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SPORT PROMOTION IN SIGHT

YORK HULL

MATT WARD-PERKINS

from York Sport Arena

@mattwardperkins 80 47

YORK MEN’S BASKETBALL put themselves within touching distance of a league title, with a dominant win over Hull.

The men’s first team left the court with a comfortable 80-47 win, meaning they are one win or tie away from mathematically guaranteeing the BUCS Division 3B championship.

York will go into their two final games in first position, and would secure the title next week with a win or tie away against the bottom-placed Sheffield men’s second team.

Their final home league game of the season saw York get off to a shaky start, as Hull took an early 12-4 lead, but tactical changes and physical play left the winner in no doubt by the final buzzer.

In the first few minutes of the game the story was Hull’s success with three point shots, with three of them scored in their first four possessions as the away team looked set to miss very few of the opportunities they created.

After York fell 12-4 behind, an early timeout saw tactical changes, as the team appeared to switch up their defensive scheme to put more pressure on Hull.

That pressure paid off with a new defensive stability, putting pressure on Hull as they shot ,while effectively challenging for rebounds, and York’s offence brought them back into the game to tie it 12-12.

The early first quarter was the one and only time Hull took the lead against York, as the home side grew into the game and began to adjust to playing their opposition.

One of the features of York going forward was the pace of their attack, as quick breaks from defensive rebounds and turnovers led to opportunities to score.

York went into the second quarter with a 21-15 lead, after their well timed time out, as Hull’s accuracy with three point shots began to fall York got used to their tactics to create a deserved lead.

After a relatively high-scoring first quarter, both teams began to settle into the game, and each defence made some important stops to keep the game close.

The early success of Hull with three-point shots seemed to encourage them to keep attempting them, but a number of misses, and York’s more patient offensive play saw York begin to extend their lead.

Even when both sides struggled with consistent shot accuracy at points, York were aggressive and won rebounds more often than not, giving them the opportunities to take advantage offensively and to frustrate Hull.

In the second quarter, it was Hull’s turn to take an early timeout, as York led 29-15.

It wasn’t enough to stop the York lead from growing, as they continued to take advantage of turnovers and rebounds to create fast-paced attacks and stop the Hull defence from being able to organise themselves.

By the end of the quarter, York had created a 39-24 lead, and carried their momentum into a high-scoring dominant third quarter.

York’s defence was physical but disciplined, avoiding giving away fouls as they did in the second quarter, and holding Hull to just five points in the quarter to stop them working their way back into the game.

Even as the lead grew, York never had to worry about the shot clock, as they continued to work quickly to frustrate the Hull defence, pulling away to a 60-29 lead.

It was the third quarter that appeared to seal victory for York, but the Hull side were never out of it.

In the fourth quarter, some York eyes began to regularly look up at the scoreboard when Hull pulled back 13 points to reduce York’s lead to 66-42.

Hull were beginning to find some of the pace that had worked so well for York, as well as drawing free throw opportunities from fouls, but it was not enough to make a comeback look realistic.

Ignoring any thoughts of running down the game clock, York continued to challenge Hull at every stage, and after Hull’s strong start, York made the most of their speed and strength to make the lead that bit more comfortable.

Hull never gave in, and some great individual defence stopped York from running away with the game even further, but in the end a 80-47 York win was a fair reflection of the home side’s ability.

York now move on to their final two games of the season, and their push to guarantee promotion to Tier 2 basketball next year.

They will hope this win is a sign of things to come.

1 HAVE PUB SPORTS BEEN FORGOTTEN?

BY RUTH KELNER

THE FOUNDER OF ‘Pub Sports Massive’ and Social Sec of Pool and Snooker society have told York Vision they feel Pub Sports are often not treated like a sport at all.

College Pool Rep Joe said it has taken the introduction of bar tabs for people to actually start taking pool, snooker and darts seriously.

Joe told Vision that, during a champions draft event the society had organised, they were shut down by members of staff for not having it properly organised, but when they went to the college to organise the tournament they were just ignored and assumed the event had been confirmed.

“It was as if we weren’t getting taken seriously, but this year after having brought in bar tabs we’ve began to be respected a bit more, which is annoying that we’ve had to earn money for them to value us.”

Social Sec Lauren went on to explain that it’s not just about space, but also the way pub sports are overlooked. In a promotional BUCS video there was “absolutely not one shot of pool in there”.

Vision approached BUCS for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.

Lauren contined: “No one thinks that pool exists but it can actually be very competitive.”

Joe said, “We have problems with funding, the main funding seems to go to Football, Rugby, and Hockey, because they do spend more than us.”

Lauren said: “All we really need is a pool table in a secured locked room that no-one else can access and cause damage to, but we just can’t get the funding together to pay for that table.”

“A pool table like that would pay for itself in the upcoming years, two, three years down the line you’d have people who’ve never played pool before winning tournaments[...]and when teams win in tournaments they win prizes, so we can fund the society ourselves,” Joe said.

The funding issues aren’t just affecting the practice of the sport, “We’ve struggled this year more with funding to get people to tournaments, which is quite sad.”

“One of our most talented players just can’t afford to go, and that’s such a shame”.

For Joe and Lauren, pub sports offer something no other sport could. Lauren said she couldn’t see herself playing any sports until she found pool and darts, which is “the one sport I can play with a pint”.

An attitude that welcomes everyone and encourages all abilities to get involved is at the heart of the darts. Joe and Lauren invite everyone to get involved and are sure to mention that there’s always a karaoke machine in the corner!

Joe’s said: “If you’re thinking about coming to play, don’t come for the pool and darts, come and just have a good time.”

York Sport Union President Franki Riley said: “I want every student to be able to come to our university and play the sport they love. It is deeply saddening and frustrating to hear of the difficult experiences faced by Pool and Snooker with college staff.

“I wish that I had greater means by which to financially support our clubs further, but YUSU does the absolute best to ensure our clubs are supported fairly with what we have.

“For our non-conventional sports, that I have made a big point of supporting[...]I know the cost of competing is a big concern and I am looking at ways to help alleviate these pressures. For any clubs experiencing financial difficulties, I would encourage them to consider applying to the Contingency Grant.

“With the help of YuFund, funding for a new pool table has been secured, and I’m very excited about this opporutnity for the club, but now we need the University to be more active in assisting us with finding a suitable location.”

SPORT TEAM

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IMAGE: YORK SPORT UNION

COLLEGE VARSITY 2022 YORK VISION’S ONES TO WATCH

MEN’S RUGBY

For the first time, College Varsity has an opening ceremony, and it is the Men’s Rugby, a fixture which is set to kick off the competition. Representing York, Hes East will be full of confidence coming off a 31-0 over Vanbrugh and 22-5 win over James in the qualifying semi-final and final respectively. The Hes East rugby side will feel confident after remaining unbeaten this season in league play. In St Cuthbert’s, they are facing an opposition in less than fine form, with the York side competing against a Durham college yet to win a league fixture this season, with a -79 points difference from just three league games. In the Men’s Rugby B fixture later on Sunday, James will be looking to come back from their qualifier loss with a win against St Hild & St Bede, who are second in Durham’s second tier of college rugby.

BASKETBALL

This year’s College Varsity basketball qualifiers were some of the closest fought of any sport. Halifax and Derwent went through to the final after a 26-21 win against Langwith and 35-34 win against Vanbrugh respectively. Halifax took a 45-36 win in the final to earn the right to represent York in this year’s A fixture. Both Halifax and their opponents have played two league games this term. Halifax have won one and lost one, and Van Mildert earned their second win with a nail biting 48-47 win over Ustinov, after a 40-0 win against John Snow in January. Derwent, who have lost both their league games so far this term, will face off against University College in the B fixture. University have lost all three of their games this term in Durham’s second tier college basketball competition, but did come within 11 points of winning in their previous game against league leaders St Aidan’s.

MEN’S FOOTBALL

James College’s men’s football team has had a difficult path to win the right to represent York in the Men’s Football A game at this year’s College Varsity, going as far as a penalty shootout in their semi final against Derwent after a 3-3 draw. Both the James and Derwent men’s football 1s have been unbeaten this season in York’s college football Premier League. They won the final more comfortably, 4-1 against Constantine, and now go on to face Collingwood this Sunday. Collingwood, like James, are unbeaten in the top tier of Durham college football, drawing 2-2 in their last game out against top of the table St Aiden’s. As they represent York, one player to watch out for from James could be Harry Dodgeson, who has scored four goals in four league games this year. In the Men’s Football B fixture, Constantine will be looking for a win against University College, who are top of Durham’s second division college football table.

NETBALL

The Netball A fixture was one of the best attended of any sport at College Varsity 2020, and Halifax College will be hoping to match that support as they face off against Grey College in this year’s game. Halifax earned their spot in the game after a 37-17 win over Derwent in the semi final, and scored the same number of points again in a closer 37-30 win over Alcuin, who go on to the B fixture. Grey College, Halifax’s opposition on Sunday, have lost just two of their eight league games this year, sitting at third in Durham’s top tier college netball league. Halifax are in second place in York’s college netball Division 1, with their only loss coming in a 20-11 defeat to Langwith. In the B fixture, Alcuin College, who have also lost just one league game this year, will be facing off against St Mary’s College. St Mary’s have recorded five wins, two losses, and a draw in their eight games this year, sitting in mid-table in Durham’s top tier netball league.

FRANKI RILEY RE-ELECTED AS SPORT UNION PRES

BY RUTH KELNER

FRANKI RILEY WASre-elected as York Sport Union President in the YUSU Elections last week.

She only needed one round to beat challengers Asraf Ahmed and Kieren Franklin with 57.4% of first-choice votes.

She said on stage it had been a difficult week, after attending her grandfather’s funeral, and told York Vision she felt “a whole mix of emotions” upon hearing the news that she had won.

“Relief, excitement. I don’t even know what the final results were, I was in such a blur.”

Franki Riley on stage after winning re-election

Franki told Vision that being reelected for a second term makes it mean “even more now than it did the first time.”

“To know that people were on board with all the work that I’ve done and say ‘actually, we want more of Franki is just indescribable, it’s the most amazing feeling ever.”

Although Franki wants to continue her existing work she also has some new goals, quoting Ellie Jones, the England rugby coach, she said “the best managers are the ones where the team keeps improving”.

Thinking past this year Franki wants to work on “leaving a legacy” for Sport at York “that others can keep building on”.