Sport

Deputy Editors: Joe Sharp, Dani Kovacs Section Editors: Matt Holland oxstu.sport@gmail.com Sport

The unique sports of the University of Oxford Chess Joe Sharp and Dani Kovacs delve into some university sports you didn’t know you could try. Quidditch

Chess is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of sport at Oxford, but it is one of the biggest and oldest clubs at the university. Oxford University Chess Club was founded in 1861 and in 1873 they played our first Varsity match, beating Cambridge 10-3. Now over a century later the club is almost unrecognisable, they have gone from a small male only group to a large and inclusive club and now have regular matches, club nights, socials, as well as a variety of other events. But some things have not changed – last year they beat Cambridge in not one but two Varsity matches.

The game of chess is more popular than ever right now, over 600 million people play the game worldwide. TV shows such as The Queen’s Gambit have skyrocketed interest in the sport and cheating scandals have peppered the news. “There is no better time to start playing the game and get involved with OUCC!” said this year’s president Max French. “We have three teams which those interested in playing competitively can represent. These teams play in the local Oxfordshire league as well as various university competitions and last season all three teams won their respective divisions, winning all but one match between them. The first team also won the most recent in person British University Championships in 2020 and the tournament will return to its over-the-board format in 2023. The club is even busier away from competitive chess. We have a club night every Wednesday in Wadham, a chance for players to get to know each other and play some friendly games. We also run coaching twice a week, Monday for beginners and Tuesday for more advanced players. The most important part of our calendar though is of course the socials. We organise regular pub nights, crewdates, and if you’re lucky you might even catch us in Park End after a club night! This year we are also planning several one-off events. We have a very strong player coming to give a simultaneous display and also have plans for an overthe-board cuppers blitz competition. The event that we are most excited for however is an open rapidplay tournament that we hope to hold in Hilary term. This will be a great opportunity for university players to play in a serious tournament against chess players from all over the country. We have a very exciting year of chess ahead of us, both socially and competitively. If you are interested in getting involved, then check out our Facebook and Instagram pages and consider coming along to a club night or dropping us a message!” concluded French.

First appearing in the Philospher’s Stone, quidditch was one of the more memorable fantasy inventions audiences were introduced to in the legendary Harry Potter series. The sport, however, no longer purely exists within the fictional realm from which it was born. Rather it is now a wildly popular and ever growing university sport that you can can get involved with here in Oxford! While there may not be the same number of witches, wizards or flying broomsticks, the intensity and excitement of the quidditch found on the fields of Uni Parks is all the same as it was in the Pottersphere. The team’s secretary outlined that “Quidditch is a that originated in the US in 2005, but is now played all over the world”. They noted that “it combines elements of handball, dodgeball, and rugby, with the added challenge that players must be mounted on a broom at all times”. Moreover, despite typical assumptions, it is not a sport purely limited to the Oxbridge cult. Indeed the team’s secretary underscored to me that the team travels “round the country to compete in tournaments against other universities”. With the main tournament of the year being the British Quidditch Cup. Fancy! While in Oxford the Quidditch team also provides for a lively social scene. “Quidditch is a close-knit community with a friendly atmosphere which is very welcoming to newcomers” the secretary noted, with “fun and varied socials every Thursday”. Importantly the sport is also extremely accessible. Training is every Wednesday and Saturdays at 2pm in Uni Parks and are typically “fun, casual, no-commitment and always beginner-friendly”.

The secretary was keen to make clear that “There’s no other sport where you can go from zero experience to competing nationally in the space of less than a year!” To get involved you can find the Oxford Universities Quidditch Club on Facebook & Instagram or simply turn up to one of their trainings. End after a club night!

Go-Karting

Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and now you? The go karting club is a fun way to easily get involved in motor racing! While it might have been typically perceived as an exclusively affluent endeavour the newly renamed go karting club is a relaxed, yet exciting opportunity to race in national as well as inter university competition.

Speaking to Club President Anje Sharma he was determined to underline the reasonably priced nature of the sport. “membership is only 10 pounds a year” he said, with a membership to Team Sport, the kart providers, included. He went on to add that pricing for normal days down in Reading - where the university team race each other at the indoor track - only reaching up to 30 pounds. If your drive for competition (apologies) is even stronger however the team provides access to a selection of national competitions. The team enters up to two teams for the BUKC, a nationwide outdoor event in which any member can enter, as well as the BIKC, the indoor alternative. Moreover, competing in this team provides for a chance at a full blue with a varsity event against Cambridge in the summer.

The go karting provides for a “relaxed and fun” opportunity to get involved in a fairly unique experience. Anyone can participate.

To sign up be sure to fill in the team’s membership form found on their website, join their facebook group where all events are posted, and also sign up to their mailing list.

Sport Roger Federer: Goodbye to the GOAT

Jonah Poulard

Deputy editor

On Friday 23rd September, Roger Federer played his last game of professional tennis in London at the Laver Cup. It was certainly a fitting place to end his 24 year long career. Wimbledon, held in London, is the tournament most synonymous with Federer and his brilliance on court, where he found the most success, winning the tournament a record eight times, including a five year stretch of utter dominance between 2003-2007.

The Laver Cup being in essence an exhibition event, Federer was surrounded by the other greats that too have defined his career and this era. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and of course Rafael Nadal, with whom he played doubles in his final match, were the perfect company for his swansong. The occasion was of course a sombre one, tennis’ biggest ever icon was gone for good. Looking at the footage, it’s hard to tell who was crying more, Roger or Rafa. Naturally outpourings of sadness and remembrance engulfed social media, with pretty much every sportsperson and celebrity alike acknowledging the moment and sharing just their little part of the Federer legend.

The accomplishments and accolades that litter any exposition of Federer’s career are astounding, but many have been superseded by both of the other members of the Big Three. Rafael Nadal now has 22 Grand Slams, two more than both Federer and Djokovic, the latter still young and good enough to earn at least a couple more. Both Nadal and Djokovic have won more major titles (Grand Slams, Tour Finals and Masters 1000s combined), as well as leading their respective head-toheads against Federer. But neither are the GOAT.

Although in tennis circles debate is heated, in the public eye there is little contest at naming Federer the greatest, and there’s good reason for this. In almost every sport, to earn the respect and admiration of everyone who follows it, it’s not only what you did but how you did it that counts. Lewis Hamilton has the same number of F1 Championships as Michael Schumacher, and more GP wins, but it’s still controversial to call Lewis the GOAT over Schumacher, sometimes even over Senna too. Lebron James hasn’t come close to Michael Jordan in the eyes of many, and it approaches blasphemy to call Floyd Mayweather as greater than Muhammad Ali. Federer is not just a tennis player, but also a brand. According to Sports Illustrated, Federer earned $90 million in 2021, good for seventh highest in the world across all sports, despite his ranking plummeting and him playing few tournaments, winning none. The young Roger that an older generation may remember is a far cry from the consummate gentleman we regard him as now. With a trendy ponytail and flair in abundance, Federer soon knocked

Federer is a worldwide the old guard of legends like Sampras, Agassi and symbol of class and Hewitt down from the charisma: where we top, claiming it for his associate Nadal with underwear modelling, we own. In the transitional period of the mid-2000s, he had no challengers and see Federer with a classy no equals, winning all but

Rolex on his left wrist. one non-Roland Garros Slam between 2004 and 2007. It was at this time that Federer’s image became established and known around the world. In this period of utter dominance, it was not his grit, speed or power that wowed the world, but his skill, elegance and unwavering professionalism. Federer’s style on court was inspirational and attractive to everyone, if they knew tennis or not. In short, all of this is why he is so utterly

In transcending the missed. distinction between In transcending the dissporting legend and cultural icon, Federer’s tinction between sporting legend and cultural icon, Federer’s charisma, smile, charisma, smile, grace grace and golden personaland golden personality ity cemented him as both a cemented him as both a tennis god, and also a tennis god, and also a universally adored paragon of greatness in the wider universally adored paragon landscape of our time. of greatness in the wider Roger Federer has left landscape of our time. behind a multitude of memorable moments (forgive the alliteration), the Battle of the Surfaces, that 2008 Wimbledon final, the stunning blind smash against Andy Roddick, but I’ll leave you with my personal favourite. His 2017 Australian Open victory over Nadal brought an end to a five-year Grand Slam drought, plagued with injuries and disappointments. The championship was decided on a Hawkeye challenge, the ball lands in and Federer leaps for joy in the most pure and heartfelt expression of emotion of his career. The magic of Federer is that we all felt the exact same way.

Marathon Man Eliud Kipchoge Makes History

Alex Fagan

Recently Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge made history. Whilst racing around the streets of Berlin, he shattered the marathon world record by 30 seconds, running the 26.2 mile course in 2:01:09. This race cements Kipchoge as the greatest marathon runner of all time. But who is the Kenyan and why does this record matter?

For those unfamiliar with the sport of long distance running, going on a run for over two hours might sound slow. A plodding jog.

It was the apparent ease and comfort with which Kipchoge cantered around Berlin while making his kilometre splits of consistently below three minutes which made his run all the more impressive. Running each 5km split across the 42km race around the 14:30 mark. That’s lightning fast.

The Kenyan is no stranger to breaking records. Having grown up in Nandi County, he quickly became a distinguished middle distance runner. However, his real success would come after transitioning to the marathon distance. His time at this years Berlin marathon broke his own record which he set at the same event in 2018. He won gold at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathons, and has won the London marathon and the Berlin marathon a record 4 times each. Out of 17 marathons entered in his career, he has only failed to win two of them.

In the 2019 INEOS 1:59 Challenge, Kipchoge partnered up with brands such as Nike in a special event, geared towards facilitating the Kenyan running under the storied 2-hour mark at a marathon distance. On a crisp October morning in Vienna, Kipchoge ran the full distance in 1:59:40, smashing the 2-hour mark and undoubtably making history. This feat sent ripples across not only the world of sport but across mainstream media at the time. However, given this run was so impressive and was faster than his time last week, it per-haps begs the question: why does the recent world record matter?

At the 2019 INEOS challenge Kipchoge was the only athlete competing, doing laps around the same park in Vienna, with a timing car driving in front and, crucially, interchangeable pacemakers. This decision undoubtedly enabled him to run faster for longer, but also voided the time from being official.

This is why the recent world record is so significant. It proves that under regular race con-ditions the Kenyan can still perform and make history. He ran the first half with such speed that many commentators speculated that he might even dip under the 2-hour mark in that race. Unfortunately, Kipchoge couldn’t sustain his blistering pace and slowed slightly in the second half. Perhaps this results from his age: now 37, his days of elite marathon running are numbered, and despite appearing to bounce along the road with ease and comfort, it remains to be seen whether he can sustain this level of performance in the next few years, or even break the fabled 2-hour mark himself. Almost all sports have fierce debates surrounding who should be crowned the Great- est Of All Time, with partisan views expressed, friendships tested and consensus rarely reached. Jordan vs LeBron.

Federer vs Nadal. Messi vs Ronaldo. Kipchoge is the exception to the rule. Runners such as Haile Gebreselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, both of Ethiopia, are strong contenders, and of course, in the women’s event, athletes such as Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei and Britain’s own Paula Radcliffe have each made history. However, last week’s race proves that Eliud Kipchoge should still be held as the GOAT of marathon running.