On Campus magazine by Joshua Weale

May 2014/ Spring edition

Liverpool John Moores premier student sport magazine

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S VARSITY

LJMU AND UNI OF GO HEAD TO HEAD ON CAMPUS COVERS ALL THE ACTION

Inside: A look at the LJMU Racing team and The rise of JMU Fury

CONTENTS Spring edition / May 2014

We talk to Vice-president for Activities at LiverpoolSU Sam Davys about her year in the position and her highlights.

P 8-9

University Sport’s biggest rivalry grips Liverpool as the city’s two biggest universities Liverpool John Moores and University of Liverpool go head to head across many sports in Varsity 2014.

P 12-13 © Michelle Levet/ Facebook

LJMU’s racing team have got a busy summer programme ahead of them with competitions at Silverstone and in Spain. Find out how their preparation is going for them.

P 15

On Campus looks back over the season for LJMU’s sporting teams and clubs.

It was a record-breaking year for LJMU Fury American football team as they reached the national play-offs for the first time in their history. © John Maher

Editors letter

Editor Joshua Weale

Contact me: @Jweale_08

ello and welcome to this first edition of On Campus magazine which I have created for my final year project at Liverpool John Moores University. This magazine focuses entirely on student sport teams and clubs at LJMU. The passion for creating this is that I’ve always been a big fan of pretty much any sport and sport can play a major role in anyone’s university lifestyle. It’s one of the best ways for fresher’s coming to university in the first year to join a team, make friends and feel part of something doing what they love. When it comes to sport at LJMU

there are over 30 teams registered across 15 sporting competitions in the UK’s premier University sport organisation the British University and College sports leagues, as well as many more competing in various other leagues. However although student sport is a big thing at Liverpool John Moores there isn’t that much coverage of the teams and clubs achievements. This is a shame as LJMU has a lot of good, successful teams and it’s difficult for them to let people know how they’re doing. he aim of this magazine is to give those teams and clubs the publicity that they deserve.

In this end of year edition I will be looking back over the season and seeing which teams exceeded expectation, which teams proved that they’re the best in their leagues, as well as looking forward to next year, oh and there’s also the small matter of Varsity to cover! There’s also an interview with Vicepresident of activities at Liverpool SU Sam Davys. As well as a chat with LJMU’s racing team ahead of their busy summer programme. I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed creating it. Until next time thanks for reading.

Introducing Sam Davys For the last year she has been the Vicepresident for acitvities at LiverpoolSU, which in her words has been “one of the most challenging, interesting and exciting years” of her life. On Campus caught up with her to find out what it’s like being in charge of sports and clubs at LJMU... All of the sports teams and clubs at Liverpool John Moores are student-led with the assistance of Liverpool Students Union who provide funding and help to run the clubs. They help teams to organise their competition fixtures, travel arrangements and facilities to train and play. The SU is also a big part of the social aspect for teams as they help to organise gatherings and Sports nights.The student union is usually run by four sabbatical officers but this year it was only three due to unforeseen circumstances. Curtis Reid who was this year’s president, Dan Cole who was Vice-President for community engagement and also Sam Davys who is the Vice-President for activities. It’s Sam’s job as VP for activities to ensure that all of the sports teams and clubs needs are met, assist them with organising events and putting on social nights as well as representing them at the University. Q. How has the year been for you have you enjoyed it? A. It’s been good really challenging but still very exciting. Because the VP for academic quality left at the start of the year it’s meant I was in a position along with the others where I had to take on a bit more of a work load this year. The problem was that when I’d want to be going to watch all the teams play I’d

actually have to sit in committee meetings talking about education which wasn’t ideal. In terms of the activities role though it’s been really good, out of all four of the roles I feel that mine is possibly the most exciting but also one of the hardest if you upset one of the teams. It’s been really good though in terms of putting on events for the students and things like the AU nights. One of the main things I wanted to do this year was bring the teams together, because feedback from other years has shown a lot of teams have a great bond within their own groups but they don’t really spend time with other teams. So I think that’s one thing I can say I’ve done this year that I’m really proud of, in terms of the social aspect and working together. I’ve also brought in a ‘strength and conditioning’ program, where some of the Representing: Sam Davys promoting JMU © Sam Davys team captains or team members have trained other teams using skills off their the same and it’s constantly changing day to course and placement. For example one of day, week to week but generally very busy. the netball girls has been training the football teams so they have all got on quite well all Q. What has been your biggest achievment year. this year? Q. What’s your average day like in the position?

The Sabbatical officers: Sam Davys (front), Curtis Reid and Dan Cole (back)

A. Wednesday is really my main sporty day when all the teams play so that’s the day where I’ll tweet loads and get out to support all the teams at either I.M Marsh, heron Eccles or Wyncote. It’s great because you have all of the teams going around the country to play which is brilliant. There’s also the AU style nights on a Wednesday which we try and do once a month, which have been good. In my diary you have all sorts of meetings whether it’s with the vice chancellor or with high level people in the university or you could be doing an interview. One of the best things about the job though is that no day is

A. I think that the strength and conditioning programme is something that I am really happy with especially because it’s going to be spread out to more teams next year, it was just sort of a pilot this year. We tried it this year with six teams and we’ve seen some really good results from that and it’s exciting that it’s going to be rolled out to more teams in 2014/2015. They really put the teams through their paces as well so it’s nice to have the commitment from teams as well. Something else that I’m happy with is that we’ve been able to get some new kits from Under Armour. Which is good and we’re trying to push so all our teams have the same kits as it’s all a bit mix and match at the minute. So hopefully by next year all of our teams should have the same sort of kit.

Q. What advice would you give to Freshers coming to university next year who don’t really know whether they’d want to join a team or not?

A. I think the best advice would be just to come down to the welcome fair at the start of term and see what it’s all about. Everyone is so eager then most people will have just come back from the summer and one thing what shocked me was how up for it everyone was there was a great atmosphere around campus and it’s generally really exciting. Especially to see the excitement from teams to recruit new members and doing the trials and taster sessions was brilliant along with the social events. I think that’s the best bit of advice because at the welcome fair you might come across something you’ve never even thought of before, even with our societies as well. Things like cheer leading and free style dance are always looking for new members, there’s definitely something for everyone. In Get involved: A packed Welcome fair as new students sign up for teams in September 2013 don’t know what your timetable is going to be Q. You have been elected to take over as terms of sports teams as well there’s always like whether you can completely commit and president next year, are you looking forward more coming in like men’s lacrosse they’ve that’s difficult as a lot of the teams do want a to that? put in an application this year ready to start lot from you. competing next year. January is a nice time where students can A. I am but I’m also very anxious and My advice though is to definitely join a see where they’re at with their studies and nervous but it’ll just be completely different. team or a society we encourage our teams decide if they want to join or not. A lot of the I am very excited for Josh McDowell to start to welcome members at every level so you teams just ask for you to put details down in this role as I think he will have a very don’t have to be an elite sports person to be and then it’s just trials and taster sessions. If different spin on things. I’ll have to avoid able to join because we have our social sports you don’t make it to the team though a lot of him asking me questions because it’ll be his programmes as well. them still have play for fun kind of things role then and I don’t want him trying to do it and then we also have our social sport. It’s as exactly as I did it. easy as that and then you have your various I think he’ll have a very good year though membership fees that you have to pay to and it’ll be nice for me to watch from a cover things like kit, facilities and insurance different point of view. I am excited though, for the year. obviously we’re moving buildings and losing If there’s not a team and someone wants the haigh. The main thing I want to do though to start one, you just have to fill in an is make sure we keep our identity and keep application form. That then comes back to us everyone happy. Whether they’re from a at the SU and then if we approve that you’re sports team or society or just if they’re a good to go. general student that needs our services.

“I know so many team members who maybe would have dropped out of uni if it wasn’t for being part of a sports team. It’s so important as it really gives you a sense of belonging Sports Teams and clubs you can join at LJMU to a team and people Rowing make great friendships Athletics Badminton Swimming forever out of sports Equestrian Tennis teams if nothing else. Trampolining It’s nice to see the sense Golf Hurling Volleyball of community that all Ju Jitsu Wakeboarding the teams have.” Q. How do people go about joining a team or if there isn’t one that they want to join, creating a team? A. We encourage people to do this mostly at the welcome fair and something I’ve brought in this year is the re-freshers fair in January, which will happen every year now. A lot of people think that if they miss the boat in September then they can’t join a team but we don’t want people to miss out because they were busy during freshers fair in September and didn’t get chance to go. So I think doing the re-freshers in January is brilliant because by then you’re settled in as coming to uni is a daunting thing and you

American football Skiing and snowboarding Gaelic football Basketball Cricket Fotball

Lacrosse Racing Hockey Rugby League Rugby Union Netball

Most of the sports listed have more than one team and have teams for both men & women. If there is a sport that you think should be on the list that’s not why not apply to create one? For all the details on joining or creating a sports team at JMU go to www.ljmu.unioncloud.org/clubsandsocs

Season in review On Campus takes a look back over what has been a good season for LJMU sports teams with plenty of highlights

JMU currently has 34 teams entered in the British Universities and college sport league which is the premier competition for university sport. As a whole for the season LJMU ended the year with 463 points putting them in 62nd position out of 144 universities, which is a respectable achievement. Undoubtedly the most successful team at LJMU this past year has been the women’s netball first team. They have been a dominant force all season finishing top of the Northern 1A division with nine wins out of ten putting them on 27 points 6 ahead of their nearest © Dan Cole rivals Durham. As well as their stunning league season they also won the National netball cup Triumph: The netball first team celebrate their close victory in the cup final with the trophy with a tight 40-39 victory over Bath University. Captain of the netball team Ally Thomas run that unfortunately ended at the semi-final for them as they suffered a tough golden told On Campus: The match was really intense stage to Edinburgh University. The women’s goal loss in extra time against a strong and physical all the way through, we fought second team also managed to win their league Durham side losing 3-2. Club captain Hannah till the end and came out on top winning which added more points to the overall total. Newall spoke about the disappointment. by one goal. I was such a proud captain here was also success for the “It was an unlucky loss, the girls battled all and so happy with everyone’s performance men’s and women’s Gaelic football the way to the final whistle-they gave it their all and effort from all the girls! It was an teams who both won their leagues with many chances on goal. We had majority of amazing feeling and a great way for some with impressive performances. Not only possession especially in the extra time golden of the girls to end their time at university.” did the men win their league but they also goal but one lucky break cost us the game. As well as the first teams title winning won the national cup which meant that We should have won and everyone thought season LJMU’s second netball team also they became the most successful university we would as we had so many chances whilst won their league with a narrow one point Gaelic team in British history with 8 they hardly entered our D in the extra time.” advantage over Manchester University. national championships under the belt. The girls will however take comfort Overall the netball teams at LJMU contributed It’s also been a fantastic season for the JMU in the achievement of reaching the final 70 points to the overall total for the trampolining team who celebrated plenty of and how their season went overall with university, the second highest of every sport. medals at the BUCS national championships them securing a solid mid table finish. Meanwhile JMU’s football teams also in Sheffield. Steven Williams managed to It’s been a tough season for a lot of clubs managed to put in some good performances win a gold medal in the individual event at LJMU but overall the universities sports throughout the season with all three men’s and Louise Murphy, Elizabeth Swain and have had a solid year and there is a lot of team securing mid table finishes. The men’s Sophia Singleton managed to perform when reason to be positive going into next year. first team also managed a courageous cup it mattered and won a team bronze medal. © Hannah Newall Louise who captained the team said: “We worked really hard on the routine in training and we’ve taken the competition really seriously, and that really paid off. It’s been a brilliant year for us and for Steven who was amazing in the individual competition. We’re really happy with what we have achieved and we want to go on and win more medals next year.” There was heartbreak though for LJMU women’s hockey first team as they made it to the final of the national cup. Joy: LJMU Gaelic football team celebrate ©LJMUGAA Unfortunately it was not to be Disappointment: LJMU hockey first team

Battle: Mens Hockey 1st’s

Determined: Mens rugby league 1st’s

Tough: Women’s rugby union 1st’s

a city divided it's varsity 2014 words + Pictures by Joshua Weale

of 12 points despite the teams being pretty much level pegging for most of the competition. In the end it was an impressive turnaround in the men’s rugby union headline fixture in favour of UoL which meant that the spoils would go to them. The final result was University of Liverpool 60 – Liverpool John Moores 48. The eagerly awaited competition began the night before the big day on Tuesday the 2nd with the swimming Gala and a mixed handball fixture kicking things off, providing a preview of what was to come. In a very tightly contested event it looked as if LJMU were going to get off to a flying start as they pulled out an impressive lead over UoL. However Uol began to show their fighting spirit coming up to the last two races and in a determined showing they managed to come back to claim the three points winning narrowly 10-8. Meanwhile the JMU mixed handball team had better fortune securing a comfortable 25-14 victory. Going into the main event the action began on the hockey pitches with both the men’s and There was a sense of tension in the air women’s second teams facing off. In two actionas students from Liverpool’s two principal packed matches UoL took all the points on offer universities prepared for this year’s much with a 2-1 win for the men and a comfortable 6-1 victory for the women. Meanwhile across the many pitches at Wyncote, crowds were beginning to gather on the sidelines as teams began to head out ready for a ‘sporting war’. Some of the biggest crowds in the early afternoon were gathered around the football pitches where the men’s first and second teams as well as the women’s firsts kicked off at the same time. Every match was expected to be tight with both universities fielding very evenly matched teams and that was shown in the play and the final results. In the men’s firsts match a late goal from a set piece secured all the points for UoL in a 2-1 win, whilst the men’s seconds shared the points with a 0-0 draw which saw a lot of resilient defending and not many chances. In the women’s firsts fixture it was a slightly more comfortable win for UoL who took all three points thanks to a 3-1 win. Luke Haughey who is the club captain of the John Moores football teams said: “The build up towards varsity was a positive encouragement of desire within our club. On the day we knew how big the occasion was, but we wanted to keep our Desire: LJMU (L) and UNI of Liverpool (R) mens rugby union first teams provided a thrilling finale calm and play the game as any other. We wanted

When there is a mention of a derby in Liverpool there’s usually only one thing that comes to mind and that involves a team in red and a team in blue on either side of Stanley Park. However on the 3rd of April there was quite a different derby taking place in the city and this one was an all blue affair.

anticipated Varsity event. With teams from both universities willing to go head to head in 22 different sports to see which University could boast the better sporting prowess it was sure to be a spectacle and it didn’t disappoint. This year it was hosted by University of Liverpool at their Wyncote sports ground in Mossley Hill. They were hopeful that the home advantage would give them a boost as they looked to regain some pride over LJMU who had previously won 16 out of the last 24 Varsity events. The games have been running between the two universities since 1990 and it has been a great competition every year between the two rivals. This year was possibly the best promoted and well represented Varsity competition in history, with well over one thousand spectators turning out to watch on what was a grim drizzly Wednesday afternoon. However the weather didn’t dampen the spirits though as students from both universities roared in support for their teams. With three points for a win, two points for a draw and one point for a loss there was a lot of pressure on every match-up. In the end the contest was decided by a matter

to demonstrate the importance of varsity for freshers that the game is not just about winning, it’s about pride of your university and bragging rights, we wanted to do what we could do for the university and let the rest handle itself. Although our 1st team lost 2-1 and 2nds drew 0-0, they were proud performances that showed fight and desire, perhaps on another day both teams would have got that extra bit of luck and the extra goal. But we’ll be back again next year to win the trophy back. It would be rude of us not to let them have it at least once.” It appeared that the hosts were beginning to dominate with the points from the two hockey wins along with the football results putting them in a commanding position. LJMU managed to spark some sort of a fight back though with an impressive 28-10 win in the men’s rugby league and a thrilling 10-9 victory in the women’s lacrosse.

62-61. Captain Klam Harrison said: “It was very intense, we were literally chasing each other the whole game with never more than 7 points in it. There were so many JMU supporters in the room which was great as they erupted with every basket we scored and it really spurred us on. It all came down to the final 20 seconds, we were trailing by 1 point and Sophie Hember, who will take over from me as captain next year, got fouled and had two free-throws. She confidently scored both which then put us in the lead with a little over ten seconds to go. When we won the crowd went wild and we had a big JMU bundle on court. It was the best possible way for me to finish my time playing for the team.” Although the women managed to get all three points the men had a completely different time on the basketball court. They suffered a

Challenge: The ball is played into the JMU box with goalkeeper Paddy Walsh coming to meet it. At the half way point news began to filter through from the golf at Royal Hoylake and it was more good news for UoL who earnt an impressive 5-1 victory. Six more points from two Wins in the climbing and the rowing for UoL meant that they were sitting pretty clear of JMU by over 12 points. It was still all to play for though with fixtures remaining in the hockey, netball, basketball, badminton, tennis and the headline rugby union match taking place in later on in the afternoon. In what turned out to be probably the most thrilling match of the games, the LJMU women’s basketball team managed to sneak a one point victory over their rivals, winning

disappointing 91-35 defeat and never really looked like challenging. Meanwhile it seemed as if the comeback was on for JMU though as their men’s first and second as well as the women’s first all securing comfortable victories in the tennis. The men’s first winning 8-4 and both the second’s and the women winning 10-2. The points were split three for each in the netball with the JMU women’s first’s securing a 44-34 win. However the second’s couldn’t repeat the result as they succumbed to a 5836 loss. On the volleyball pitches UoL were completely dominant winning both matches between both the men and women 3-0.

Tactics: JMU rugby union firsts talk tactics.

Support: Large crowd gathers for the rugby

Going into one of the final fixtures the headline rugby union match JMU needed a win to stand any possible chance of regaining the Varsity cup this year. They couldn’t have got off to a better start as they got in the heads of the UoL players and managed to race away into a 12-0 lead at half-time. It appeared as if they were going to win with ease, however as the second half began UoL came out fighting and immediately struck back with a try. With the scores at 12-7 and half hour to play JMU failed to really put stamp the same authority they had in the first half on the match. A succession of penalty’s for UoL put them into the lead, with the last 10 minutes seeing them extend that lead to 18-12. As the final whistle went it seemed clear that it was all over for JMU with UoL now holding an unassailable point’s total. Will Shaw who plays for JMU’s rugby union side said: “It’s always great to play against decent sides and in front of quite a few people. It just makes it all hurt that bit more when you lose, especially because we were 12-0 up at half time as well and were playing all the rugby. A few calls didn’t go our way on the day and to be fair they took full advantage of them. We had our chances in both halves though and probably more down to us that we didn’t come away with the win. I’ve played in front of a few decent sized crowds before but the buzz around the ground was amazing. It hurt for us third years but quite a few of these boys will be around next year and I’m sure they’ll give it a right old go.” With that win for UoL in the rugby union it meant that they had secured the cup and in a great day of sport for the two universities it should be said that on balance the best team on the day won. It wasn’t just about who won though, this year was the first in recent memory that Varsity was pushed as a spectacle for the whole of the two universities and the rest of the city, not just the sports teams. The aim was to promote the event in a way to get as much buzz about it as possible and in that sense congratulations must be given to both universities who really managed to achieve that. There was more coverage than ever and the crowds were bigger than ever, overall the event was a massive success and it can only improve from here. University of Liverpool’s Athletic Union president, Matt Ward said: “A rejuvenated Varsity is exactly what students in this city need. A well-promoted Varsity not only increases the awareness of university sport and its high standard but it also reignites the pride and loyalty students feel to their respective university.” Although they were disappointed on the dat Sam Davys VP for activites at LJMU described the event as a “massive success” and warned UoL that JMU will be “back stronger than ever next year.” Turn over for the full results table

Passion: JMU players celebrate after scoring

The final results table for Varsity Sport

Team

Men’s football

Women’s football

Men’s Rugby Union

Women’s rugby union

Men’s rugby league

Men’s hockey

Women’s hockey

Women’s lacrosse

Netball

Men’s volleyball

Women’s volleyball

Winner

UOL (pts)

JMU (pts)

2-1

UOL

0-0

3-1

UOL

18-12

UOL

48-0

UOL

28-10

JMU

2-1

UOL

7-2

UOL

5-2

JMU

6-1

UOL

10-9

JMU

44-34

JMU

58-36

UOL

3-0

UOL

3-0

UOL

Golf

Mixed

5-1

UOL

Swimming

Mixed

10-8

UOL

Men’s badminton

5-3

UOL

Women’s badminton

6-2

JMU

Mixed handball

Mixed

25-14

JMU

Women’s basketball

62-61

JMU

Men’s basketball

91-35

UOL

Men’s tennis

8-4

JMU

Men’s tennis

10-2

JMU

Women’s tennis

10-2

JMU

Climbing

UOL

Rowing

UOL

Total

Result

Students on the Have you ever dreamt of being a race car engineer of driver? well LJMU offers that chance with the LJMU Formula Student team, On Campus finds out what it’s like being part of the team and taking on Silverstone and Spain in the summer

n life everyone has dreams and aspirations some may be more realistic than others but if it’s something you’re passionate about then you should at least try and follow it. That’s exactly what some engineering students have been able to do at LJMU over the last five years. Not only have they been able to broaden their knowledge of engineering and mechanics in an academic sense but they’ve been able to follow their passion by participating in the world’s premier engineering competition for students. Five years ago it was decided by a group of students that they were going to form a team and enter Formula Student, a competition where entrants must design, engineer, build and then race a weekend racer car. Formula student is very much the testing ground for the next generation of engineers and it’s where the brightest sparks can really prove themselves and stand out from the crowd. Something that past students on the LJMU racing team have done with several of them going on to secure jobs at some of the world’s biggest companies like McLaren, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Sellafield amongst others. This year LJMU’s racing team will be putting in entries at Silverstone in the Formula Student UK competition and in Spain in the Formula Student Spain event. On Campus caught up four members of the team including this year’s team manager 22-year-old David Pettit, next year’s team manager 20-year-old Rhian Griffith, driver and one of the most experienced members of the team 23-year-old Richard Dolan and finally in her second year with the team and head of static engineering 20-year-old Steph Hines. To discuss how this year’s cars build is going and their hopes for the coming summer. The main aims for the team in terms of getting to compete in Formula Student events is to design, plan, engineer and build a weekend race car that could be bought and maintained by any average Joe. To show that the car that they build fits the brief there are two aspects of the competition, static and dynamic. The static category is made up of design presentations, costing reports and an overall plan of the process of manufacturing and selling the car, in a sort of ‘Dragon’s den’ style pitch in front of some of the industry’s leading experts. Then the dynamic category is where the car is marked on its performance in several tests which Richard explains: “There’s

the acceleration which is a 75M dash in which you’re looking for your quickest time. There’s the skidpad which is a figure of 8 and you get your quickest average time round the 8. There’s the sprint and endurance. The endurance is the biggest one it’s where the top teams and the top ten really show their best form. If something’s going to break it’s often in the endurance where something will go catastrophically wrong. Endurance is worth 400 points as it also incorporates your fuel economy as well. a To get a car ready for these events it takes a lot of hard work and effort especially as this is work that is done around studying for a degree as well. Members of the team often give up over ten hours of their day to work on the car and the presentation plans. Since 2010 when LJMU started entering formula student competitions the team has done relatively well in comparison to other more established teams. In particular in the first year back in 2010 where they managed to record a top 30 place after finishing all events which David described as “nearly unprecedented for a first year team’. Since then the team has grown and developed more knowledge of things that have needed to improve year on year. This has not only meant that the cars performance has improved in certain aspects but it also shows how the team is putting their knowledge into practice and gaining valuable experience. hey are hopeful of an improvement on last year’s car which performed well but suffered a breakdown. With a few tweaks and minor changes and more time to test and alter the car they feel they can prevent a repeat breakdown happening again and they’re aiming for a top 10 finish and to bring home the trophy for top UK team. As the team manager David oversees the transition from 2013 to 2014 and he thinks that the top 20 finish is very doable. He said: “A lot of the changes we want to make on 2014’s car are all about attention to detail. Evolution of the car is important not revolution so it’s all about the little changes that will make a big difference.” The team will be competing in two competitions this year Silverstone in July and then in August near Barcelona in Spain. With it being a yearlong process getting the car ready for these events the preparation is the key to success, something which Rhian Griffith picks up on. She Said: “The biggest thing about this year is like last year the

Teamwork: (Front) Richard Dolan, ( Back L -R) car was ready literally the day before the competition. We only had two test sessions last year before the actual competition which wasn’t enough so this year we’re giving ourselves so much more time to test the car to make sure if anything’s going to go wrong, it goes wrong in testing not in competition.” owever it’s not all about the competition though in the grand scheme of things Formula student is all about the experience that the process gives you which is invaluable to an engineer with ambitions of working in the industry. Something which David points out:

“Last year was our most successful year ever, not in terms of the competition but in terms of the eventual

road to success

outcome for our graduates it was our best year ever, which is what matters most.”

It’s obvious to see that although there is a lot of hard work and time needed to be able to fully commit to the team there are rewards for the hard work and as Steph explains cheerfully it’s also a really enjoyable experience: “There’s just something about the team the people that I just love we see each other every single day and I just wouldn’t change it for the world.” For any prospective students who are coming to JMU to do an engineering related course this is a great opportunity to get involved with something that really gives you an edge in terms of experience. That goes for current students as well who are maybe interested in mechanics and engineering.

If anyone would be interested in taking part, the team is always looking for new members who can commit to a lot of work but there is definitely a lot of rewards for that. Anyone who does want to know more can contact David at D.Pettit@2010.ljmu.ac.uk. © Josh Weale

Progress: 2014 Chassis taking shape

Prepared: team walks out at Silverstone

The rise of LJMU Fury

Game time: JMU fury line up before the match in their devastating 57-0 win over Keele university earlier in the season © John Maher

LJMU fury are John Moores University American football team and this past year has been their best season to date. On Campus takes a look back on the season and speaks to Captain Ross Jones about what’s changed for the fury and what the future has in store. American Football is a multi-billion dollar sport over the Atlantic where the game was first created and brought to the public back in 1896. There has always been a major following for the sport but in the last decade or so it has grown in popularity over this side of the water as well. There are now leagues in most European countries as well as several different divisions in Britain. The roots of American football in the USA have always been in colleges with the majority of players coming through various educational facilities around the country. This is something that the UK is looking to emulate with a lot of universities now running American Football teams. Liverpool John Moores team ‘LJMU Fury’ was formed in 2008 competing against universities around the country in the British Universities and College sport North-western division. Over the teams six year period in existence they have never really been able to make a major impression on the division. However this season they have been able to record their best ever finish in fourth place earning them a trip to the National Plate playoffs. They were also voted LJMU’s most improved team at the LiverpoolSU loves you awards. The future is bright for this team. They had their best ever start to a season winning their first five matches in very impressive fashion with some sizable score

lines, one of the best being a 48-6 away victory over the University of Lancaster. Finishing in fourth place in the North Western division with six wins and two losses out of eight games meant that they played in the national plate playoffs against Hull. However it was heartbreak for JMU as a last minute try for Hull gave them a narrow 16-12 victory and eliminating the Fury. Just getting to the play-offs though is a massive achievement for the team and they are hopeful that there is more to come. Captain and Centre on the offensive line Ross Jones took time out to chat to On Campus about their season and what the future holds for the Fury. “This season has been fantastic compared to last year’s record, if you told us we would finish with 6 wins and 2 losses with play-off football, we would have bit your arm clean off! Everything this season just clicked and worked. We had a new offensive co-ordinator who bought in a brilliantly simple and effective playbook, new players with better recruitment from the team committee before the season started and the coaches within the team also introducing a new individual group form of coaching which was beneficial technically, tactically and physically. From my point of view, it was the smaller tweaks that have made the more difference in our improvement and this season has laid

the foundation so the Fury can keep building as a team and winning in future years.” However as the season comes to a close it also means that some of the players will be calling time on their university lives. Ross Jones is one of those players that will be graduating in the summer, he feels though that JMU will still be a force to be reckoned with next year despite players having to leave. “Obviously things will be changing as we’re losing key players in important positions due to graduation but there will be no issues I think in terms of the ability that’s already in the squad and the recruitment process. We already have to tools and experience of fielding a successful team already and everyone involved in the club whether it’s coaches, players and committee now knows the standard of what we potentially can be and the drive to improve from last year will be a benefit to improving next year and they will have no problem next year.” Overall it has been an excellent season for the team. They have even had one player, Ben Rawthore, scouted to play for the Great Britain American football team in a European tournament coming up over the summer. The new season begins again at the start of next semester in September and JMU will be hoping to make it another one to remember as they try to go one step further.

Thanks for reading this Spring edition of On Campus