Issue 227

thewaterfront

Free Issue 227 22 April 2013 waterfrontonline.co.uk

INSIDE

the official student newspaper of swansea university

Your eight page guide to Varsity all the teams, all the previews

HEADLINING: Professor Green

RAPPER: Mikill Pane

SIZZLING! SUMMER BALL LINE-UP RISING STAR: Nina Nessbit

SINGER SONGWRITER: Tich

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk THE official summer ball line up has finally been released with Professor Green being confirmed as headlining the event.

Supporting acts include Sub Focus and iQ, Nina Nessbit, B.trais and Fuma from Radio One, Bondax, Mikill Pane and Tich. Goldie Lookin Chain will also be performing.

Russell Wade, events and innovations officer for Swansea University Students’ Union, said: “I am really pleased with the line-up. It is better than last year and more varied.

“We’ve got a commercial pop act in Professor Green and it’s a coup to get him as he’s only doing festivals at the moment.

“I am very excited that we have got Goldie Lookin Chain on their 10th anniversary tour. It’s quite symbolic as they were headliners for the summer ball ten years ago when we first moved back onto campus.

“Nina Nessbit has a new single out that is in the UK top 40 and she is tipped to be the next big female artist.

“We’ve also got rap/urban artist Mikill Pane on his UK tour with his full live band behind him. He has played at Sink before when he was starting out and went down really well.”

The main stage will also be used to showcase Swansea University Students’ Union Choral Society and Big Band.

Local artists from Swansea and Swansea University are also included in the line-up.

Mr Wade said: “We have got a lot more local and student acts this year. In fact, there is a whole stage devoted to them, which we’ve organised with Oak Sessions and the Live Music Society.”

This year, new attractions will be introduced to the event including a second stage, alongside the main stage, called The Ghetto Blaster which allows DJs to perform from the tape deck of a 1980’s style Ghetto Blaster.

Red Bull will also be introducing a silent

disco area called Junkyard and a new pub style bar called The Singing Swan will provide entertainment from Oak Sessions during the day and Karaoke for students during the evening.

Mr Wade said: “Red Bull are doing a silent disco and unveiling their new cocktail menu and we have lots of free funfair rides.

“It’s going to be amazing. I am really proud as it is the only university summer ball left in Wales.”

The ball will be held on the meadow behind the library from 4pm - 12 midnight on June 3.

The early bird tickets costing £35 sold out on the first day of selling, but tickets costing £40 are still available. Tickets are available from Fulton Outfitters and online at swanseasummerball.com

02 I NEWS

thewaterfront 22. 04. 13

thewaterfront Third floor, Students’Union Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP (01792) 295 988 web: waterfrontonline.co.uk twitter: thewaterfrontSU facebook: the waterfront swansea

University’s income will jump by 25% next year

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

Editor Kay Byrne editor@swansea-union.co.uk News

Gemma Parry waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk Crime & Investigations

Chris Flynn waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk Front & Website

Jon May

SWANSEA University will have its funding increased by almost a quarter in the academic year of 2013-14 in an overall increase of 13.6% across Welsh universities.

According to funding allocations for institutions released by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, Swansea University will receive the greatest increase in funding.

There will also be substantial increases at Glyndwr University (20.3%), Swansea Metropolitan University of Wales Trinity Saint David (19.5%) and Cardiff University (14.9%)

front@swansea-union.co.uk Features

Samantha Booth waterfrontfeatures@swansea-union.co.uk

Wales is introducing a similar undergraduate funding system to England: the government is phasing out central teaching grant and replacing it with student tuition fees of up to £9,000 a year.

The difference is that Welsh students only have to pay £3,575 of their fees and the Cardiff government will make up the rest.

Welsh universities are getting a funding boost in 2013-14 because the increase in fee income is outstripping cuts in the teaching grant.

Research funding, however, is to be frozen at £71.1m, with over half of this (£40.2m) being awarded to Cardiff University.

A spokesperson for Swansea University said: “The funding announcement from HEFCW will help us plan confidently for the next two years, continuing to focus on

making sure that our students share the best experience possible both in terms of their teaching and learning and also the quality of student life.

“We want our students to achieve good degrees and then enjoy good careers.”

David Blaney, the new chief executive of Hefcw, said, “We don’t expect the higher education sector in Wales to receive less [in] combined fees and public funding in the next academic year as a result of changes in the way we fund. Indeed, if recruitment from Wales and the rest of the UK is buoyant, there is every reason to presume income to universities can increase.”

The only institution that will see its income drop in 2013-14 will be the Open University in Wales (-13.8 per cent).

First ever Faith Week a big success

Sport

Craig Hadley, Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk Music

Alex Gibbs waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk Film

Saul Masters waterfrontfilm@swansea-union.co.uk Showtime

Catrin Lewis waterfrontculture@swansea-union.co.uk Listings

Olivia Rosenthall waterfrontfrontrow@swansea-union.co.uk

Alex Ward waterfrontsocieties@swansea-union.co.uk Fashion

waterfrontfashion@swansea-union.co.uk Games

Mathew Jones

waterfrontgames@swansea-union.co.uk Travel

Rachael Wines waterfronttravel@swansea-union.co.uk Relationships

waterfrontrelationships@swansea-union. co.uk Website

waterfrontweb@swansea-union.co.uk Advertising

Annie Cottam (01792) 602496

by Catrin Lewis

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk STUDENTS have been urged to check that they are protected as Swansea experiences a major measles outbreak.

Since the outbreak more than a month ago, the number of confirmed cases has risen to over 765.

The outbreak has been caused by the low take-up rate of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the city in recent years, thanks to a report in 1998 which showed a possible link between the vaccine and autism.

Although the research was debunked in 2010 and the doctor responsible struck off, the numbers of people left unprotected has meant that the illness has been able to spread more easily than it would otherwise.

Potentially fatal, and with symptoms often taking up to ten days to become apparent after becoming infected, it is vitally important that students ensure that they have had both doses of the MMR vaccine to keep infection rates to a minimum.

Marie Fall, a third year Medical Science and Humanities student said: “I wasn’t immunised as a child, and I don’t think it was silly, it was down to a lack of good information at the time…

“Parents were doing what I imagine they thought was best at a time of confusing information. That scare still lingers in people’s minds, sadly, it certainly lingered in mine until I learnt about it last year and it was only then that I was immunised.”

Students can visit local hospitals and their GPs surgery to obtain the vaccine where necessary.

NUS elects its new president

Societies

Cat Harris, Fran Lloyd

Measles outbreak warning

EXCHANGE OF IDEAS: Pam Evans from the Peacemala charity (right) chats to members of the Islamic Society.

by Chris Flynn

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk LAST term saw the first successful Faith Week at Swansea University, with many faiths and religions gathering to celebrate different cultures.

Organised in conjunction with the university and the students’ union, it has been hailed as a success by various faiths.

Mahaboob Basha, the Students’ Union’s International Officer, thought up and organised the week of events.

They included a series of lectures presented by the Islamic Society, explaining various aspects of Islam.

The Pagan Society, last year’s winner of the Students’ Union Best New Society Award, also held an introductory talk about their faith.

The main part of the week consisted of a large marquee being erected

next to Fulton House, where each faith participating had a stall with information for those visiting.

The week ended with a meal hosted in the Fulton House Refectory, which was attended by leaders of various faiths in Swansea.

Josh Hayman, the Societies and Services Officer, said: “It was excellent to see so many different faiths represented, it shows what cultural diversity we have here on campus.”

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WOULD you like to learn valuable journalistic skills and increase your employability by volunteering for The Waterfront?

We are looking for people to write about news, sport

and features. The final edition of The Waterfront this academic year is out on Monday, May 6, so if you have an idea for a story or feature you would like to write, please write to editor@swansea-union.co.uk.

by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk TONI Pearce was elected as President of the National Union of Students (NUS) at the union’s national conference in Sheffield on April 9.

Toni won the election in the first round with 424 of the 732 valid votes cast.

Toni, who is currently NUS VicePresident (Further Education) becomes the first NUS President who has not been to university. More than 450 of NUS’ affiliated students’ unions are in further education (FE) institutions and the majority of the students NUS represents are in FE. In her manifesto, Toni said her priorities for her presidency would include linking college and university students’ unions together to fight for local wins in the upcoming general election.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 03

Late payment of loans leaves many students struggling to pay their bills

by Jon May

front@swansea-union.co.uk THOUSANDS of students were left without money at the start of term because of a university admin error.

Every student at Swansea University who receives a maintenance loan or maintenance grants from the Student Loans Company will receive their loan payments today - Monday 22nd April a week after term started.

An email from university management reveals this was because of the Students Loan Company not receiving a change in term dates from the university.

This delay in payment has had a big impact on some students returning

from the Easter break. The Money Advice centre has seen an influx of students seeking advice on how to cope.

Students’ Union general secretary Ruthie Oldham said she has been unable to pay £900 in rent. Fortunately, her landlord was flexible: “She’s [the landlord] really good about that kind of thing - she wanted rent last month but we asked if it could be pushed back until term started because of loans but I literally have no money for the next week.”

Hollie Downer, a current student said: “Kind of sucks when I need to buy food and a lot of dance stuff for the upcoming show, of which we have rehearsals for from the first week!”

A Swansea University spokesperson said: “The payment date is a week later than the start of term due to an administrative oversight for which we apologise to all students affected.

“Students were informed by the Student Loan Company at the start of the academic year that the payment date for loans/grants this term would be April 22. In addition, the university emailed students before they left for Easter to remind them of the payment date.

“They were also given information about how to seek help from the university if they were faced with financial hardship.”

Students’ Union Education officer Zahid Raja said: “Many students have

Uni bids to gets more students from disadvantaged areas

SUCCESS STORY: Sian Maunder (left) who gained a degree in Adult Nursing at Swansea University despite having gained no A Levels at school. by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk A NEW academy is being launched at Swansea University with the aim of attracting more people from different backgrounds to study here, especially people from disadvantaged areas.

The academy is called SAILS - the Swansea Academy of Inclusivity and Learner Support. It will be providing opportunities and support for people in school and college and the community.

Many students already come to Swansea via very different routes. They include Sian Maunder who has proved that you don’t need A levels to succeed.

Sian has a degree in Adult Nursing, having

studied at the university’s College of Human and Health Sciences.

She said: “I didn’t sit A levels at school so decided to attend an access to university course, which gave me the qualifications I needed to get into university.

“I really enjoyed the course at Swansea University. I loved my community and accident and emergency placements. At times the shift work alongside the essays and exams was quite stressful, but it was all worth it.”

Professor Alan Speight, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Swansea University, said: “SAILS demonstrates the university’s enduring commitment to widening access to higher education and to ensuring students receive the highest quality support. “

New train service will make commute to Swansea much easier FROM 20 May 2013 a new Arriva train service will be running from Cardiff leaving at 7.14am and arriving in Swansea at 8.30am.

This will make commuting

to Swansea University from the east much easier. There is also going to be an enhanced service from West Wales.

The new timetable is not up on the Arriva website yet, but

if you check journeys at the link below and set the date past 20/5 all the revisions show. http://ojp.nationalrail. co.uk/service/planjourney/ search

been affected by the late payments of loans and grants. These are tough economic times and many students do not have a safety net beyond student loans and the maintenance grants.

“For students who had deadlines at the start of the term (before the payment), the late payments would have certainly had a detrimental impact on their student experience.

“If anyone feels that the loans had an impact on their academic performance, they should get in touch with the Students’ Union advice centre. If you’ve had bank charges as a result of the late payments, you are advised to get in touch directly with the university registrar: Raymond.

Ciborowski@swansea.ac.uk.”

Blood donors are needed THE Welsh Blood Service will be on campus in Café West & The Surf Room (both in Fulton House) – on Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th & Friday 26th April between 10am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 4.20 pm. Students and staff can ring the service on 01443 622193 or e-mail them on donorappoinments@wales.nhsuk to make an appointment.

Man charged with murder of ex-student

by Chris Flynn

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk A MAN has been charged with the murder of a former Swansea University student. Pilot Steven Barrett, 27, was found dead at his flat in Edinburgh this month.

Mr Barrett, originally from Bridgend, had become a pilot in the RAF after leaving S w a n s e a University in 2007.

Whilst with the RAF, he trained to fly Hawk jets and even won an award for being pilot of the year.

He joined the commercial airline, Flybe, in 2012 after he was made redundant from the RAF because of military cuts.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with Mr Barrett’s murder, as well as another offence known as attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Darren McLauchlan made no plea at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 05

Five-hour queue for Varsity ticket collection sparks student outrage

by Samantha Booth

due to a fault within the Athens log in system.

Michael Simmons said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students who queued that day for being so co-operative and patient.

It’s not ideal and it’s obvious that we don’t want you to be queuing for that period of time, it’s purely unfortunate circumstances and an overwhelming spike in sales that we could never predict. “

waterrontfeatures@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA students were furious after being forced to spend up to five hours queuing to collect their Varsity tickets on campus.

Around 3,500 students who bought the Welsh Varsity package online were told to pick up the tickets from the Varsity marquee on Monday, 18 March from 1-5pm only.

Many students waited for hours only to find that tickets had run out.

They then had to return the following day to queue again outside Fulton Outfitters to pick up their packages.

Students were also told to collect their tickets with their friends to ensure that they were seated together and some missed lectures to ensure they could be allocated groups of seats.

The students’ union events and innovation manager, Russell Wade said: ”Unfortunately when 3,500 students are collecting packages on one day there will always be a queue.

We were asked by the University Varsity group to arrange a collection on one day and due to limited storage space for the volume of t-shirts this

OUTRAGE: Students queued for hours down the mall and missed lectures to get tickets. was the only way it could be carried out.

“Reports show us that we completed ten collections a minute and managed to sit every student with their friends, an achievement we are very proud of.”

However, Leigh Moss, a Marine Biology student, waited for three hours to be told she could not be seated with her friends: “Three hours wait and I didn’t even get seats with my friends. We’re students, this is a stressful week of deadlines, vital lectures and practicals… We don’t have time to queue for so long.”

Students have suggested spreading the collection out through the week to

relieve the queuing system.

A second year English Literature and History student, Ina Pace, said: “I waited four hours and having it on one day is ridiculous. They should anticipate the queue and spread out the collection through an entire week.”

Michael Simmons, the entertainment co-ordinator of the students’ union said match tickets ran out because the high demand was unexpected and staff illness prevented more tickets being made available quickly.

There were also problems in the online sales when the ticket website crashed

Paid work placements for students in summer holidays

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk PAID work placements will be available to students following the launch of a new scheme.

Swansea University, in collaboration with the Students’ Union Education Officer and the South Wales Evening Post, has launched the Swansea University Paid Internship Network (SPIN).

SPIN is a paid placement available to all students to apply to, which takes place over the summer holiday day period.

The placements are paid at the minimum wage level and would last from around four to six weeks.

The aim is for the students to undertake either a single large project or a range of smaller projects, determined by the employer to fit with their business needs.

Swansea University Students’ Union Education Officer, Zahid Raja, said: “When I was elected last year, I promised we’d move employability up the agenda. When it comes to employability, the Students’ Union has always said that the best work experience we can give to students is a paid experience.”

“Where students take on meaningful projects and are recognised for their work like they would in any other job outside of University.

Swansea University Paid Internship Network is another step in this direction.”

Businesses who take part in the scheme will be highlighted in the South Wales Evening Post for their contribution in helping create the future leaders of our economy.

SPIN is open to all students to apply but is targeted at 2nd year students in particular.

Payment is made directly by the employer to the student.

Engineering student leads the way with award

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk A SWANSEA University student has been recognised as one of the UK’s most exceptional engineering undergraduates.

Dan Eade, (pictured) won a Royal Academy of Engineering Advanced Leadership Award, with which he has chosen to attend the European Congress of Chemical Engineering in the

Hague and to get experience of working in Asia.

Mr Eade said: “I was thrilled to be given the award. The great

thing about the award is that you choose what you want to do. I have attended the annual training event in Birmingham in September, and I am attending the European Congress of Chemical Engineering in the Hague in Holland.”

“With the rest of my award, I hope to gain international working exposure in Asia over the summer and increase my business knowledge by doing a course in the near future,” he added.

QUEUING : A British obsession!

Postgrad teachers underpaid

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk NEW research has revealed that almost a third of postgraduate students who teach earn less than the minimum wage.

The research, by the National Union of Students, has shown that postgraduate teachers are on average working twice as many hours per week as they are paid for.

The report, ‘Postgraduates Who Teach’, surveyed nearly 1500 postgraduate teachers about their working conditions, pay and motivations.

The average hourly pay for postgraduates who teach was revealed to be £19.95 but, when considering their actual working hours, it was revealed that the ‘real hourly wage’ is £10.39.

The survey also found that a third (31%) received no contract of employment and one in five have received no formal training for their teaching role.

Additionally, for a small percentage (5%) teaching was a required part of their study or that their funding was contingent on teaching, regardless of their desire or aptitude for teaching.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 07

Swansea v Cardiff uni rugby match WAS fixed, rules governing body

by Jon May

front@swansea-union.co.uk UNIVERSITY sport’s governing body BUCS has ruled that the result of a league match between Cardiff and Swansea ‘s rugby first XVs was fixed and has declared the game void.

Following the BUCS ruling, Cardiff University has launched a full investigation, but Swansea University

says that it will be taking no further action.

Cardiff and Swansea universities were under investigation by the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) about a match in mid-February where the result was declared to be a 10-10 draw, but a complaint suggested the match had never taken place.

Swansea University held their own investigation before BUCS ruled the match void and decided that no

further action was appropriate.

In light of the ruling, Cardiff University said the matter was now “subject to its own internal investigation proceedings” A spokesperson for BUCS said it had “robust rules and regulations” and had taken the complaint of match fixing very seriously.

“The case was presented to an independent sports resolution panel with both universities present.

“The fixture was deemed as void with no rearrangement or points awarded,” said the spokesperson.

Had Swansea won the match in a fair game, they could have got fourth place and been in with a chance for the play-off.

The draw result would have meant that Cardiff would had a better chance in the battle for a play-off place, at the expense of the University of Bath, who are in fourth place.

£3m award for research centre SWANSEA University has been awarded £3m to continue hosting the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s premier research facility in Mass Spectrometry.

The university won the bid to host the centre against competition from leading universities throughout the UK. The centre, which is available to all UK university research groups, specialises in chemical analysis and underpins leading research of UK scientists.

Professor Gareth Brenton, head of the Institute of Mass Spectrometry said: “Mass Spectrometry at Swansea has consistently delivered high-quality research, training and teaching. We will continue developing this important scientific discipline and train future research leaders.”

TRAIL: Iolo Williams (above) with students at the launch, and (below) with children from the creche.

Wildlife presenter launches university nature trail by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk TV wildlife presenter Iolo Williams came to Swansea University to encourage staff students, visitors and local people to discover the range of natural habitats at the campus by launching a nature trail.

The trail takes walkers through a range of environments on the campus including woodland, a pool, a marsh and a formal garden.

The Biodiversity project team hope that staff, students and visitors will soon be enjoying the trail and that children from the university

crèche will also use it to learn more about the natural world.

Nature trail maps and leaflets are available along with six information signs around the trail explaining the Biodiversity Action Plan and what the university does to look after wildlife on the site.

Dr Heidi Smith, Swansea University’s Sustainability Manager said: “The nature trail is a simple guided walk. If people have 30 minutes to spare during their lunch break or before their film starts at the Taliesin Arts Centre they should take the opportunity to connect with this wonderful natural environment.”

Waterstone’s book store is set to close

by Jon May

front@swansea-union.co.uk CAMPUS bookstore, Waterstones will be closing at the end of April as part of a nationwide restructuring by the book chain.

The university wouldn’t be drawn into what would be replacing the closing store, with a spokesperson saying: “The university is currently in negotiation with four companies to ensure the continuity of this service on campus. As discussions are ongoing we are not able to name any of the companies.”

Students seemed to be unimpressed by the loss of the store, with Alex McKenzie, an English and American Studies student, saying: “[I’m] not too bothered as I either get books in advance online for cheaper or from the library.”

Ina Pace, an English Literature and History student, said: “Always get mine second hand from Amazon [as] Waterstones is expensive.”

WH Smith could be one of the companies in the frame to replace Waterstone’s, having recently announced its intention to expand into university campuses.

08 I NEWS

thewaterfront 22. 04.13

Swansea Uni to host 2014 European paralympic athletics championship

by Jon May

front@swansea-union.co.uk

by Laura Fiteni

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk A BID by Swansea University to host the 2014 Paralympic (IPC) European Athletic championships has been accepted, to make Swansea the first UK city to host the championships.

It is hoped that by staging the championships, Swansea University can showcase its commitment to providing leading sporting facilities and delivering high-exposure championship competitions as part of the city’s dedication to inclusive sport.

Professor Richard B Davies Vice-Chancellor Swansea University said,“We are pleased that the IPC has recognised that Swansea University can deliver such a high-profile Championship event.

“Wales is a proud sporting nation and nowhere is that pride more evident than when it comes to Paralympic and disability sport.”

Hosting training camps for both Mexico and New Zealand Paralympic teams, Swansea made a significant contribution to the success of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London last year and it is hoped that the 2014 Championships can build on this impact by further raising the profile of disability sport across Wales and the UK. It is expected that the home crowd will coax the best performances from UK athletes and drive them to a place on the podium.

Furthermore, the experience will be essential in their

Students create time saving app

COMPETING: Welsh paralympians. preparations for Rio 2016 and London 2017.

The bid, which promised to deliver a world-class event with high-quality facilities, was based on a strong

partnership approach involving The Welsh Government, The City and County of Swansea, Disability Sport Wales and British Athletics.

THE entrepreneurial society, Enactus has created an application that has created a 99.7% time saving.

There are Enactus teams at 51 universities across the UK and in preparation for their national competition they were required to submit details about every member.

The form meant the Swansea team would have spent eight hours filling in details of its 120 members, but the automation in the application shaved this down to 90 seconds.

Teams from across the country benefited from the time saving. Shaun Cassingham from Nottingham Trent University thanked the Swansea team, adding it had “saved me so much time” and Saahil Doshi from Kent University commented: “This app was pretty awesome! It saved loads of time.”

Written for Windows computers

by Enactus member Jon May, the application which was free to download was rolled out to all UK teams.

The Enactus Swansea team went to London last week to compete in the Enactus National Competition.

www.waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 09

Why lad culture is not welcome on campus going to some clubs any more.”

Alex Hughes, a second year Social Policy student, said: waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk “I’d say that pretty much every time I go out, some guy will either grab or touch me without my consent or A NEW report from the National Union of Students say inappropriate things. I agree that it is the boys 18has called for universities, students’ unions and the 21 who do it more. Older guys on the whole are more government to recognise the negative effect ‘lad respectful. Although creepy guys do annoy me I do culture’ is having on women in higher education think it is important to remember that a lot of guys don’t and to fight against it. behave like that!”

Published in March, the ‘That’s What She Said’ report Despite its prevalence within the social side of contains analysis of research undertaken through university, lad behaviour is also said to be spilling over single and group interviews with female students from into the academic. This is prevalent within the negative England and Scotland and found laddish behaviour to attitudes towards feminism and other gender-related be a major issue at universities. topics in academia.

Defined as a ‘pack’ mentality, usually residing within The growth in websites such as UniLad, a banter groups and fuelled by heavy alcohol consumption, site aimed at students, has meant that this culture lad culture is based on the use of sexist, homophobic has become more widespread as it is celebrated and and misogynistic ‘banter’; it has also been linked to the encouraged by both the website and its readers. With normalisation of sexual harassment current articles including ‘5 places to and violence against women. As a “It’s mostly misogynists have a wee after a night out’, it is clear consequence, groping and sexual that people are being encouraged to covering for their harassment (both physical and participate in laddish behaviour . insecurity about their verbal) has been quoted as ‘part of a On a more positive note, the report normal night out’, both within in the penis size, height, and also highlights that not every male is report and from Swansea students part of this culture, which is mostly intelligence” interviewed. the fault of a minority.

Some bars and clubs embrace lad Adam Halton, a third year Social culture, using it as part of their marketing techniques to Policy student said: “Lad culture gives a hideously dim persuade men into bars with the lure of cheap alcohol view of male students as sexist meatheads, and harms and sexual activity. In Swansea, some clubs use scantily females by perpetuating misogyny and rape culture. clad women on their promotions material and hold “In my opinion, it’s mostly misogynists covering events such as ‘traffic light parties’ where people are for their insecurity about their penis size, height, and encouraged to highlight their sexual availability. intelligence. Frankly, it’s the most hideous thing about Jayde, a 20-year-old Osteopathy student said: “I think university since the coalition tripled tuition fees.” it’s pretty standard on a night out, even when I’ve been Rob Abrams, a 22-year-old Politics and Social Policy wearing jeans and a normal top I’ve been groped so it’s student said:“I feel under immense pressure to conform not like we‘ask for it’. I get pretty angry sometimes.” to it. Especially as someone who doesn’t especially like Anna, a student from Health Sciences added: “If I get drinking. Lad culture seems to be, I feel, a product of groped and retaliate, they act like I’m in the wrong! It’s young men coming to university and leaving home not acceptable but it’s so common I don’t even like for the first time. They get nervous and try on new

by Catrin Lewis

Students in debating challenge

OFF TO DOHA: Abdulkarim Alotaibi, Layla Sabeel, Rahaf Damerli and Safwat Rihawi.

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA University has become the first UK university to be invited to the International University Arabic Debating Championship.

Four international undergraduate students have been selected to participate in the annual event, which is taking place between 21 and 24 April in Doha, Qatar.

They will battle it out with 40 other universities.

Preparing for the competition has entailed months

of research, analysis and discussion to develop the students’argumentation and persuasion skills Layla Sabeel, a second year engineering undergraduate and participating student, said: “I was delighted to be chosen to represent Swansea University at such a high profile international competition.

“It will hopefully provide us with a platform to express our opinions and interact with other international students. I look forward to putting the skills we have learnt to the test and bringing the trophy back to Swansea!”

tough personas in order to compensate for their lack of confidence.”

However, Josh Osbourne, a 21 year old Business Management student, held an opposing view: “I think university wouldn’t be half as much fun if we behaved liked gentlemen, I’m young and foolish, so now is the time to behave accordingly.”

The movement against this behaviour is growing though. The Facebook page, ‘Spotted: Sexism on Campus’, allows students to submit their experiences of misogynistic behaviour at university and shame those responsible for it. Some posts by men also highlight the growing trend of women buying into this culture, stating how they have also been harassed.

Although many think of lad culture as only a bit of banter and a joke, it is clear from many students’

experiences that this is becoming a more serious problem which needs to be recognised and tackled.

Becki Warrilow, Swansea Students’ Union’s Women’s Office said:“It is a culture adopted by a select portion of both genders, but also affects a larger portion of both genders in negative ways; giving misconception of how men and women are perceived and expected to behave in today’s student culture.

“Furthermore, it highlights how lad-culture is creating an environment which is conducive to sexual violence and harassment. Zero tolerance plays a big part in counteracting lad-culture, by expanding it to halls of residence and hopefully the whole campus we can educate and protect our staff and students from sexual harassment and show them that this behaviour is not common, nor is it accepted.”

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travel 34

relationships 33

games 22

careers 30

food 29

front row 28

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L i f e s t y l e f o r S wa n s e a s t u d e n t s

front! contents FLYING HIGH Graduate success stories >> 12 & 30

FASHION Why we’ve got a crush on orange >> 14

FILM Your guide to cinemetiquette >> 26

FOOD Why baking makes everything better >> 29

GAMES Four new releases reviewed >> 31

TRAVEL Hitching to Morocco and Croatia >> 34

SOCIETIES Entrepreneurs form new society Don’t miss new musical The Musician at Taliesin, April 24 - 27. See p28

>> 35

12 ARE YOU H IRED ?

features

Swansea graduates are leading the way in the workplace L

ET’S guess: before university, many students will have explored the university bibles such as The Times Higher Education or The Guardian University Guide and based at least half of their choice on those eight columns.

With fees rising to £9000 a year, prospective university students may feel extra pressure to think about graduate employment before they step through the doors.

The reputable university guides include percentages of employability statistics or ‘career prospects’.

These terms have ambiguous meaning for many students. The blanket term includes full-time employment and further studies; and searching for this information can be difficult and include jargon that feels like an algorithm is needed to work it out.

The Guardian University Guide has a career score that is the percentage of graduates who have graduatelevel jobs, or are studying further, within six months of graduation.

For 2008/09, 91.3% of Swansea graduates were in employment or further studies and 78% were in graduate level jobs after six months.

Judith James, the strategic projects manager and part of The Employability Academy of the university, explains how Swansea University gathers graduates employment status after six months: “All universities are required to complete a survey of their students six months after graduation.

“This survey is called the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education and collects information about what those completing their higher education experience go on to do.”

The record is split up into two parts: an early survey and a longitudinal follow-up later on. In the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 2009-10 survey, 92% of students who graduated from Swansea students were in full time employment or further study. Judith explained how this is calculated:

Anxious about graduating? Samantha Booth finds out how the university compiles its employability statistics and how it affects you.

FINDING A JOB: The challenge starts here.

Sunday Times University Guide 2013

Swansea University

“All universities manage this survey by contacting their own graduates and asking them what they are doing at a particular point in time, six months after graduation. The information is then ‘classifed’ by staff who have experience and expertise in using the ‘Standard Occupational Classification for Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions’.”

The classifications decide what constitutes a graduate level job and makes the results from all HE institutions comparable. HESA then checks the classifications are accurate, collates and publishes the results.

“The university does not work out the statistics and we have to wait for the information to become available, as it is published for all universities on the same date.”

Not all students enter the employment market immediately as many take gap years to travel, or get part time work to fund living independently or take an entry-level job to climb up the ladder to a graduatelevel job. As Judith explains, six months is not an ideal time to follow-up graduates’ career paths, but it is a national measure to ensure students can be contacted: “We also need to remember that students who go on to further study are not included in this result. It is a national measure and as it is difficult to get a response after six months it may be impossible after a year or two!

“The target for each university is an 80% response rate, so it can be hard work for staff who are responsible for the survey and every response is very helpful.”

This year’s Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education results saw that 9% of Welsh graduates were assumed to be unemployed six months after leaving.

The highest bracket of full-time paid employment is in the associate professional and technical occupations.

The lowest was process, plant and machine operatives and skilled trades occupations.

The Destination results for 2011/12 will be released in July.

Graduate success stories ONE graduate who has seen his own employability statistics fly off the ground is 22-year-old Toby Hughes.

Employed by The Alacrity Foundation, Toby has worked closely with the Welsh billionaire, Sir Terry Matthews, and other acclaimed business advisors in an entrepreneurship programme that trains the best and brightest graduates.

“I graduated university in biochemistry last year and I’m currently at The Alacrity Foundation where they run an experience based entrepreneurship programme for graduates. There, we work on building a real technology product with the help of an industry partner, and receive mentoring from external mentors. If the product is commercially viable, the team is then spun out into a new technology start-up and receives up to £250, 000

FINDING a job in the employment market can be difficult after graduation. One alumnus who threw caution to the wind and created her own job is 26-year-old Kylie Hearne. Having had success renting out dresses on Facebook, Kylie then trained on Princes Trust entrepreneurial courses leading to her opening her own boutique in Sketty.

“Before I came to university, the employability statistics didn’t matter to me as I was far more concerned about the experience of university and the quality of my course. I wanted to go into admin and work within Gwent Archaeological Trust or Swansea University.

“Since I have graduated, I started up a fashion boutique after growing impatient

seed funding. It all came about from a chance meeting over the summer whilst I was in Swansea.

“Before I came to university, the employability statistics didn’t matter to me at the time. I didn’t know what I wanted to do once I had graduated and I was balancing a couple of options that probably would have led to completely different careers. I had always wanted to start my own business, so when this opportunity came along I knew it was the right choice.

“Despite what I am doing now not being entirely related to my course, it has certainly benefited me and I use what I learnt during my time at university every day.

“If you haven’t had any luck finding a job by the time you graduate – don’t worry! It will all sort itself out in good time.”

after six months of looking for a job and not finding a fulltime position. I kept searching for a job while selling online to finance myself. It became so successful that I was unable to continue searching for an administrative job.

“Before you came to university, did you look at the employability statistics on uni league tables? “

Hetty Hyde-Durrant, Economics students: “Definitely, when I was looking at them I thought it was a good indicator of how employers view universities.”

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travel 34

relationships 33

games 22

careers 30

food 29

front row 28

film 27

music 26

THESE sessions are held on a Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm until approximately 6-6:30 pm during the teaching period which runs from October - December. These pick up again in the New Year from beginning of February until around the end of April.

Organisations such as OSTC, ICAEW, Welsh Government, National Nuclear Laboratory, Wales Air Ambulance, ARUP, Airbus, Aberystwyth University, TEIC, Teach First, PwC, Army have all taken part in this programme.

The sessions have been focused on such topics as the application process, psychometric tests, telephone interviews and other employability skills. There are just a few presentations taking place in April. Further information can also be found on Careers Website at www.swansea.ac.uk/ careers.

23/04/2013 Tuesday Start 17:00 End 18:00 Keir Hardie 216 WCVA (Welsh Council for Voluntary Action) is the umbrella body for the third sector in Wales, representing and campaigning for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities.

Internships and volunteering can increase your employability and the WCVA can provide guidance on the opportunities that are available and how to find them.

Target Audience: Students from all disciplines and years

The programme will commence again in the new academic year with Welsh Government, Morgan Crucible and many more new organisations taking part. It will begin following the annual Careers & Employability Fair which has been scheduled for Thursday 3rd October from 10am until 3pm.

“My advice to students that are graduating this year is: make it happen!”

Ryan O’Callaghan, Economics student: “I sort of did, but ended up missing my grades and having to end up coming to Swansea like most people.

Careers & employability talks and events

25/04/2013 Thursday Start 13:00 End 14:00 Keir Hardie 216 Parenthèse Are you looking for a paid internship or summer job in the United States?

Parenthèse (http://www.parenthese-london.co.uk/aboutus) sends over 2500 participants a year for paid placements, internships and summer job programmes abroad. They will walk you through the process of finding your employer, negotiating your salary and last but not least, applying for your visa.

Target Audience: Business School Students

“My course, Classical Civilsation, has taught me logic, analytics, key skills – common sense! It has, I would say, been absolutely vital to my career path and my path in life generally!

David Hendy, Computer Science graduate: “No, I didn’t. But it also depends on your course; some courses are going to have higher employability rates as opposed to universities. Completing a Computer Science degree at Swansea hasn’t done me any harm (as I’m sat in work building websites).”

fashion 14-15

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22 April 2013 waterfrontonline.co.uk

Harri Rogers, History student: “No, it’s all about the beach!”

Chris Melvin, EngD in Materials Engineering student: “Nope, I came to Swansea because of the Postgraduate opportunities and research contacts that we have in South Wales.”

Rebecca Jones, Biology student: “I didn’t, I applied for medicine so this was my final option if those didn’t work out. When choosing my ‘back-up’ option I knew I wanted to come to Swansea and nowhere else; the employability is just a bonus.”

Give your CV a workout It is never too late to start preparation to make yourself more employable, says Judith James.

The first thing to do is probably to reflect on the personal statement you prepared when you applied to University. Is your career plan the same or has it changed? You probably have come to University with some work experience already under your belt.

Then think about the course you are studying - there will be skills embedded in the course outcomes that are invaluable for every career and probably specific to your chosen path.

Go the careers and employability website (www.swansea. ac.uk/careers), attend a workshop to help you develop your CV. You will easily identify areas where it can be improved and you can then plan to do this.

•See p30 for more careers case studies

14 S P R I N G special with cat harris and fran lloyd

fashion

Spring Brights

Button Floral Crop Top, Topshop, £26

Orange Crush

Looking in my wardrobe before writing this, I have to admit that I don’t own a single orange item. However, I’m going to need to change that, as it is the colour that is brightening up the runways this season.

One piece I’m loving is the vibrant orange swing dress from ASOS. It’s so simple and would be perfect for holidays and festivals and, at only £18, it’s a no-brainer! Oh My Love also have a lovely midi dress that would be perfect for nights out.

You could also opt for adding a splash of colour to your outfits by purchasing separate pieces. Topshop are currently selling a gorgeous embellished top which would be perfect for evenings if you want something bold. A similar cheaper and more simple version is also available. River Island has a great selection of orange skirts also, which would be perfect if you’re feeling less brave with the trend.

There are a wide range of great pieces for this bright and bold trend, so get to the shops girls!

By Jess Waymark

Midi Bodycon Dress, Oh My Love, £38

Mini Swing Dress, ASOS, £18 Dalia Coloured Collar Necklace, Boohoo, £8 Strappy Cami Top, Topshop, £18

Belted Skater Skirt, River Island, £25

Ankle Strap Heels, Zara, £29.99

Crepe Seam Shift Dress, Topshop, £46 Striped Denim Backpack, Topshop, £34

Aqua Joker Shift Dress with Deep V Neck, ASOS, £70

Black Leather Backpack - £60

Black and White Cropped Bralet - £38

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travel 34

relationships 33

games 22

careers 30

food 29

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film 27

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Grey Roll Sleeve Tank Top - £20

Rihanna for River Island It has been a long time coming but style icon Rihanna has finally released her first clothing line, ‘Rihanna for River Island’. The 55-piece collection consisting of tops, jeans, shorts, accessories and shoes integrates Rihanna’s unique and trendy style with a high street friendly price tag.

Clothes from Rihanna’s new River Island range

Rihanna (pictured left) seems to have considered everyone whilst designing Rihanna for River Island with sizes 6-18 available. Gemma Walker, a History student at Swansea University, said: “I absolutely love the black and white Rihanna bra top. Both the straps and the waist have adjustable buckles so it is an amazing fit.” Gemma also praised the grey thigh split sweat maxi skirt stating: “It’s really bizarre but I like that!”

Rihanna is known for her creative sense of style, however she has also featured casual items for us mere mortals. Economics student Jasmine Farrow said: “Although I do like some of the quirkier bits in Rihanna for River Island like the black leather Rihanna tattoo pendant backpack, I’m glad she included some everyday pieces like the authentic wash Rihanna slim jeans and the grey Rihanna roll sleeve tank top. But I think you could probably find similar items elsewhere for half the price.”

By Cheryl Berry

Pop Lips Bold matte lips are a big trend this season, being a stand out trend at the spring/ summer 2013 shows. Neon shades and brighter colours can add life to any outfit and get you in the mood for some sunshine!

Grey Thigh Split Maxi Skirt - £40

Chanel Authentic Wash Slim Jeans - £50

Get Involved!

Missoni

MAC

Black Up Shade 26, Debenhams, £15.40

We are constantly on the lookout for anyone interested in joining our team of writers at Waterfront Fashion to bring the latest style to the students of Swansea. If you are an enthusiastic writer/fashionista, get in touch with Cat and Fran at waterfrontfashion@swanseaunion.co.uk Get involved with Swansea University whilst boosting your CV, and doing what Swansea students do best; getting drunk at fashion writers’ socials! We can’t wait hear from you!

26 S I Lver screen with saul masters

film

Cinemetiquette!

W

HEN you think about it, the idea of going to the cinema is a strange one, writes Lillie Halton. You sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers, people you probably do not know and will never see again for about an hour and a half to enjoy a film together. You won’t discuss it together and everyone will leave separately, each with their own opinion and ideas of what was good and how they liked the lead character. However, the basic notion of a pleasant watching experience through the film is universal. It should be common knowledge to cinemagoers that there are certain unspoken rules to follow when in the cinema.

For instance, no mobile phones.

There are even adverts before the film asking you to switch your phone to silent, and yet people will insist on leaving it on. Some people even have the audacity to answer!

M

obile phones aren’t the only problem with communication during films.

There are many people who will insist on chatting their way throughout the entire thing. After spending £6.25 on a ticket, the last thing you want to do is endure an hour and half of

amateur commentary. The more bold among us would ask them to shut up, but you must tread delicately as if they discover they have irritated you, they can become more defiant.

Remember, though, everyone else in the screen will be silently cheering you on. As well as not shutting up, people have been known to leave behind their humongous drinks cups that they spent a small fortune on at the front desk and scatter the floor with popcorn after absent-mindedly throwing it into their gaping mouths.

And it’s not just popcorn anymore as the front desk offers such snacks as nachos and hot dogs; two of the weirdest food choices to eat in a cinema.

I

t takes a matter of seconds to pick up your rubbish and get rid of it; that is your responsibility, not anyone else’s. The always opinionated film critic Mark Kermode and radio DJ Simon Mayo came up with a code of conduct (pictured) for cinema-goers to live by on their radio programme, Wittertainment, on BBC Radio 5 live. Perhaps if all cinemas-goers adhered to this we could sit back in the knowledge that our experience would be noise-free and relaxing.

Film News: Escape to New York set for remake; Ken Wantanbe signs on for Godzilla; Alan Partridge film gets the name Alpha Papa

Film Reviews A Good Day to Die Hard

By Saul Masters

Back in 1988, Bruce Willis was an unknown actor, director John McTiernan was a free man and the idea of Die Hard was safely concealed in Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever. Fast forward 24 years and Willis is one of the world’s most famous actors, John McTiernan is locked up for lying to the FBI and Die Hard is one of the greatest films ever made. Die Hard is still alive, but struggling for life on a support machine.

The fifth in the franchise, directed by John Moore, sees John McClane head to Russia to save his son who is on trial for murder. That’s the plot; if you can call it that. The first half of the film is taken up by a car chase that looks like someone attempting to make a Grand Theft Auto game, and the rest of the film is just Bruce Willis cracking out terrible one liners every 15 seconds. Once upon a time, John McClane was a likeable guy but here he does his best to make the whole audience hate him. Jai Courtney, who plays McClane Junior, does little to revitalise the dreary excuse for a film. Don’t waste 97 minutes of your life on this, stay at home and watch the original.

Side Effects

By Saul Masters

If this is Steven Soderbergh’s last film then he has chosen to go out on a high. The film centres on Rooney Mara’s Emily, who fails to cope with her husband (Channing Tatum) being released from prison. She becomes depressed, relying on Jude Law’s Doctor Banks and prescription pills. However, the pills’ side effects cause Emily’s life to collapse, bringing down Banks’ as well.

From the first shot you experience Soderbergh’s confidence behind the camera, slowly panning across the skyline and the confidence is evident throughout as Soderbergh drenches the film in a misty haze. The quality of direction is paired with immense acting with Rooney Mara’ s face painted like a canvas with emotional turmoil and Jude Law in his best role ever.

Even Channing Tatum succeeds with the little time he gets on screen. On the other hand, Catherine Zeta Jones, who plays Emily’s old psychiatrist, is terribly miscast and fails to compete with Law’s velocity and Mara’s quality. It will be sad to see Soderbergh leave cinema behind for the likes of HBO and theatre, but at least he is leaving on a high.

Welcome to the Punch

By Saul Masters

Welcome to the Punch is the second feature from director Eran Creevy, who made his name with low budget crime film, Shifty.

Punch follows James McAvoy’s detective Max Lewinsky, who becomes obsessed with capturing criminal Jacob Sternwood (played by Mark Strong) who crippled him in his last heist. With his son in hospital suffering from a bullet wound, Sternwood has to fly back to England to save his life, yet it all could be a lot bigger than just the two of them. Creevy wastes no time in characterising London into a science fiction style city, making London look more like Mann’s Los Angeles in Heat than Nick Love’s London in The Sweeney. McAvoy, although a little bit baby faced, pulls off Lewinsky’s emotional turmoil and Mark Strong plays Sternwood with fierce dominance. Peter Mullan, who is brilliant in anything, steals the show as Sternwood’s right hand man. Creevy pulls off an immensely strong character-based British crime film that might miss the mark at times, but gets a lot closer than anything released recently.

societies 35

travel 34

relationships 33

games 22

careers 30

food 29

front row 28

film 27

music 26

Going for the record with alex gibbs

fashion 14-15

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music

The Tall Ships are aiming high W

ITH NME rating their debut album as one that “revels in its own ambition” and selling out their national tour, Tall Ships are causing a stir throughout the music industry, as Samantha Booth reports.

Formed of Ric Phethean, Matt Parker and Jamie Bush, the band have supported Nada Surf, Maps & Atlases and Dry the River, and are expected to soar to success in 2013. Tall Ships talk to The Waterfront about headlining a Reading and Leeds stage, their latest on-stage band member and playing with Beyonce.

WATERFRONT: What was the reaction to the album to ‘Everything Touching’ when playing live?

MATT: The EPs were the shortest thing we had ever made, so when the album came, it was very welcomed.

WF: Who creates your merch designs?

JAMIE: We have a really good friend from university called Harriet Bridgewater.

She’s done all the designs since day one.

RIC: We give her the music and she will come up with an idea and bring it back to us. She is a big part of what we do, almost

like a fourth member.

WF: What is your most memorable moment so far as a band?

RIC: For me, it’s always where we’ll play a show. It feels like we’ve stepped up a gear. The response will be crazy. Last year at Reading and Leeds was really special too! That was the festival we went to when we were 15.

WF: Do you ever take inspiration deeply from other bands, or is it quite homegrown?

RIC: We are hugely influenced by the bands we listen to; especially Biffy Clyro since we were teenagers. We would worship them, they really shook up my idea of what music should be. I think that the post-rock elements of our music with which we strive to make our songs sound huge, has definitely come from bands like Sigur Ros. WF:You have a fourth on-stage member of the band, James Field. Do you expect to have a shift in the sound at all?

RIC: He is our producer so he is as much as part of our sound as when we recorded our second EP and the album, he was there playing parts. So again, he is

Photo: © Stacey Hatfield more like the fourth member of the band.

Hang on… we’ve got an infinite number of fourth members of the band now! So it’s not a shift as he has always been part of the band.

WF: If there was anyone you could support on tour, or play with on stage, who would it be?

JAMIE: I think that we would just love to play with Biffy Clyro. Just to feel that teenage dream.

RIC: What about Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry?

ALL: Phwoar, yes.

WF: What are your plans for this year?

RIC: We are performing at Hop Farm festival and lots of European ones. We are playing at a new one just outside of Bristol called ArcTanGent.

Tall Ships’ latest album ‘Everything Touching’ is out now on Amazon.

Want to know more about Tall Ships? Check out their official website http://wearetallships.co.uk

SPOTLIGHT: The Howling Tongues Photo: © Phil Sanders

Outside a typical American bar in Atlanta, waiting for the rest of the hen party to grab their drinks and head to the next location of the night, I get handed a promotional flyer about a local band called ‘The Revels’ and I know I have to check them out.

Recently redefining themselves as ‘The Howling Tongues’, this rock ‘n’ roll band started up during the summer of 2011 and have been growing ever since. Having self-released their debut album ‘Keep The Dust Down’, there is definite musical promise, with an all-American authentic sound that oozes charisma throughout this six track album.

From the opener ‘Party’, you are instantly drawn in by the infectious collaboration of the drums and a bold solitary guitar strum. Followed by a full-blown, passionate rock instrumental, this song exudes American rock culture and it feels like you’re

By Alex Gibbs

watching them live. From the very first track, ‘The Howling Tongues’ have the perfect blend of modern and classic rock.

The album musically ripens from then on, from the impressive rhyming lyrics of ‘Alibi’, to the slower, more emotionally fired ‘One-Eye’d Barber’ containing a flawless guitar interlude.

Confident, charismatic frontman Taylor Harlow has vocals reminiscent of a Hardcore Rock version of Lenny Kravitz, whilst being melodiously strengthened by the instrumental members which give off a Chris Cornell vibe. Finishing their album with a similar infectious style to ‘Party’, ‘José No Sé’ brings the album full circle with its addictive rock ‘n’ roll flair, even if this track’s lyrics do not match those found on ‘Alibi’ and ‘Makes You Tick’.

Branding their music as “No Regrets Rock ‘n’ Roll”, their music is truly worth celebrating.

Do you think a band or genre should be featured? Email us at waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk

Music Reviews BRIDGIT MENDLER

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

DAVID BOWIE

It may still be cold outside, but ‘Ready or Not’ is ideal for conquering those revision blues and giving you that summer feel you’ve been craving since you demolished your Easter chocolate writes Alexandra Gibbs. Whilst the lyrics aren’t much to be desired and crammed with ridiculous amounts of cheese, the solid bassline and Mendler’s charismatic voice lift this song’s reputation considerably. True, this song lacks much spark, yet this flourishing pop star pulls you in with an impressively likeable chorus, packed with punchy lyrical hooks. Towards the end, Mendler reveals short bursts of gorgeous high notes, suggesting there’s something mysterious that she’s holding back, giving her career some future hope. It’s summery. It’s playful. It’s perfect to get you into the summer vibe.

After seven years of dabbling in the film world, the ‘king of smooth’, Justin Timberlake, returns with his muchanticipated third album, ‘The 20/20 Experience’ writes Thomas Sloggett. A desperately needed antidote to the vacuous dance anthems that seem to dominate mainstream music at the moment, the album’s eight minute-long epics are a shining example of contemporary pop at its most mould-breaking. Teaming up with long-time collaborator Timbaland once again, it almost feels as if the unstoppable pair never went away, and it’s easy to tell how much they have enjoyed working together again. Timberlake’s gorgeous songwriting seems at its best on the album’s final two tracks, the chart-topping Mirrors, and the astonishing finale, Blue Ocean Floor. With yet another album tentatively scheduled to surface before the end of the year, one thing’s for certain: the long wait was definitely worth it.

Bowie is back. His twenty-fourth studio album (yes, 24th!) is here but is it out of this world, or has the ‘Space Oddity’ singer’s sonic-ship finally crash-landed? writes Liam Turner. Despite Bowie’s sixty-something age (which is noticeable on the album) this record is full of energy. You need not look further than the opening track, ‘The Next Day’ to see what I mean; it gets straight into it. Bowie defiantly sings ‘here I am, not quite dying’, making a bold statement to the world that he is back and not messing about. This defiant theme can also be seen on stand-out tracks such as ‘Dirty Boys’ and ‘(You Will) Set the World on Fire’.

Though there are some lulls on the album, this is unequivocally some of the former Ziggy’s best work.

Ready Or Not (SINGLE)

The 20/20 Experience (ALBUM)

The Next Day (ALBUM)

28 W H at ’s o n w i t h o l i v i a r o s e n t h a ll

front row

Fluxtival

Flux @DIVAS, Tuesday 23 April £3 Entry

1

Glas House @ DIVAS

Saturday 27 April Tickets: £3 on the door/£2 advanced

4

Fancy one last night out before you haunt the library for the next month? Still haven’t braved a Tuesday night? Well, ladies and gentlemen, its time you went to Flux. Luckily, our student loans are coming in 24 hours prior to this date, so why not have one last night of freedom at Flux’s festival themed “Fluxtival”? For one week only, Divas will be converted into your very own mini Glastonbury (well, minus the mud and The Rolling Stones). However, just because it’s not raining doesn’t mean we’re not expecting to see some wonderful wellies, onesies and other festive-junk you lot attach to yourselves at Bestival. Heck, throw on an anorak, it no doubt will be tipping it down outside. There will be a prize given to the best dressed, so be inventive and team up!

But wait...there’s more! Divas itself will be festooned with festival essentials (toilet signs, sleeping bags, the occasional tent and glow sticks.) No portaloos though, that’s just silly.

And if you’re not impressed with the main festival line ups this year, (though how can you not be?) we’ve got a cracking one featuring here. With acts such as Foals, Bastille and Vampire Weekend, come on, it would be rude not to.*

Glas House is a newly established event, brought to you by a group of energetic and enigmatic students to give you the night you have all been waiting for. It’s a night to unearth and support up-and-coming talents that can shape the Swansea underground music scene. We aim to give a more alternative approach to the music scene by introducing Underground House Music by Gyan B, along with a hip-hop vibe from the Puffin Nuffin team. Through the support from Red Bull and backing from the Residential Network, we will bring you a night to remember.

Students can enjoy an alternative genre that is not usually played. We have also organised a shuttle bus service to and from the Student Village for free to ensure it is easily accessible for all.

We are personalising the Glas House experience through selling tickets through our committed Glas House team. Doors open at 10pm and close at 3am. Drink deals include two double vodka and red bulls for a fiver and fishbowls for £4.

*Please note, these bands aren’t ACTUALLY playing live, as much as we’d like them to...

Max Button

The Musican

Taliesin, 7.30pm Wednesday April 24 - Saturday April 27 Tickets: £10 with a student card (£8 each if you bring a friend)

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A musical shining a light into the murkier corners of showbiz is getting its world premiere at the Taliesin from April 24. With music and lyrics co-written by Dai Smith, formerly of The Storys, and Allyson Summerhayes, it fuses together traditional musical theatre values with the raw, gritty edge of the record industry by way of its catchy indie/ pop score. The show also stars former Swansea University student Aled Warwick (left). He said: “I’m thrilled to be involved with The Musician – it’s an amazing new story and the music’s brilliant. Ticket sales are going really well and I can’t wait to get started after all the build-up and rehearsals.”

Gr8Scott Production’s, The Musician, sees singer Jeff Scott from Jeff Scott and the Moths, facing the choppy waters of success. Co-writer Stefan Pejic takes on the part of Jeff, with the show being directed by Anthony Argyle and produced by Richard Burman.

Richard said: “As we follow the band’s story, it soon becomes apparent that the road to stardom comes at a cost.“ Buy tickets for £8 by calling 01792 360867 or at www. themusicianmusical.co.uk.

Writers’ Day

Dylan Thomas Centre, Thursday 9 May

3

For any aspiring young writers with a gap on their exam timetable on this day, this one is right up your street. From readings to discussions and mere conversations with some very experienced writers, this annual celebration of everything literal will make avid readers’ spines tingle. Writers featured are the likes of Menna Elfyn, Stevie Davies, Jo Bell, Bethany Pope and Dave Oprava. Also, John Lanvin, Gary Raymond and Rhys Milsom will hold a talk on online editing, while Jeni Williams examines the future of publishing with Welsh Books Council’s boss, Elwyn Jones and Parthian’s Richard Davies.

The day will conclude with a celebration of R.S. Thomas. Organised in partnership with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and our own university, this looks like a thoroughly enjoyable day. English Literature students will also be pleased to know that our very own Nigel Jenkins and Jon Gower will also feature there too. Entry is free but you are advised to reserve a seat online at www.ticketsource. co.uk/dylanthomas

Olivia Rosenthall

Book review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

By Claire Houguez HUSBAND and wife Nick and Amy Dunne are Nick Hornby-style, New York hipster types - Nick’s sister Go smokes one cigarette a day! How zany! If you loved One Day you‘ll enjoy Gone Girl for certain. Alas, casualties of the rise of the internet, writers Nick and Amy are out of jobs and living in Nick’s lame Missouri hometown, caring for his ill parents who have cancer and Alzheimer’s, where things unravel faster then you can say catalyst. On their fifth anniversary, Nick, skulking around in a bar, gets a call from a neighbour. His front door is wide open. He arrives home to the scene of a violent struggle. Amy is missing and Nick is suspect number one, but did he do it?

Have you ever walked into club toilets where they’ve had mirrors on opposite walls and got caught between them:,myriad versions of you in ever decreasing reflections that go on until your eyes ache? This is what the characters in Gone Girl look like: fractured, shape-shifting selves, struggling between the personas that are expected of them and their murkier versions – the ones that appear in photographs you didn’t know were being taken.

Twisting with the slick of a full haul of red herrings, Gillian Flynn’s thriller Gone Girl is Italo Calvino’s musings on the kaleidoscopic possibilities of plot taken enthusiastically. It’s almost a rewriting of Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride if manipulative femme fatale Zenia had been given a voice of her own.

It also puts me in mind of Joyce Carol Oates – whose work spans the literarycommercial divide with its plotty but beautiful prose. Gone Girl is a book that similarly tries to be many things to many peoplem, succeeding in pleasing a fairly large number in the middle of the venn diagram of the book-reading public.

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a thriller on a kindle and its bonus function of marking bits of text other readers have highlighted is a bit like Watson sneaking up behind Holmes and whispering ‘this might be a clue!’ at intervals. I made sure to underline several sections of no apparent value.

If you’re a fan of William Boyd this might disappoint. If you sighed at the terrible similes in Before I Go To Sleep but enjoyed it overall, this is definitely for you.

Phoenix, £7.99

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relationships 33

games 22

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food 29

front row 28

film 27

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EATs and treats

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food

Why baking makes everything better S

OMEHOW, it’s okay to stuff your face with cake if you’ve made it yourself from scratch, writes Charlotte West.

It’s really easy too, so here are a couple of recipes tried and tested by myself to guarantee a scrumptious treat for you and your flatmates.

The joy of baking always comes with sharing your creations with your friends – so get together, get creative and get fat! Baking makes everything better!

Fabulous Flapjacks Flapjacks are by far the easiest treat to bake and always taste amazing!

Ingredients 250g porridge oats 125g butter (melted) 125g brown sugar A couple of healthy tablespoons of golden syrup Filling – e.g. raisins, chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows…

Method Chuck all of the above in a bowl and mix together until it’s a nice, sticky consistency. Make sure that the oats are all coated with the buttery, syrupy goodness. Add more if you think you need it!

As for the filling, that’s really just limited by your imagination. In the past, I’ve found chocolate to be a real winner. It melts in the oven and oozes all over the place! Dribble some over the top before putting it in the oven if you fancy or cover them with a sprinkle of sugar. Just be creative with the recipe!

Spread out this delicious, gooey yumminess into a tray and bake in the oven until it goes crispy on top – let’s say about 30 minutes at 190°C.

And you’re done! Whack ‘em out the oven and eat them warm! Yum!

Rustic Rock Cakes These little beauties are my mum’s favourite – simple, yet effective.

Ingredients 6oz/170g self-raising flour 3oz/85g butter 3oz/85g sugar (caster is best, but granulated is fine) 1 egg 3oz/85g raisins/chocolate/desiccated coconut Glacé cherries Method Whisk together the butter (Stork margarine in a tub also works well) and sugar until you get a thick, icing-esque mix. If you don’t have an electric whisk, just keep going until your arm gives up on you!

Next, whisk in the eggs. If the mixture looks like vomit at this point, that’s okay, it’s just because your eggs were cold. Once that’s mixed, stir in the flour and whatever your filling is – raisins, chocolate or coconut. The mix should be really thick by now and a little sticky.

The best way to get these out on your tray is to get messy and use your fingers! Flour them up a little bit first, then plunge right in and grab walnutsized balls of the delightful mix. Roll them around in any leftover sugar you have, then plonk them on a greased or non-stick baking tray. Pop a couple of cherries on top and bake for about 15 minutes at 200°C. Once they’ve gone lovely and golden brown, grab them out the oven and scoff them down with a lovely cup of tea.

Delicious!

VERY TASTY: Rock cakes (above) and Flapjacks (below).

Hello, my name is Charlotte West and I am a 20-yearold second year Physical Earth Science student. It’s basically Geography, but with a little bit of Geology on the side. Geology rocks! But being the president of the Geology Society, I would say that.

One of my passions is baking. I’ve enjoyed it ever since I first helped my grandma bake a cake when I was little.

Now I’ve developed a love for baking that has resulted in the gradual fattening of my housemates…

Have you got a recipe you’d like to share? Email editor@swansea-union.co.uk

Food tastes wonderful when you’re on top of the world IF you are a student in Swansea, there is a whole list of things you must do before you leave to enter the real world, writes Chris Flynn.

One of the top on that list, in my opinion, is to have a meal at the Grape & Olive restaurant.

If you’re not sure about where it is, it’s rather easy to find; it’s on the top floor of the tallest building in Swansea.

It sits by the beach within the marina area of the town with views that reach as far as the valleys and right down to the Mumbles and beyond. As summer approaches, now is the perfect time to visit.

If you have money to spend (around £30 a head with drinks), by all means have dinner in the tower, but what I’d like to talk about is the lunch menu.

Lunch is a less wallet-impacting experience, but the quality of food is still there.

The fixed price for dishes on the lunch menu is £7, with an extensive selection of sandwiches served with chips or salad. There are also a few pub classics with a Grape & Olive twist to them, with dishes such as Sausages, garlic mash and red wine gravy or a salmon & chili fishcake salad.

I started with the seafood chowder which I must admit, has to be one of the best I‘ve ever had. It was creamy and had a very generous portion of seafood in it, including mussels, salmon and white fish.

For the main course, I indulged in an old favouritebattered fish, chips and mushy peas (which costs £10.50). The fish was fresh and the batter was golden

and delicious, and the chips were fried perfectly.

Many restaurants get fish and chips wrong, whether it isn’t fresh or not having a lot of flavour, but the Grape & Olive cooks up this established dish as well as a decent chip shop.

There is also a delicious desserts menu which has something for everyone, including a tasting platter of all the desserts which is only £9.

It has an extensive drinks menu including a wide range of wines, cocktails and beers, although not all prices are student friendly.

The Grape & Olive is a fantastic meal for a decent price at lunch, as well as a great atmosphere and the best view in Swansea. http://swansea.grapeandolive.co.uk

30 YOUR FUTURE MAPPED OUT

careers

Just call me Sir! Perks of teaching English abroad Erasmus student Christopher Mace was in for some surprises when he went to Rouen to teach English to French children aged between 11 and 15

B

Y the time I arrived in Rouen in September of last year, I felt like I was almost ready to leave.

The French government is famously ‘thorough’ when it comes to administrative work and I had already had enough.

Little was I to know that this was only the start of a maelstrom of seemingly avoidable procedure and inflexibility on the part of the French schooling authorities: in just one week, Rouen’s schooling body managed to find ‘potential issues’ with four of my personal documents! I wasn’t alone, over 50% of British teaching assistants in Rouen had to retranslate their birth certificates.

As a city, Rouen is beautiful, but as a sports fan, I wasn’t thrilled when Chris Mace (right) with friends outside one of Rouen’s famous cafes. Below, I heard that they have neither a cityscape with Rouen Cathedral. professional rugby nor football team.

However, to focus on this is to miss the point of this city. The kingdom, the 1066 invasion started from Rouen!

The single biggest surprise of my year abroad has turned architectural focus is on the vast gothic cathedral and the colourful timber-framed houses that line the surprisingly out to be the French people. They’re actually LOVELY! Sure vast city centre. Rouen is a city steeped in culture. It was, – they’re capable of showing that they can be selfish as a after all, the capital of William the Conqueror’s Norman group, which is usually by means of a strike that affects other countries; a national pastime.

As a nation of individuals, however, they’re warm and welcoming, far more so than the average British person.

Everyone calls me Sir, comes to shake my hand at the beginning of the school day and the vast majority of pupils that I pass in the corridor greet me in English. This is definitely something that we never used to do at my boys school in Gloucester, where the language assistants were always a bit of a joke in terms of their involvement and ability to relate to us as pupils.

“Who would pass at the chance to learn a language AND get paid to do so?”

Choosing teaching as your option for a year abroad is a wonderful idea for so many reasons. Here are just a couple: 1) Money! – who would pass at the chance to learn a language AND get paid to do so?

2) Work experience – teaching as an assistant could be valuable to your CV, especially if you’re interested in teaching long term.

I’ll be back in Swansea in September to complete my four year degree in French and Spanish but the year abroad has been an almost overwhelming experience. In a period of seven months I have improved my French to no end, met people I will be speaking to for the rest of my life and learnt a little more of what being a teacher is all about.

Don’t be afraid to work freelance RECENTLY there was an interesting current affairs debate hosted on BBC Three called Free Speech, which talked about the state of long term unemployment for young people in the UK. The programme, which was filmed in Swansea, highlighted that unemployment rates were worse for those living in Wales, with a shortage of opportunities to get a foot on the career ladder.

The latest unemployment figures published on 20th February 2013 show that unemployment in Wales has risen while figures for the UK as a whole have fallen.

Many graduates now look to freelancing and setting up their own business to try and get a step ahead in their chosen job sector and create their own opportunities in life.

One such freelancer is Doug Hunt, a Swansea University History and Politics graduate (pictured below) who specialises in web design and new media.

Unsure of how best to begin his career as a freelancer, Doug looked to GO Wales and the Freelancer Academy to help put him on the right path. After attending the Freelancer Academy, Doug applied for a 10 week work placement as a web developer with online retailer, Just Golf to gain additional experience.

“I had the chance to develop my skills further and gain some on the job experience on a 10 week GO Wales placement. Since the placement finished at the end of last year the phone has not stopped ringing.”

The placement at Just Golf gave Doug the confidence he lacked to set up his own business.

Following the completion of his placement, Doug established his company – Elect New Media.

“I do not think my business, or my confidence would have developed so quickly without the help of the GO Wales team,” explained Doug.

In addition to £2,000 worth of free training, applicants to the Freelancer Academy will benefit from advice and support from the course tutors, who themselves are experienced freelancers.

Courses are planned throughout Wales during 2013. For more information see ww.gowales.co.uk

games

Gaming Made Me: Medieval

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NE of my earliest gaming memories was running around on my Playstation One as Sir Daniel Fortesque, a one-eyed skeleton brought back from the dead by an evil sorcerer’s spell that you have to stop before he kills everyone.

In this third person action and puzzle game, you go through various levels fighting a variety of enemies from zombies to skeleton pirates and giant bouncing pumpkins. With tongue-incheek humour throughout, the game was magnificent at the time.

There are collectibles to make sure you enjoy each of the game’s varied levels. Also, each chalice you collect allows you to go to the hall of heroes and meet some of the hilarious characters there. It also means you can receive new and improved weapons such as crossbows and a huge hammer.

Though the graphics have not aged very well at all, the game play is still great and a fun time all round.

8/10

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games 22

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food 29

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GAMING WITH MAT T JONES

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Xenonauts come to the rescue UFO Detected. Two simple words that stop you short, get you scrambling your fighters and worrying how many men you will lose this time when you go and assault the wreckage.

A spiritual successor to the original X-Com: Ufo Defence, Xenonauts brings an enhanced graphical style, better gameplay mechanics with a completely new air combat system, enhanced soldier management and realistic equipment. This game is what everyone wanted from X-Com Enemy Unknown.

With the ability to have multiple bases and a much larger team than in the newest iteration of X-Com, diehard fans of the original will be happy.

Having already spent several hours playing, you come to realise how little the new game resembled the original.

Age of Empires II HD MANY people will remember playing this game at one point or another, expanding the strategy genre with solid gameplay, good graphics for the time and just a great game.

Now re-released in brand new HD, has it lived up to the remembered glories of this once great game? The answer

is ‘kind of’. It still has the exact same gameplay, the only difference is the graphics. This graphical enhancement is great to see but is not enough to make this game a stand out. Nothing has been done to improve upon the game play, with no added missions, units or structures.

Some 14 years later, the game play is lacking a certain polish that most games have, with a lacklustre unit AI and no decent pathing between units you have a game that most of us have all played. A good game but if you played it before then I’d skip this one.

4/10

Do you want to put a game in the spotlight? Email waterfrontgames@swansea-union.co.uk

MOST prison tycoon simulations are relatively dry, with no personality in any of the concepts or people that inhabit your work of art.

This new development from Introversion so far seems to have overcome those issues: your prisoners think and act and you have to make sure that you keep them distracted, else watch these cute little animations start shanking each other at the first opportunity they get.

Your job is to use the limited budget you are given to develop a prison, with cells, showers, a death row and even your own water and power distribution. Staffing your prison with chefs, guards and gardeners, your prison comes alive.

Once you get into the flow, you can quickly lose yourself in the routine of your prisoners.

The final game will include campaign/missions that we get a slight glimpse of in the Alpha where these sprites show you a little bit

Prison Architect

of what occurred through the use of some quite graphic Polaroid photos. There is so much to do and always further ways to develop your prison you will keep playing for hours.

With an easy to use interface,

relatively shallow learning curve and solid mechanics this game is an easy one to recommend. It’s available for $30 with an early access alpha and beta, so definitely keep an eye out for this one.

Recommended

Brutal difficulty even on the easiest settings will see you regularly losing troops and those that survive quickly become like children to you, carefully cared for and nurtured, until they get ruthlessly get cut down by plasma fire.

The game begins in 1979 with the world almost having forgotten about the need for the Xenonauts after a previous incident in Iceland. Suddenly satellites begin to be destroyed and the first UFOs start to appear, after destroying any conventional aircraft sent to engage them. Then Xenonauts step forward to defend the planet.

With limited resources, technology and men, you have to build up your forces and protect the world from the alien threat. If you missed out on the original X-Com and the old grainy graphics put you off then get this game and get it now.

With the beta currently about to be fully released on Steam, the game is completely aware of its origins and stays true to the original whilst still being its own game.

Recommended

relationships

Ask Aunt Catrin Email your questions to waterfrontfeatures@swansea-union.co.uk

Love, Miss Confused You know, I think Swansea must be going through some kind of love crisis, as all my letters seem of late to be about matters of the heart. However, here I am, in my dinosaur onesie, with nothing but a tube of Pringles for company, here to give my (un)professional opinion yet again; I know, I’m not really sure what I’m doing here either.

Confused, your letter has me asking two questions: Firstly, are you as happy as you think you are with your boyfriend? I’m not one to say that once you’re in a relationship you should not so much as look at another person, but I urge you to consider just how much you want to be with him if you’re considering this. It strikes me that were you completely content, this would not be something you would be thinking about, and certainly not enough to send me a letter detailing your woes!

Secondly, consider this man you have a crush on. Why does it exist? Is this simply your hormones twitching in the manner of a teenager’s or is there something more to it? I am almost willing to guarantee you that this is nothing but a case of ‘the grass is always greener’ and the fact that you’re already taken just adds to the excitement. Now whilst I’ve never seen the merit in the phrase ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it’, because quite frankly, what’s the point in cake you can’t eat? But in this case, this applies perfectly.

You cannot have the best of both worlds.

So essentially, my advice is this: think about it. In time it’ll no doubt fade and you’ll look back wondering what all the fuss was about.

Dear Aunt Catrin, I’m still living in halls but I’ve signed the contract for a house next year with all my housemates. However, there’s a problem. One of the boys coming to live with us is really noisy, messy and doesn’t shower a lot, but we never found a way to tell him we didn’t want him in the group any more. I’m dreading next year, as are all the others. Help!

From Sophie I’d like to paraphrase one of my favourite films here, Forrest Gump: Housemates are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. Unfortunately, unlike a box of chocolates, taking a bite, finding you don’t like it and then throwing them in the bin is a criminal offence.

I think you probably already know this, but you really needed to have put your foot down before you started searching for houses, even if it meant telling a few white lies to save yourselves.

However, the best thing you can do now is to grin and bear it. Most student households have one housemate who’s a bit funny, but it’s probably best to think of it as a character building exercise or a challenge to positively influence his behaviour rather than getting eaten up about it.

Give him a chance – it may be that he’s just settling into university life and needs some positive influences. Don’t leave him out or be mean to him, but make sure you make your opinions known where necessary.

Remember, if it goes badly, you don’t have to live with him forever, just think how much you’ll appreciate this in the long run!

(Aunt Catrin is unqualified to give real advice and so all responses are intended to be more amusing than serious. The Waterfront recognises that occasionally she can’t even manage that, so please take all letters with a pinch of salt and refer to proper, grown-up professionals for real advice.)

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Blind Date When Sophie met Dav Sophie Evans, a 19-year-old Psychology student, and Dav Nash, a 22-year-old English Literature student, meet in JC’s for The Waterfront blind date.

Dear Aunt Catrin I’ve been with my boyfriend for a few months now and I think he’s wonderful, but I’ve got a massive crush on another guy who I think likes me too and it’s eating me up. I don’t know what to do – part of me knows that I’ll never see the guy I fancy again after we graduate this summer, but the other part knows I shouldn’t even be considering having a fling!

What should I do?

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Sophie on Dav What were your first impressions?

Nice guy, interesting to talk to.

How did you feel about taking part in a blind date before and after?

Before I was wondering whether it would be awkward, afterward I still thought it was a bit of a weird scenario.

Any striking conversation points?

He’s grade 8 piano, which is impressive.

Did you wonder why he wasn’t in a relationship at any point?

Nope because he seemed like he had so many committments, but I can relate to that because I don’t have any time either.

If you were to be married and have babies, what would you want your baby to inherit?

His piano playing skills.

Any potential for a kiss?

Nope.

Out of ten, what is your compatibility score with the other person?

5.

Would you introduce him to your parents?

He seemed really responsible and knew what he was doing, so that’s the kind of guy my parents would want me to date.

Would you like to meet again?

No, unfortunately I don’t have enough time.

How do you think the date went?

It was interesting conversation, but little chemistry.

Dav on Sophie What were your first impressions?

Very pretty and down to earth. Loved the hair!

How did you feel about taking part in a blind date before and after?

I didn’t expect anything to come from it, but it’s nice to meet new people. I’d do it again.

Any striking conversation points?

I certainly know a lot more about cheerleading than I did before.

Did you wonder why she wasn’t in a relationship at any point?

Yeah. She seemed to have a lot to offer in a relationship.

If you were to be married and have babies, what would you want your baby to inherit?

Definitely the curly hair!

Any potential for a kiss?

On a lunch date in JC’s? No, haha.

Out of ten, what is your compatibility score with the other person?

Maybe a 7/8.

Would you introduce her to your parents?

Definitely!

Would you like to meet again?

I think it went ok. We didn’t have much time to chat, but I guess it leaves things to talk about if we were to meet again.

How do you think the date went?

I wouldn’t object!

•If you are interested in featuring in the blind date, email your name, age, course and level to waterfrontrelationships@swansea-union.co.uk.

34 Student journeys

travel Above, Mark Dakin, Lizzie Walshaw, Ryan Patmore and John Fanning in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bottom right, Kat Quill and Arron Goodfellow in Croatia, Dubrovnik. Top right, Mark Dakin hitching a ride in Morocco.

Student charity hike is so character-forming!

C

HARITY work combined with travelling can be an amazing experience, but with so many different programmes and schemes available, it can be stressful deciding where and what to do.

Over the Easter holiday, 17 students from Swansea and 426 from across the country hitch-hiked their way through Europe to either Morocco or Croatia. In order to go, each student had to raise £350 for the charity Link Community Development.

This year saw many innovative fundraising ideas, including four Swansea students who raised £270 by bringing a hairdresser onto Swansea University campus for a day and offering discounted haircuts, and a charity openmic night at JC’s.

One of them was Melissa Chisholm, a 20-year-old second year History student who has just come back from the hitch to Morocco. She said: “It was an amazing experience which takes you outside your comfort zone. You get to meet really interesting people and although there are difficult points where you worry about getting a lift, overall it was a great experience.

“Hitching has given me many life skills such as encouraging you to talk to people you wouldn’t always and remaining head strong in complicated situations in an alien environment.”

Arron Goodfellow, a second year mechanical engineering student who hitched to Croatia said: “Once you have hitchhiked through foreign lands you

to improve the standard of education in developing countries such as Ghana, Malawi, Ethiopia, South Africa and Uganda.

Some highlights of what they do include:

Students hike all the way to Morocco and Croatia, as Rachael Wines and Sam Booth report. will feel as though you can go wherever and achieve whatever you want. It was an extremely worthwhile trip that has improved my confidence and character.”

Kat Quill, a second year Zoology student, also hitched to Croatia. She said: “It was an unmissable experience.

Your self-confidence increases, you feel more mature. Your faith in humanity (if you’d lost it) will be restored time and time again. The kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing. I would recommend it to anyone who has always wanted to see Europe. This is the way to travel!”

Since 1992, over 8,000 people have taken part in Hitch, raising more than £4 million for Link and travelling a combined total of almost 10 million miles - that’s more than 400 times around the world!

Link Community Development works

•Providing thorough training to staff •Enforcing health and HIV/ AIDS combative plans to reduce absenteeism •Provide solar powered computers to schools •Reduce food insecurity through gardening initiatives So how does the hitch work?

Students are given lots of support

by Link Community Development to help them raise the £350 required by each participant. Setting up an online fundraising account such as Justgiving and emailing all your Facebook friends is just one example of how easy it is to

Hitchers in Morocco at the Ouzoud waterfalls.

raise the money.

Donations can be submitted until July.

Students can travel in groups of two or three with at least one male for safety reasons, paying for their own food and accommodation. Students are tracked every day with numerous other safety precautions put in place, making this a safe and fun event for anyone who wants to do their bit for charity.

So if you want to visit great places and meet a huge variety of people including other hitch-hikers from all over the UK, then why not think about doing the Hitch next year? You don’t have to join with a group - most people join on their own and then are put with a partner, who they get to know before the hike thanks to the numerous socials held leading up to the adventure.

•For more information go to www. lcdinternational.org/events

societies

New society will connect student entrepreneurs

S

WANSEA Konetics is the brainchild of four students banding together to form the university’s newest society for enterprise and innovation.

Siobhan Wright, Peter Allan, Nanette Turkson and Callum Williamson got together last November after attending a number of events during Global Enterprise Week to fill what they saw as a gap in the student community.

With the aim of creating an active network of student entrepreneurs within the university, the society means that members can find like-minded individuals in similar fields - the society hopes to be able to facilitate the pooling of knowledge and resources and help students to find business partners.

The society got off to a flying start on 14 March, with around 70 students attending the informal launch event, Konetics on the Couch.

The launch night, including talks from Ben Harrison from Mango Bikes, student illustrator Shina Animashaun, entrepreneurial journalist Chris Penn, and Owen and Andy of ‘What’s That Butterfly’, inspired a vast number of students to turn out, all with the dream of owning their own businesses.

The wide range of academic backgrounds of the attendees, from Classical Civilisation to Computer Science and American Studies to Biology, is testament to the objective of bringing together an eclectic mix of enterprising students.

“We had great feedback about the

variety of business ideas, people really liked that we had fashionistas take the floor moments after techies but seconds before a bike enthusiast,” said Siobhan, one of the society’s founders.

Mercy Aju, a 2nd year law student who attended the event, described it as “an amazing evening,” adding “I can’t wait for the next event.”

The next event is on 22 April at 6pm

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Colossal Cake Sale THE War Society is conducting a bake sale on 30 April with all proceeds going to their chosen charity for the year - Help for Heroes.

They will be selling official Help for Heroes wristbands and badges alongside cream teas from 11am outside Fulton House.

Joining them on the day will be a member of the Help for Heroes team, as well as a Hero bear Mascot.

Sam Hugo, the society’s secretary, said that it is “an opportunity for students to show their support for the charity.”

in the Taliesin - this will be a formal networking event during which students can meet with staff and business owners who are particularly keen to support entrepreneurial development.

•The society is keen to hear from any students who are interested in joining them: konetics@swanseaunion.co.uk

Performing arts students put on a show for kings and commoners IN 2011, the performing arts societies collaborated on an event, culminating in the show “A Night at the Musicals”.

Following this initial success, a completely original musical has been written to be performed exclusively by students: : ‘Kings and Commoners’.

The new show, written and directed

by Becca Cooper, premiered in Neath, ensuring there was plenty of time to tweak the details ahead of the show’s performances in the Taliesin Arts Centre at 7.30pm on 31 May and 1 June.

For those wanting a sneak preview, the Choral Society will be performing an excerpt at their Spring Concert at St. Paul’s Church, Sketty, on 27 May at 7:30pm.

The conecrt will combine a variety of musical genres, including covers of Emile Sande and Bastille.

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STUDENT EXPERIENCE With Alex Ward

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HARD AT WORK: Members of the Choral Society during rehearsals.

60 seconds with: Josh Hayman - societies and services officer What societies were you a part of?

JH: “Xtreme, RAG, Geography, Politics, History and American Studies.”

What’s your favorite student night?

JH: “Sin savers.”

What course were you on?

JH: “Politics.”

If you were a flavour of soup, what would you be?

JH: “Minestrone.”

What’s your favorite Swansea haunt?

JH: “Noah’s Yard.”

What is your favorite flower?

JH: “Geranium.”

Who is your idol?

JH: “Joe Strummer.”

thewaterfront sport

April 22, 2013

@waterfrontspor1

Welsh Varsity Preview Edition

Welsh Varsity preview 2013 2013

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. - H. Ford

2013

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thewaterfront 22.04.13

18 I VARSITY

Brilliance in Banbury gives Whittle confidence for varsity

GUARDS UP: Swansea’s taekwondo captain Rosie Whittle (left) at the Varsity promo.

TAEKWONDO captain Rosie Whittle is feeling confident in the build up to their varsity clash with Cardiff.

Whittle is hopeful that Swansea can reverse last year’s defeat and believes they are closing the gap on their rivals.

“Cardiff may have won last year but we are getting closer to beating them every time we compete,” said Whittle.

“We are sending a strong team to Cardiff for varsity and hopefully we can pick up the victory we desire.”

With a influx of new members to the club, Whittle hopes the mixture of new talent and experience can provide a winning combination

by Laura Fiteni waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

ahead of varsity.

Swansea recently celebrated a supremely successful showing at this year’s national student taekwondo tournament in Banbury.

An impressive haul of 18 medals were won for Swansea, including: four gold, nine silver and five bronze.

In light of the upcoming battle, training has been modified to reflect the style of the varsity event.

This new training regime has included intensive sparring sessions, kicking drills and perfecting patterns.

Embarrassment of riches for Llewellyn ahead of varsity WOMEN’S football captain Ria Llewellyn has admitted she faces a tough task in deciding her starting line-up for varsity following a strong end to the domestic season by the squad.

With only 16 places up for grabs in the varsity squad, Llewellyn will need to use all of her varsity experience to make the right choices ahead of the big match.

“Due to everyone’s efforts and good performances this season, picking the team has proven to be extremely difficult this year,” said Llewellyn.

“Everyone has been training hard and looking after their fitness ahead of the big game.”

There will be heavy competition for places with several second-team players pushing for starts at varsity.

Swansea will look to break the trend of the previous three years in which they have been on the end of two heavy defeats to Cardiff.

Given this recent history, vicecaptain Stacey Carey is determined to set the record straight but is under no illusions how difficult it will be to cause an upset in Cardiff.

“I think having experienced defeat

RIA’S READY TO GO: Women’s football captain Ria Llewellyn (left) at the varsity promo.

by Jazz Dicker waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

last year has made us realise just how much we want it this year,” said Carey. “We want to do it not just for ourselves but for everyone in the club. We’re fully aware that we’re going in as underdogs as Cardiff.

“They are of course in the league above us in BUCS but if we continue our recent form, then we should give Cardiff a run for their money.”

Llewellyn’s side have showed signs of improvement throughout the season, finishing in a very respectable third position in the BUCS table.

In preparation for varsity, the squad recently went on a European tour. The Welsh Varsity match will be the final game of the year for the women’s football team.

Llewellyn will have the rare honour of leading her Swansea side out for a second consecutive varsity.

The team lost 7-2 in 2012.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

32 15 2009

SINCE 2008, SWANSEA UNIVERSITY’S ALED LEWIS (PICTURED) HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST POINTS SCORED AT THE WELSH VARSITY.

THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TRY SCORERS IN THE WELSH VARSITY MATCH SINCE 2008.

THE LAST TIME CARDIFF WON BACK-TO-BACK VARSITY MATCHES.

2001

THE LAST TIME THAT THE VARSITY MATCH ENDED IN A DRAW. THE SCORE WAS 10-10.

14 0

SINCE 2008, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY’S JACK BEAMAN HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST POINTS IN A SINGLE VARSITY MATCH.

SINCE 2008, NO ONE FROM EITHER SWANSEA OR CARDIFF HAS SCORED TWO TRIES IN A SINGLE VARSITY MATCH.

VARSITY I 19

THE WELSH VARSITY MATCH BY NUMBERS

by Craig Hadley

THE RECORD ATTENDANCE FOR A WELSH VARSITY MATCH, SET IN 2012 AT THE MILLENNIUM STADIUM.

15,622 5

SINCE 2008, SWANSEA’S FORMER LOOSEHEAD PROP KERRY O’SULLIVAN HAS FEATURED IN ALL FIVE VARSITY SQUADS. HE ALSO CAPTAINED THE SIDE IN 2010.

THE BIGGEST WINNING MARGIN IN THE WELSH VARSITY RUGBY MATCH. THE SCORE WAS 49-13 TO SWANSEA IN 1998.

THE NUMBER OF POINTS SCORED AT THE WELSH VARSITY RUGBY MATCH SINCE THE ANNUAL EVENT BEGAN IN 1997.

984

THE RECORDED ATTENDANCE OF THE FIRST WELSH VARSITY RUGBY MATCH.

10 36 497 4

THE NUMBER OF SWANSEA WINS AT THE WELSH VARSITY MATCH SINCE 1997.

THE NUMBER OF SWANSEA FIRST-TEAM PLAYERS WHO ARE IN LINE TO PLAY THEIR FOURTH CONSECUTIVE VARSITY MATCH (SAM SOUL, RHODRI CLANCY, MIKE JONES AND GREG GEORGE).

thewaterfront 22.04.13

20 I VARSITY

THE WELSH VARSITY SHOWPIECE - THE LAST FOUR MEETINGS 2009

CARDIFF DENIES SWANSEA VICTORY AT THE ARMS PARK

Cardiff 9 - 6 Swansea AN assured performance from flyhalf Aled Lewis ensured Swansea came from behind to celebrate their first Welsh Varsity victory in three years at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea had the better of the opening period, but failed to convert two early penalty attempts.

They were punished when Cardiff got the breakthrough minutes before half-time.

A well-placed kick into the corner from Gareth Rees was secured by a rushing Ieuan Coombes as he crossed the line to score.

Two successful penalty attempts from Aled Lewis gave Swansea the lead just after the break.

Hopes of a home win were dealt a blow when debutant Rhodri Clancy

received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Rees failed to convert the resulting penalty.

With their first-choice front-rower missing from the scrum, cracks started to show for Swansea.

The weakened pack failed to contain Cardiff as Dan Lewis dived over. Rees converted to make it 12-6 to Cardiff.

With 10 minutes to go, captain Kerry O’Sullivan needed one final push from his side and Gareth Beer duly delivered with a try for Swansea.

Luck was on Lewis’ side as his conversion attempt bounced off the bar and over to give Swansea a narrow one point lead.

Lewis secured victory with another penalty moments later.

SWANSEA DOMINATE AT THE HOME OF WELSH RUGBY

Swansea 28 - 18 Cardiff SWANSEA suffered their biggest defeat in Welsh Varsity history as Cardiff celebrated their first varsity victory at the Millennium Stadium.

Aled Lewis, in his fourth consecutive varsity match, got Swansea off to the best possible start with two successful penalty conversions.

Swansea survived two brief scares as Cameron Pimlow missed penalty chances to level for Cardiff before the breakthrough came.

Nicholas Huntley found space to touch down in the corner to register Cardiff’s first points of the game. A second try soon followed as Arthur Ellis touched over.

Swansea’s early momentum

appeared to be slipping away as Pimlow found his range with a drop goal attempt.

They were dealt another blow when the 2011 man of the match Tom Rowlands was sent to the sinbin. Cardiff capitalised on their one man advantage to score another try and successful drop goal.

Swansea’s luck appeared to have changed when Cardiff’s Ellis was sent to the sin-bin and a quick breakaway

by Lewis allowed teammate Jackson Szabo to cross the whitewash to close the gap to ten points.

But Cardiff reasserted their dominance with two late tries, to secure their first victory since 2009.

It was also Cardiff’s fifth varsity win since the first game in 1997.

A RESILIENT second-half performance at the Cardiff Arms Park secured back-to-back varsity victories for Cardiff for the first time in the competition’s history.

Ill-discipline from the home side threatened to ruin Cardiff’s day as their captain, Aaron Fowler, was warned following five penalties in the opening 10 minutes.

Cardiff would finally pay the price for their ill-discipline mid-way through the first half.

Swansea’s Robert Evans dispatching the resulting penalty.

Swansea’s first points on the board appeared to rally the team as they quickened the tempo and forced the issue in Cardiff’s half.

The referee’s patience had reached

SWANSEA LIBERATE VARSITY CUP FROM CARDIFF

by Ellie Caddick waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

its limits after 25 minutes of the game.

Cardiff’s second row Kieran Ruddock was sent to the bin for failing to stay on his feet in the ruck.

Evans then stepped up to convert the penalty to make it 6-0 to Swansea before the break.

An early second-half infringement from Swansea gifted Cardiff a way back into the match, Codey Rees slotting home the penalty.

Cardiff continued to test the patience of the referee as another two Cardiff players were handed yellow cards but Swansea simply couldn’t find a way through.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, two superb drop goal attempts from fresher Cameron Pimlow secured victory for Cardiff.

2010

Swansea 16 - 12 Cardiff

2011

SWANSEA secured a historic victory over their rivals as they bagged their tenth varsity victory at the home of Welsh rugby, the Millennium Stadium.

In front of a crowd of almost 15,000, it was to be the first time the Millennium Stadium had hosted the Welsh Varsity match.

Despite enjoying the majority of the early possession, Cardiff could only muster six points on the scoreboard, thanks to the trusted boot of Cameron Pimlow.

The Swansea crowd could sense a change in the offing as the atmosphere grew within the stadium.

A quick break by Tom Rowlands allowed second-row Henry Boot to drive over the whitewash. Aled Lewis

CARDIFF CRUSH SLACK SWANSEA IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD

adding the extras.

Swansea extended their lead just before half-time. A fantastic flowing Swansea attack was finished by man of the match Rowlands. The try was converted once more by Lewis.

Swansea continued their dominance after the break as Dan George wriggled free of the tackle to dab down.

A Cardiff response followed on the hour, as Jake Cooper-Woolley bulldozed his way over the try-line.

Nimble footwork from Swansea’s fly-half Lewis condemned Cardiff to defeat with six minutes remaining.

A late James Reeves try gave Cardiff another consolation try before Nigel Owens blew the final whistle to confirm victory for Swansea.

2012

Cardiff 33 - 13 Swansea

waterfrontonline.co.uk

VARSITY I 21

THE PAST HAS NO REAL BEARING ON THE GAME - VAUGHAN

SWANSEA TAMED BY DOMINANT CARDIFF: Swansea at risk of losing possession of the ball as Cardiff put severe pressure on the ball-carrier during last year’s Welsh Varsity showpiece at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff.

SWANSEA University have a proud history in the Welsh Varsity competition, having won ten of the previous 16 matches, but crucially suffered defeat last year.

Their 33-13 defeat to Cardiff was their largest in Welsh Varsity history but Vaughan insists the past has no bearing on this year’s match.

“I don’t think we should be worrying about the past,” said Vaughan. “The past, be it a defeat or a victory, has no real bearing on the upcoming game.”

“While it is an annual fixture, the players playing in it can change every year.”

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Swansea’s captain has insisted the team have learnt from last year’s humbling and have adjusted their Varsity preparations to reflect that.

“I think a lot can be learned from last year’s defeat,” said Vaughan. “Our preparation felt a little too drawn out last year, it started to drag.

“So this year we have shortened it down to just two weeks so the boys can go into the game feeling prepared but fresh.

“Last year’s defeat at the Millennium

hurt us but we will do whatever it takes to put that right this year.”

Swansea University have failed to beat Cardiff in their previous five meetings, but the atmosphere in the camp certainly does not reflect this.

“Training’s been really positive for us,” said Vaughan. “There’s a real good atmosphere around the camp at the moment.

“We haven’t beaten Cardiff since our victory at varsity in 2011 but everybody knows how important the game is to us all.

“There is real competition for places which always makes for a good

training environment.”

Swansea will be without their legendary kicker Aled Lewis, for the first time in five years, after he graduated last year.

Lewis, now playing for Dunvant RFC, scored 32 of Swansea’s 72 points scored at the Welsh Varsity since 2008.

Vaughan is confident whoever steps into Lewis’ boots on the day will have the skill and nerve to perform.

“I have no doubts that whoever steps into Aled’s shoes will do the job at the Millennium,” he said.

“If the player wasn’t good enough, he wouldn’t be picked.”

The Welsh Varsity match - how the teams shape up WITH both university sides hoping for victory at the Millennium Stadium, we take a look at how their seasons have gone so far ahead of the big match.

Swansea experienced a very mixed season in their BUCS league campaign, winning six after losing their first three league matches including a 22-10 defeat to Cardiff University at Llanrumney.

Their season picked up with a hard fought away win in January at Glamorgan’s Sport Park but a 43-6 defeat the following Sunday threatened to derail their season.

But a three match unbeaten run ensured Swansea finished the season just above their rivals from the capital, finishing in fifth.

Cardiff University had a season to forget as they finished in sixth,

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

one place above relegated side Glamorgan.

Cardiff’s victories this season have been few and far between with just three league wins in ten and just one since the turn of the year.

Their win over Swansea in October was quickly followed by a 59-3 defeat away at Hartpury College.

Cardiff’s season ended with a 32-0 home defeat to city rivals Cardiff Metropolitan, who with the win completed a rare season double over Cardiff.

Swansea also got the better of Cardiff in the BUCS Vase cup competition.

Having received a bye, due to their league position, Swansea were free to

relax as Cardiff welcomed Leeds in a quarter-final tie.

The side from the capital dominated their opponents, as they ran out 44-11 winners.

Swansea entered the competition at the semi-final stage, and secured a narrow 26-21 victory over travelling Newcastle University.

The victory would potentially set up a BUCS Vase final against Cardiff.

But sadly for Cardiff this was not to be as they suffered defeat away at Nottingham.

Swansea were due to play Nottingham in the final before the Easter break but the game was delayed due to bad weather.

Going into the Welsh Varsity match Swansea have not beaten their rivals in any competition since their last Varsity win in 2011.

Swansea’s captain has been selected in two previous varsity squads, in 2009 and 2012, and appreciates what an honour it is.

“It’s a massive honour and privilege to be a part of the Welsh Varsity,” added Vaughan.

“Varsity is a rare chance to play at the national stadium in front of over 15,000 spectators, and is sure to be one I will look back on fondly.

“I’d love to get a win and make the occasion even more special.”

Outside of his student rugby commitments he also captains Welsh Premiership side Bridgend Ravens.

thewaterfront 22.04.13

22 I VARSITY

Sirens set to grace Bowley believes in her squad’s Fencing president calls for big the Millennium abilities ahead of varsity clash crowd to bring home victory SWANSEA Sirens, the university’s cheerleading club, will once again be performing during the halftime interval the Welsh Varsity match at the Millennium Stadium.

The Sirens’ profile has been raised in the last twelve month through performances at the intramural cup final as well as their work for the local rugby union club the Ospreys.

And having wowed a Welsh Varsity record crowd at the Millennium Stadium last year, Swansea’s cheerleaders will be excited about the prospect of showing off their hard work and preparation in front of what is expected to be even more spectators this year.

Cardiff Snakecharmers will also perform at half-time.

THE SIRENS: Members of the club last year.

by Joseph Mountford waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

DIFFERENCE MAKER: Captain Ruth Bowley FOLLOWING an impressive year in BUCS, women’s fencing are ready to do battle with Cardiff once more at Varsity.

Captain Ruth Bowley will lead her team against Cardiff and has refused to rule out her team’s chances of causing an upset at Varsity.

“I’m incredibly pleased with the team’s determination to succeed,” she said. “If they all bring their top form at Varsity we will certainly give Cardiff something to think about.”

Going into Varsity Swansea will need to be wary of Cardiff’s foil trio.

Elen Tomlinson, Flavia Allegretto and Cristina Mazzola all finished on the podium at the recent Welsh University Fencing Championships.

Swansea’s captain Ruth Bowley could be the great equaliser in the foil competition. Although she did not compete at the recent championships, her ability in this discipline is unquestionable.

She produced an incredible 17-4 victory against Queen Mary’s University earlier in the season to completely turn the match around for her side.

If she can repeat that performance against Cardiff she could prove a deadly threat on the piece.

Zoe Beynon and Megan Lillycrop will also compete with Bowley in the foil contest.

The epee will feature Varsity debutant Kitty Nicholas who will compete alongside veteran pairing Bowley and Beynon against Cardiff.

Captain Bowley will be hoping Lillycrop’s preferred discipline of the sabre will be where Swansea can pick up the most points in.

Lillycrop is the current Welsh University Sabre Champion.

With her teammates Madelaine Swift and Anna Lawrence also competing in the sabre, Swansea will have a tough trio to compete with their Cardiff counterparts.

LAST year the men’s fencing team produced a memorable performance to beat Cardiff, by a resounding score of 135 to 100, at the annual Welsh Varsity match.

Following two narrow single figure defeats to Cardiff this year, Swansea will need to pull out all the stops to clinch a Varsity victory.

Fencing club president Joe Mountford believes a large vocal Swansea crowd could be the key to victory.

“The men’s team is a social animal,” he said. “They rely on big fan atmospheres to pull out their biggest wins.

“We’re really going to need all the supporters we can get to get us in the zone as we go for victory.”

The sport of fencing features three disciplines; which are the foil, the epee and the sabre.

Swansea’s strongest event should be the men’s sabre competition.

Recently crowned Welsh University Sabre Champion, Richard Rapier, will take to the piece for Swansea alongside teammates Joseph Mountford and Joe Brightman.

The epee could prove Swansea’s downfall as they prepare to face Cardiff’s George Hawksworth, who is the reigning Welsh University Epee Champion.

by Joseph Mountford waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Despite the highly rated opposition, Swansea’s Nick Hoad, George Orchart and Will Cummings will be hoping to cause an upset when they come face to face with Cardiff in April.

The final discipline, the foil, is set to be the most contested of the afternoon.

In Cardiff’s corner is the Welsh University Foil Champion Chris Wild and in Swansea’s corner the runnerup of the same competition, Orchart.

With the choice of Siôn Carpenter, Paul Clarkson and Ashley Stephens as backup to the talented Orchart, it will be a match certainly worth watching.

CHAMPION: Men’s captain Richard Rapier.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

VARSITY I 23

Parsons and Bowen eager to get going Davies believes underdog label

SUMFC 1sts coach Nick Bowen believes the side can overcome the disappointment of this season’s relegation from the Premier South division to secure Varsity victory.

SUMFC had enjoyed some good results in the first half of the season against established sides such as Bath and Hartpury but their 2013 form proved their downfall.

Bowen felt that one reason for SUMFCs poor form towards the end of the season could have been fixture congestion, mentioning that “a heavy fixture backlog… saw us play our final 3 games of the season in just 6 days”.

However, Bowen is looking forward to the completion of the new training facilities at Fairwood, a joint-venture with Swansea City FC which it is hoped “should allow for all squad members to train together’ next season, hopefully leading to more cohesion on the pitch.”

Bowen is pleased with the team’s preparations for the Varsity game, saying that “this is the first time we’ve managed to get our entire squad playing together”, as well as pointing to victory in the 2 warm-up friendly matches as proof of the team’s readiness.

The most recent of those matches, on the 16th of April, was against Swansea City U21 side, with the University side running out 2-1 winners at St Helens ground. Bowen hopes that the experience of playing (and winning), in front of a crowd will

will spur Swansea onto victory

by David Beale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

PARSONS POSITIVE: Swansea’s captain (left) is confident Swansea can atone for last year.

by Max Stevens waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

prepare the team well for Varsity.

Despite remaining adamant that he doesn’t see Varsity as different to normal games, Bowen did concede that the game does make for a different task with the pressure of the crowd, but commented that “surely this is what anyone who plays competitive sport thrives”.

Captain George Parsons also noted that the “electric atmosphere can be daunting” in particular for the new players, but hoped that good preparation would ensure that “we do the business”.

Last year’s varsity game was forced to end early following crowd problems with the score at 2-1 to Cardiff.

Swansea found it hard to adjust to playing on astro-turf, having been used to playing on grass for most of the season.

Parsons is therefore pleased that this year’s game is being played on grass, and with no injuries of note ahead of the game. both Parsons and Bowen are hopeful that they can make amends for last year’s defeat.

Entry to the men’s football event will require you to have a valid ticket to the evening’s rugby match. No entry will be allowed without one.

Burkov confident for womens team ahead of first ever varsity match

FOLLOWING a double-winning debut season the women’s volleyball team will be looking to complete the treble in April at Varsity.

Volleyball club president Ilya Burkov is confident the women’s team are ready for the challenge after completing the domestic double.

“I think the girls are more than ready for Varsity,” said Burkov.

“With the men’s team also progressing nicely, I believe both teams will be quite successful in their respective Varsity matches.”

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Women’s captain Heli Foxley also believed Swansea had a good chance at Varsity despite Cardiff being ranked a league above them.

“I think we have a good chance of winning,” she said. “As long as the team perform well on the day.

“Obviously it’ll be a tough match, as Cardiff are in the league above us.

“But they haven’t done as well as we expected them to do at the start of the season, losing more games

than they’ve won.”

The women’s team won nine out of a possible ten games on their way to the double, in what was their first season in BUCS. Their season culminated in victories over Glamorgan 1sts in both the league and cup to clinch both titles.

The men’s team struggled in comparison, winning only two in six, finishing fifth out of six teams.

Burkov and Foxley thanked the club committee and their coach Szymon Kazimierz Kubal for the work they have done over the year.

THE women’s hockey team will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at last year’s varsity competition when they face Cardiff in April.

Captain Kira Davies is confident that, despite Cardiff’s superior position in the BUCS league pyramid, Swansea can beat Cardiff this time around.

“I have no qualm in saying that being rated as the underdogs will have a positive effect on the team,” she said.

“I’ve got full trust and confidence in my team to get the win and finish this year on a high.

“I cannot wait to get on the pitch and show Cardiff the reason why we’ve been so successful this year.”

Swansea finished the season in dramatic circumstances. With one league game remaining, they needed just a point in their final game against second-placed Cardiff Medics to secure the league title.

In what turned out to be a highscoring affair, Swansea were narrowly beaten 4-3 and had to settle for second place.

Similarly in the Welsh Shield cup competition, they were pipped to

WOMEN’S CAPTAIN: Kira Davies (left) the title in the final by Ruthin Hockey Club .

But Swansea were without several first-choice players as the final clashed with the annual club tour.

But despite their bad luck in the latter stages of the season, Davies is confident that Swansea can beat anyone on their day and so is confident they can come away with the victory.

“It all comes down to who wants it more on the day,” she added.

Swansea’s captain hoping the team have learnt from last year

by David Beale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

FOLLOWING domestic double success, men’s hockey 1sts captain Rory Thorburn is positive about his side’s chances at this year’s Welsh Varsity match.

The team finished top of the BUCS Western 2B division with eight wins in ten matches.

They also celebrated success in the Welsh Shield competition with victory over Bridgend Hockey Club in the final.

Thorburn believes continuity has been crucial in this year’s success, with the bulk of the squad remaining from the previous year.

“This year we managed to keep a large number of players,” he added.

“This is very lucky for us, as it gives us a platform to build on.

“But we’ve also benefitted from bringing in some new recruits into the existing squad.”

Swansea had the chance to make it two cup titles in two days at the end of March when they faced Cardiff University in the final of the Welsh Cup. They had secured the Welsh Shield the previous day.

In what was a fiery encounter Swansea took an early lead before

MEN’S CAPTAIN: Rory Thorburn (left) Cardiff came back to lead 3-1.

Captain Thorburn slotted home to make it 3-2 before Cardiff regained control and ran out cup winners, 5-2.

Despite this recent defeat to Cardiff, Thorburn is dreaming of a Swansea victory at varsity.

“I don’t think there would be anything better than to being able to say that we beat Cardiff at varsity,” he added.

thewaterfront 22.04.13

22 I VARSITY

In form Titans wary of Cardiff threat

Basketball club all set for tip off

by Alex Powell waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

CLASH OF THE TITANS: Swansea Titan’s Ollie Runswick and his Cardiff Cobra counterpart taking part in the Welsh Varsity photoshoot in preparation for varsity.

BUCS western rivals Swansea Titans and Cardiff Cobras will do battle once again at Pontcanna in Cardiff.

Offensive captain Ollie Runswick is expecting a tough test against Cardiff.

He said: “I expect a good Cardiff side to turn up and a quality game of football.”

The emerging force that is the Titans have enjoyed one of their best

by Simon George waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

seasons on record, despite having always lost more games than they had won prior to this year.

Swansea won five of their eight matches this season, including a 64-0 victory over mid-table Aberystwyth University.

The well-established Cobras on the other had have had a season to forget. Having played fewer games than Swansea, only five, they have registered just one victory all year.

With Swansea on a five match winning run, they will undoubtedly go into this year’s varsity game as favourites.

The team in the familiar green kit will be looking for payback for the

Welsh Varsity result back in 2010.

Swansea were on the end of a hiding, conceding 57 points without reply.

The travelling Swansea side will be hoping to utilise their running game, which has been ominous for many sides this season.

Swansea Titans have amassed over 270 regular season points, the 6th highest in the country.

Sports officer elect hopes club will end the year on a high

FRESH IN THEIR MINDS: Action from last year’s Welsh Varsity netball match, with goal-attack Rebecca Steingass on the ball and looking for a passing option.

CAPTAIN Charlotte Peters is hopeful that the experience of members of the Swansea University Netball club will help lead Swansea to varsity victory.

Swansea have suffered Varsity defeat in the last three years, but after a solid season, Peters believes Swansea have a better chance than ever of bucking the recent trend to defeat Cardiff.

“Varsity is naturally the culmination of the season,” she said, “and all the girls are aware of the size of the match.

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

It is a reasonably experienced team, with most of them having competed in Varsity before, so although nerves will be high I think they will cope well with the pressure.

“The crowd will play a huge part, but the rest of the club and hopefully a lot of other Swansea supporters will be there to cheer the girls on.”

“I think this year’s Varsity will be the

closest we’ve seen in recent years.

“The girls are more prepared and have had it in their sights for months, with training geared towards the big day. Hopefully all of their hard work will pay off and we will come out with a win!”

Swansea’s three netball teams experienced mixed levels of success in the domestic season this year.

The third team achieved their aim of avoiding relegation from the Western 4B conference following their promotion 5B last season.

The seconds finished an impressive second in Western 3B, while the first team finished in a respectable third position in Western 2B. If Swansea were to pull off a Varsity victory, it would be something of a shock as opponents Cardiff’s first team finished the season third in Western 1A. Find out if the green and white team can upset the odds on April 24th, with the game taking place in the Welsh Institute of Sport Main Hall at 11:30am.

SWANSEA University’s basketball club will look to end the season on a high against Cardiff following a tough year for both the men’s and women’s teams.

Men’s captain Calum Sharma has admitted it has been a hard season for the team having been dealt a major blow only a month into the season.

“With our coach quitting on us after the first month we had to adapt,” he said. “Many of the players stepped up to help out, which I am grateful for.

“We have done well this season considering and managed to stay up following our promotion last year.

“But looking at the competition we faced, I believe we should have placed in the top three [rather than fourth].”

Sharma believes the whole squad will need to be on their game to beat Cardiff at Varsity, having lost their most recent meeting by nine points.

“We beat Cardiff comfortably at their place earlier in the season,” said Sharma.

“But somehow we lost the return fixture at home, so the season series is tied.

“At Varsity, Henry Sondo and Nate Osoria need to bring the energy they have to ignite our play on both ends of the floor, by being aggressive from the tip.

“Adam Kennedy, Marc Robson and Ajing Jipur will be our big men, providing us with the rebounding edge we will need.”

The women’s captain Ness Talbutt is hoping to “surprise” Cardiff when they face their rivals from the capital at Varsity.

Talbutt’s side have had a season to forget, winning just two in eleven but the captain has looked to recruit some new players to turn the tide in their favour.

“We’ve recently recruited a very tall player called Hannah Flather, who should be a huge asset for Varsity,” she said.

“We’ve also brought in an American, Brenna Kristi, to the squad.

“She really lives up to the stereotype that American’s are good ball players.

“She’s only played two games for us so far but has averaged 30 points and is also strong on defence.

“Brenna is going to be one of our key players for Varsity.”

Despite being relegated Talbutt believes she her resolute side will not shy away from the challenge at Varsity.

“All the girls have played really hard for every game this season,” she said.

“They have been determined to win every time they go out on court, really fighting for every possession.”

“Every member of the team is crucial and will give their all on the day. Hopefully their hard work will pay off and we’ll surprise Cardiff.”

The teams would also like to give a special thanks to club president Tino Dzaro for all her hard work this year.

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Captain Tarbard hopeful freshers’ team will continue winning tradition

MEN’S freshers’ rugby captain Oliver Tarbard is hopeful that Swansea can continue their recent good form in Varsity matches in this year’s encounter.

The match was called off last year, but Swansea recorded victories in 2010 and 2011 and after a decent season, the team will be looking to step up their game for the showpiece match in their season.

Swansea have experienced an inconsistent season, finishing 5th in the Western 2B Conference, and Tarbard is looking for his side to put in their full efforts to secure a Varsity victory which would undoubtedly be the highlight of their season.

“We have taken every game as it’s come this year,” said Tarbard, “and the highlight of the regular season was making the quarter-finals of the BUCS Cup, an outstanding effort.

“We have not played Cardiff freshers at all this year, and so it is hard to predict the result as every year new players come into both universities, so we will not be sure what to expect.

However, I am confident that the boys will perform on the day and hopefully be able to bring home the victory to Swansea.”

The side, who are officially known

FEELING CONFIDENT: Swansea’s freshers’ rugby team should be seen as favourites for this year’s varsity match with Cardiff freshers.

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

as Swansea 4ths, secured five wins from twelve games this season, but finished only one place behind Swansea’s 3rd side, an achievement which can be put down to the team’s preparations and training, which Tarbard highlighted.

“A hard training programme has

been set up for the players this season,” he explained. “One of the main points of this programme has been that we have integrated sessions with the 1st team in order to get the most out of the training build up to Varsity.”

Swansea’s opponents, Cardiff Freshers (also Cardiff 4th side) have played in Western 3B this year, in which they came third from bottom,

winning two games out of six.

The two sides’ respective league forms, coupled with Swansea’s success at Varsity in recent years, means that Swansea will probably be seen as favourites ahead of the game.

Find out if they can live up to this billing on April 24. The match will take place, weather permitting, at Pontcanna pitch 1, at 2.30pm.

Women’s rugby ready and raring to go for their first varsity match in two years

FOLLOWING last year’s match cancellation Swansea University’s women’s rugby union side are ready and raring to go for the big day.

Heavy rainfall over the days prior to the Welsh Varsity meant the game was called off last year much to the annoyance of the women’s team.

“It was obviously very disappointing for the team not to play at varsity,” said captain Eliza Slinn.

“We are raring to go, the game seems like it’s been a long time coming and the girls are ready to play and be part of this year’s varsity.

“Cardiff have had a tough season, something that will have taken its toll on them, however they are still in the league above us.

“We’re a competitive team though and go into every game with a desire to win.

“But we’re under no illusions; we’ll be going into the game as underdogs. “ Despite their match cancellation in 2012, the whole team turned out in full kit and was around Cardiff throughout the day cheering on the teams in green and white.

Slinn was a member of the team who played in 2011 and believes that experience helped the club going

LONG OVERDUE: Swansea’s Peita McAlister at the Varsity promo photo-shoot ahead of the long awaited rugby match.

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

forward, even if the result was tough to take.

“It was my first varsity appearance and it was certainly a learning curve

for all the girls involved,” said Slinn.

“We came away from the game knowing we needed to work on our defensive play [after conceding 54 points].

“You cannot afford to be giving the ball away to a team like Cardiff so easily.

“We’ve spent the last few years learning from that experience and improving our game.”

The team finished the season with six wins from their nine matches.

They made the last 16 of the BUCS trophy cup competition, going out to eventual finalists Manchester.

VARSITY I 37

Intramural side ready for action

by Nick Griffiths waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

SWANSEA University will be hoping to build on previous varsity success when their intramural select eleven take on their Cardiff counterparts.

Intramural football captain Owain Harries is extremely confident in the standard of the Swansea intramural league ahead of Varsity selection.

“The quality of intramural is at the highest it has ever been,” Harries said.

“Based on our recent trials, I believe we could send an intramural 2nd XI who would still manage to put Cardiff to the sword.”

In last year’s Varsity match Swansea narrowly defeated Cardiff by four goals to three thanks to a late Dy Noonan strike.

Harries will be hoping for a more assured victory than last year but believes concentration won’t be an issue this time around.

“We were 3-1 up at half-time but switched off and let Cardiff back into the game. Five minutes into the 2nd half they made it 3-3.

“Luckily some clever substitutions by then manager Ben Swanson ensured we got the win.

“Hopefully the boys will have learnt from last year.”

Ducklings hope for varsity upset

by Nick Griffiths waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

FOLLOWING a valiant effort at the BUCS outdoor regional competition, Swansea’s ultimate frisbee club, affectionately known as the Ducklings, are all set for Varsity.

Club captain Matt Nicholson is hopeful the team’s 7th placed finish will benefit the team going into Varsity.

Nicholson’s team go into the contest as the underdogs after Cardiff finished 3rd at the same outdoor regional competition.

Despite this Nicholson feels that this could finally be Swansea’s year to pull off an upset.

“This is by far our best chance in the club’s history to get a result,” he said.

“It’s been the club’s best ever year, breaking many club records, and we are closing the gap between us and Cardiff.

“They are still big favourites of course, but we firmly believe we can pull off an upset.’’

Swansea suffered defeat in last year’s contest, 15-6, having led 3-2.

The momentum turned following a change in match format at a time when Swansea were leading.

Several high impact collisions in the 7v7 format meant both teams agreed to finish with five-a-side.

thewaterfront 22.04.13

38 I VARSITY

Golfing team go Robinson upbeat ahead of the Davies believes Swansea will in as favourites women’s varsity lacrosse clash have the edge in men’s lacrosse

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

PRESIDENT of the golf club, Peter Gordon, will be hoping to make it four in four as they return to the Vale of Glamorgan golf course this April.

Swansea will go into the event as favourites given their superior league position.

The Swansea-based club are currently playing in the second tier of BUCS’ golf competition, with Cardiff playing in the third.

Following relegation, Cardiff have struggled to adjust to life in the third tier, winning just one game this season.

Swansea on the other hand, have battled admirably following their promotion last year.

They have won six matches this season including a dramatic play-off victory over Portsmouth at Hayling Island Golf Club.

Gordon will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous presidents such as Bristol-based Freddie Ferrari who led the team to victory last year.

The match is due to begin at 11am, weather permitting.

TIME TO DO BATTLE: Swansea’s Charlotte Guest (above-left) crossing sticks with Cardiff.

FOCUSED AND READY TO GO: Swansea’s steely-eyed captain Matt Davies (above-left).

CAPTAIN Jocelyn Robinson is confident that this year can be Swansea’s year in the women’s lacrosse varsity match.

Swansea were promoted back to Western 1A last season and they have taken to the higher standard well, finishing fourth in their new division.

And Robinson has been delighted with how her side have adapted to the increase in quality this season.

“The highlight of our season this year would be competing in a higher new league this year and being strong contenders,” she explained.

Despite their varsity opponents

SWANSEA University’s men’s lacrosse team are looking to build upon an impressive domestic season in this year’s varsity match with Cardiff.

Swansea finished joint-second with Cardiff in the BUCS Western 1A, and despite losing last year’s varsity match, Swansea’s performances this season have given captain Matt Davies confidence ahead of this year’s game.

“Last year’s defeat was hard to take as it was our first loss in quite a few years,” said Davies. “However, I’m supremely confident about this year’s varsity.

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

finishing top of the same division, Robinson believes Swansea can upset their rivals this year.

“This is the first year we are extremely confident that we can cause a massive upset for Cardiff at varsity,” she explained.

“The team have shown so much focus. We don’t really have anything to lose and I feel extremely positive!”

See if the girls’ efforts can be rewarded on April 24th at 2.30pm on Pontcanna pitch 3.

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

“Our final match before varsity was an away win at Cardiff, which was the highlight of our season and we believe this gives us the edge going into this year’s varsity.”

But Davies also admitted that Varsity has to be seen as the season’s most prestigious game.

“We try to work on the basis that each game is as important as the next, but Cardiff holds a special place within all of us, and, realistically, it’s the game that has to be won.”

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Determined Lici calls for focus

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

WOMEN’S captain Alicia Venables has called for focus ahead of their all important varsity match with Cardiff.

Swansea lost to their rivals back in November by just four points and Venables is encouraged by what she’s seen from her side in training.

“Training is really going well,” she said. “We are focusing hard on our individual weaknesses and helping each other to improve.

“There has been a lot of improvement from all members of the team and we will be determined to show that off at Varsity.”

Venables will compete in her second Varsity match this year having been a part of the Swansea winning side in 2012.

She is hoping to follow in the footsteps of former captain Susie Howells by claiming another win for Swansea at this year’s Varsity.

“We are hoping to carry on the Varsity streak,” she added.

“Cardiff have changed their team since last year’s match so we are not totally sure what to expect.

“But we will give it our all to try and beat Cardiff in April.”

VARSITY I 39

We’ve got a lot riding on the result at varsity - Moralee

RACKETS AT THE READY: Swansea’s Owen Walters (left) at the Welsh Varsity promotional photo-shoot with his Cardiff counterpart.

MEN’S squash could have their promotion hopes on the line when they face off against Cardiff on April 24.

Following their 3-2 league victory over Cardiff in February, Swansea finished the league season with the same points and games difference as their rivals from the capital.

The victory in February cancelled

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

out the 3-2 defeat they suffered to Cardiff at the back end of last year.

Due to their equal head-to-head record the two sides will put the rights to promotion on the line at when they face each other at Varsity.

“We’ll have a lot riding on this

match,” said captain Russ Moralee.

“We’ve just heard back from Sadie Thwaites, Sport Swansea’s administrator, that BUCS are happy to have the league play-off decider at the Welsh Varsity,” he said.

“It’s going to be tough but I’m quietly confident we can secure victory we need.”

The match begins at 1.30pm.

Boxing added to the Welsh Varsity roster SWANSEA University’s boxers are raring to go as they approach their first ever varsity match.

2013 will see Swansea’s and Cardiff’s boxing clubs take on each other at a Welsh Varsity event for the first time ever, as twelve male boxers and one female face their Cardiff opponents.

Swansea has already had a superb start to the year with Josh Osborne winning gold at the BUCS Super Heavyweight category in March.

And Swansea University’s head boxing coach Avoen Perryman is unsurprisingly in an upbeat mood ahead of this seminal moment in Welsh university boxing history.

“Our squad are hoping that a varsity triumph will build on Josh’s success.

“We have been training hard and hope to mark our varsity debut in style by bringing the title home to Swansea.”

Avoen, currently a doctoral research student at Swansea, set up the Boxing Club in November 2007, as a first year Criminology undergraduate.

He has competed in and coached boxing since his teens, and he said that whilst only a very small amount of people were involved when the club started, today the club boasts 150 members.

“I love running this club and making a difference to people’s University experience, and possibly to their lives.

Badminton aim for varsity wins

by Jodie O’Donnell waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

BOTH the men’s and the women’s Swansea University badminton teams are confident that they can secure victories at the 2013 Welsh Varsity after excellent domestic league seasons.

After easing their way to the top of their league this season and coming second in their fight for the Western Conference Cup, the men’s first team are totally on form and ready and waiting to take on Cardiff and to regain their title as Welsh Varsity winners.

And captain Sam Gorell appears fully aware of what his team are capable of achieving in this year’s big match.

He said: “We have had one of our best seasons so far, and now with a promotion for next season, everyone is supremely confident.”

With the prowess shown by each player during the course of this season, there appears to be supreme confidence within the club that they will emerge victorious against Cardiff.

With the matches being held later this year it also gives a chance for more Swansea supporters to show their support to spur on one of the university’s most successful sports team and heighten the badminton team’s determination further.

This will definitely help out the women’s first team, who despite winning varsity in 2011, let their standard slip slightly last year and just missed on at regaining their victory.

Nonetheless the women’s team have shown great play all of this season in their Western league, regardless of several team changes, and managed to sit comfortably in a mid-table position, resisting their first team rivals of Cardiff Met and Glamorgan.

Alice Palmer, who sees her third year as women’s captain and sent her team to victory in 2011, is hopeful ahead of this year’s ties.

She said: ‘We have done it [won] before and we can easily do it again!”

PACKING A PUNCH: Hannah Dicks trains with BUCS Super Heavy Weight gold medallist Josh Osbourne ahead of her varsity fight.

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

“Three of our former boxers are now boxing coaches and a couple who met at the club are now engaged.”

The club currently trains at the University Sport Centre and the Warehouse Gym in Swansea.

But there are grand plans in place for the 2013-2014 season to reflect

the increase in the club’s success and profile amongst students.

These include a new gym in the Sandfields area of the city with £25k worth of funding from UK charity ‘Sported’.

Avoen said: “We want young people from the city come to our gym, get fit and develop their boxing skills.

We hope that as undergraduate and postgraduate students, we can act as

mentors to our younger members.

“We want this gym to become a great facility for the community and bring students and local youngsters together to generate a real community spirit, increase charitable activities and also help reduce anti-social behaviour in the area.”

The boxing event takes place on Monday 22nd April at 7pm, at Cardiff University’s Students’ Union.

VETERAN: Women’s captain Alice Palmer.

All that remains is for Swansea’s badminton teams to keep up their high spirits and maintain their great standard of play into varsity.

The badminton takes place at the Talybont sports centre.

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Issue 227

WE HAVE A LOT TO PROVE AT THIS YEAR’S WELSH VARSITY - STANLEY WITH her time as sports officer coming to an end, we caught up with Imogen Stanley ahead of the Welsh Varsity.

Going into this year’s Welsh Varsity, Stanley believes Swansea will have “a lot to prove” following last year’s disappointment.

Swansea won just five of the twenty three Welsh Varsity shield matches.

“I think last year we were very unfortunate to lose as many games as we did,” she said. “We have a lot to prove at this year’s Welsh Varsity.

“We always go into games fighting and I don’t think this is any different.”

Cardiff University have celebrated success in the Welsh Varsity Shield every year since it began in 2002.

Stanley does not Cardiff’s home advantage is the major factor behind their Welsh Varsity shield success in recent years, but would not be against the idea of some events taking place in Swansea.

“I don’t think Cardiff playing at home is the main reason behind their success in the shield,” she said.

“Many of Cardiff’s teams are playing in higher leagues than we are.

“But hopefully some of the matches could be brought back to Swansea, which would be amazing to see.”

Stanley herself competed for Swansea University in each of the last three Welsh Varsity competitions as part of the university’s sailing club.

She won in all three years in which

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April 22, 2013

Varsity Schedule Welsh Institute of Sport (WIS) 20 minutes from Cardiff Central Station

Match KO Taekwondo 11.00 Netball 11.30 Men’s Badminton 11.30 Women’s Badminton 11.30 Men’s Football 12.00 Men’s Fencing 13.30 Women’s Fencing 13.30 Women’s Basketball 13.30 Men’s Squash 13.30 Women’s Squash 13.30 Women’s Hockey 14.30 Men’s Volleyball 14.30 Women’s Volleyball 14.30 Men’s Basketball

15.00 Men’s Hockey 16.00

Cardiff Bay

25 minutes from Cardiff Central Station

Match KO Sailing 10.00

Pontcanna 15 minutes from WIS

Match KO

WHEN TWO CITIES GO TO WAR: The green and white army’s very own sports officer Imogen Stanley (left) and Cardiff’s AU president Cari Davies.

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

she competed, including last year’s 6-0 victory as captain of the club.

Stanley remains proud of her achievements and spoke of her fondness of varsity as an event as a

whole.

“I love varsity, it’s my favourite day of the year and has been since my first year,” she said.

“I loved competing at varsity,” she said. “Winning all three of my varsity matches for Swansea was definitely a highlight of my time here.

“Not only did I enjoy competing but it is great to know that an event such as varsity allows us to engage with thousands of students who don’t usually get involved in sports on a weekly basis.”

Stanley’s replacement Charlotte Peters will take over in the summer.

by Craig Hadley waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

April 24, will be named the winner.

Since the shield was introduced in 2002, Swansea are yet to win this prestigious award.

Last year was a year to forget for many Swansea fans.

Not only did Swansea suffer their

worst ever defeat in the varsity rugby match, but they also suffered one of their worst years in the shield.

Only five teams managed to register points for Swansea, compared to Cardiff’s 18.

The teams to win included: golf, men’s fencing, sailing, women’s squash and intramural football.

Swansea came close to their first shield victory in 2010, just missing

Ultimate Frisbee Men’s Lacrosse American Football Intramural Football Women’s Rugby Freshers Rugby Women’s Football Women’s Lacrosse

11.00 12.30 12.30 13.00 13.00 14.30 14.30 14.30

Vale of Glamorgan Not within walking distance of WIS

Match KO Golf 11.00

The Welsh Varsity shield explained THE Welsh Varsity Cup is not the only prize up for grabs at varsity, with the Welsh Varsity Shield arguably more sort after.

It differs from the Varsity Cup as it is awarded to the university who have won the most matches throughout the competition.

Each match is worth a single point and the university with the most at the end of the final day of varsity,

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Cardiff Lawn Tennis Club out by six points.

The first point of the shield competition was up for grabs in the annual Welsh Varsity boat race.

This was closely followed on Sunday by the varsity T20 cricket match, weather permitting.

See our twitter account for the results. We will also be tweeting throughout April 24. To get the latest updates follow us now.

15 minutes from WIS

Match KO Men’s Tennis Women’s Tennis

12.00 12.00

The Millennium Stadium Opposite Cardiff Central Station

Match KO Welsh Varsity Rugby Match

19.30