Student Sport Magazine - March 2015 - Sixteenth Edition

THE FIRST NATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR UNIVERSITY SPORTS...ONLINE, EVERY MONTH

SPORT AND LIFESTYLE ON AND OFF THE PITCH

Student Sport Magazine March 2015 - Edition sixteen £FREE.

UoN judo

hARD HITTING WITH PROFESSIONAL WELTERWEIGHT, DENTON VASSELL.

Nottingham judo with megan douglas

karla drew

Interview with sheffield hallam’s track and field starlet and serial champion...

BUCS Nationals sport sheffield trackside, fencing, climbing...Plus more! //

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UBS athletics sport imperial

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SHEFFIELD 2015

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teamssm

The Sixteenth Edition March 2015

meet roman

mascot & poster boy

job title

matteditor @mattwalshssm editor@studentsportmagazine.com

WELCOME to Edition 16 of Student Sport Magazine,

The First National Magazine for University Sport.

This month, Team SSM have practically overdosed on sport with articles in this edition including Athletics, Fencing, Boxing, Judo, Karate and more. We’ve also managed to catch up with Worcester Basketball ahead of this month’s BIG WEDNESDAY. Alongside the coverage from the BUCS Nationals, we also found the time to catch up with elite scholars: Danny Hirst, Jamie Webb, Caitlin Chang and Megan Douglas.

A massive thanks to Karla Drew for this month’s feature interview, BUCS for another great Nationals and all of the supporting institutions who have contributed to SSM16.

Levels Avicii

Turn Me On Subscape

Killing In the Name of

Rage Against the Machine

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Spotted one of your team mates in this edition? Click here Tag them in a comment.

subscribefree sendyourstories join teamssm! www.studentsportmagazine.com

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loves steak, Sleep & jess ennis hates long walks & rom-coms Editor Sub Editor Artwork director PR Design MD

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Matthew Walsh Luke Shield Matthew Heard Lucy Taylor Ryan Benedict Nathan Gray

Journalists & Contributors Sam Stem • Michaela Tracy • Megan Douglas • Adrian Chrismas • Ameshkumar Ahir • Denton Vassell/Paul Watson • Hannah Blandford • Tommy Stenton • Photographers Front Cover Image - Simon Roe Simon Roe - www.simonroephotography.co.uk Alan Janaszek - www.photoproimages.co.uk Victoria Greensmith, Matthew Cannon, Rachel Bell, Timothy Manning - Geosnapshot.com With special thanks to The University of Nottingham, The University of Birmingham, The University of Sheffield, Imperial College London, Sheffield Hallam, Manchester Metropolitan and Glasgow University.

For sponsorship, sales and commercial enquiries email: sales@studentsportmagazine.com © The Student Media House Ltd 2015. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The Student Media House Ltd. is registered in England and Wales (Registration Number - 08723068) with registered office at Oakhill House 3 Royal Gardens, Bowdon, Cheshire, WA14 3GX. All information contained within is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of publication. The Student Media House Ltd. cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. Any unsolicited information sent to us is automatically granted, by you, with a licence to publish your submission, wholly or in part on all media platforms owned or operated by us. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, The Student Media House Ltd, its employees, agents or subcontractors will not be held liable for any loss or damage.

Health & Training. The Student Media House Ltd. is not qualified to issue medical advice and any instructions provided herein should in no way act as a substitute for such advice. Please seek medical advice for injuries, medical conditions and before starting any new sport or training routine. If you feel pain or discomfort whilst carrying out any physical exercise you should immediately cease training and consult a doctor, physician or healthcare provider.

CONTENTS EDITION 16/MAR 2015

42

FENCING WITH SPORT IMPERIAL

20

16

UON JUDO

24

TRACKSIDE EIS

@THECLIMBING WORKS

coming next month...

32

Full review of the Bucs big wednesday hallam heptathlete karla drew BRIAN’S RACE BUCS Big Wednesday

We talk to a school of Universities about their achievements.

Have a chat with Karla Drew.

We talk to BIG with Loughborough Uni. ...Plus more!

04 karla drew exclusive 10 boxing at a glance+ MMU scholar danny hirst interview 12 hitting hard with denton vassell 22 swimming at a glance 34 EIS with UBS Athletics 38 badminton + glasgow scholar matt carder 44 Hallam trampolining 45 karate at a glance 46 worcester basketball

inside Product review with p48 muscle-in

+

43 interview with caitlin chang...

//

Karla Drew Sheffield hallam S&E psychology m heptathlete She trains with tony minichello alongside jessica ennis-hill, is no stranger to gold and, if we too were the betting type, we’d place a sizeable wager on her being a future starlet of british heptathlon...or sport psychology.

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the challenge... international level student athlete...

It can definitely be very challenging trying to balance so many different aspects of my life. My university life and my athletics life are my priorities, my social life gets a bit of a rough deal.

But to be honest, socialising for me is with my friends at university and with my training partners. I’m not one to go out partying every weekend, I’m so busy at the moment that after a day at university or training I’d rather just come home and relax. I think to be able to find a balance that works, you need to be very organised and work with your coach to fit training in around your lectures, which is what I have done this year.

the key to success as an

I think I would say it is quite simple; WORK HARD! It doesn’t come easy, If you want to make it to a national or international level you are going to have to work hard and dedicate yourself to the cause. This will involve a lot of sacrifices and some good decision making. You won’t be able to party every night with your housemates, you will need to recover and get plenty of sleep to ensure you can concentrate at university and perform your best at training. But when you get a new Personal best or a good grade on your assignment these sacrifices are well worth it.

m msc

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training sunday mornings with tony...

Haha! they are pretty bad. Sundays are hard. We usually get to the track about 10am, and we will have a hard running session to do, followed by a break and then a big weights session.

The running sessions are really hard.

I am more often than not sick during these session which is never nice.

One time not so long ago my training partner, John Lane, took a picture of me whilst I was unfortunately in the middle of being sick and tweeted it! It was not pleasant.

a typical training week...

This year things have changed for me a bit because I am doing my MSc. I really wanted to focus on my education a bit more so me and my coach had to work together to fit training around my university schedule.

have quite a few things in mind that I would like to do and work on between now and then.

I now have Mondays off to spend a full day at university.

So Monday and Saturday are my rest days.

Tuesday, after university, I will train in the evening and I have more of a conditioning session; circuits, Plyometrics, drills etc. Wednesday and Fridays are big training days often lasting the whole day from 9am and we can be there until 3pm, including a break for lunch. We do a lot of technical work on these days followed by a big weights session after lunch. Thursday has recently involved a lot of speed work and drills but, now the indoor season is over, my program will change a bit and we will go back into some hard training to prepare for outdoors. I 6//Studentsportmagazine.com//

definitely plan for BUCS as like I said it’s a chance to win medals and titles.

I think it is also a great competition as it gives athletes to opportunity to replicate what it would be like going to a major championship by going through the rounds etc.

how big is the bucs nationals the msc... for you...

BUCS is a really important competition to me. Every athlete wants to win titles and medals and this is a great opportunity to do that.

A lot of GB’s most talented athletes are at university so it makes for a great competition. Me and my coach

I can honestly say I am absolutely loving it! The teaching staff are so knowledgeable and passionate about the subject that it is infectious and (I can’t believe I’m about to say this) I actually look forward to going to university. I love the course and it has given me new goals in life. I want to become a sport psychologist and work with elite athletes by helping them to develop their psychological skills and hopefully enhance their sporting

KARLA DREW Left: Sheffield Hallam’s Bronzewinning 4x200m relay team at the English Institute of Sport. From left to right: Freya Bradshaw, Karla Drew, Laura Hanagan and Nikita CampbellSmith - whose blistering pace saw her overtake two teams to secure the team medal.

Image: Victoria Greensmith

performance. This year my focus has been on my education because I see my future in the field of sport psychology rather than as an athlete.

After I have finished my masters I will look to go on and complete stage 2 of the qualification to be a sport psychologist as well as doing a PhD.

did you have any doubts about juggling sport and study?

No not at all. When I moved to Sheffield in 2010 it was primarily to join my coach (Toni minichiello). It was such an amazing opportunity to

work with such a great coach that I didn’t think twice about moving across the country from Exeter to Sheffield. I never questioned not going to university either. I do quite well in school and really enjoy learning so I think I would always need something else stimulating to do as well as training.

I also think it is important to not “put all your eggs in one basket” and to get a good education. Whilst it can be hard to juggle both university life and training I think there are a few reasons why studying and training can work well together.

Firstly, it gives you something to do away from your sport. If you only have your sport to focus on you can find yourself constantly thinking about your training, and competition etc it can be exhausting. Studying

alongside doing sport can help you to take some of the pressure of your performance and it gives you another identity. Another reason, is that sport can be unpredictable and obviously it is hugely competitive. If things don’t go your way you will still have your education and hopefully another career to pursue. Or even if you are a successful athlete, after retirement you will always have your qualifications to utilise.

Tips for undergrads...

I think my main piece of advice would be to be incredibly organised. As an athlete your time is precious, and if it is not managed properly it can end up with you falling behind with work and have a negative impact on both your education and sporting performance.

I plan my assessments months in advance because I don’t want to have to pull an all-nighter the night before a big competition! I have lots of To-Do lists scattered all over the house, just to make sure I am organised and stay on top of my workload.

I would also say to someone who is struggling that they should speak to their lecturers and tutors because they are quite understanding of student-athletes and can often offer some extra support to help you stay on top of everything.

improvement as an athlete...

I would put my athletic improvement down to my coach and my environment.

Before moving to Sheffield I only trained 2-3 times a week. I didn’t really realise that athletes trained pretty much every day! Therefore I think improving my training regime is //Studentsportmagazine.com//7

the main reason for my improvement.

My coach is obviously a very good coach and has really managed to bring the best out in me. Training alongside successful athletes like Jess EnnisHill has added to my development, it enables me to watch and learn from the best. I also think being able to train at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield is definitely one of the reasons for my improvement.

The facilities are world class as are the staff. There are a lot of athletes, psychologists, S&C coaches that I can learn from at the EIS.

I didn’t really realise that athletes trained pretty much every day!

goals for the years ahead...

I have really only set myself targets for this upcoming season. Because I hope to become a sport psychologist I will assess my situation after the 2015 season and see what I believe will be the best route for myself to take. For the 2015 season I will hope to retain my BUCS outdoor title and improve on my 5th place finish last year in the UK championships in the 100m Hurdles. My main aim for the season though is to run a personal best in the 100m Hurdles, I didn’t run a PB last year and that was quite disappointing for me. So I look to rectify that!

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KARLA DREW

Far left: Karla in the blocks at the BUCS Nationals 2015. Inset Passing the baton to Laura Hanagan.

Above Team Sheffield Hallam take Bronze in the Women’s 4x200m relay alongside Loughborough and Cardiff Met. Images: Victoria Greensmith

and as for your other recent success in the form of a £50,354 accumulator victory...

My advice would be “DON’T BET WHAT YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE!” Betting is obviously very difficult, and I got a lot of publicity for my winning bet because big wins like that don’t happen too often! If you do want to put a cheeky quid on a long-shot accumulator at the weekend then my advice would be to check the positions of teams in the league table and their current form. But then again, games don’t always go to the form book. So just hope that luck is on your side!

I have been really boring and I have given my mum and sister some money and then just tucked the rest away in the bank for a while. I don’t need the money at the moment while I am studying, but I will probably use it for a deposit on a house next year. Or possibly invest it in some property.

I haven’t been able to afford a holiday in quite a few years so I might treat myself to a holiday at the end of the season!

Keep Updated:

@karlaldrew

//Studentsportmagazine.com//9

BOXING red corner

T

he Red Corner was seemingly the most favourable choice for Champions as the post tournament statistics show a win percentage of 72% of all bouts.

The incosequential stats were no consellation for Lucy Harris (Oxford) or David Munyaka (Kingston) who fought convincing bouts before losing by split decision to Hannah Lewis (Coventry) and Sam Dalton (Northumbria) respectively.

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In a much more clear-cut result, UEL’s Luke Batstone was stopped through TKO by the blue gloved boxer from Leeds Beckett, Ashley Vanzie, in the men’s 75-81 kg.

It was three out of three for the recently rebranded Beckett, who also fielded Knmalicar Writght and Rob Bennett who returned to West Yorkshire as BUCS Champions with Unanimous and Split decisions respectively. by sam stem

mariya lasarova

v

Olga zyuzina

steph ware

v

Silke Riesle

lucy harris

v hannah victoria lewis rosie eccles v

Lucy murray

david munyaka

v

sam dalton

emmanuel Babasanya

v

Andrew Moore

Callum Craven

v Tom Hodkiss v derrick osazemwinde v bolu kareem v victor ogbo v rob bennett v daniel hirst v harry scarff v knmalicar writght v tom aitcheson v hayden bulloch v luke batstone v

Calvin Pattinson Ben Cartwright

ben akram james reading

ishmael henry cain bradley

rahim nanji robert dark

mike hazelwood assad junaid

lee jenkins ashley vanzie

//BOXING SCHOLAR Ideally in five years time I will have cemented myself in the amateur Light-Welterweight division and put myself up for contention to be picked for the Commonwealth Games or Olympics with the idea of turning pro afterwards.

Where did your Boxing begin?

mmu scholar

Danielhirst boxing manchester metropolitan international business Random Fact: is an ambassador for the ‘lessons from auschwitz’ association, which teaches about the wwii prison camps.

This year’s BUCS Nationals?

It was brilliant, to be able to compete in the best competition available to university students made me feel proud to be representing my university. It’s reputation as a huge competition has changed massively over the past few years so it was great to be a part of it and win at the same time!

Your best achievement in your sport so far?

Arguably winning the BUCS title this year. I won the Yorkshire title back in 2012 but in the same year I lost in the BUCS final too so I feel its bitter-sweet that I was able to end my university career with a university gold medal.

5 years from now?

It all began when I was 16.

We used to have stacks of videos of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson fights and would watch them religiously. My Dad always loved the sport and wanted to get us into it but my mum would never let us. One week he took us down anyway and we haven’t turned back since, my biggest regret is not starting earlier if anything!

What advice would you give to upcoming student boxers?

Train hard and remember what you’re there for. Boxing is a pretty lonely sport and it’s difficult to keep that personal motivation as losses can be damaging to your way of thinking. Keep positive and try to remember that you chose the sport due to your genuine love for it as a hobby; therefore any downfalls should simply be brushed off your shoulder and learnt from.

What’s a typical week in training for you?

Keep Updated:

@dannyjhirst

In a typical week I run, on average, about 20 miles, train at the boxing gym 3-nights a week and then train twice in the S&C room with other scholar athletes in MMU. I ensure that I get a good spread of training to enable me to improve all of my skill areas as opposed to focusing on one.

What kind of preparation did you do before the BUCS Nationals?

To be honest nothing special.

My regime is set out quite strict so it’s easy to follow.

Whenever I have a fight, or competition in the coming weeks, I ensure that I step up my training so probably increase the running distance by an extra 5/10 miles and then centre my training more around hard sparring and light-explosive power work in the strength room to better condition myself.

How does being a scholar at MMU help you develop as an elite athlete?

MMU has helped me massively. It has been the first time since boxing that I have had access to specific nutritional help and S&C work. This has helped me improve dramatically as im focusing my weight training attention to specific skills I would use in the ring.

MMU has ensured that all my training and nutrition is catered specifically for myself and my sport and I couldn’t ask for any more help if I tried!

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combat IMAGES: Alan Janaszek

with muscle-in

Denton Vassell is a professional boxer fighting out of the Welterweight division.

With over 20 pro bouts, we asked him for some top tips on hitting hard.

Keep Updated:

@dentonvassell Sponsored by: www.muscle-in.com

pro punching

power

By Denton Vassell

Te ex eum voluptatis quae

Is power God-given or sit, oditiisimus. something you can build Nequi dolore, sequo and improve upon?

Essentially it’s a bit of dolor minihicia quoditatis both - definitely it can be magnihilleni am, eum quam, improved. Technique can sintus, verum fugiatibus make a huge difference to sunt asped eius esecto the power of that punch! conectet rem As boxing is a weightmaking sport, it is crucial that you use speed to increase punching Without speed, you may be power. If you opted able to charge that punch to build size and up and let it go when your strength, it would opponent is moving, however be much harder with speed you have a greater to make the chance of the same punch weight, not taking your opponent off guard, to mention whilst also enabling you to maintaining return your hands to guard your position much quicker. stamina and Timing and accuracy is endurance. significant too, as the most

fact Swimming can help you see dramatic improvements to your punch power.

12//Studentsportmagazine.com//

As with any body part or muscle group, different trainers have different views as to what works and what doesn’t, and ultimately the choice is based on individual preference.

the plank Classic core move. Elbows 900 degrees and directly beneath the shoulders. Body should follow a straight line from the head to toe.

Move on to Side plank if it’s easy!

spiderman Press-up position. Knee to elbow then alternate.

Great for central core balance & hip mobility.

Roll-outs

damage is done when you’re hitting in the right places.

So timing, accuracy, and increasing that speed are pivotal in developing knockout punching power.

To enhance your speed and those explosive and powerful movements requires a combined approach to training including: running or shadow boxing, wearing leg weights, a weight vest or/and dumbbells, combine with explosive plyometric exercises.

As a result, you will definitely notice and

feel speed and power improve over a short period of time.

Also include squat jumps for leg explosiveness and power, not to mention Plyometric pushups that increase the explosive abilities of the chest and shoulder muscles, which are key in throwing quick punches. Bounding, on the other hand, further improves leg power and strength, and teaches the legs how to limit the amount of time they’re on the

punching power

ENCORE.

medicine twists

Side to side movement.

Lift feet for advanced.

On your knees with feet raised, slowly roll forward, stretching the body into a straight position. Hold for a few seconds pull back up to the start position. Keep abs and core muscles tight. If you feel strong, try from standing.

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COMBAT

ground before they can change direction. And don’t forget Medicine ball slams, as these not only further develop upper body explosiveness but also, at the same time, improve the abdominals and your core’s ability to maintain overall body stability.

As with most things in life, it’s all about

the constituent parts making up the whole, and when it comes to packing a powerful punch this is certainly the case.

Striking a balance between timing, accuracy, speed and technique is one surefire way of making your presence felt in the ring….and in more ways than one.

#givingyoutheedge www.muscle-in.com 14//Studentsportmagazine.com//

Stopping Power.

Since the start of his pro career in 2006, Denton Vassell has stopped 11 opponents before the final round. All by TKO excepting a clean 3rd round Knock Out against Alex Spitko and by retirement against Steve Cooper and Kevin McCauley.

Craig Kelly Ronnie Heffron Jack welson Eddie corcoran MATT SCRIVEN ALEX SPITKO MANOOCHA SALARI SHERMAN ALLEYNE ERNIE SMITH STEVE COOPER KEVIN MCCAULEY

This month’s article is sponsored by:

by sam stem

MI-Skin Performance Base Layers

• Maximum Comfort • Compression Support • Optimum Maneuverability • Cross Sport • Technology

giving you the edge… muscle-in.com by Radical Sportswear Limited

#givingyoutheedge www.muscle-in.com

ippon

the notts way.

successful tournament for the Uon judo team bodes well for development of new elite performance program

U

oN Judo were delighted to welcome James Austin, a 2012 Olympian and long standing member of the British Squad to join the coaching team this year and together with University of Nottingham alumni Daniel Richardson, a comprehensive and structured training program was produced with the goal of maximizing BUCS performance at both intermediate and elite levels.

Day 1 of the tournament saw the elite individuals take to the tatami. Masters student James Allen won six of his eight

16//Studentsportmagazine.com//

Rachel Bell

by Megan Douglas Nottingham student, BUCS gold medallist and Judo writer, Megan Douglas, brings UoN Judo to Student Sport Magazine. matches but unfortunately finished 5th, missing out narrowly on a podium finish.

Final year Sports Scholar Megan Douglas was equally disappointed with some minor errors leaving her just short of the podium.

...masters student james allen won six of his eight matches...

UoN Judo.

7winners Individual Gold m2Kyu-U100kg Henry Tanner nadia hansell

w2Kyu-U63kg

Raphaelle barbier

w2Kyu-U70kg

Team Gold Megan Douglas

lightweight

sophie daniels

middleweight

raphaelle barbier

heavyweight

Jonathan Herron, Jack Wade, Elizabeth Johnson, all took home individual silver medals with Herron winning team silver with Lewis Dolman, Giovanni Ferrara, James Allen & Daniel Holland. Ksenia Hellberg and Sophie Daniels took bronze.

//NOTTINGHAM JUDO. Fortunately, spirits were lifted when phd student Sophie Daniels gained a bronze medal in the -70kg category with an impressive returning performance. Sophie, who gained considerable competitive success as a junior competitor, had been absent from the sport since 2011 after taking a break to travel. Having not competed in 4 years Sophie missed out on the final after losing to the world silver medalist and commented that she “was really happy to gain such a positive result after not competing for so long�.

Further success came in the o100kg category where graduate medicine student Jonathan Herron took silver with a show stopping throw.

graduate medicine student johnathan herron took silver with a show stopping throw.

UoN Judo - On Johnathan Herron.

Day 2 of the tournament saw the intermediate athletes battling it out to produce some notable results. In the -63kg category Nadia Hansell and Elizabeth Johnson both finished top of their respective pools and went on to face each other in an all Nottingham final. Nadia took Gold with a stylish throw with Elizabeth settling for silver on this occasion. In the -70kg category Raphaelle Barbier took Gold whilst teammate

Matthew Cannon

Above: Two judo players at the BUCS Nationals 2015, All Saints College, Sheffield.

Ksenia Hellberg took Bronze.

In the male categories Henry Tanner took Gold in the -100kg and Jack Wade took Silver in the -81kg.

Unprecedented success for the University of Nottingham came in the form of the team tournament, where the best athletes from each institution fight in succession to progress through the rounds. While the female team comprised of Megan, Sophie and Raphaelle took a first round loss to rival University Strathclyde, subsequent victories meant they progressed to the final to meet the Strathclyde team once again. Having lost to Strathclyde earlier in the day the pressure was on to produce a better performance. The girls handled the pressure well and finally bested their rivals to be crowned BUCS Team Champions for the first time in the history of judo at Nottingham. Middleweight

Sophie described the opportunity to compete in front of such a supportive crowd of Nottingham staff and students as the highlight of her judo career so far.

The male team performed equally well, progressing to the final only to be beaten by the team from bath university, a British Judo performance centre.

The hard work and dedication of the athletes, coaches and support staff certainly paid off with some tremendous results and the team are now looking ahead to the future. Plans are underway to develop a performance judo program and the close proximity of the University to the British Judo Centre of Excellence as well as outstanding coaching provision makes Nottingham an excellent place for aspiring champions to study.

//Studentsportmagazine.com//17

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nottingham scholar

megandouglas Judo university of nottingham law with spanish Random Fact: used to be a gymnast but admits that, even then, she had the grace of a judo player.

How was this year’s BUCS Nationals?

It was my third time competing at the BUCS Nationals so I knew that it was an event to look forward to and it was really exciting to be travelling, and staying as a team, with University of Nottingham athletes from a range of different sports – it made the competition feel really special. I was really disappointed with my performance in the individual event as I unfortunately didn’t progress through the group stage, so was determined to make up for it in the team event. Competing in the team was amazing, the support from the other athletes and university staff that had come to watch was overwhelming.

Winning the team event was something we never imagined would happen as all of our athletes are studying

Rachel Bell

academic degrees and are competing against players who train full time at British Judo Performance centers such as the University of Bath or Wolverhampton.

Throughout University I’ve had two bronze and a silver BUCS medal so I am happy to finally complete the collection with a gold!

Your best achievement in your sport so far?

Before I came to university I was a Ju-Jitsu athlete and had won the National Championships 6 times. I’ve spent 2 years transferring to Judo and am less experienced than my competitors, many of which train full time, so the smallest progresses are big achievements for me.

Being the under-dog yet overcoming the odds to climb

up the British Judo ranking lists, for me, is one of my biggest achievements in sport so far.

5 years from now?

The 2020 Olympic Games is in 5 years time, whilst I’m still in the early stages of my Judo career there are very few athletes who don’t have the Olympic dream at the forefront of their minds.

Being a latecomer to the sport there are many people who don’t believe I have any chance of making it to an Olympic games but for me Tokyo 2020 isn’t just a dream, it’s a goal that I’m very serious about and am constantly moving towards.

Keep Updated:

@Meganlauradouglas

//Studentsportmagazine.com//19

climbing works

Women’s 2015 Michaela Tracy

sheffield

jennifer wood

sheffield

ajda remaikar anna wells rhoslyn frugniet

edinburgh dundee exeter

Men’s 2015 joe swales

sheffield

ashleigh wolsey-heard connor byrne euan mcfadyen tom green

hallam sheffield strathclyde hallam

Women’s Team uo Sheffield

577pts

uo edinburgh

530pts

uo exeter

470pts

Men’s Team Sheffield Hallam

669pts

UO sheffield

669pts

uo strathclyde

630pts

20//Studentsportmagazine.com//

ability is no mean feat, however the route-setters at the Climbing Works were able to rise to the task; coming up with a great circuit of problems, ranging from technical slabs to powerful roofs, as well as everything in between.

With its close proximity to the Peak District, and some of the best training facilities in the country, Sheffield University has a history of attracting some of the UK’s most talented young climbers.

by

T

michaelaTracy

he BUCS climbing championship is an event which has been evolving year on year. This year was no exception, with over 400 climbers from around the UK competing on a qualifying circuit of twenty five boulders for a spot in the evening’s final. The challenge of splitting the top competitors whilst still providing a good level of challenge for such a wide level of experience and

This year, Sheffield’s climbing team contained four representatives of the British team for the sport. Combine that with a strong depth of talent in the team, and a healthy dose of psyche - on paper it certainly looked to be Sheffield’s year!

And they were not disappointed; by the end of a long and hectic qualifying round, Sheffield had put four athletes through to the final, more than any other team. This is the first year that the BUCS has held a proper worldcup format final, and to fit it all in the comp ran on well into the evening.

However even after such a long day an impressive number of competitors stayed around to watch the spectacle, and to cheer on the finalists.

In a tense male final, which came down to the last problem, Joe Swales (Sheffield) took the top spot, with Ashleigh Wolsey-Heard (Hallam) in second and Connor Byrne (Sheffield) third. First and second in the women’s event went to Michaela Tracy and Jennifer Wood respectively (both Sheffield) with Ajda Remåjkar (Edinburgh) taking the bronze. Sheffield almost managed to make a clean sweep, having the highest scores in both the men’s and women’s team events - however due to a tie on points with Hallam, Sheffield’s men’s team just lost out on first, having a slightly lower individual top score.

This is an impressive achievement by the University’s climbing team, and bodes well for their campaign to represent Sheffield at the European University Sports Association Climbing Competition.

Matthew Cannon

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200m Butterfly 100m freestyle 200m individual medley

Medley Team with students Ryan Bennett, Craig Benson, Cameron Brodie and Jak Scott. Edinburgh finished in second with a time of 3:43.70 - Bath claimed Bronze in a time of 3:49.02.

It was all about Loughborough in the Women’s relay events last year and the tides of Ponds Forge were not about to change this year with the Freestyle relay team of Sophie Smith, Victoria Cuningham, Stephanie Bremner and Emma Wilkins finishing with Gold in 3:48.71.

The Medley Team finished in a time of 4:08.15 with Charlotte McKenzie, Jocelyn Ulyett, Rachael Kelly and Emma WIlkins.

100m backstroke

Ieuan Lloyd (Cardiff Met) defended his 200m Freestyle Title from last year fending off Jay Lelliott (Bath) and Caleb Hughes (Loughborough) who claimed Silver and Bronze respectively.

Hallam’s Rebecca Turner was also successful in defending her title in Women’s 200m Freestyle. Anne Bochmann (Bath) took silver ahead of Ellie Faulkner (Hallam) who finished in Bronze Medal position.

In the Women’s 200m IM, Emily Jones of Edinburgh was beaten by Loughborough’s Sophie Smith who finished on top of the podium with a time of 2:15.25.

Stirling took Gold in the Men’s 400m

100m breaststroke

At a glance...

50m butterfly

ponds forge

Aimee Wilmott

2:10:42

east london

rachael kelly

2:12:52

loughborough

fern davies

2:14:75

swansea

cameron brodie

1:57:93

stirling

luke howdle

2:00:97

sheffield

matt johnson

2:02:24

bath

rebecca turner

56:14

hallam

emma wilkins

56:40

loughborough

anne bochmann

56:98

bath

jack thorpe

50:50

edinburgh

curtis coulter

50:73

queens

levi lucas

50:95

plymouth

sophie smith

2:15:25

loughborough

emily jones

2:18:90

edinburgh

alexandra kaye

2:20:00

bath

ieuan lloyd

2:01:95

cardiff met

max litchfield

2:02:26

hallam

laurent carnol

2:06:02

loughborough

natasha hofton

1:02:44

stirling

charlotte mckenzie

1:03:17

loughborough

lucy hope

1:04:15

edinburgh

charlie boldison

55:49

herts

joe elwood

56:55

loughborough

will harrison

57:25

bath

kat johnstone

1:09:35

heriot watt

corrie scott

1:09:64

edinburgh

jocelyn ulyett

1:10:47

loughborough

ross murdoch

1:01:22

stirling

craig benson

1:01:82

stirling

james wilby

1:01:89

loughborough

Rachael Kelly

26:68

loughborough

emma wilkins

27:04

loughborough

raquel matos

27:52

edinburgh

benjamin proud

23:63

ucp marjon

adam barrett

24:64

loughborough

kane haggett

24:82

loughborough

Matthew Cannon

//Studentsportmagazine.com//23

BY Adrian Chrismas

tracks

the english IMAGE: Simon Roe

institute of sport

bucs nationals

Without prejudice, the Athletics at EIS Sheffield always proves the perfect place to hang your hat as a spectator: For full results visit: www.bucs.org.uk

B

24//Studentsportmagazine.com//

On the Saturday of the 2015 BUCS Indoor Track and Field Championships the animals came into the arena two by two, but to the best of my recollection no elephant or kangaroo! But there was a daffodil, a heart and a calculator!

And that was not the only surprise of these 2015 championships! David Hall (Brunel) took his third consecutive England U20 decathlon title in 2014 and went on to represent GB at the World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon. In January, Hall took his first England U23 heptathlon title at the EIS in Sheffield and represented

side

s

sheffield 2015 GB at U23 level at the Indoor Combined Events International in France. His best time over 400m prior

The stars of the first day of the championships were without doubt Bianca Williams (UEL) and David King (Bath)...

On day one.

bucs Nationals to these championships was a 47.85 run at the World Juniors in Oregon. Hall won both his heat of the 400m and his semi-final, the latter in 47.89 close to his PB. But I don’t think either he, or his on-looking coach Ian Grant, expected what happened in the final. The men’s CBP had been set by the GB and Welsh international Gareth Warburton in 2005 and stood at 46.96. Hall had never run sub 47.00. He ran a very quick opening 200m in the final going through in 22.3 and led at the bell by a couple of metres from Alex Boyce (Liverpool). And that was about as close as the 2014 bronze medallist got to Hall who ran a superbly judged race crossing the line in 46.91 to take gold for Brunel and set a new CBP.

The nationals

Williams dominated her heat and semi-final winning both with ease...

The final was a much closer affair ON BIANCA WILLIAMS

University of East London.

The stars of the first day of the championships were without doubt Bianca Williams (UEL) and David King (Bath).

Both athletes competed on the Friday prior to travelling down to Birmingham for Saturday’s Sainsbury’s GrandPrix.

Simon Roe

Douglas’s CBP of 7.31. She was pushed all the way by Adeline Guenon (SMU) who herself set a PB of 7.36.

For the silver medallist it was another milestone on a remarkable journey, for Guenon was abandoned by her parents when she was 3 GB and England International years old and brought up by Bianca Williams, who had her ‘family’ in an SOSVillage in taken bronze over 200m at the Ivory Coast. the Commonwealth Games David King (Bath) came to the in Glasgow and narrowly missed out on repeating that championships as favourite to achievement at the European take the men’s 60m hurdles title. He had finished second championships, chose to behind Andy Pozzi in 2014. compete over 60 metres King had shown that he was at these championships. in very good form a week Williams dominated her heat before at the British Athletics and semi-final winning both with ease. But the final was a championships taking silver behind GB International much closer affair. Williams Lawrence Clarke. King had to run a PB of 7.34 to take gold, just outside Montel dominated both his heat and //Studentsportmagazine.com//25

A 6-man holding pattern at the BUCS Nationals. Image: Simon Roe the final taking gold in 7.86.

Amy Allcock’s victory in the women’s 400 metres was as impressive as David Hall’s.

The Lougborough student and GB international took the title in 2014 setting a CBP in the process and then went

The Lougborough student and GB international took the title in 2014 setting a CBP in the process...

GB Junior international, Laviai Nielsen (Kings College).

Allcock went through 200m in 25.19 and down the backstraight gradually increased her lead over Nielsen who despite a strong last 50 metres could not close the gap. Amy Allcock’s winning time of 53.19 bettered her own 2014 CBP of 53.26.

Nielsen clocked what was then a PB of 53.57 inside the qualifying standard for the European Junior championships.

On Amy Allcock’s 400m race.

to take gold at Bedford. So could she take a third BUCS title? As the field reached the break-point in the final it was clear that gold and silver lay between Allcock and another rising-star over 400m, the

26//Studentsportmagazine.com//

Simon Roe

400m

As the field reached the breakpoint in the final it was clear that gold and silver lay between Allcock and another rising star...

ALLCOCK VS. Nielson.

//ATHLETICS SCHOLAR

mmu scholar

Jamiewebb middle distance runner Manchester metropolitan university BSC Chemistry Random Fact: Plays guitar and sings at restaurants, weddings and parties.

How was this year’s BUCS Nationals?

BUCS is always an enjoyable experience, it’s a great competition and a really good set up. I was disappointed with my results but will be back next year to try and get a medal.

Your best achievement in your sport so far?

Winning the National U23 outdoors 800m title last summer.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I’d love to be a full time athlete, eat sleep train for a living. Hopefully preparing for the 2020 Olympics would be nice!

Keep Updated:

@jamie_webb94 Images: Matthew Cannon

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Images: Victoria Greensmith //Studentsportmagazine.com//29

VG

SR

VG

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SR

SR

SR

SR

Images: Victoria Greensmith (VG) & Simon Roe (SR).

SR

SR

SR

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T

his year saw the start of a brand new event with BUCS mascot, ‘Brian the Lion’, inviting fellow mascots to challenge him in a 200m race for Marie Curie Cancer.

15 Mascots answered his charge and, on Saturday the 21st of February, the starter’s pistol was awaited by 12 beasts, 1 national flower, 1 human organ and a calculator.

It was a chaotic start but the field soon found order and a break-away pack of 3 mascots fired up the burners and bounded down the final fifty.

Brighton University’s Panther Pete produced perfection, pouncing poetically upon the podium in prime position.

Glossy the Goat from Gloucestershire and The Heart of Middlesex followed in silver and bronze respectiveley.

Images: Simon Roe 32//Studentsportmagazine.com//

Brighton’s big cat victory for panther pete!

the mascot race

//Studentsportmagazine.com//33

Image: Timothy Manning

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7winners Men’s 60m Sprint Gold imran rahman 6.79 Women’s 800m Gold Georgia bell 2:08.23 Women’s 1500m Gold sarah mcdonald 4:45.04

Men’s 800m Silver ben waterman 1:50.31 Women’s 3000m Bronze

maryse haynes

9:38.03

A

strong team from the University of Birmingham Sport (UBSport) Athletics team proved enough for a third place finish at the BUCS National Indoor Championships held at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield over 20-22 February.

In total Birmingham brought five individual medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze – back to campus but it was the impressive performances of the all the athletes combined that secured the team bronze.

By Ameshkumar Ahir battle their way through heats and semi-finals to reach the Sunday afternoon showpiece events, and progression was achieved in most cases thanks to some stunning displays of track athletics.

The golden trio consisted of Imran Rahman in the 60m sprint [6.79s PB and club record], Georgia Bell in the 800m [2:08.23] who lead from the gun to the finish line and Sarah McDonald in the 1500m [4:45.04] who won by two seconds.

Ben Waterman achieved a Many UBSport athletes had to silver medal in the 800m im-

UBS athletics

//Studentsportmagazine.com//35

continued proving on his bronze medal last year, whilst Maryse Haynes obtained the first medal of the weekend with a bronze medal in the 3000m [9:38.03], a PB in her first indoors ever.

Claire Humphries took fourth in the 60m Hurdles [8.91s]; coming out of her two year retirement and looking to turn her attention back to rowing, and Jordan Kelly also took fourth in the Long Jump [7.00m].

Becky Turton and Mark Williams placed fifth respectively in the 1500m [4:50.89] and 200m [21.83s], with Mark claiming a huge PB for his performance. Veteran BUCS athlete, Mike Sweeney, also took fifth in Pole Vault (4.50m) and High Jump (1.98m).

To have three BUCS Champions is absolutely brilliant, but the number of finalists picking up team points and huge personal bests was of particular pride to the coaching staff. For instance, senior member of the squad Mike Sweeney’s 5th places in the Pole Vault and High Jump, earned the team as many points as an individual gold medal.

Many of our team are only first or second year students, proving we have a great foundation now to build upon, especially once we have the return of our own track on campus next year.’

The squad will now turn their attention to the BUCS Outdoors at the end of April, and then, as always, look to come back ready and raring to go and do it all over again at the EIS in 12 months’ time.

The UBSport Head of Athletics was thrilled with the performance of the team, saying, ‘The performance of our team at the BUCS Indoor Champion- Main image: Rachel Bell ‘Rory the Lion’: Simon Roe ships was an accumulation of some outstanding individual performances.

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eis sheffield

Timothy Manning 38//Studentsportmagazine.com//

badminton purple reign If there was a soundtrack to the sport of Badminton at the BUCS Nationals this year, it would have to be Prince but, as you can see from our fixture chart, the finals were packed deep with purple.

Loading the finals

Timothy Manning

Matthew Carder

full of Loughborough players is definitely a start in securing medals, but there was still work to do for Loughborough Badders as three men stood in their way. Sam Dobson and Chris Hotchen are familiar names in the national

connor bambrick

gregory mairs chloe birch

v v v

jennifer moore victoria williams

sam dobson

chris hotchen tanapat pisitpong chloe birch

v

gregory mairs jennifer moore

alex marritt

kerri scott conor bambrick

v

victoria williams

This month’s Badminton content is sponsored by:

by sam stem

//Studentsportmagazine.com//39

glasgow scholar

mattcarder

badminton glasgow university BSC anatomy Random Fact: can do a standing backflip but didn’t have the energy to use it in celebration after winning gold in a gruelling tournament.

How was this year’s BUCS Nationals?

It was great, one of my favourite tournaments of the season, with an outrageous amount of entries, making it a tough tournament to win. The semi-finals and finals are amazing with a great atmosphere that is questionably better than most of the European tournaments I have competed in. BUCS Nationals is a tournament I have wanted to win for the past few years now and after losing in the final last year I wanted to go one step further this year.

Your best achievement in your sport so far?

Senior Scottish National finalist 2 years running or Selection for Scotland team in the European Men’s Team Championships (Basel, 2014) and playing against England for my first ever Scottish senior cap.

You stopped Loughborough 40//Studentsportmagazine.com//

Badminton circuit but their notoriety was matched

by Conor Bambrick and Gregory Mairs who, through a bittersweet turn, took the men’s doubles title by walkover after the pair from the University of Bath were forced to withdraw through injury.

With injuries in mind, the only person truly capable of preventing the midland monolith from achieving the five-title sweep was Matthew Carder. The Glasgow athlete was number 2 seed from winning a clean sweep and 5 National titles.

At the time of playing I didn’t actually know my victory stopped them taking the clean sweep, but maybe that’s why I had a lot of support throughout the match, especially when I made my comeback in the second set.

IMAGES by Timothy Manning

entering the final, but that likely served in providing little or no comfort as he stepped onto the court to face Loughborough’s Alex Marritt, seeded number 1.

Falling at the first set, Carder, unaware of the importance of his scalp, made a solid fightback in the second set which ended 22-24 in his favour. With the match tied at 1 game-a-piece and support for both men accumulating, it was Matthew Carder who smashed through to victory at 1321. Elation and heartbrake, bedfellows once more.

Kudos to Carder but the weekend was no disappointment to Loughborough, who netted the largest medal haul in BUCS history.

Keep Updated:

@Matthew_carder

BUC S

PRIC

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//Studentsportmagazine.com//41

Fencing with:

Sport Imperial there are a few names that you expect to hear around the fencing arena. One of them has 7 syllables...

W

e had another really successful year at the BUCS Fencing Individuals, winning 4 medals and having some fantastic club performances.

We started the weekend in style by winning Gold and Silver in the Men’s Sabre with our Men’s 1st Captain and TOPSport scholar Chris Lawrence and 4 time BUCS Sabre Champion and TOPSport scholar, Maiyuran Ratneswaran battling for Gold.

Both put in some impressive performances throughout the day and were luckily in opposite sides of the draw.

After fairly comfortable Semi Finals we saw an all Imperial final. Chris and Mai are best friends, housemates and have

42//Studentsportmagazine.com//

by Hannah Blandford The men’s sabre promised a spectacle as two friends, who just happen to be top level international athletes, faced each other in the final. fenced together for years so it was a fantastic match to watch and it thoroughly entertained the crowd. Mai came away with the win, beating Chris to win his 5th BUCS Championship title and 6th BUCS individual medal (missing out on Gold in 201314) complementing nicely his Commonwealth Silver medal earlier this season.

...Mai came away with the win, beating Chris to win his 5th BUCS title...

Sport Imperial Fencing.

Rachel Bell

7gold & silver Women’s Foil Ruth Clarke

edinburgh

Victoria duxbury

edinburgh

Men’s Foil alex schlindwein

cambridge

mark legkovskis

edinburgh

Women’s Epee hallam Caitlin chang hannah lawrence

mmu

Men’s Epee cambridge laurence peplow duncan robinson

southampton

Women’s Sabre oxford harriet dixon zoe robinson

imperial

Men’s Sabre imperial mai ratneswaran chris lawrence

imperial

//FENCING

Saturday saw the Men’s Foil and Women’s Epee, we had a top 10 finish for Soeren Pfitzner in the Men’s Epee and two girls in the top 6 for the Women’s Epee. Caitlin Jones and Francesca Cavallo came up against each other in the QF with first year student Francesca taking the Victory. In the Semi Final Fran came up against Hannah Lawrence, it was an intense, close fixture going into extra time. Unfortunately Hannah scored the first point which meant Fran went home with a Bronze medal, a fantastic result for her first BUCS Individual Championships.

a fantastic, well deserved silver medal and a superb way to end such a successful weekend.

Sport Imperial Fencing.

The final day of fencing saw our final medal of the Championships with TOPSport scholar Zoe Robinson in the Women’s Sabre. After an early exit last year she was determined to improve, she made the final with ease and came up against Harriet Dixon from Oxford. After Harriet took an early lead, Zoe came back into the match but just missed out on Gold by 5 hits.

A fantastic, well deserved silver medal and a superb way to end such a successful weekend at the BUCS Nationals.

hallam scholar

caitlinchang fencing sheffield hallam ba geography and planning Random Fact: used to be obsessed with the phantom of the opera.

This year’s BUCS Nationals?

This being my fourth and final year at BUCs I was desperate to go out of my BUCS career on a high. I won BUCs the first year I competed in it, missed out on a medal the second year, and I also won last year, so I was really feeling the pressure to win it for a third time, especially as this year, some of my friends outside of fencing decided to come watch and support me. It was the first time some of my friends had ever seen me fence so I wanted to do well for them. BUCS has always has a fantastic atmosphere and it is really cool engaging with fencers from other universities especially as Sheffield Hallam does not have a fencing team, so I miss out on regular BUCS matches. In ways it can be difficult when you are fencing as your opponent tends to have loads and loads of support which I don’t usually have at BUCs so it was great I had a few friends there. I was also really happy that it was my Wingerworth Teammate, former GB team mate and friend Hannah Lawrence got to the final with me.

Your best achievement in your sport so far?

It is hard to pick out my singular best achievement in sport so far. Becoming double gold Junior Commonwealth Champion (individual and team), back in 2012 was definitely a highlight, medaling at the Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney in both the individual and team event for me really stands out, however my best achievement for me was probably when I was 15. I went to a Junior (under 20) World Cup in Bratislava and got to the quarter finals, getting to the top 8 of the hardest Junior World Cup aged only 15 will always be a key moment in my fencing career.

5 years from now?

I recently swapped nationalities from Great Britain to represent Jamaica which is something I am extremely proud of. Hopefully I will have medaled at the Senior Commonwealths, this year I got to the quarter finals narrowly losing to the eventual winner, bit annoying just missing out on a medal but no shame in losing to the Champion! Also hope to have competed in the Senior World Championships for Jamaica though my academic career is a top priority for me so I am uncertain exactly what the future holds in terms of my sport.

Keep Updated:

@chinpanzeeee

//Studentsportmagazine.com//43

Boing Boing Sheffield Hallam

Matthew Cannon

7team podiums Women’s bristol

169.3

surrey

165.2

cardiff

163.9

Men’s

cardiff met

159.9

southampton

159.4

manchester

158.1

by Tommy Stenton.

With almost 50% of SHU Trampolining making it through to the finals, it was a busy weekend for Hallam.

T

he Saturday saw 18 of Hallam’s competitors compete for a spot in Sunday’s finals, with some tough competition from other universities, Hallam managed to get an incredible 8 individual finalists. For the 44//Studentsportmagazine.com//

BUCS6 Women, Ruth Travell qualified in joint 9th position beating over 100 other students in the category.

BUCS5 finalists Jess Butler and Eliza Andrews performed some great routines with Eliza being able to grab the Gold. In the BUCS4 women, our three finalists, Vicki Jones, Danielle Allwright and Kate Springett were in 1,2,3 position with two competitors to go, moving them into 2nd 3rd and 5th positions respectively to win Silver and Bronze medals. Kate Springett qualified in 12th place but finished 5th in the finals for an impressive move up the ranks. Our BUCS4 men, which included the chair of the club Tommy Stenton, grabbed Silver (Matt Pierre) and Bronze (Stenton) for Another 2,3 finish in the finals.

Earlier that day we had

another 2-3 finish in the form of the synchro pairs which were Danielle Allwright and Kate Springett (Silver) and Tommy Stenton & Vicki Jones (Bronze). Overall, Hallam made a solid ‘home’ performance, netting more individual medals than any other university. They left with 7 Medals (5 Individual; 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze) Hallam are hoping to continue the success into our annual varsity fixture where we want to claim back the point from last year!

Jess Butler and Eliza Andrews performed some great routines with Eliza being able to grab the gold.

SHU Trampolining.

7team podiums edinburgh

84 pts

bath

44 pts 32 pts 26 pts 20 pts 20 pts 18 pts 16 pts 14 pts 14 pts 12 pts 12 pts 12 pts 10 pts 10 pts 10 pts 10 pts 10 pts 10 pts 8 pts 8 pts 8 pts 6 pts

coventry loughborough middlesex liverpool Queen mary nottingham exeter strathclyde gloucestershire kent manchester aston de montfort

karate

Rachel Bell

Alex Powell (Bath) went into the Men’s Novice Kumite +80 looking to defend his title from last year but was topped by Nottingham’s Jack Turner who took Gold, demoting last year’s champ down to Silver. Powell’s stablemate, Ashley Heath shared the podium in bronze position with Tukwasi Anukam of MDX. Kate Hopkins’ journey from Edinburgh was not in vain as she defended her Novice Kumite (+63) title with Stephanie Robson (Northumbria) placing silver with Middlesex pair of Ebdirisaak Sidow and Shikkum Limbu taking Bronze.

In the women’s senior Kumite, Kate Karwancinski

dropped from the -68 division to -61. The Queen Mary student won Gold, beating Emma Grech (Loughborough) to extend her championship record across two divisions.

Reigning senior Kumite (-84) champion, Ben Slater (Birmingham), ended up sharing bronze with Northumbria’s David Westgarth as Jamaal Otto of Coventry was crowned this year’s champion.

Steve Karwacinski (Queen Mary) completed the podium with silver.

Edinburgh retained the Mixed Team Kata Championship with Glasgow in second.

Durham and University College London shared bronze in third place.

essex hertfordshire kings college oxford brookes birmingham brunel leeds east anglia

Edinburgh’s women took top spot again in this year’s senior Kumite but it was Coventry who took first place in the men’s.

At the end of the weekend, the overall team standings left no room for confusion with Edinburgh claiming 84 collective points. Their closest rival was Bath - earning just over half of Edinburgh’s point total with 44, leaving Coventry in third with 32. //Studentsportmagazine.com//45

worcester basketball IMAGE: Paul Beard

by sally jones As the tables stand, both of Worcester’s 1st teams have played, won and lost the same number of games. But, with a goal difference of +180, it’s the Women’s 1s leading the stats.

the sport, which was only recently introduced to the BUCS programme.

Basketball in BUCS history.

Men’s captain, Kalil Irving, said: “This year has been a roller coaster with new players coming in, and everybody adjusting to each other. The team as a whole has got progressively better as the season has gone on.

The men’s team has been crowned BUCS Champions 8 times in the past 10 years, while Worcester is also reigning Champions in the wheelchair version of

“It has been great to see young new talent competing and contributing in their first

T

he University of Worcester is arguably one of the most successful universities for

46//Studentsportmagazine.com//

season, as well as some of the older guys develop their leadership abilities.

“The Big BUCS Wednesday is definitely something, as a team, we are looking forward to playing in. This year we are looked at as the young dogs again, a position we are becoming used to. However I believe that with the talent we have and the system we play under, if everybody comes and does their job we will be a team to reckon with. Overall, I am pleased with my team members and coaching staff as every year is a rebuilding process with new players in and the 3rd years gone.”

Worcester’s basketball

//WORCESTER.

Men’s NORTHUMBRIA LOUGHBOROUGH WORCESTER DURHAM LEEDS BECKETT SHEFFIELD HALLAM

P 10 10 10 10 10 10

W 8 7 5 4 3 3

D -

L 2 3 5 6 7 7

GD PTS 149 24 53 21 -41 15 7 12 -90 9 -78 9

Women’s OXFORD BROOKES LOUGHBOROUGH WORCESTER CAMBRIDGE BIRMINGHAM DE MONTFORT

P 10 10 10 10 10 10

W 10 8 5 4 3 0

D -

L 0 2 5 6 7 10

GD PTS 188 30 172 24 180 15 14 12 12 9 -566 -3

odyssey began with an innovative partnership between the University and pro league team the Worcester Wolves around 15 years ago. The City is now home to Great Britain’s wheelchair basketball squads, and is set to host the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships in 2015. The University also hosts the FIBA European Centre for Basketball Research, and is rapidly becoming the premiere place to combine sport and study.

Wolves co-founder, and the University’s Head of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, Mick Donovan, has overseen the creation of a basketball programme that provides an alternative option for UK students to develop

as players and scholars in England rather than always looking to move to a US university.

Throughout the development

we are committed to providing opportunities for our players to improve... of the University programme, many students have achieved national honours and also played for the successful BBL Worcester Wolves team.

Currently, the University second and third teams are well placed for promotion in BUCS 2A and 2B whilst competing against prestigious other university first teams.

Head Coach Paul James has been at Worcester for five years. “We are committed to providing opportunities for our players to improve as students and athletes and there is very much an Academy feel to our programme,” he said.

“We are very proud of our achievements and enjoy the challenges of emerging competitive universities.”

Significantly, the Women’s programme continues to improve in both the running and wheelchair versions of the game. University of Worcester Psychology student, Sophie Carrigill, is Captain of the Great Britain Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team.

She led her country in the World Championships in Toronto in June, when the team recorded their highest ever finish, at fifth.

She said she was feeling the benefit of pursuing dual elite sport and academic ambitions in an environment that is uniquely geared up to facilitate both: “Being based at Worcester has given me a great opportunity to be able to train with the team every day and to be fully involved with the centralised programme,” she said. “Trying to juggle work and training is tough, but there is a lot of support at the University.” //Studentsportmagazine.com//47

Crisp

Reviewed

Tech Tee The latest range of performance tee from Muscle-In. hips, you’re probably thinking that it’s about time to tighten up your training gear. In the latest range, MuscleIn have introduced a ‘tech tee’ designed for performance with stretch fabric. The tapered cut pulls in at the right place to frame your hardearned physique.

W

hat are you wearing to the gym this month? If you’ve been training hard the Price £22 past few months to www.muscle-in.com shake the Christmas cake, clinging stubbornly to your

New muscle in tech tee Performance T-Shirt colours: Black, Ebony, blue & white Men’s

If you’re training right you should be leaking, but, Muscle-In says: ‘the new ‘MPRO Technology’, moves the moisture to the fabric layer where it is easier to evaporate away from your skin. Coupled with anti-bacterial odour

The MI-Skin shorts utilise the same technology and comfort as the performance top and from £25 with 4-way stretch www.muscle-in.com fabric, they provide full range of motion.

Muscle-In have

Mi-Skin Performance Shorts Base layer Colours: Black or Ebony Men’s

48//Studentsportmagazine.com//

control, the idea is that you remain fresher for longer.’

With warmer weather ahead, it’s definitely worth a thought.

Crisp Score.

Price comfort Look Multi-purpose training overall - decent

• Available in S, M, L & XL. • Blue, Ebony-Grey, Black and White in stock.

• 95% Cotton 5% Elastane.

announced that their women’s range will be launching later on in the year.

Tip: Get a critical friend to assess whether you are ready to strut around in just base layers...just saying.

MI-Skin Performance Base Layers..

IN BLACK OR EBONY GREY ACROSS THE RANGE

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//Studentsportmagazine.com//49

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