Field Club President’s Report

Trinity College Field Club President’s Report

Robert Paraoan (2019)

With this academic year being the most normal since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the Field Club once again prospered and had very nearly all its typical events. I have to say before continuing that I think my predecessor, James Hughes, managed very well to keep the community spirit of college sport in Trinity alive last year while we found ourselves in the trying time of lockdown at home during term time. So it was truly a breath of fresh air this year to be allowed to resume normal practices without any major restrictions. These included regular training sessions at Old Field and various other venues used by our teams, as well as all important participation in College leagues and Cuppers – which I must say I think is consistently very impressive from Trinity, with most captains entering multiple teams for each sport. We held the traditional Freshers’ events in person, including at the Chaplain’s Squash as well as our very own Sports Day, where the captains did a great job in encouraging involvement of the new Freshers in College sport.

A few teams hosted special matches throughout the year, such as those against alumni. I myself played in one such match – the ‘bar match’ (tennis being my principal sport of choice), which was held in the Easter term between our own

Mid-match badminton action.

Trinity rugby has made a strong resurgence over the past year.

tennis team and a band of London lawyers led by one of our very own Trinity alumni. I wanted to mention it to share what I saw and experienced first-hand – that these events are thoroughly enjoyed by both sides involved, and they provide some interesting variety for our students from playing other Colleges and a welldeserved respite from work! I was very proud whenever I saw one of our captains taking the initiative to organise such an event and hope that these continue long into the future. Perhaps many of us current students will return to Trinity after leaving to play on the other side!

The year wasn’t without its challenges, however. The only disappointment is that our annual sports day against our sister college in Oxford (Christ Church) didn’t materialise despite extensive planning on our side. I was impressed with

Trinity College Men’s Football Team.

how keen students at Trinity were for it to go ahead, and rightly so, as I can say from experience that it is really a fantastic day of friendly yet competitive sport. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts and support from the College for our proposed travel to Oxford, cancellations from Christ Church in both Lent and Easter terms scuppered our plans. It will fall to my successor and current captain of mixed Netball and Lacrosse, Clodagh Bottomley, to try and get the match running again since COVID put a halt to it two years ago. I’ve no doubt she will do a great job.

Happily, my statement will end on a positive note when looking ahead to the future of the Field Club. Our fantastic Treasurer, Professor Joan Lasenby, and Head Groundsman, Darren Wood, have helped me make plans for an annual Field Club dinner going, which we will use to celebrate the efforts of our teams at the end of the season. It will give us a more consistent and formal way to award College colours each year to those players from each team who have shown especially notable commitment to their sport. Finally, I would like to end by expressing how gratifying I’ve found this role. For me and many others, College sport is such an important part of life here at Cambridge, and I am confident this will continue to be the case for many others to come.