2019 Programme
brought to you by:
Editorial Thanks Archie Biltcliffe – Head of Programme Emily Lui – Head of Design Sam Chilton – Head of Photography michael slavin - best boy
writers Archie Biltcliffe Charli West Chelsey King Georgia Willmot Lisa J. Cosham Michael Slavin Olivia Bicknell
Letter from Alexa Surrey Stags are raring to go with Varsity 2019 fast approaching - #itscominghome! Team Surrey have had a successful year so far, currently at 26 in the BUCS tables with plenty of non-BUCS and society successes to add. This year expect more society involvement both competitively and in the fan zone with performances, debates, discussions and activities throughout the day. A big theme this year is bringing the campus community together encouraging everyone to get to Surrey Sports Park, watch some competitions and get involved in the activities on offer. All staff and students are invited, Varsity is for everyone! We will be painting the campus blue and gold for the whole of March and we are expecting record numbers of spectators, so get your glitter at the ready and show your support. This is an excellent opportunity to welcome our friends from Royal Holloway back over to our world-class facilities. We were proud to make top 10 in the Which? University Student Survey 2018 for our top rated sports scene, we can’t wait to share this experience with Holloway on the 27th of March. There are some close rivalling sports, if you want to watch a close game go and check out: • Men’s Fencing- The Surrey team only 3 points ahead in the league • Men’s Volleyball- On equal points in the league • Men’s Basketball- their last game was won by Surrey 106-103 • Women’s Rugby- The Surrey team are just 5 points ahead in the league • Women’s Badminton- The Surrey team are just 5 points ahead in the league • Women’s Lacrosse- The Surrey team are just one position ahead *Based on BUCS.org (21/02/19) With some tough games ahead and such a close rivalry between the teams; Royal Holloway, you better bring your A-game #StagsVBears Alexa Vice President Activity
BALLROOM & LATIN
BASKETBALL (MEN’S) Story of the Season While it’s been a successful season, the best results of the year came from the national competition in Blackpool. It saw the novice dancers reaching the semi-final in both Ballroom and Latin, they placed third and eighth in the team categories and won the IVDC challenger trophy.
Key Dancer Mark Fullerton was initially a shy character in the club but he has really come into his own. He was put on the spot in our Blackpool competition when advance dancer, Ben, was injured, but he rose to the challenge and delivered. Surrey BLDC have never cheered so loudly!
Why We Should Watch A ballroom competition always defies expectations, with everyone getting excited and pretty raucous. It has more variety to other sports, with rounds of the Waltz, Quickstep, Cha Cha Cha and Jive. Plus, the dances will be filled to the brim with both grace and sass!
Story of the Season The Men’s 1st Team had a very successful season, especially considering the immense difficulties they have faced with their being multiple injuries in the team. Despite these injuries, they have managed to secure very important wins and finish in the top three in first division.
Key Player Alex Koukouravas is the team captain and a British Basketball League player. This season he has managed to fulfil his role as captain admirably due to his outstanding shooting and driving ability. Even under immense pressure he manages to score game-determining
Why We Should Watch The Varsity game will be the men’s third match up against Royal Holloway this season. At the moment the two are tied: Royal Holloway won the first game by one point and Surrey won the second game by three. Both games were close, but who will come out on top?
BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S)
F ENC ING
BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S) Story of the Season The women’s first team had a successful first season this year, finishing top of their BUCS league and were semi-finalists of the South Easter Cup. The team played well together despite the pressure and secured two-point wins on numerous occasions.
Key Player While all members of the team have been incredible this season, we gained a very talented fresher, Maria Gutierrez. She is impressive due to her strengths of being multi-skilled and agile, and making her an asset to the team, often playing important roles during crucial moments of the game.
Why We Should Watch The Women’s Team has put on a great show all year round, with their team spirit, mutual trust and mentality being key drivers throughout the season. Therefore, we can certainly rely on them to put on another very entertaining performance when playing against Royal Holloway.
Story of the Season We’ve had an outstanding performance from our players this year, the Men’s 1st Team are hoping to finish second in the league. The Women’s 1st team also experienced success, finishing third in the Premier South League and reached the quarter finals in the Cup.
Key Player Watch out for George Morris. This year he qualified for both the Junior EU and World Championships, which shows amazing dedication and perseverance.
Why We Should Watch Everyone should come and watch the fencing, both of our teams beat Holloway last year so we’re hoping for another victory with a big celebration afterwards!
FOOTBALL (MEN’S) FOOTBALL (WOMEN’S) Story of the Season It’s been a mixed year for the club in terms of performance, with the 1st Team suffering relegation, the 2nd and 3rd Teams finishing mid-table and the 4th and 5th Teams fighting for promotion in their leagues. The Varsity squad will be made up of final-year players from across these five teams.
Key Player The key players in the Men’s Varsity squad are the two 1st Team captains – Piers Oldland and Addison Bray. They have consistently stood out from the players on both their team and the oppositions as well, with a combined 16 goals and 21 assists for the duo this year.
Why We Should Watch For most of the players, this will be their last ever Wednesday appearance in a Surrey shirt, so it would mean a lot to them for people to come down and support them as their careers with UoSFC come to an end. We look forward to seeing you there!
Story of the Season Women’s Football has had a great season so far, with the 1st Team reaching the quarter finals of the Conference Cup meaning they are likely to finish 2nd in the league. A special mention goes to the 2nd Team who are in prime position to win their league and get promoted.
Key Player Lauren Kennedy is a highly committed member of the Women’s 1st Team. She plays every week even though she is on a placement year and is a vital player to the team having started for them three years in a row.
Why We Should Watch Students should come to watch Women’s Football because every single player is passionate about football which translates into how they play and the atmosphere that is generated on the pitch. If you want to see what Surrey spirit looks like, then come down to watch Women’s Football at Varsity!
HOCKEY (MEN’S) Story of the Season Now competing in South Eastern 1A, we’re focusing on our dynamic and gameplay to match our opponents, so it’s hard work but paying off!
Key Player Our 1st Team Captain Freddie Knott has led the team really well, giving continuous support to our players.
Why We Should Watch We are known for having a great atmosphere pitch-side, after all our motto is ‘one club one love’, come and see for yourselves!
HOCKEY(WOMEN’S) Story of the Season We’ve recently been promoted into South Eastern 1A, so it’s been tough! We’ve been training hard and improving our gameplay; after all we’re competing with the very best in the league.
Key Player Our 1st Team Captain Becky Williams has been a huge part of our team’s success, being super supportive at every training session and match.
Why We Should Watch Our members give such great support and we’d love to get even more from viewers. Plus, the boombox will be blasting tunes all day!
LA CROSSE (MEN’S) Story of the Season The Men’s Team were newly promoted to the Premier League this year, so it has been tough to adapt to the higher standard of play. However, this season has helped the team understand what level of play they need to aim for, and how they can prepare for the upcoming BUCS season.
Key Player Jack Lomax is a fresher to lacrosse but has picked up the sport very quickly and has been solid in defence. He made his debut in November and has played every game since, always in contention for the man of the match award. He’s a fast, athletic player whose speciality is helping transition to ball from defence into attack.
Why We Should Watch We have recently played Holloway at the Surrey Showdown on Saturday 16th of March and had some great games. The Tournament included other local lacrosse clubs and provided vital prep for the team before Varsity. The Men’s team showed promising game play against Holloway, hopefully resulting in success at Varsity.
LA CROSSE (WOMEN’S) moment of the Season The match against Reading was the closest game played all season and everyone played incredibly as a team. Defence did a great job eliminating drives to goal and attack played completely unified throughout. The final score was 3-2 to Reading, but everyone came out of the game feeling like we won!
one to watch
Hana was a fresher this year and had never played lacrosse, let alone in goal. She has been so dedicated to both the first team and the development team and we would not be where we are without her. Alongside her amazing goalie skills, she is a ray of sunshine who manages to get everyone hyped and stay positive!
Why We Should Watch Lacrosse is great to watch as it is an extremely high energy and unique sport. We guarantee a great atmosphere as we have played Royal Holloway twice this season and won both games! Alongside this, the Captain has established a training plan that is bound to get the team hyped and ready for the big day.
POLE FITNESS
Story of the Season We had had a very successful and popular Varsity tryouts of this season, all try-outs demonstrating very high standards. The try-outs were very exciting and suggest that this year’s will be Pole Fitness’ biggest yet. The girls can’t wait to demonstrate the skills of that the team have learnt this year and how far they have come!
Key ATHLETE Qiqi Su is our key girl for the Varsity team as she had never had any experience at Pole Fitness before she joined the society this year and has shown excellent progression. She is now the Social Sec for Pole Fitness and will be competing in the experienced category.
Why We Should Watch Pole fitness is a very unique sport that combines pole dancing with fitness, and it is gaining a lot of popularity at an ever-increasing rate. Pole fitness will offer an empowering performance by all the amazingly talented Varsity team, despite some of the girls being beginners prior to this year.
FENCING
RUGBY (Men’s)
STORY of the Season The University of Surrey Rugby 1st XV has had a very successful season securing 2nd place in South Eastern 1A. Losing only 2 away games to Brighton and Essex respectively. An improvement on last season moving up one place from 3rd. There is still potential for a play-off for promotion at present depending on what happens with other leagues higher up the BUCS competition structure. Next job however... Varsity!
AREAS to watch
All of our players are integral to our game plan, watch out for the forwards upfront in the scrum and maul and when the time is right the backs light up the pitch with their speed and handling skills! Why We Should Watch:
Why We Should Watch If you’ve watched any of the Six Nations over the past couple of months you will have seen some very confrontational rugby. Our student side has its own brand where we try to play with width and pace and score tries at every opportunity!
BASKETBALL S V GS (WOMEN’S)
FENCING
ULTIMATE FR ISBEE Story of the Season Surrey Video Gaming Society competes in several university leagues for many different video games, with varying degrees of success. This year they have put forward 19 teams across seven games in semester one and 14 teams across six games in semester two, as well as numerous solo players.
Key Player Ben ‘Hellmight’ Hirschfield is one of the societies’ Counter-Strike players who has been a core member of the 1st Team since he arrived in September. He is consistently leading the team in kills and takes the role of in-game leader for the squad, often calling mid-round strategies for the team.
Why We Should Watch This is the first year SVGS are at Varsity, where they will be playing many of their popular games: League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It is a unique event at Varsity and very competitive, where they will showing off their very best gaming skills.
STORY of the Season This year Team Surrey Ultimate has been highly successful, winning every BUCS and Cup game they have played this season. On top of this, their Mixed Indoor Ultimate Team is currently ranked 10th in the Country, while both their Women’s and Men’s teams have qualified for the Outdoor Nationals in April.
KEY PLAYER Jonah Varney has been a key player this year and will be the Captain for Team Surrey Ultimate next academic year. He has four and a half years of experience playing the game and is part of Great Britain’s U24s Ultimate Team, making him a highly valuable player.
Why We Should Watch Ultimate Frisbee is fast paced with no waiting time for the action. It’s a highly dynamic sport, which never fails to entertain an audience with every point being different. Team Surrey Ultimate is a very successful team with two GB players on the roster, making our games intense and high energy.
AMER ICAN BASKETBALL FOOTBALL (WOMEN’S)
FENCING
ATHLETICS Story of the Season Our season had a troubled start, we were struggling to get our offence up and running and lost our first three games. Post Christmas we were on to a winning streak, finding our rhythm. We made playoffs in a dramatic fashion after a mini league was formed and we won on an aggregate points against.
Key Player A key player to watch is our Quarter Back Brendan Hassan. This is his rookie year and he has done an incredible job leading the team. The QB is one of the hardest position in sports, and he has done an incredible job rejuvenating the offence.
Why We Should Watch You should come and watch because there is nothing more exciting than a big American Football play. The big hits, the deep throws, the long runs are exhilarating. The atmosphere is always exciting and the louder the noise the better the plays.
STORY of the Season The club has grown massively this year, reflected in a huge uptick of members and the creation of our sprint group! Despite a couple of key runners graduating or going on placement, we have still managed to be competitive at BUCS.
KEY PLAYER Our President Brad is definitely one to watch out for over the XC! A key member of the club in both his role as President and as a runner.
Why We Should Watch The XC will be going through the sports park so look out for runners going past and make sure to provide support! The relays are always exciting, a true test of who is better - Royal Holloway or Surrey?