Aaron Golightly COLUMNIST

Women can be shallow people.

Don’t get me wrong, so can men.

But we tend to accept this a bit more which makes us, on the whole, a slightly less shallow bunch. Men do not require the constant reassurance of how vital our gender is to everything, nor do we insist we are emotionally superior to women.

There isn’t a daytime show called Loose Men in which a bunch of ageing males sit around discussing issues relating to our own superiority complexes.

The problem with feminists– and I say this as someone who considers himself to be one – is that too many women think they’re smarter than they are.

This isn’t to say men don’t also, some do, but nowhere near to the same degree. To even suggest women aren’t smarter than men is probably to be accused of making some kind of sexist comment.

It had become almost an offence in the modern world to suggest what the suffragettes bravely fought for - equality.

Unless a man wants to be accused of being a chauvinist, he has to do far more than just accept that women are equal and rightly so. He has to be browbeaten into believing that the female gender is vastly superior.

How many times have you heard, or said, that women are more mature than men or that we are more emotionally centred, or

that if all the world’s leaders were women there would be no wars.

The greatest irony of all is that the gender that proclaims this ultimately superior intellect doesn’t see how ridiculously patronising all this is.

Not to men, but to themselves. It’s probably a sign of male emotional maturity that we’re not really bothered by insults or put-downs.

Not because we know or think them to be true, but because we are mature enough to understand that they do not matter.

We must be careful not to throw everyone into the same basket.

However the ‘women are brilliant men are just stupid’ brigade are sizeable enough and identifiable enough to make the case for this argument justified.

As a test it might be an interesting idea to note within the next seven days, just how many times you hear friends, family or a voice on the TV or radio, make the insertion that women are somehow emotionally superior by virtue of the fact they have a vagina.

Then compare that to the number of men who insist they’re more intelligent or superior to women based on the opposite.

You cannot insist on reassurance at every turn and still insist that you’re smarter than we are. You also cannot browbeat falsehoods into being true either by making the opposing of them a taboo or by wishing them to be true.

You’re not smarter than men.

You’re not more emotionally mature than men. We’re all human beings.

The irony of ‘I have more depth than you as a human being – now repeatedly reassure me of this’ doesn’t work.

Feminism seeks to establish political and social gender equality worldwide K.SAWYER PHOTOGRAPHY

Let’s have ourselves a greedy little Christmas Chris Fay

ASSISTANT EDITOR

In 2011, we spent £2.4bn on unwanted presents

KEVINDOOLEY

As of today, Christmas is only 19 days away. Children will run downstairs to tear open gifts and toy boxes, assuming kids still play with toys, and summarily forget about these expensive and most likely plastic items.

We all remember this. Some of us still hold that in our hearts, others have become somewhat jaded with the whole thing.

It’s not the surprise, the wonder or the magic surrounding this holiday that has rustled this particular child at heart’s jimmies. Rather, it’s the feeding frenzy that leads up to it.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving Day in the US, marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and ushers in unbridled consumption, greed,

avarice and violence. In 2011, a woman at a Porter Ranch, California Walmart used pepper spray on fellow shoppers in her crusade for discounted disposable goods.

This year, two people were shot outside a Walmart in Tallahassee, Florida, this time after a heated dispute over car parking.

It is understandable that we are pushed to spend in economic downturns, but is this reckless and blind spending really what we need?

The consumer based economy is indeed based on this burning of what is considered “disposable” income; it is after all what gave the West a boost over the Soviets in the Cold War. However, this consumption is unsustainable. The resources needed to produce the toys, which is invariably what these purchases are, be they games consoles or big screen TVs, are in short supply.

Plastics are sourced from oil, which needs no explanation as to its

environmental and political impact.

The aluminium for shiny new MacBooks and iPhones produces vast quantities of greenhouse gases during both production and recycling. Coltan, an ore used in the production of computers and games consoles, is sourced extensively from the Congo.

Its illegal mining funded the Congolese rebels in The Second Congo War, which has claimed over 5.4 million lives, the bloodiest single conflict since World War II. The Coca-Cola advert – the one with the festive trucks – marks the start of Christmas in my household.

Setting aside the corporate influence on my family that reflects, this means it is now time for the panic of throwing money at these trinkets and toys.

When I consider all of the implications, the mindless consumerism and global irresponsibility, I really do hope that I get an iPad Mini.

16 features

FEATURES

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

HELEN WINTER

100,000 people are living with HIV in the United Kingdom

1 in 4 of those people

do not know they have it

World Aids Day

is a chance to educate and inspire action

The taboo epidemic Helen Winter

Leveson

The future of press freedom

18

Christmas Culture special

20

vhuttonrocks@gmail.com

Saturday December 1 was a very special day. And no, it wasn’t because it’s the day you opened your first cardboard window on your advent calendar, or because it is now acceptable to publicly listen to Christmas songs. It was World Aids Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the critical virus HIV and AIDS and to also teach us a thing or two about the illnesses.

There are currently 33.4 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, over 800 of whom live in Bournemouth. Jonathan Owen, Body Positive Dorset’s Events and Education Coordinator said: “World Aids Day is the biggest date on the calendar for fundraising activities.” Businesses such as Nationwide and Barclays helped these organisations by selling red ribbons to the public in order to raise money and awareness, and Bournemouth University’s own RAG society got involved by promoting the day at the ‘Celebration of Life’ event at the United Reform Church. The money raised will be used to pay for new HIV medical equipment as well as funding research for this currently-incurable disease.

Resources will also be used to allow organisations, such as Body

Positive Dorset, to visit schools and colleges to not only teach pupils about the disease and how to prevent it, but to also dispell the many myths surrounding HIV/AIDS and to crack down on ignorance and stigma. It’s an important group to target as the 16 - 24 year olds are most at risk of contracting the disease.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, as only humans can be infected.

Immunodeficiency refers to how the HIV virus attacks the immune system by destroying T cells and CD4 cells which fight diseases and infections.

The HIV virus then uses these cells to make copies of itself. When CD4 cells fall to an extremely low number, a person living with HIV will be diagnosed with AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Defiency Syndrome and is the latest stage in HIV. Thanks to progress in HIV medicines, people living with the virus can live to a near-normal life expentancy and lead a healthy and active existence as long as they have an early diagnosis and consistently take the right medicines.

It seems that HIV can hide for long periods of time, and people may not

“

realise that they have the disease.

If you know that you have a risk of developing HIV it is important to get tested as soon as possible. Make sure you use a condom if you’re sleeping with an unfamiliar person as HIV is spread predominantly through sexual contact.

One myth about HIV is that you can get HIV from someone elses blood or spit. Although blood, along with semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids, has high levels of HIV in it, it can only be contracted if contact with a HIV positive person’s blood is direct.

In fact, the HIV virus dies within seven seconds of being in the open air. There is no risk of getting HIV from spitting.

One of the most common misconceptions is that HIV/AIDS is a virus mainly circulated amongst homosexual men - a myth often used as a tool for homophobia. However, this is simply not true. Although gay men can contract the disease, Johnathan Owen states that 58% of HIV diagnosis this year have been heterosexuals, as well as 34% being women.

This disease has also been wrongly

Thanks to progress in HIV medicines, people living with the virus can live to a near-normal life expentancy

”

associated with drug users, with the sharing of needles and other injecting equipment being a source of infection. But, less than 2% of HIV transmission was due to needles this year. Furthermore, as well as injecting, contracting HIV by stepping on a needle is very unlikely, as it will also have been exposed to oxygen for more than seven seconds.

Some people may also think that a HIV positive person cannot have a baby without passing the virus on. However, there are now many options available to ensure the HIV is not passed to their partner during contraception or to their unborn child. In the UK today there is less than 1% chance of a HIV positive mother passing the disease on to her child if she takes all the necessary steps.

There are still a lot of things about the disease that most people don’t know or understand. A hedonistic student life could put you at a slightly greater risk than the average person, but HIV is really a consequence of irresponsibility.

Although, it is not the end of the world if HIV is contracted, as funding has helped medical centres get a firmer grasp and fuller understanding of this disease, a lot of trouble can be saved by being smart, and your donations can help to speed up research for this disease for the next generation. worldaidsday.org hivaware.org.uk

features 17

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Abortion: The tale of one woman and two countries LOREN SZTAJER

ANOSMIA

Religion, law and politics are not easily mixed. This year, one issue exposed that more than any other. Sarah Hambly investigates the international events of 2012 which put this controversial freedom back under the political spotlight

Savita Halappanavar’s death after Irish doctors refused her an abotion caused a global stir. In the US this year, controversial attitudes were exposed during Republican campaigning THE IRISH TIMES The death of Savita Halappanavar caused global outrage last month when Irish doctors refused her an abortion which her parents argued would have saved her life.

Since 1983, a near-total ban on abortion has existed in Irish constitution. It was not until nine years later that the Irish Supreme Court ruled that life-saving abortion should be legalised.

That decision held that abortions are only permissible if there is a ‘real and substantial risk to the life of the mother’.

Subsequent Irish governments have maintained a strict stance.

Even Northern Ireland, though part of the UK, is exempt from the 1967 Abortion Act. This is the legislation granting English, Welsh and Scottish women the right to terminate a pregnancy if two doctors agree it is best in the mother’s circumstances.

As a result of the legal uncertainty around the issue in Ireland, doctors only perform abortion in “the most obviously life-threatening circumstances” and only surrounded in secrecy.

Their hesitation no doubt reflects the teachings of the Catholic Church, as 84% of the population identifies itself as

being Roman Catholic.

Savita was a Hindu. Her mother argued that the religious expectations of the Irish church should not have dictated her daughter’s options for a pregnancy termination.

Savita died of septicaemia, or infection of the blood, on October 28. Doctors had refused to terminate her pregnancy whilst she was suffering “agonising pain” during a miscarriage, despite reports that her 17-week-old foetus would not have survived.

Savita’s husband had previously mentioned that the couple had detected a heartbeat. This was a definitive reason to decline Savita an abortion when coupled with the fact that no substantial risk to her life had been calculated.

Current medical comment remains ambiguous as to whether the abortion would have saved her life. It is perhaps this ambiguity about the certainty of her death which sparked public outrage in Ireland. Thousands of people took to the streets chanting, ‘Never again.’ Candlelit vigils were also held in Galway and outside the Irish Embassy in London, presenting a powerful message of political pressure against the country’s strict anti-abortion laws.

The news also reverberated across the Atlantic. A number of American women were enthralled by the story, prompting them to reflect on their own country’s encroachment on women’s reproductive rights.

One writer, Francesca Bessey, a sophomore student from the

FACT

English, Welsh and Scottish women have had the legal right to an abortion since 1967 Abortion Act. Northern Irish women are not covered under the same law University of Carolina, took her argument online, drawing comparisons between Ireland’s immorality argument and the recent inflammatory comments of pro-life US politicians.

Asked about the impact on the election, she said: “Certainly, the Republican stance influenced my vote in this election as it

does my general perception of the Republican party. I firmly believe that abortion is a women’s rights issue. I find the pledge to end funding to all initiatives that provide abortion completely illogical. Planned Parenthood saves girls’ lives – literally.”

The Republican party pledged to end all government funding to organisations who perform or advocate abortion. It has opposed on all forms of abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. It also called for a human life amendment to the US Constitution and legislation “making it clear that the Fourth Amendment’s protections also extend to unborn children”.

Ever a contentious issue in the US, election year provided a platform for some highly controversial views on abortion.

Most notoriously, Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin, and Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, found themselves under fire for their stances on abortion in cases of rape.

Akin put forth a highly controversial understanding of human biology, declaring that, “If it’s a legitimate rape, a woman’s body has ways of shutting that whole thing down”.

Mourdock was next to walk into the quagmire with his affirmation that pregnancies from rape, “are something God intended to happen”. The encumbent Democratic Party, under Obama, remains pro-choice. Yet in the past 30 years, many governments have enacted legislation eroding Roe v Wade’s landmark ruling against prohibition of abortion.

Individually, US states passed a number of abortion restrictions last year. 68% of these provisions restrict access to abortion services.

Furthermore, 37 states, including North Dakota, enacted legislation making abstinence education compulsory.

Herein lies the paradox: Ireland and the United States have both been lauded for their commitment to human rights.

Ireland has recently been granted membership of the UN Human Rights Council.

The United States was founded on the values of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’.

Yet both these countries seemingly oppose the physical autonomy of 54% of the population. It’s hard not to wonder why it takes a woman’s death, or Presidential elections, to force this issue onto the public agenda.

18 features

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Leveson has spoken The report of the inquiry into press ethics and practices has been released, but how will it affect freedom of speech?

Tom Beasley

ASS’T FEATURES EDITOR Lord Justice Leveson published the report of his inquiry into the ethics and practices of the British press last week. Since November 2011, many prominent figures from the worlds of the press, politics and celebrity have given evidence to the inquiry, revealing the worrying depth of unethical behaviour within the media. The inquiry has been the catalyst for a wave of anti-press feeling across the country. Hugh Grant has gone from star of slightly awkward British rom-coms to mouthpiece for the movement against media dishonesty and underhanded tactics.

In early 2011, a number of high profile claimants, including Sienna Miller and Andy Gray, received damages from the News Of The World for cases involving phone hacking. Then, in July, The Guardian reported that the paper had unlawfully accessed the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in a way that provided false hope to her family.

This revelation outraged the public and led to David Cameron instigating the Leveson Inquiry.

According to a YouGov poll conducted on behalf of the Media Standards Trust, 79% of people supported an independent press regulator which was backed up by law.

The papers might be worried that this would be too tight a reign over free speech, but it would seem that the public – their

paying customers – won’t be able to trust them until they feel that there is a strong enough regulatory framework in place.

In Leveson’s eventual report, he ultimately favours a new, robust independent body to regulate the ethical practices of the press –carrotand-stick incentive scheme with a clause that expressly guarantees press freedom.

The free speech clause was repeatedly emphasised by Leveson during the inquiry that he fully appreciated the importance of free speech.

In the evidence given by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, there was a tense question of whether any further regulation of the press could begin to erode the principles of media freedom.

Leveson’s plan aims to use the existing power of telecommunications regulator Ofcom to certify the new regulatory body.

The system would remain opt-in, angering critics who see it as too similar to the Press Complaints Commission which failed to prevent the unethical behaviour which led to Leveson’s inquiry.

However, under the new system Ofcom would be given backstop powers to enforce the conduct of publications that do not opt-in to the new form of regulation. This means that, even if Richard Desmond – founder of the company which publishes the Daily Mail, Star and OK! Magazine among others – chooses to keep his papers out of this framework, they will be accountable.

The issue has split the coalition.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg differ in opinion as to what the next step

What has happened?

should be to ensure the phone hacking scandal is not repeated.

Cameron’s statement embraced aspects of Leveson’s plans, but rejected his call for the regulation to be backed up in legislation as it risks the infringement of free speech principles. Alternatively, the statements made by Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband both called for the results of the inquiry to be implemented in full.

Cameron’s move has been seen as a huge political risk. His rejection of legislative power for the new press regulator has already invoked the ire of hacking victims and lobbyists, with the huge proportion of public that are pro-statutory regulation set to follow in the backlash. Free speech activists may be pleased, but overall it feels like a strange political move.

His critics would be likely to say that this is simply intended to keep the press sweet to his government.

The support of the media – particularly the Murdoch empire – is a huge asset to any government. The Prime Minister is being forced to walk a tightrope between placating the victims of phone hacking and preserving the support of the press.

The shockwaves set into motion by the News Of The World phone hacking revelations and the subsequent Leveson Inquiry are set to reverberate around the world of journalism for a very long time.

Whether or not the government decide to implement Leveson’s proposals in some form, there will certainly be a lasting impact.

Statutory regulation could still happen, or David Cameron could stick to his guns and introduce an independent regulator without the backing of law.

THE REPORT’S MAIN PLANS New regulatory body INDEPENDENT of the press

Statutory UNDERPINNING to give the regulator backing in law Guaranteed clause to PROTECT freedom of speech Extra powers for OFCOM as a “backstop” form of regulation

THE REACTION David Cameron has rejected calls for a statutory regulator Celebrities such as Charlotte Church and Hugh Grant have publicly vented frustration with the PM’s decision Familly of Milly Dowler feel “let down” by the reaction of the government

“Hacked Off” or “Fighting for Freedom”

David Cameron @David_Cameron

“Letter from the Leader”

Nick Clegg

Ed Miliband

I support ‪Leveson recommendation for indep regulator with real power.

New law governing press may curb free speech

We must implement Leveson’s plans for an effective new press watchdog, underpinned by legal guarantees

David Cameron set up the Leveson inquiry and now refuses to implement its central recommendation. Not good enough

@Ed_Miliband

Charlotte Church On Question Time

What about 3 or 5 years down the line when standards start to slip? That’s why you need statutory underpinning

In The Guardian

JK Rowling

@HackedOffHugh

Hugh Grant

Stephen Fry

Leveson’s recommendations would give everybody ... a quick, cheap and effective way of holding the press to account

Yesterday was good day for press barons & vested interests. Bad day for Dowlers & McCanns

It would seem David Cameron’s address is no longer Number 10 Downing Street: it’s now Flat 2, Rupert Murdoch’s arse

@stephenfry

features 19

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Game changer Paralympic champion Ben Rushgrove has his world record-setting, medal-winning feet firmly on the ground. On December 7, he takes a break from training to mark Disability History Month at BU

Vikki Hutton

FEATURES EDITOR Ben Rushgrove has cerebral palsy.

Shortly after he was diagnosed as a baby, his parents were told there was a chance he might never walk.

You could be forgiven for saying the rest is history.

The 24-year-old athletics star (pictured) made headlines for his performance in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing when he broke the then-world record for the 200m sprint – and took Silver in the 100m race – all whilst competing with a broken bone in his foot.

During the London Games this year, again competing in the T36 category, he won a Bronze Medal in the 200m with a personal best time of 24.83.

Talking to Ben ahead of his appearance at BU for Disability History Month, it is clear that both his medal-winning feet (broken or not) are firmly on the ground when it comes to his achievements.

“My ultimate goal will never change,” he tells me, when I ask about his hopes for Rio 2016.

“It has always been just to do my very best.”

Reading up on Ben’s journey to the Paralympic podium, I learn about the ambitious drive behind his athletic spirit.

It is clearly in part because,

as written in his London 2012 Paralympic profile, he has always had: “a persistent fear that others will think I am not giving 100%”.

It is perhaps also down to the fact that, as his Team Bath profile reads, he feels: “hugely privileged to have had the opportunities I’ve had to pursue my dreams and see what comes of them”.

By this, I know he means the fortune of being spotted as a running talent and being able to develop his performance throughout his teenage years, but it also indicates a gratitude for the platform which now exists for disabled sport.

For Ben, the beginning of the real audience for Paralympics was Beijing. “It seems to me that the 2008 games were the first year that we got the media coverage that we were hoping for. The events were fully attended and there was a heightened interest because London was next.”

He tells me that in the final training sessions at the Paralympics stadium this year, first-time competitors were overwhelmed with the atmosphere when the stands were only half-full.

But Ben knew to expect a lot more from the home crowd by the time the official races came round.

He clearly was not mistaken.

Three weeks before the Paralympics opened, ticket sales hit a record-breaking high of 2.1 million.

Seb Coe, a familiar face in the stadium as Chairman of the London

Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said at the time: “We are absolutely delighted with how the British public has responses so far to tickets for the Paralympic Games. I look forward to even more people getting the chance to join in and to form memories that will last a lifetime.”

Public attitudes have been shifted by the high-profile performances of

“

The goal is to make a little difference to everybody. That could add up to a huge change in perception

”

London 2012. For the athletes, this is a powerful double-edged sword.

Ben explains: “The rest of the world is really picking up their game in terms of Paralympic sport so competition is only going to get tougher. Socially, everyone saw how successful London 2012 was and how society was really behind it – the world will step up again to respond to that.”

I wanted to ask Ben about his views on Oscar Pistorius’ iconic competing in the able-bodied race.

I was surprised at first to hear him confirm that he felt the sporting stages should remain separate.

He wrote for the Guardian: “In the wider context I do believe that blades give you an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners.”

Talking strictly of the sporting world, he added another thought which – like it or not – was certainly whispered at the time: “Oscar has put Paralympics on the map, no question about that. And this may not be PC, but whether he likes it or not perhaps he should just acknowledge that he's disabled.”

I sensed that this opinion may appear particularly harsh or controversial in writing. But speaking to Ben about it for an athlete’s perspective, hearing no malice, just a reasoned voice thickened with the charming sound of someone who is always seconds away from laughing, I was willing to trust an insider’s opinion. We both agree it was an iconic moment of London 2012, but I am not in a position to judge its implications on any aspect other than social.

That is my interest talking to Ben ahead of his appearance at BU, where he will share his story of living with disability.

The only break he had after the Paralympics was for a stint of backpacking in Vietnam and Cambodia – “I’m not really the beach holiday type!” he jokes.

Now, he is taking time out of his strict regime in preparation for the World Championships in Leon,

France, next year to travel around the country keeping the message of the London 2012 alive. A little debate won’t scare him off.

“I’m only asking people to come with open minds, willing to challenge their own pre-conceptions,” Ben said.

Before you assume that London 2012 did all the perception-changing society could ask for, consider that it is not just the attitudes of the onlookers which are still relevant.

Hearing from people like Ben can be a massive inspiration for other disabled young people to know that they are not part of an era which will hold them back.

“The best response to a talk I have given was from the mother of a boy who’d been present. I don’t know what her son’s disability was, but she wrote a letter to tell me he had been really shy and introvert before, but came home that day really inspired. He suddenly felt that he had a great deal to offer to the world.

“That is the goal of these talks, to make a little bit of difference to everyone. If we do that, they will add up to a huge change in perceptions.

“The day we realise we can’t do anything more to help, is either the day we reach utopia – which I don’t think we are anywhere close to – or the day we’ve become ignorant.

There is always something more we can do to better our position.”

Ben speaks in the Student Centre at Talbot House, Talbot Campus, tomorrow (Friday Dec 7) from 1-2pm

20 features

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Joy to the world John from Canada

Matthias from Denmark

One of the few countries where it is certain that

In Denmark it is an old tradition for Christmas

Christmas trees and Santa’s deer can be seen.

gruel with almonds and cream. It is served in a

Christmas dinner but Canadians also go out in the

Whoever finds the almond receives a present

Christmas will be white is Canada. Everywhere

Eve to prepare a special dessert – sweet rice

Presents are given out during the traditional

large bowl with a whole almond hidden inside.

night to gather money and food for the poor.

(usually a book, CD or a chocolate). In the villages the bowl is often placed near the barn to bribe the Scandinavian gnome Ule Nisse not to do harm during the year.

10 most common UK presents

Clothes

Personalised gift basket

Toys

Money

Technical equipment

Holiday package Sports/concert

tickets Collection

items

Framed photos/ scrapbooks

Hobby accessories

Father Christmas Names China – Shengdan Laoren Dutch – Sinterklaas Hawaii – Kanakaloka Japan – Hoteiosho Russia – Ded Moroz Scandinavia – Julenisse USA, Canada – Santa Claus France - Pere Noel Bulgaria – Dyado Koleda Chile – Viejo Pascuero

Michel from Mexico In Mexico Christmas preparations begin from

December 16. Houses are decorated with green

plants and colourful lanterns. The children carry small statues of Joseph and Mary from door to door which symbolises their search for shelter

during the Holy Night. After that the youngsters

play Piñata – little papier-mâché containers, filled with candy and small presents are hung on the

ceiling and the children have to tear it apart with

their eyes covered in order to collect what is inside.

features 21

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

As we sort out the last of our Christmas shopping, Gabriela Vlahova unwraps the best festive traditions from around the world

David from Sweden In Sweden people start preparing for Christmas from December 13, St Lucia’s Day. In the 4th

century St Lucia helped Christians, hiding in the

Nine Reindeers you could name when you were younger:

catacombs and brought them food and water. So

1. Dasher

2. Prancer

3. Vixen

wreath on her head. Nowadays, young girls are

4. Blitzen

5. Dancer

6. Comet

7. Cupid

8. Donner

9. Rudolph

that her hands are kept free, she put a candle-

dressed in white and carry a crown with candles with respect to the tradition.

Countries spending most on gifts (2011) Luxembourg USA

Switzerland

The Netherlands

Ireland

Germany

Belgium Finland

UK

France

Tempting Recipes Vera from Greece

Lucky Customs

BUCHE DE NOEL (FRANCE)

SILVER SIXPENCE (UK)

CHRISTOPSOMO (GREECE)

ALMOND (DENMARK)

BOLO REI (PORTUGAL)

CHARMS (BULGARIA)

PANETTONE (ITALY)

MISTLETOE (USA)

In Australia Christmas is celebrated on the beach in

Sweet and fluffy bread from Milan, containing candied orange, citron and lemon zest, as well as dry raisins

singers gathering together to sing songs under the

TAMAL (HONDURAS)

LENTILS (SPAIN)

In Greece, people celebrate Christmas with a lot of singing and dancing – ‘kalanda’. A

traditional meal is the ‘Christopsomo’ (Christ’s bread) on which the family professions are depicted.

Charlie from Australia 40 degree heat. A recent tradition is Australian choir night sky, holding a candle. The money from the candle sales go for charity.

Made with a sponge cake, chocolate buttercream and garnished with powdered sugar and fruit Bread decorated with the Christian cross and sometimes shaped to represent the family Round cake with a crown-shaped hole baked from white dough, with raisins, nuts and crystallized fruit

Made of dough, which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper and a variety of fillings are added

Stirred into the Christmas pudding mix to bring the finder wealth and good luck in the year to come Hidden inside a sweet rice gruel on Christmas Eve and whoever finds the almond receives a present People write wishes on small pieces of paper and wrap them in tin foil to put into New Year’s pastry Hung on house doorways, awarding a kiss to anyone standing under it Each lentil representing a coin, they’re said to ensure wealth and good luck in the coming year

22 features

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Photographer of the Fortnight Naeem Chudawala

I started taking photos about 12 years ago when I got my first camera back in the days of film.

But, I’ve only started taking it very seriously over the past year or so since I graduated in MA Digital Effects at BU. I am a bit of a gadget geek, but I’ve never owned a half decent camera. During my time at

BU, I had cinematography classes and had access to the Canon 5D mkII for project work. That’s when my interest in photography really grew and I started taking it a lot more seriously. I consider myself at this stage to be more of a hobbyist photographer since I still haven’t really found my niche. I started with

landscapes, but I am well-versed with studio photography and I enjoy doing portraits a lot.

I also enjoy night-time photography and I am a big fan of post-processing photographs in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and making sure they look exactly as I want them to. I know a lot of

people don’t like that, but I believe it’s the photograph that matters in the end and not the process. I believe in taking well-composed and well-lit photographs and if it can be enhanced using post-processing, there is no harm in doing so. It’s like using visual effects to enhance storytelling in movies.

My favourite photograph Like most people, I believe, my favourites keep changing from time to time. This one is my current favourite. I really enjoy night-time and long exposure photography, and when I went to London last week I had the chance to do a bit of both. It is essential to have a tripod for long exposure photography, but unfortunately I didn’t have one that night. So, I walked around Embankment Pier looking for places where I could support the camera for up to one minute without it shaking, and the effort is part of what makes this my current favourite. I also love the blue lights on and around London Eye being reflected in the River Thames.

Also, since it was extremely windy and the clouds were moving very fast, the long exposure shot gave a very distinct look to the clouds. In terms of composition, I decided to use the foreground to add depth to the image. All in all, given the circumstances, I don’t think I could’ve taken a better photograph of that moment and that is why this is my favourite. For now.

One that I treasure This is a special one to me. I don’t own a DSLR, so I had borrowed my friends’ Nikon D7000 last month and this was one of the first photographs I took with it. It had been a gloomy week and the sun came out for the first time, so I took the dog (his name is Gizmo) out into the garden and decided to have a little play with the camera. It was sunny and windy, and Gizmo just stood there looking into the sunlight, the wind blowing his hair away. As soon as I took the shot, I knew that I was on to a winner. The lighting, the contrast of the brown wind-swept hair against the green grass, the composition and use of depth of field made the shot technically perfect in my opinion. I had never really done any pet photography before this, and that made this photograph all the more special. Oh, and I can’t help but love that dog.

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

features 23

An early photograph This photograph is a few years old and was one of the first taken with my first ever digital camera. It was captured on a boat in the Arabian Sea, off Mumbai in India. At that time I didn’t know any technicalities of making a photograph. I had no idea about colour, composition, etc. But, I loved the colour in the sky at that time as I watched the sun go down from the boat. I loved how the ‘god rays’ caused an arc in the sky and how the boat and the temple in the distance were silhouetted against the sky. I love photographing the sky, clouds and water. I would always notice the variations in the clouds and the light without even really paying attention to them. That’s how I started developing an eye for photography and from that my love for photographing landscapes and seascapes was born.

One that inspires me I love the sea. I’ve lived all my life near the sea and have watched countless sunsets at the beach.

But I never grow tired of seeing it. This photograph was taken at Bournemouth Beach last year when I visited the beach for the first time after moving to the area. After seeing such a gorgeous sunset like that, how can one not be inspired? All the places that I’ve visited in and around Bournemouth have been very inspiring to me, but this one was just extra special. The sunset with the reflections on the waves in itself looked gorgeous, but I had the cliffs near the beach in the foreground partially silhouetted because I felt it added that little bit extra to the frame in terms of composition. To finish off, I post-processed the photograph to give it a painting-like look.

TCHOUKBALL UK - WWW.TCHOUKBALL.ORG.UK CONTACT ANDY HAIGH: 07584064354 // ANDY.HAIGH@TCHOUKBALL.ORG.UK

sport 25

SPORT

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

The insider: Steve Stride Ex-Aston Villa secretary Steve Stride, now working for UEFA, spoke to Ash Hover about his time in the game, and how football has developed over the years

Tchoukball

Alternative sport

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FA Cup

Wigan v AFCB

35

TRIVIA How many Italian players have won the Premier League?

See if you’re right in our first issue of 2013

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWER: David Silva (Manchester City), Gerard Pique (Manchester United), Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal) and Asier Del Horno (Chelsea)

Email

jonnybyrnerocks@gmail.com

“I left school at 16 and went to work at an accountancy firm, which I really didn’t enjoy, so decided to write a letter to Aston Villa.”

Who would have thought that just over a decade later that 16-year-old would go on to help lead Villa to European Cup success.

Steve Stride (pictured) was a member of the small group of men who led Aston Villa to European Cup success in 1982 - the clubs most savored highlight in history.

Steve himself admitted he was lucky to get the job.

“There weren’t any vacancies at the time I wrote, but about six months later I got a letter from Alan Bennett, who was club secretary at the time, inviting me for an interview. That was in 1972. I got lucky.

“When I started there were only eight members of staff: Two on the ticket office, a receptionist, a club secretary, a commercial manager, two female secretaries, and myself.

“In 1979, Alan Bennett went to Leicester City. I was 28 at the

time and to be appointed Secretary seemed like too big a job for me. The Chairman and the manager talked me into it and I can safely say it was the best thing that ever happened to me. In 1981 we won the league and the following year we won the European Cup in Rotterdam. I stayed at the club until 2007.”

Despite winning two League Cups and achieving UEFA Cup qualification numerous times, Villa’s league position was inconsistent every year, with a number of different managers taking charge of the club.

Stride however, admitted he thoroughly loved his time at the club.

“I loved working in football. I was a Villa supporter and almost in the blink of an eye, I was working with people I had been idolising for years. I travelled the world: Australia, America, Hong Kong, Russia; all places I wouldn’t have got the chance to go to otherwise. It does take over your life though. It takes a lot of hard work to shape a football

club. I suppose you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth.

“As a fan, I hated Birmingham City, but when I started working in the game I got on really well with the club and we worked together on a lot of things. The supporter element of

The Chairman and the “manager talked me into it and I can safely say it was the best thing that ever happened to me

”

it goes out of the window in a way.

You want to do everything you can to help the club, and that involves working with people who may have been your rivals in the past.

“Back in the 80s, teams like Nottingham Forest and Derby County could win the league, but now it’s almost predictable. We could sit down in August and predict 1-20 and not be far off. It’s taken some shine out of the game.

“There needs to be some sort of system set-up to make it fairer.

Something like having the bottom team get first dibs on players simply wouldn’t work, but something needs to be done. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Premier League and think it’s been a great success. It’s watched all around the world and provides some great entertainment.”

Now 62, Stride was part of the of the three-man FA commission that controversially voted for Wimbledon F.C. to be allowed to relocate to Milton Keynes in 2002.

However he dismissed claims that the sport is now dominated by money.

“I don’t agree that football’s now more of a business than a sport, but for certain clubs to employ more than 250 staff when we managed with just eight at Villa is incredible.

“In my time, if you had an FA Cup semi-final then someone from the FA would come into the club on a Friday morning for a chat and we’d then go for dinner in the evening.

“Nowadays, 20 or 30 people come in and take over the club.”

64 is the magic number It’s not the Minnows League

Jonny Byrne

SPORTS EDITOR Let’s face it, the Europa League is a waste of time. It’s schedule is detrimental to teams and the added risk to a sides domestic season means it’s more of a relief when they are dumped out - “at least we can focus on the league now”.

Getting rid of the Europa League and doubling the amount of teams in the Champions League doesn’t

have to be a bad thing.

I’ll be honest, when I first heard UEFA was considering such a bold move, I thought it was ridiculous.

However, doubling the amount of teams gives more clubs the chance to benefit financially from such a lucrative tournament.

Letting in more clubs doesn’t necessarily diminish the prestige of the competition as many have suggested, it just extends the tournament by an extra round and the usual culprits can then get on with proving their ‘Champion’ status.

I really don’t see any real drawbacks in changing the system.

Plus, with the way things are going for Arsenal, we’ll need the top seven clubs to be allowed in if we want to keep playing Champions League football.

Ash Hover

ASSISTANT SPORTS ED. I’m a Spurs fan, and after experiencing the circumstances in which we missed out on Champions League football last year, I really shouldn’t be arguing against this. Scrapping the Europa League and expanding the CL to 64 teams could see seven English and five Scottish sides feature from 2015, meaning almost certain top

European football for my beloved lilywhites.

But Champions League qualification is a privilege, which only the best of the best should achieve.

Yes, the idea is right – The Europa League does need changing, but not completely scrapping altogether.

Despite it’s name, the Champions League is not a league – it’s a competition. Opening it up to more clubs would take away from its prestige, and as its name does suggest, a team should have to be a champion to be worthy of a spot – not a mid-table outfit. Champions League, not top-half-of-the-table (that’ll do) League. I’m up for seeing the likes of West Brom and Hibernian coming up against Messi and Ronaldo, but one top seven finish isn’t quite the mixture that ‘champions’ are made of.

26 sport Ash Hover takes a look at this month’s sporting champ and chump Despite a rocky start, Stuart Lancaster cannot be praised enough this week as his Three Lions side ended New Zealand’s 20 match unbeaten run. Sports writers everywhere were forced to rethink their pre-written obituaries for the England coach after his side thumped the All Blacks 38-21 last Saturday, and although Lancaster hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts since guiding the team to four wins from five games as interim boss during the Six Nations, a win like this will do wonders for the spirits in the dressing room. Although still a while away, Lancaster would surely love to see out his contract, which expires in 2016, and enjoy a 2015 World Cup hosted right here, at home. For now, English rugby fans across the country are just happy to see Chris Ashton’s swallow dive back on the field.

The defeats to Australia and South Africa can’t be completely written off, but inflicting the All Blacks’ heaviest-ever Test defeat by a northern hemisphere side makes Lancaster this week’s sporting winner.

WINNER

LOSER After three miserable years, where not a single point was scored, it looks as though HRT are set to lose their F1 drive for the 2013 season. A number of drivers, including Aryton Senna’s nephew, Bruno, all failed in scoring points for the Constructors Championship outfit whose highest ever result in F1 comes in at an uninspiring 14th place.

At the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, HRT set the undesirable record of having the most starts (39) without scoring a single point. I know people say it’s the taking part that counts, but somehow HRT never really thrust their way into the sport. The team owners put the it up for sale last week, but the deadline was missed, meaning they could become the latest F1 dropout, leaving just 22 cars on the grid for 2013. HRT now look to be following in the footsteps of the likes of Honda and Super Aguri, who were the last team to be forced to drop out of the sport in 2008.

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Looking ahead - next year’s tennis Marcin Bryszak

The 2012 tennis season was a well balanced year, with variety in the shape of four different Grand Slam winners. Andy Murray finally joined the club, triumphing at the US Open. There was the solid comeback of Juan Martin Del Potro, who may be a Grand Slam contender again in 2013. But Rafael Nadal’s injury and absence since Wimbledon has provided something of an early anticlimax to the season.

Rest assured, though, Nadal will be coming back, and possibly stronger than ever before. His aim - to make a return at the 2013 Australian Open.

With Nadal there, we can breathe a sigh of relief and think about the upcoming year.

In 2013 we will be seeing more of ‘The Spanish Bull’, but less of ‘The Swiss Maestro’ Roger Federer, who has decided to skip the 2013 Miami Masters. A sensible move, considering that Fed has a wife, and two little daughters, who travel with him around the world.

There is also his age - Federer is 31 - which, in tennis terms, is old.

He will be preserving himself and

practising more than last year to once again challenge for the biggest titles on the circuit.

For Andy Murray, it will be yet more opportunities for success, and hopefully less opportunities to get frustrated with himself - often demonstrated vividly with moans, shouts and bruised knuckles, banging against the strings of his racket.

No. This is new and improved Murray. This is Ivan Lendl’s Murray - a mentally stronger, more mature, piece of athletic magnificence. With the right attitude, and the right people by his side, there are not many players who can stop him from winning another one of these ‘Majors’.

But, there is always Novak Djokovic with his Mr Fantastic-like flexible body. His agility gives the man a great ability to turn defence into attack from any position on the court with just one shot. There is also his mental strength, which if anything, is even more impressive than his athletic abilities.

Yes, he did lose more matches last season than in his magnificent year of 2011, but ‘Mr Consistent’ still managed to cap off the year with a brilliant win at the ATP World Tour finals and clinch the year-end number one spot. I expect Djokovic to do even greater things in 2013.

Completing a Career Slam with a

win at the French Open would be the greatest of them all.

Other highlights of the year will include Juan Martin Del Potro continuing his strong comeback from a wrist injury, after an impressive 2012 season, where he won four titles and an Olympic bronze medal.

He can bully other players with a massive serve and groundstrokes.

This gives him a shot of winning the biggest of titles.

The usual suspects who will trouble the top players are the relentless ‘rottweiler’, David Ferrer, ‘the giant’ that is Tomas Berdych, and ‘Muhammad Ali’ - Jo-Wilfired

Tsonga. Each on their best days can cause an upset.

2013 shall be a year of comebacks, where the intense rivalry will be renewed to give us some of the most wonderful emotions and entertainment.

More 2013 comebacks: - After many players’ complaints about the quality of the blue clay, the red clay will be making a comeback at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid.

- Where is Robin Soderling? He may never again play professionally after suffering from glandular fever since the summer of 2011.

Rafael Nadal has had a season tainted by knee injuries YANCARADEC

Bournemouth gets its first marathon Ben Fisher

Sport BU hope to be involved with the first ever Bournemouth Marathon, which will take place in October next year.

Talks between Sport BU and organisers GSi events - who run the Edinburgh marathon - are at an initial stage.

“We are trying to work a relationship with them and we’re hoping something more formal will come out.

“There’s a reputation at stake with the University and they [GSi events] want us to assist, but in what capacity, that’s what we need to discuss,” said Barry Squires, Sport BU’s Head of Development.

The 26 mile event will take place for the first time in the area, and will incorporate the Sandbanks peninsula and Bournemouth

gardens as well as both the Bournemouth and Boscombe piers into its route.

Participants will be able to run up and down the piers in a unique twist to the international event.

Squires said: “Obviously we’ve got students who are keen to volunteer and the community is there. We are now speaking to them about participation, whether it’s water stations or dealing with bag drops.

“As a university that’s something we can offer. We have a responsibility to help. It will help student learning, students on events and tourism courses.”

A half marathon, 10k, 5k, junior races and a unique UV Speed Light race through Bournemouth Gardens make up the Marathon Festival.

The weekend-long event aims to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support.

The Sport BU chief added his excitement to which the event will impact upon local people.

“It will only get bigger over time.

Looking at the Great South Run and how big that is, you can begin to understand how good it will be for the local community.”

Squires did highlight one challenge which such a major event would provoke.

“We need to look at our operations over that period, it’s the busiest time of the year for Sport BU, considering the new freshers influx at that time.

“I’ve met with the main conference and events manager at the University, Nicole Wharf, and she’s been very supportive.”

Squires is optimistic about the event, and the potential for Sport BU to be involved before highlighting that people have already signed up in numbers to the event.

“Events like this will always need manpower, and we have that in students.

“The marathon, which could attract some of the biggest names in athletics, will be a real coup for both the town and its university.

“From a University prospective,

they’re always trying to broaden their reach, and it puts Bournemouth on the map. Some people in England don’t even know where Bournemouth is.

“I think there will be a lot of pride for the people of Bournemouth,” Squires added.

“Hopefully the marathon will kick-off more interest in the athletics and running clubs. We have a running club and the more members we can bring to that, fantastic.

“The marathon will spike interest in running and we need to be able to supply the demand, which will occur.

We don’t want runners to drop off, we want them to be part of an athletics clubs or taking part in a ‘Park Run’ – a national brand – which sees a route through the university.”

The Sport BU chief also insisted that anyone thinking about taking part in the event, at whatever distance, must ensure they train.

“They need to be able to know they are confident running that distance,” Squires said.

sport 27

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

F1 2012: Looking back Ash Hover

ASSISTANT SPORTS ED.

With 20 races from March to November spreading across 19 countries, this was the longest season in F1’s history, but not once did it seem too long, and not once was it ever boring.

Come the final chequered flag in Sao Paolo, the Drivers Championship was decided by just three points. To put that into perspective, if Fernando Alonso had finished one place higher then it would have been his name on the trophy, not Sebastian Vettel’s.

And for so long it looked like it would in fact be Alonso who would become the triple World Champion.

Despite seven different winners in the opening seven races, Fernando Alonso somehow mastered an out-of-sorts Ferrari that had looked so poor in preseason testing. The team’s chassis boss said it was hard to drive and after the first GP of the season in Melbourne, Alonso thought the car was around a second per-lap slower than those of the frontrunners.

Unlike last year, Sebastian Vettel did not have it all his own way.

Lewis Hamilton looked the most likely driver to challenge Alonso, and it was only when the Brit’s gearbox failed in Singapore that the German picked up his second win of the season. Vettel would go on to win the next three rounds, taking Asia by storm to leapfrog Alonso in the standings. But having secured the Constructor’s Championship in the penultimate round in Austin, the big one would be going to the wire, and no one could have written the script for what happened next.

Alonso had to finish in the top three to give himself any chance of cutting the 13-point deficit, hoping that Vettel would slip up. And in what triple world champion, Nelson Piquet described as “the most exciting race I ever saw in Formula One”, the unexpected occurred.

Neutralists jumped out of their seats as Vettel was bogged down off the start and spun his Red Bull into the first corner, leaving him at the back of the pack. But it was never lights out for Seb, just as he had in Abu Dhabi, everyone knew he was capable of recovering.

Everything looked in Alonso’s favour. Just as he had hoped, it was raining, Vettel’s car was damaged, his radio transmissions were down, and most of all, the Spaniard had his wingman, Felipe Massa, holding up the pack.

But in the face of adversity, Vettel recovered remarkably,

picking off numerous cars as each lap passed. Nothing was going to stop him from retaining the title. In the end, Alonso could only finish 2nd, with Vettel taking 6th after Michael Schumacher seemed to let his fellow countryman breeze past in the final stages of the race. However, in a season where 2,020 Championship points were awarded, it’s remarkable that it was all decided by a meager three.

There was to be no final corner

deja-vu, just as there was in 2008 when Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock to secure his maiden Drivers Championship, but F1 fans across the globe could not have asked for more, as a deserving winner of an action-packed season was crowned in Sao Paolo.

At only 25, Vettel is almost halfway to Schumacher’s seven World Championship titles, and you’d be a brave man to bet against the apprentice overtaking the master.

So, the curtain falls on yet another year of Formula One, but with little rule changes set to be implemented next year, it looks as though we could be treated to another fine serving of action. Vettel will be hoping to continue his dominance of the sport, but will Lewis Hamilton’s career be jump-started at Mercedes?

Just like a kid waiting for Christmas, only time will tell.

Melbourne, we’ll be seeing you in March 2013.

Sebastian Vettel had a rollercoaster year during 2012, but remains the Formula 1 World Champion RYANBAYONA

Devil's Advocate

Ricky’s career runs out Jasper Taylor

DEPUTY SPORTS ED. Every great story has a great villain. Some even become more notorious than the story they’re in. Batman has The Joker, 101 Dalmatians has Cruella Deville and the England cricket team has Ricky Ponting.

A week ago today Ponting announced his (long-awaited for some) retirement from international cricket. I don’t think this is a huge loss to the sport though. It feels like one of those relationships that has dragged on for a bit too long, where sly comments have replaced sweet nothings and cute, little habits become frown-inducing irritants.

No one wanted to look like the bad guy and split up with the other but both parties can breath a huge sigh of relief because Ricky has bitten the bullet and parted with the sport he has dedicated his life to.

It seems the 37-year-old held on that little bit too long and hasn’t gone out with the bang he would’ve wanted to. His last test against South Africa, with a high score of 16, shows he’s a shadow of his former prolific self, who averaged at over 50 in test matches.

There’s new blood coming through as well now and Ponting is preventing them from cementing a place and starting on their journey to potential legendary status. The latter end of his career reminds me a bit of Madonna, who simply can’t accept they are past it and should stop gyrating in undersized and overwhelmed leotards. At least Ponting hasn’t gone that far to stay at the crease…

We must give credit to the guy, though. He is the second highest run scorer in test history, with 13,366 runs, one of the greatest middle order batsmen ever and an influential captain. He’s given us some great memories too. Mainly when substitute fielder Gary Pratt ran him out in the 2005 Ashes series for 48 and when Andrew Flintoff did the same four years later. England won both of those test series.

That was big Freddie’s last test match and perhaps it should have been Ponting’s too. The pair of them had one of the most famous rivalries in sport and it all seems a little coincidental that Ponting should retire in the same week that Flintoff has his first boxing match.

Perhaps Ponting’s performances of late haven’t been as good because he’s spending all his time at the gym, preparing to take on big Fred in the ring next year.

28 sport

Comment

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Italian football is in shambles Ash Hover

ASSISTANT SPORTS ED. After the disgraceful attacks on Spurs fans in the otherwise romantic city of Rome, Italian Football Federation Chief, Giancarlo Abete claimed that football gives “mindless thugs” a stage for their views. And, unfortunately, there are just too many ‘mindless thugs’ involved in

Character comes with confidence Andrea Avellano

I’ve always been a confident young lad. There’s nothing wrong with having an ego. You’re at the top for a reason, you’re good at what you do and you know it. Liam Gallagher once said of Mario Balotelli, “[He’s] a character but he needs to sort his napper out. I like characters – if the world was full of f***ing Gary Nevilles, it would be bobbins.” And he’s spot on.

Confidence and cockiness isn’t very ‘English’ but being half Italian, I inherited confidence from my father and to say it’s a bad thing would be an insult. In today’s sport, I believe having an ego gets you far.

The world looks to you and admires your confidence and ability. Kevin Pieterson for example, knew that England couldn’t be as dominant without him. On his return to the squad he hit 186 and got man of the match.

One prominent ego in sport is Ibrahimovic, an accomplished footballer with many doubters, until he single handedly destroyed England with four goals this year.

He’s the captain of Sweden for a reason - he’s the best player and the biggest character.

It’s a joy to see confidence in sport, it adds to the glamour. Personalities add flare and entertainment, we want to be entertained, not by a sluggish Neville, but by a raging Tiger Woods fist pumping after sinking a 12-foot putt. The biggest ego in sport, Usain Bolt, is the fastest man on earth and what a feeling that must be. He doesn’t need an audience or the world records, like me, I don’t need people to ask who I’ve played for in my football career, I’m the best and no one can top that.

the Italian football scene.

Countless match-fixing scandals have left a stain on Italian football, a stain that not even a 2006 World Cup win can remove. 21 Italian league clubs were named in their latest betting corruption this year, and Lazio star Stefano Mauri was at one point arrested by Italian Police for allegations made against him. The truth is, football isn’t a sport in Italy anymore, it’s a business, and a damn corrupt one too. But let’s concentrate on the football.

The Italian national side has a

beautiful look to it, with some real class oozing from the likes of Buffon and Pirlo, and they certainly shone at the Euros this summer. But watch an Italian league match and you would never think the national team would be fifth best in the world. Juventus did a brilliant job of bringing light back to Italian football with their 49game unbeaten streak this year, but one only needs to look as far as AC Milan to see the real Italian way.

With an average attendance of 46,800 per game, according to ESPN’s Soccernet website, Milan are

only just filling half of the San Siro.

Fans have been driven away by the loss of Ibrahimovic, and it poses the question; is there still interest in club football?

Ok, we could look at Premier League clubs like Wigan who can’t fill the DW stadium, but just look at the die-hard Leeds fans, or AFC Wimbledon fans, or Pompey fans, who have stuck with their teams through thick and thin. For the English, football isn’t a business, nor is it a sport. What is it? It’s a way of life, and nothing can take away the

love they have for their clubs.

According to Italian top dogs, fans simply can’t afford to go to matches anymore, therefore leaving empty stadia and ruining that elusive match-day atmosphere.

But maybe Italian fans should stay at home, certainly if the events of the Lazio v Spurs game are anything to go by. It appears that Italian football fans only leave their homes to do two things: Place a bet, or fight in a local pub. Who knows, maybe they all just want to be like Balotelli. Forza Italia? Hmm.

A better way for youth football Andrew Cozens

I love football, always will, but there has got to be a reason why England are not producing the talented players it used to. I think alternative ways of developing the youth system and teams need to be looked at. I am a big admirer of the American sports, particular American Football.

With its high scores, huge followings and the grand event made of it from high school through to College (University), to a professional level. Everyone supports the school or college they attended, or their local side if they didn’t attend. It is astonishing how some college matches gather crowds that better the biggest football matches in England. Penn State in America had an average attendance of just over 96,000, bigger than any football team in England. So why not use their system of developing schools and colleges rather than independent teams along with their system of professional team’s relation to the youth system – the NFL Draft.

The NFL draft has a bigger audience rating than the NBA playoff finals and is quite simply the 32 professional teams of the NFL choosing the best college talents of the 300 that have been invited from across the country.

There are also a few invites outside of College football, but very few.

The bottom placed team from last year selects first, right up to the Super Bowl winner choosing last.

It is done in seven rounds and as you can probably work out not all make it. The picks can be traded for other picks, or even players, but never money, leaving the power with the smaller teams when it comes to negotiations. It

Could the football system in England learn something from America’s approach to college sports? AMANDA is intentionally designed like this to give the worst teams a chance to develop and become potential champions. The NFL has had ten different winners in the last 15 years.

Compare that to the Premier League that has had five winners in 20 years.

Part of this is down to money, but I feel that the youth systems are built on prestige rather than ability to develop youth. For example, when Chelsea were first taken over a lot of promising young players went there

for money, trophies or both and were subsequently left to ‘lesser’ clubs and performed better. The American way stops that with choices going to the weaker teams with money being no object at all.

There is an educational advantage too. The schools could benefit from the increased profiles and funding from games if was to be done on a larger scale. The youngsters could benefit from having an education until they were 18, if that was part

of the deal, such is with American Football in High School and Colleges; leaving them more to fall back on should something halt their playing careers. I think the concept if adapted to fit our system could be very beneficial for all those involved.

Could this system be the spark that inspires change in our country?

One thing is for sure, we need to review other options to our youth development because at present it simply isn’t working.

sport 29

VARSITY

VARSITY

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Tchoukball on the way to conquer the South West Jonny Byrne SPORTS EDITOR

Tchoukball is a mixture of handball, netball and volleyball STIRRETT

You’d be excused for not knowing what Tchoukball is and even more so for having difficulty pronouncing it, but a group of Sports Management students at Bournemouth University are trying to change that.

Phillip Stirrett, Tomak Kowal, Charlotte Stanley, Gemma Murray and Craig Wooff are promoting the sport as part of their final year project. They have taken on the challenge of raising awareness of Tchoukball in the south-west, working with Tchoukball UK, the sport’s governing body in Great Britain, hopeful that they can increase participation.

Developed in the 1970’s, Tchoukball is a Swiss game that combines a number of sports including handball, netball and volleyball. Teams attempt to score

points by bouncing a ball off of an angled trampoline at either end of the court. The opposing team tries to intercept the ball after it bounces before it touches the ground. Contact in the sport is prohibited.

Tomak explained that other parts of the country aren’t as new to the sport as Bournemouth. “The sport has a really big following in the south-east of the country. There’s a really strong base for the sport in Portsmouth and we’re trying to create the same kind of support in the south-west.”

“We’ve been going into lectures and showing people videos of the sport and most people seemed really interested in it. One of the selling points is that it’s a mixed sport so men and women can play together, it’s really social.”

However, at the moment the sport would only be played in a university on a social club level, “Tchoukball doesn’t have Varsity status so if it came to the University, it would be as a social, group sport. For now anyway,” added Tomak.

By raising Tchoukball awareness and involving more people, Phillip is confident the sport could be successful here. “The main problem is that not enough people know about the sport. Enough people knew about the sport in Portsmouth and it grew from there. If we could just get the sport more recognition here, then Bournemouth could be the Portsmouth of the south-west.”

Charlotte explained that they are introducing the sport to younger children to try and raise participation from an early age. “We’re running taster sessions in two Primary Schools in the area. If we can involve younger children now, by the time they are older they will have been playing the sport for years. It means that in years to come, Tchoukball won’t be as unheard of and can really gain a strong following.”

Tchoukball UK have confirmed that a new club will be starting in the New Year in Bournemouth.

For more information visit www.tchoukball.org.uk

30 sport

VARSITY

Men’s tennis doubles aim for the top

Alex Smith

Captain Josh Whiteman is hopeful the Men’s tennis 1sts can record a top two finish in the Premier South table despite defeat to Bath in their penultimate fixture of the term.

Chris Maguire and Elliott Mould got Bournemouth University to the perfect start with a doubles win, before a doubles and two singles victories put the visitors in command.

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

With two matches remaining, Maguire raised hopes of earning a draw as he forced his match into a third set, only to come up short in the final stages.

Speaking under the roof of the Bournemouth Gardens Tennis Centre, Whiteman told The Rock he was confident of a successful 2013.

“It was an interesting afternoon.

There was a lot of really good tennis played by both teams and we came close to winning one of the doubles matches and a couple of the singles matches. It’s encouraging, but, at the same time, it’s frustrating,” he said.

“We’ve had a few highs and lows already this season. We had a couple of big wins against Cardiff and London Met, but then we’ve lost a couple of tough ones against Bath and Exeter. But we have been playing much better as a team recently which is positive.

“I think we will struggle to finish top of the league because Bath haven’t lost yet this year, but second or third would be a good achievement for us.”

The first team face an away trip to Oxford on January 16, before a home fixture against Exeter 1st.

The success of the men’s tennis 1st team this season should leave them near to the top of the league SPORTBU

SPORTBU

VARSITY FIXTURES

FOOTBALL

WEDNESDAY

12

DECEMBER

2012

BU Men’s 1st VS Bath Uni Men’s 2nd BU Men’s 3rd VS Soton Uni Men’s 1st

GOLF

BU Mixed 2nd VS BU Mixed 3rd

HOCKEY

BU Women’s 1st VS Bath Uni Women’s 3rd

NETBALL

BU Women’s 1st VS Bath Uni Women’s 3rd BU Women’s 2nd VS Bath Uni Women’s 4th

RUGBY UNION

BU Women’s 1st VS Plym’th Uni Women’s 1st BU Men’s 1st VS Uni Bath Men’s 3rd BU Men’s 2nd VS Royal Agri. College Men’s 1st

LAST GAMES OF THE YEAR

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

Mixed emotions for BU netball Jess Long

There was mixed fortunes for Bournemouth University’s netball teams this week in the last 16 of the western conference cup.

The 1st team were up first against Exeter 2nds in very cold and windy conditions.

In the first quarter the girls took a while to settle, and saw themselves down within the first ten minutes, but once they got into their rhythm, they begun to claw back Exeter’s lead and finished the quarter one goal up.

The second quarter run much more smoothly for BU with Francesca Munns creating a lot of space at Wing Attack and linking up well with Laura Pursell at Centre, allowing the shooters to do their job with ease.

With a larger lead going into the third quarter, captain Louise Cole stepped up to the Centre bid and made an instant impact with a number of interceptions in the mid- court.

The shooting duo of Elizabeth Ferguson and Sarah Riddoch were able to keep calm and shoot accurately in growing winds.

The last fifteen minutes saw Clair Priest come on at Goal Shooter and she continued the strong display.

Circle defenders Emma Mosley and Megan Pleva kept the Exeter goal tally down and assured BU of a 40-27 victory.

Player of the match was awarded to Louise Cole and the team will face Cardiff in the quarterfinals.

There was no such victory for BU 2nds who went down 36-29 to Bristol 3rds.

The first half saw a very even match between the two teams with the action moving end to end.

BU were playing with control and precision, which gave the shooters plenty of opportunity to increase their tally.

Going into the third quarter saw some changes for the girls but this did not affect the style of play too much.

But Bristol stepped up their game, which allowed them to break away from BU and take a lead into the last quarter.

Bournemouth began a spirited come back in the closing minutes with the team overturning balls all over the court and scored five goals in a row.

But this was not enough for BU and all their attention is now focused on the league where they face Southampton next.

BUCS round-up Tom Bennett

Bad weather hit a series of BUCS fixtures last week as Bournemouth remain 28th in the BUCS points table, marginally behind rivals Southampton.

Despite more league and cup points accumulated in this first third of the season, Southampton are thrashing Bournemouth in terms of individual points earned.

However, Bournemouth are thrashing the majority of the field in the mixed team’s table, in which they lie joint second.

This could be due to the golf team, who are dominating this season. However, the 3rd team’s fixture against the 2nds

was postponed at Dudsbury last Wednesday.

The 1st team lie second in the Premier South table and the 2nds have only lost one fixture this season.

It’s been an impressive year so far for a wide selection of the home teams, particularly Bournemouth Womens 1sts footballers, who have maintained a 100% record in all competitions this season.

Their latest triumph came in the Western Conference Cup as they beat Exeter 1sts 3-1 on home turf.

The women lay 29th in the overall table whilst the men sit comfortably in 36th.

Bournemouth are currently occupying the same place they finished in last year, but one small push could see them overtake their bitter rivals and build on another successful year for SportBU.

sport 31

VARSITY

Varsity Results - 28th November 2012 BADMINTON Western Con. Cup

RUGBY UNION UWE Men’s 3rd

8

BU Men’s 1st

0

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

BU Men’s 2nd

Western Con. Cup

Soton Uni Men’s 3rd

5

10

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

5

Solent 1st

5

2

0

3

-10

6

1

BU 1st

4

4

0

0

16

12

6

Winchester 1st

4

0

0

4

-80

0

2

Bristol 2nd

4

2

0

2

-4

6

7

BU 2nd

4

0

0

4

-187

0

3

UCP Marjons 1st

4

2

0

2

0

6

FOOTBALL

3

Exeter Uni Women’s 1st

1

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

BU Women’s 1st

Western Con. Cup

SQUASH

2

BU Women’s 1st

2

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

Cardiff Uni Women’s 1st

Western 1A

6

Cardiff 1st

5

1

-

4

-10

3

1

BU 1st

3

3

0

0

17

9

7

Swansea 1st

4

1

-

3

4

3

2

Exeter 1st

3

3

0

0

12

9

8

BU 1st

5

0

-

5

-20

-1

3

Solent 1st

4

2

0

2

7

6

BU Women’s 1st

0

Western Con. Cup

Bath Uni Men’s 3rd

2

BU Men’s 3rd

1

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

TENNIS Premier South

W

D

L

GD

Pts

Exeter 1st

6

4

1

1

28

13

3

BU 1st

6

3

0

3

-8

9

4

Bristol 1st

6

2

1

3

-16

7

Soton 1st

2

1

0

1

2

3

5

BU 3rd

2

1

0

1

0

3

2

6

BU 2nd

3

0

0

3

-7

0

Western Con. Cup

0

BU Women’s 1st

0

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

Plymouth Uni Women’s 1st

1

Exeter 3rd

5

4

1

0

12

13

2

BU 1st

4

3

0

1

7

9

3

UWE 1st

4

3

0

1

6

9

Western 5A

BU Women’s 2nd

Swansea Uni Women’s 3rd

2

1

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1

BU 2nd

2

2

0

0

2

6

2

Bath Spa 1st

2

1

1

0

5

4

3

UWE 3rd

2

0

1

1

-1

1

Western Con. Cup

Plymouth Uni Men’s 1st

5

BU Men’s 2nd

3

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

3

UCP Marjons 1st

4

1

1

2

2

4

4

BU 2nd

2

1

0

1

3

3

5

Winchester 1st

3

1

0

2

-7

3

NETBALL Western Con. Cup

BU Women’s 1st

40

Exeter Uni Women’s 1st

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

27

1

BU 1st

3

3

0

0

54

9

2

Bath 3rd

5

3

0

2

11

9

3

Plymouth 1st

4

3

0

1

40

9

Western Con. Cup

Bristol Uni Women’s 3rd

36

BU Women’s 2nd

29

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

4

Bath 4th

5

2

0

3

-10

6

5

Soton 3rd

4

1

0

3

-51

3

6

BU 2nd

3

0

0

3

-6

0

12 P

4

HOCKEY

Bath Uni Women’s 1st

Premier South

Bath Uni Men’s 1st

4

BU Men’s 1st

8

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

3

Oxford 1st

5

1

1

3

-16

4

4

BU 1st

4

1

0

3

-24

3

5

Cardiff Met 1st

4

0

1

3

-16

1

BU Women’s 2nd

8

BUCS Trophy

Kent Uni Women’s 1st

4

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

3

Exeter 2nd

5

3

0

2

16

9

4

BU 2nd

5

2

0

3

-16

6

5

Soton1st

4

0

0

4

-36

0

BUCS POINTS League

Cup

Indiv.

Total

26

Liverpool

657

60

0

717

27

Southampton

591

52

53.5

696.5

28

Bournemouth

586.5

69

12

667.5

29

Plymouth

484

61

102

647

30

Gloucestershire

574

69

0

643

32 sport

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

BBC Sports Personalit Mo Farah

Mo Farrah has become the postgames face of Britain. From advertising campaigns to dance numbers the 5,000 and 10,000 champion has personified our achievements this summer. While taking a short, well-deserved rest from running, Farrah has used his newfound fame to raise money for his charity and promote sport for youngsters in the UK. The bookies have him as second favourite to pick up the top prize.

Jonny Byrne

SPORTS EDITOR After Britain’s ‘greatest ever year’ of sport, it’s no surprise that the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist is packed with eleven Olympic gold medallists and the world’s number one golfer. The shortlist was extended from 10 to 12 this year to fit in the magnitude of talent that have achieved so much in the past twelve months but could have easily been a list of twenty or more.

The shortlist was picked by a panel of past winners of the award, sports journalists and Baroness Campbell, chair of UK Sport. The panel was put together after last year’s shortlist caused outrage after all ten names were male.

Bradley Wiggins is clear favourite to win the award due to his momentous year in cycling, leading the field by a long way, with odds of 4/11.

Mobot creator and double Olympic champion Mo Farrah and heptathlete Jessica Ennis are Wiggins’ nearest rivals, but the scene looks set for the fastest mod on two wheels to finish off an incredible year with another accolade to his name.

Farah came third last year, as did Ennis the previous two years before that, but it looks like the best either of them can do is aim for second.

Mark Cavendish won the award in 2011, whilst Darren Clarke came second.

The winner will be voted for on the night of the show, which airs on BBC One on December 16.

Odds: 4/1

Odds: 150/1

13 to watch in 2013 Chris Froome - Cyclist At 27, Froome (right) is the oldest on our 13 for 2013 list. After turning pro at 22, Froome has had a rollercoaster couple of years which has seen him become a key part of Team Sky. Froome helped Bradley Wiggins achieve his Tour de France victory, and came third, behind Wiggins, in the time trial at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

BILL

Ben Ainslie

Sir Chris Hoy

Nicola Adams will go down in history as the first woman to win a Gold medal in boxing at an Olympic Games. The Brit beat world number one, Ren Cancan of China, to earn her place on the shortlist. The Flyweight has since become one of the many faces of our ‘greatest summer’ and it is no surprise that her historic feat has been rewarded.

Odds: 250/1

ERIKVANLEEUWEN

This year Ben Ainslie became the first person to win medals in five different Olympic Games picking up a Gold in the Finn class. Ainslie was chosen to carry the Great British flag in the closing ceremony this summer, due to his incredible career that has spanned three decades.

Although the bookies give Ainslie no chance of picking up an award on December 16, his inclusion on the shortlist is a testament to an inspiring sportsman.

Nicola Adams

Jessica Ennis

Odds: 200/1 Odds: 8/1

As the poster girl for the Olympic Games, Jessica Ennis had the hopes of the nation resting on her shoulders and she didn’t disappoint. On arguably the most memorable day of the event Ennis was crowned Olympic heptathlon champion cemented her place on this year’s sports personality list.

The Sheffield-born lass is third favourite to win the award so a top three finish could round off an incredible year.

ROBBIEDALE

Sarah Storey Sir Chris Hoy won the award in 2008, beating off Lewis Hamilton and Rebecca Addlington in the process. This summer saw the decorated Scotsman add two more Olympic Golds to his impressive tally gaining him the title as holder of the most Olympic medals won by a Brit alongside fellow cyclist and shortlistee, Bradley Wiggins.

Hoy has also won the BBC’s Scottish Sports Personality of the Year twice in 2003 and 2008.

MARKHARKIN

Raheem Sterling - Footballer An integral part of Brendan Rogers’ Liverpool squad, the 17-year-old winger is already fully capped for England and destined for success in the future. He has played for England at all youth levels and earned his first senior cap against Sweden in the recent 4-2 loss. He scored his first Liverpool goal during a 1-0 victory over Reading in October and became the second youngest ever scorer for the Reds in the Premier League. One of England’s brightest talents.

Sarah Storey won four Gold medals at this year’s Paralympic Games giving her eleven in total; six in cycling and five in swimming. Her Gold medal tally equals that of the legendary Tanni Grey-Thompson, an incredibly impressive achievement. Her first Gold in London was the first for Team GB and kick started a momentous medal haul for our Paralympic heroes.

DANCESWITHLIGHT

Bradley’s out in front again

RICHARDGILLIN

Odds: 300/1 Adam Gemili - Sprinter 100m Gold medallist at the 2012 World Junior Championship and semi-finalist in the Summer Olympics with a time of 10.06 seconds.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson Track and field athlete Nominated for the ‘European Athletics Rising Star award’ earlier this year, she competed for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics in the women’s heptathlon alongside Jessica Ennis and Louise Hazel.

Laura Robson After storming onto the scene as a 14-year-old in 2008, Robson is already a household name after winning the Wimbledon Junior Girls’ Championship. This summer, she won a Silver medal competing with Andy Murray in the mixed doubles at the London Olympic Games.

sport 33

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

ty of the Year Odds: 66/1

RICHARDGILLIN

DANCESWITHLIGHT

Katherine Grainger

Odds: 250/1

Bradley Wiggins

Joe Root - Cricketer Known as the protégé of former England skipper Michael Vaughan, 2013 could prove a big year for the Yorkshire opening batsman. Root hit a career best 222* in July this year and is hotly tipped for the national side.

DEPUTY SPORTS ED.

2012 will be the year that British tennis regained a small shred of pride in the form of Andy Murray. The Scot won the US Open, the first British male to win a Grand Slam tournament since 1936.

Murray also reached the final of Wimbledon and pick up a Gold medal at London 2012. In any other year Andy Murray would be the man-to-beat.

David Weir David Weir has had an incredible year, winning the London Wheelchair Marathon for the sixth time and gaining four Golds at the Paralympic Games this summer. In competing, Weir raced 35.3 miles in ten days, over seven races, finishing off the incredible accomplishment by winning the Olympic marathon race.

It seemed as though a Gold Medal would always elude Katherine Grainger, after three silvers at consecutive Olympic Games.

However, at London 2012 Grainger and Anna Watkins made her fading dream a reality in the double skulls.

The six time world champion and ‘nearly girl’ finally has her Gold Medal and for it a place on this year’s shortlist.

Odds: 33/1

Rory McIlroy

Bradley Wiggins is the firm favourite to win this year’s award.

As the first Briton to win the Tour de France, Wiggins has confirmed his place in history in a year that has been fraught with doping allegation in cycling. Wiggins also won Gold at London 2012 in the road time trial to become the most decorated British Olympian, with Sir Chris Hoy, with seven medals.

Liam Broady - Tennis At only 18, Broady is already a Wimbledon Champion, after he won the Boys’ Doubles there in 2010. Earlier this year he also won the Boys’ Doubles at the Australian Open partnered with fellow Brit Joshua Ward-Hibbert.

Odds: 8/1

Odds: 4/11

JANSCANON

The Brownlee Brothers - Triathletes The current Olympic Champion, Alistair is also a back-to-back European Triathlon Union Champion and a two-time World Champion. If anyone can challenge him, it might well be his younger brother Jonathan, who is the reigning Triathlon World Champion.

McIlroy is the only person on the list that didn’t represent Team GB at London 2012, but after the year he has had was a sure bet to be featured. Now ranked world #1 golfer and winner of the 2012 PGA Championship, the Northern Irishman would usually be a shoe in for a top three finish. However with such emphasis on this year’s Olympians, McIlroy’s prospects don’t look good.

LISASUENDER

Luke Shaw - Footballer Labelled as “technically very gifted” by Sir Trevor Brooking, the Southampton left-back could be the next big thing to come out of the Saints’ youth system.

Will Hughes - Footballer Only making his debut this season, the Derby County midfielder has already attracted the attention of the likes of Man City and Barcelona, after the Catalan’s reportedly compiled a ‘detailed dossier’ on Hughes earlier this year.

What about the rest?

Tom Bennett

CHRIS EASON

In 2008 Ellie Simmons won the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award after winning two Gold’s at the Beijing Paralympics. This year Simmons picked up two more Golds, a Silver and a Bronze in London, proving her poster-girl status was well deserved. At just 18, Ellie has the potential to become the most decorated British Paralympian of all time.

Andy Murray

NICKWEBB

Ellie Simmonds

With the shortlist announced last week, dominated by Team GB representatives, The Rock looks at who is most likely to win this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday 16 December

Odds: 80/1

Heather Watson - Tennis Current British No. 1 at only 20, Watson is deservedly ranked in the top 50 in the world. In her junior career, she won the US Open and the Gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Wilfried Zaha - Footballer One of the biggest names in English football at the moment, the Crystal Palace forward has attracted a number of Premier League clubs with his tricky play which has led his side to the top of the Championship.

I suppose it was bound to be dominated by the summer’s British heroes.

Except Rory McIlroy, the BBC Sport Personality of the Year list is completely awash with our Olympic and Paralympic favourites.

But why should those who didn’t compete at the games have their place sacrificed for someone with a Gold medallion this summer?

Destined to be one of the true greats of British boxing, Carl Froch surely missed out on the list by the narrowest of margins.

A year ago the three-time world champion lost on points to Andre Ward, arguably the world’s greatest pound-forpound fighter, but the defeat only aided his resolve to recover throughout 2012.

Froch took the IBF’s version of the world super middleweight title this year by smashing the previously-undefeated Lucian Bute in May despite his underdog status and finished the year beating Yusaf Mack.

Golf never witnessed such a historically iconic moment when Ian Poulter’s five closing birdies in a fourball match almost single-handedly won the Ryder Cup when the destination of the trophy seemed almost certain to be located in America.

He also won the second World Golf Championship of his career in Shanghai last month when he won with a two-shot lead.

Flat Jockey Richard Hughes rode seven winners at Windsor in October and seemed an obvious choice for the shortlist. Winning 174 races this year, this would have done wonders for the sport, carrying on from the famous Tony McCoy who was awarded the honour in 2010.

Even if the shortlist was inevitably going to be taken over by summer triumphs this year what about Jonnie Peacock?

At only 19-years-old, Peacock won Gold at the 2012 games in the 100m T44 final with a Paralympic-record time of 10.44 seconds.

Peacock, who uses a prosthetic leg, only began racing internationally in May – what a step forward in so little time.

Fair enough the list this year is nothing short of stellar, but I think consideration is needed for some of the sporting heroes of this year – even if they don’t have a ‘GBR’ piece of paper glued upon their chest.

34 sport

Thursday 6 December 2012| The Rock

A world of sport Mosconi Cup

Ash Hover examines what’s happening this week across the globe including high expectations for England’s third test against India

The Manchester Derby

Modelled on the format of the Ryder Cup and named after American player Willie Mosconi, Team Europe will be defending their title against Team USA on Monday as the best pool players in the world descend on York for four days of nine-ball action.

Europa League Brendan Rogers’ Liverpool face a tricky trip to Udinese where a slip-up could see them miss out on qualification for the knockout rounds. A win should see the Reds qualify as the Young Boys from Switzerland face Anzhi Makhachkala. Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur welcome Panathinaikos to the Lane knowing a win would be enough to progress.

The first Manchester Derby of the year could give us the first indication of whose top dog of this campaign. The two giants have served up 55 goals between them this campaign, and with United shipping three against Reading last week, this one could be more of a basketball score.

India v England – Third test After an emphatic England win in Mumbai, Andy Flower’s side go into the third test this week full of confidence. It seemed after the opening India victory in Ahmedabad that they would storm this series, but it appears a rejuvenated Kevin Pietersen has something to say about that.

Freddie hits Fed up of the Dawson for six lies, Hamilton Josh Dolman

Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff won his first professional heavyweight boxing match against American Richard Dawson last week at the Manchester Arena. The exEngland cricket star came from a knockdown in the second round to win a points decision 39-38.

This was a fight that had split boxing fans and professionals alike; with promoter Frank Maloney saying that it had turned boxing into a “laughing stock”, and it was true that this fight was not one for the boxing purists.

Flintoff threw wild and often awkward looking punches throughout, against an opponent who looked and fought like a marshmallow with arms. The standard of boxing was very poor, Flintoff went through every round rushing in and throwing as many punches as possible, trying to knock the American out.

It was in the second round that Flintoff was sent to the canvas after throwing some wild haymakers that led to Dawson hitting him on the chin. However it looked more like Freddie’s momentum than the power of the punch that sent him crashing.

Despite all of this, it was a night to remember for everyone who had the delight of viewing this match.

Celebrity friends such as Jack Whitehall, John Bishop and also Darren Gough were shown in the crowd supporting their friend.

The notorious beer-loving Englishman looked lean, focused and incredibly fit and maintained the tempo throughout the four twominute round fight. And the result was exactly the one he desired. He met the announcement with the famous Ashes celebration of falling to one knee with arms aloft.

In the post-match interview Flintoff uttered the words: “I’ve got no aspirations, don’t worry about that.” However I’m sure the majority of people cannot doubt the bravery, desire and inspirational attitudes of this national treasure.

reveals all Alex Smith

Many journalists had tried and failed to document the revelations that would expose Lance Armstrong as a cheat and a doper.

But, in the end, it was one of his former team-mates that finally broke the American star.

Tyler Hamilton’s 287-page confession The Secret Race, picked up the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award last week, 12 years after Armstrong’s autobiography It’s Not About the Bike won the same prize.

It outlines the pills, injections and transfusions that came to define Hamilton’s cycling career in intimate detail, as well as his relationship with his former USPostal colleague Hamilton had high hopes of

making the most of his modest talents when he started out in the mid 90s, but discovered it would take a lot more than hard-work.

After three years of riding clean, he took a testosterone supplement before the Tour of Valencia. And so a life of trips to visit shady doctors and secret phones began.

Eventually, he became one of the closest members of Armstrong’s inner circle and helped the Texan win his first three Tour de France titles, only to be forced off the team in 2001.

Hamilton moved on, but Armstrong remained a constant in his life. He even wrote about suspecting that Armstrong had employed private detectives to watch him while he was under investigation for doping charges But while the book focus revolves around the darker side of the sport, there’s much to be admired about Hamilton’s character and spirit.

Hamilton’s new book reveals all Not content with living a lie following his retirement, he came clean after testing positive for doping himself and hopes one day Armstrong will too. The book reveals: “I found myself feeling sorry for Lance.

“Not completely sorry – he deserved a lot what was coming to him… But I was sorry in the largest sense, sorry for him as a person, because he was trapped, imprisoned by all the secrets and lies.”

Hamilton may have written the final chapter of his cycling story, but you get the feeling that this race isn’t over yet.

sport 35

The Rock | Thursday 6 December 2012

O’Kane hopes to give Howe selection dilemma

A word from

Richard Hughes

Alex Smith

Eunan O’Kane has found his playing time restricted since manager Eddie Howe’s return in October SEEKER

Eunan O’Kane hopes he has done enough to give manager Eddie Howe a selection headache when he picks his team for this weekend’s fixture against Scunthorpe.

O’Kane replaced the suspended Harry Arter to make his first start since mid-October in the win over Carlisle, and scored his first goal for the club as the Cherries booked their place in the third round of the FA Cup. The 22-year-old, signed from Torquay in the summer, will now be hoping to keep his place ahead of Arter when the Cherries return to league action at Glanford Park on Saturday. “It was a big opportunity for me,” he said.

“Harry has been doing really well, and for him to be suspended and the gaffer to give me a start was great.

Hopefully, I’ve done enough to show him I am capable to go on and hold down my position.

“That decision is down to him at the end of the day but, hopefully, I’ve made it tough for him.

With the Cherries unbeaten in eleven games in all competitions and Arter forming a formidable partnership with Shaun MacDonald in the centre of midfield, O’Kane had been restricted to four substitute appearances since Howe’s return before last weekend.

But the Republic of Ireland under-21 international added that he remained determined to earn a place in the starting line-up.

“You don’t have much ground to say anything to the gaffer if you’re not in the team at the minute,” he said.

Cherries draw top flight opposition Tom Bennett

DEPUTY SPORTS ED. AFC Bournemouth have landed themselves a potentially lucrative tie in the FA Cup third round after beating Carlisle United last weekend.

A trip to the DW Stadium, home of Premier League side Wigan Athletic, awaits Eddie Howe’s men who have now extended their unbeaten run to eleven games since the former-Burnley manager was put in charge.

The Cherries almost caused an upset last time the two sides met as Jason Robert’s 86th minute winner denied Bournemouth a place in the third round of League Cup. That was back in 2005 and as the Latics have progressed through the divisions and cemented their status as a Premier League side.

Meanwhile Bournemouth have lingered between League One and Two but have now managed to find their form and are currently charging towards the Play-Off places.

Howe reflected on the possible giant-killing fixture, “This is a good tie for the supporters, the coaching staff and the players as we can test

ourselves against Premier League opposition at their ground.

“Wigan are firmly established at that level and have an excellent squad and this will be very tough.”

He added: “We can go there with confidence with the run we are on.

It will be a big task, but one we can look forward to with relish.

“For me this is a good draw, but the focus now is on the six very important league matches before the cup tie.”

The squad are understandably pleased with the tie, with Marc Pugh tweeting: “Wigan away…

Could be a cup upset on the cards #HappyWithThat”.

Defender Steve Cook shared Pugh’s confidence by tweeting: “Take that all day #winnable”.

The statistics narrowly favour the home side going into the game as Wigan have won 14 times against the Cherries in all competitions.

However, Bournemouth have won 13 fixtures and contested 9 draws, despite their last win coming over a decade ago in 2001.

The tie will take place on its traditional date of the first weekend of the New Year (January 5-6) Howe’s men will attempt to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 games when they take on Scunthorpe United at the weekend.

Ronaldo or Messi? Let’s see...

Who is the better player, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

It’s a debate that’s been had time and time again, and that’s why I want to start a new one. I think the question we should be asking is whether Ronaldo is the second best player of all time.

I think he is, but, for me, Messi is the most talented individual to have ever played the game. The little Argentine is simply stunning every time I watch him play.

He’s often compared to Pele and Diego Maradona, but Messi has played every single game of his career in front of a global audience and in a time where football is scrutinised like never before.

I’ve had the opportunity and the good fortune to play against Ronaldo while Portsmouth were in the Premier League, and he’s by far and away the best player I have ever come up against.

When he’s running at you at full flight, it’s a scary sight and it can take three or four players to stop him.

Perhaps one tiny chink in his armour is that you can frustrate him. I experienced that first hand when he was sent off following an altercation with me in a game at Fratton Park a few years ago.

I was marking him at corners and was determined not to let him get a run on me.

Before one corner came in he tried to lose me with a push, and I just threw his hands down and we ended up face to face.

He made a little too much contact and the referee showed him a red card.

After the game, Sir Alex Ferguson said Ronaldo shouldn’t be getting involved with inferior players, but I didn’t see it as a derogatory comment because almost everyone in the football world is inferior to him.

People can continue to argue about who’s the greatest, but what’s not up for debate is that we are seeing Ronaldo and Messi create history week in, week out. And as long as those two are playing, I won’t be passing up an opportunity to watch them.

36 sport

Thursday 6 December 2012 | The Rock

Hall of fame beckons for young Dorset star

I don’t believe it!

Use of hard drugs The NFL has been rocked by a series of performance enhancing drugs this season with more and more players testing positive for Viagra.

A Chicago Bears wide receiver said last week: “Some guys, they’ll do whatever they can to get an edge. I’ve heard of some crazy stories. I’ve heard of guys using like Viagra, seriously.”

Surprisingly, Viagra is not currently on the World AntiDoping Agency’s list of banned substances, so is perfectly legal to use within sport.

“The blue pill improves blood flow to the lungs. It has a positive effect in situations when blood pressure is elevated in the arteries,” explained injury analyst Stephania Bell.

Dr Andrew McCullough, a sexual health expert at New York University also believes Viagra can help people in sport.

“If you have more oxygen going to your muscles, that’s more energy and that makes you a better athlete,” he said.

Viagra however does not work on muscles and only helps oxygen flow, so it is much more suited to endurance sports such as running and cycling rather than American football.

Christmas calendar is a cracker Hall-in-one: The 16-year-old has dominated courses across the world and will hope to finish top of the list of Britain’s talented youngsters

Jasper Taylor

DEPUTY SPORTS ED. Dorset based Georgia Hall has been shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award. The 16-year-old golf starlet has been dominating greens all over Europe and the award would top off an already great year for her.

Hall is a member of Remedy Oak golf club but has played tournaments throughout the world. She is currently the British girls champion, Europe’s number one female amateur and number four in the women’s amateur world rankings.

Hall could follow in quite big footsteps too; previous winners include England international footballers Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney, as well as teenage diver Tom Daley and recent US Open tennis champion Andy Murray.

She is one of Britain’s most promising young golfers, along with last year’s winner of the award, Lauren Taylor. At the time, Taylor was ranked the twentieth best amateur woman in the world, sixteen places below Hall’s current ranking.

There’s a lot of competition for the prestigious award this year though, with many Olympians and Paralympians featuring in the shortlist. Jessica-Jane Applegate and Josef Craig both won Paralympic

Golds this summer in the pool, whilst Olivia Breen secured Bronze in the T35/T38 4x100m relay team.

Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, 16, was the youngest British swimmer to qualify for the London Olympics whilst, at just 15-years-old, gymnast Rebecca Tunney was the youngest member of the entire Team GB squad.

It has also been a great year for British tennis, and up-and-coming star Kyle Edmund, who claimed his first professional tournament victory as well as winning the boy’s doubles at the US Open, has been included on the shortlist.

Other nominees include Quillian Isidore, who has remained undefeated in the British BMX Series Junior Men’s class, Saskia Sills, who

won her first windsurfing world title and Kimberley Woods, who is taking the canoeing world by storm.

The list of ten will be narrowed down to a top three in midDecember and the winner will be crowned during the live show on Sunday, December 16.

Inside, we preview all of the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year and pick out thirteen stars to look out for next year.

Turn to page 32 for our Sports Personality of the Year preview

Tom Bennett

DEPUTY SPORTS ED.

Football managers in suggestive poses are proving the big hit of this year’s 2013 calendar market.

The ‘Sexy Managers Calendar 2013’ has been ordered again and again to cope with the Christmas rush due to its unprecedented popularity.

Among other managerial caricatures, the calendar features Harry Redknapp riding on a bull, Arsene Wenger as a French maid and Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho sharing a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ moment.

Rafa Benitez, Fabio Capello, Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson are all included in the humorous Christmas buy.