SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

University of Cambridge Sport 

Sports Yearbook 2011 

Incorporating the Annual Review 2009 - 2010

A word from the 

Vice-Chancellor 

Welcome to the University of Cambridge 

Sports Year book 2011 

I am delighted to introduce this annual review of sport 

at Cambridge. Our students develop their sporting 

talent through competition at College, University and 

national level: these pages include accounts of their 

many successes over the past year. I know from my 

own student career that passion for study and passion 

for sport are often complementary, and I am proud 

that Cambridge produces excellent achievers in both 

spheres.The world knows Cambridge for its sporting 

history as well as its academic prowess, and we measure 

our successes in Olympic medals as well as Nobel 

Prizes. Our eyes are on London 2012! 

Thank you for your support of Cambridge's dedicated 

sportsmen and women - and I wish you a successful 

sporting year ahead.

Contents 

Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme 4 

Eric Evans Fund 5 

Hawks’ Charitable Trust Awards 2009/10 6 

Philip Brook – Tennis and Maths 9 

Harry Leitch – Balancing Act 12 

Amateur Boxing Club 14 

Cambridge University Association 

Football Club 17 

Athletics Club 19 

Badminton Club 21 

Basketball Club 22 

Women’s Basketball Club 24 

Boat Club 26 

Women’s Boat Club 27 

Bowmen 28 

Canoe Club 30 

Cricket Club 31 

Cruising Club 38 

Cycling Club 41 

Fencing Club 42 

Gliding Club 43 

Golf Club 45 

Gymnastics Club 47 

Hare and Hounds (Cross Country) 48 

Ice Hockey Club 50 

udo Club 51 

Karate Club 54 

Korfball Club 55 

Lacrosse Club 56 

Women’s Lacrosse Club 58 

Lawn Tennis Club 59 

Lightweight Rowing Club 61 

Modern Pentathlon Club 63 

Netball Club 66 

Orienteering Club 67 

Polo Club 70 

Powerlifting Club 70 

Rackets Club 71 

Real Tennis Club 75 

Revolver & Pistol Club 75 

Riding Club 77 

Rifle Association 77 

Rugby Fives Club 81 

Rugby Union Football Club 82 

Women’s Rugby Union Football Club 83 

Ski & Snowboard Club 84 

Small Bore Club 86 

Squash Rackets Club 87 

Swimming and Water Polo Club 88 

Table Tennis Club 92 

Trampoline Club 95 

Triathlon Club 98 

Volleyball Club 101 

The Hawks Club 104 

The Ospreys 105 

Varsity 2010/2011 109 

Position and Awards 113 

1

Chairman’s Review 

I am delighted with the breadth and depth of 

commitment to University sport demonstrated in this 

Annual Review. Enthusiasm for and participation in 

sport contributes greatly to the richness of academic 

life in Cambridge. It is not just that, as all the evidence 

shows, a brain works much better and for longer if it 

lives in a fit and healthy body. From college-level 

Bumps and Cuppers competitions to the Varsity Match 

and the Boat Race, watching and participating in sport 

binds the community together and helps it reach out 

to the world.While college-level sport allows students 

(and the occasional enthusiastic post-doc or Fellow) to 

relax and make friends, serious participants in 

University-level sport acquire time- and projectmanagement 

skills which enhance their academic 

achievements and are much sought after in the 

increasingly competitive graduate jobs market. Even 

for those who go down four places in the Bumps and 

2 Sports Yearbook 2011 

end up at the foot of their division, the memories of 

winter sunrises over the river and the camaraderie of 

the crew will remain a joy for life. For those who are 

awarded Blues for representing the University, the 

honour and recognition will last forever. 

I am also delighted that the University's Planning and 

Resources Committee has now approved the business 

plan for the long-awaited Sports Centre on the West 

Cambridge site.The project seems to have had an 

unusually long gestation period even by Cambridge 

standards. According to Dr. John Marks, Life Fellow of 

Girton College and devotee of University sport, it was 

already being discussed when he was first in 

Cambridge in the aftermath of the Second World War. 

Interest in and support for the project has grown in 

the intervening years, and it is now recognised that 

the need for a Sports Centre has become pressing.The 

new Centre will be built on the West Cambridge site, a 

short cycle ride from the existing athletics and hockey 

facilities at Wilberforce Road.We hope to have Phase 1 

open in time for the start of the 2013/14 academic 

year, with Phases 2 and 3 following when funds allow. 

This can only help to generate even greater 

enthusiasm for and participation in sport at all levels 

across the University. 

This Review is a record and a celebration of a year of 

impressive sporting achievement and I congratulate 

all those whose names appear here and hope that 

many others will be inspired to take part and compete 

in the future.

Director’s editorial 

We are delighted to present for your interest and 

information the 2011 Cambridge Sports Yearbook. 

This, as last year, incorporates the Annual Sports 

Review for 2009/10 that summarises, in articles 

submitted by the University sports clubs, their 

activities and achievements during the academic year. 

For ease of reference we have separated out the lists 

of Officers, Blues and, Half Blues. May we thank all 

those who have submitted reports and wish all the 

clubs continued success and particularly in their 

annual dual with Oxford. 

Of note in this years report is the high standard and 

the number of applicants for sports bursaries to the 

Eric Evans Fund, the Ospreys and the Hawks’ Club. 

The role profiles provide an interesting insight to 

the range of talent at Cambridge and is illustrative 

of the significant number of students performing 

in sport at the highest level with many having 

realistic expectations of selection for the 2012 

London Olympics. 

Our general theme this year is racket sports with 

contributions from the worlds of Tennis, Squash and 

Real Tennis. Philip Brook, who as a student working 

with Sir Geoffrey Cass established the current tennis 

facilities at Fenner’s. Sir Geoffrey went on to become 

the President of the Lawn Tennis Association and 

Philip now elected Chairman of the All England Lawn 

Tennis Club.This is a major role in British Tennis and we 

offer our congratulations and best wishes. Overall 

responsibility for arguably the world’s greatest tennis 

tournament will certainly keep him busy. Harry Leitch 

has successfully combined his studies in Medicine 

with an international squash career.Yes it can be done, 

but not without absolute focus, excellent time 

management and a sympathetic Fitzwilliam College. 

Harry has captained the Squash Club, has played in 

eight Varsity matches and represented Scotland at the 

Commonwealth Games. Robert and Karen Hird are 

two of triplets; both represent Cambridge at Real 

Tennis.Their sister represents Oxford University. 

Breakfast conversation after the Varsity match must 

be interesting.We offer our thanks for their time 

and contribution. 

In conclusion we thank the many members of the 

Sports Syndicate and its Committees, and particularly 

the Chair, Ms Debbie Lowther, all who give generously 

their time and experience to help University sport. Our 

new Vice Chancellor, the Registrary and many 

University Officers have given significant support to 

the cause and there is an expectant air of optimism 

about the future. 

Let us hope that 2012 not only celebrates a successful 

2012 Olympics but also marks the launch of a new era 

of sport at the University. 

Tony Lemons 

Director of Physical Education. 

3

Talented Athlete 

Scholarship Scheme 

The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme, better 

known as TASS, is a unique partnership between 

National Governing Bodies of Sport and Higher 

Education, providing financial and professional 

support to elite young athletes who are committed to 

continuing their education. 

All athletes are nominated by their relevant National 

Governing Body to receive a scholarship, funded 

through UK Sport. Every scholarship includes key 

services such as Strength and Conditioning, 

Performance Lifestyle Management with trained 

mentors and help towards competition, training and 

equipment expenses. Many of the athletes have 

already competed on the national or international 

stage and will be aiming to be among Great Britain’s 

medal hopefuls at London 2012. 

TASS underwent significant changes in 2008/9 and the 

University became part of a regional ‘Hub’ of 6 

institutions, together providing services to athletes 

across the East of England. Despite this, the University 

was still able to boast having 6 of its students within 

the scheme, the largest number of any Further or 

Higher Education Institution in the region.We also 

provide the same high quality of service to 4 

external students. 

The high number of University athletes gaining TASS 

scholarships has continued from 2009/10 – when we 

had seven TASS athletes studying at Cambridge, when 

no other Institution had any more than two. 

One of this year’s new intake Fiona Hughes, a 1st year 

Engineering student from Queens’ College, 

represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympic 

Games in Vancouver in 2010. A full profile can be 

found later in this review, along with profiles of three 

more of the University’s TASS athletes: Mairead Rocke, 

Bradley Dixon and Matthew Halliday. 

Commenting on the continued success of elite young 

athletes at Cambridge,TASS Administrator Simon 

Cornish said “It’s fantastic that we can give such good 

support to these athletes coming to Cambridge in 


order to balance their studies and the achievement of 

their sporting ambitions.We can be extremely proud 

that we have an Olympian coming here to continue 

her studies. Hopefully, some time in the not-so-distant 

future, all of the athletes will look back at the 

exceptional Strength and Conditioning support 

from Tristan Coles and Helen Boyle as being vital to 

their successes!”. 

Anthony Crutchett, who was supported on the TASS 

programme for his 4 years at Cambridge between 

2006 and 2010, is now fencing full-time and continues 

to receive Strength and Conditioning from Tristan Coles. 

2009/10 

Athlete College Sport 

Anthony Crutchett Downing Fencing (Sabre) 

Bradley Dixon Trinity Modern Pentathlon 

Matthew Halliday Clare Orienteering 

Anna Railton Pembroke Rowing 

Mairead Rocke Churchill Orienteering 

Victoria Stevens Jesus Orienteering 

Alex Young St John’s Triathlon 


Athlete College Sport 

Matthew Halliday Clare Orienteering 

Mairead Rocke Churchill Orienteering 

Victoria Stevens Jesus Orienteering 

Bradley Dixon Trinity Modern Pentathlon 

Joshua Radvan St Catharine’s Modern Pentathlon 

Fiona Hughes Queens’ Cross Country Skiing 

Charlotte Roach Trinity Triathlon

Eric Evans Awards 2009/2010 

The Eric Evans Fund was set up in 1996 following a 

benefaction from the friends and colleagues of the 

late Eric Evans, a graduate of St Catharine’s College 

who gained a Full Blue playing for the University 

Football Club against Oxford in 1975 and 1976.The 

fund is intended to support students who wish to 

improve their personal sporting performance beyond 

University level or to enable them to undertake 

qualifications in connection with officiating, coaching 

or the administration of sport. 

The Fund is managed by the Director of Physical 

Education and two other persons appointed by the 

Sports Syndicate.The current Managers are Mr Tony 

Lemons (Director of Physical Education), Dr Joan 

Lasenby (Trinity) and Dr John Little (St Catharine’s), the 

current Senior Treasurers of the Women’s and Men’s 

Blues Committees respectively. 

In 2010 there was a further increase in the number 

and quality of applications for funding, making the 

Fund Managers’ considerations as difficult as ever. 

Those who were successful were inevitably competing 

at least at National level, with genuine ambitions of 

competing on the World Stage. Profiles for some of the 

successful applicants can be found in this Yearbook. In 

addition to the 16 students who received awards to 

enable them to enhance their sporting performance, 

funding was also given to 9 students to complete 

coaching qualifications in a variety of sports. 

2010 

Student College Sport 

Anthony Crutchett Downing Fencing 

Robert Hird Trinity Real Tennis 

Henry Day St Catharine’s Shooting 

Karen Hird St Catharine’s Real Tennis 

Joseph Wheeler St Edmund’s Rugby Union 

Alex Young St John’s Triathlon 

Lucy Gossage Downing Triathlon 

Samantha Cutts Emmanuel Equestrian 

Edward Dickson Trinity Hall Shooting 

Joel Carpenter Fitzwilliam Swimming 

Chris Bellamy Homerton Rowing 

Charles Pitt-Ford Pembroke Rowing 


Andrew Nichols Sidney Sussex Cycling 

Sarah Crossman Queens’ Sailing 

Fiona Hampshire St Catharine’s Sailing 

Laura Duke* Newnham Athletics 

Angharad West* Girton Lacrosse 

Leah Schabas* Selwyn Lacrosse 

Lauren York* St John’s Lacrosse 

Amelia Duncanson* St Catharine’s Lacrosse 

William Mackay* Robinson Athletics 

James Chettle* Clare Athletics 

Robin Brown* Jesus Athletics 

Samuel Ashcroft* Jesus Athletics 

* = Award for Coaching/Officiating 

5

Hawks’ Charitable Trust Awards 


The Trust was established in January 1996 with a 

relatively small endowment capital donated by some 

of the members to provide grants to current 

Cambridge University students, male and female, 

whose sporting activities were being inhibited by 

financial constraints. A very generous bequest from 

David Jennens (Clare College 1947-51, Rowing) 

increased dramatically the size of the endowment 

capital in 2003, and the capital fund now stands in 

excess of £550,000, enabling a disbursement in 2010 

of £20,000 (capital being conserved for the growth of 

the fund). The Trust is now the single largest charity 

devoted to funding sport in the University. 

There are 5 Trustees, all Hawks - they are Christopher 

Pratt (Chairman), Sir Roger Tomkys, John Marks, Guy 

Brennan and Tim Ellis. Since 2007, to ensure joined-up 

thinking, the Awards Committee has been joined by 

Dr Joan Lazenby of the Ospreys. Information has, 

since the inception of the Trust, been exchanged with 

the managers of the Eric Evans Fund, which is the only 

(and quite small) fund run by the University itself. 

The Trustees’ policy currently is to provide a larger 

number of modest awards rather than a very limited 

number of larger sums. Applications have to be 

endorsed by a University Senior Member to confirm 

financial need; grants are normally only awarded in 

sports of Blue or Half-blue status, taking into account if 

need is equal, the level of sporting excellence and the 

academic level. 

In 2010 a sum of £20,000 was awarded to some 

80 students.There are usually well over 100 applicants. 

Awards are made in amounts ranging from £100 and 

£750.The top four £750 awards are named for major 

benefactors of the Trust, being David Jennens (Rowing 

1949-51), Sir Adrian Cadbury (Rowing/Skiing 1949-52), 

Bob Barber (Cricket/Athletics 1954-57) and Sir Arthur 

Marshall (Athletics 1922-26).This policy will continue 

and expand as account of further contributions allow. 


Applications are normally submitted by a date which 

is defined in the middle of the Lent term and 

advertised to all colleges and sports clubs. The 

trustees make their decisions before the end of that 

term. Each year the awards are announced in the 

University Reporter and either at the end of the Lent 

Term, or early in the Easter Term, a reception is arranged 

at the Hawks’ Club at which the awards are made. 

The future? There is little doubt of the value of these 

awards to the individuals who receive them, nor, to 

judge from the number of excellent applications, the 

fact that they are necessary in the current student 

financial climate.The Fund is now by far the largest in 

the University to provide help to sportsmen and 

women and the Trustees are convinced that prudent 

management will allow the total level of the awards to 

be increased steadily over the years. Certainly this is 

the aim, for there is even less doubt about the success 

of those to whom awards have been given than their 

need; their names have featured in summer and winter 

Olympics, World, and European Championships and 

Commonwealth Games, as well as myriad international 

and national competitions across the sporting world. 

In addition to expanding the current range of support 

to individuals the Trustees would wish in the future to: 

• Make occasional much larger individual awards 

(where for example, major international potential 

can be identified). 

• Support Clubs or Teams on a general basis. 

• Consider supporting the establishment or 

development of sporting facilities. 

To do this we need considerably more capital, and 

attracting that is a fundamental objective. 

In addition to its current activities the Trust can 

facilitate the transfer of funds should any Hawk have a 

particular project, within the charitable objectives, that 

he wishes to endow.

Donating to the Trust 

If any member of the Club wishes to hear further 

about the policies of the Charitable Trust or feels that 

they would like to contribute any sum, large or small 

to the Endowment, via gift or legacy please contact 

Chris Pratt, the Hawks’ Company Secretary, who also 

chairs the Trust and will be delighted to provide 

further information. It is certainly a very worthwhile 

cause and because it is a charity (registered no 

1052904), the Chancellor of the Exchequer adds to 

every donation made by Gift Aid and subtracts 

legacies from estates before inheritance tax. 

Trust Awards 2010 

Student College Sport Named Award 

Tommy Bajorek Sidney Sussex Swimming 

Mark Baxter Selwyn Football 

Chris Bellamy Homerton Rowing 

Laure Bierer St Catharine’s Rowing 

Joshua Bleakley St Catharine’s Table Tennis 

Emily Bottle Trinity Hall Swimming 

Rosamund Bradbury Jesus Rowing 

Frankie Brown Jesus Cricket 

Robin Brown Jesus Cross Country 

Matthew Bryan Peterhouse Rowing 

Joel Carpenter Fitzwilliam Swimming 

Owen Churton Clare Athletics 

Beth Colman King’s Rowing 

Andrew Corley Downing Swimming 

Patrick Crossley Homerton Rugby 

Anthony Crutchett Downing Fencing 

Hardy Cubasch St Edmund’s Rowing 

Samantha Cutts Emmanuel Riding 

Constance Dagget Girton Riding 

Henry Day St Catharine’s Shooting BARBER 

James Day Jesus Football 

Edward Dickson Trinity Hall Shooting CADBURY 

Sam Dobin Trinity Athletics 

Mark Dyble Clare Athletics 

Josie Faulkner Clare Waterpolo 

Stuart Ferguson King’s Football 

Julia Fisher Clare Hall Rowing 

James Gordon Jesus Sailing 

Lucy Gossage Downing Triathlon 

Liane Grant Hughes Hall Waterpolo 

Chloe Grover Robinson Swimming 

David Gwyther Wolfson Football 

Greg Hall Gonville & Caius Sailing 

Hamish Yeung St Catharine’s Table Tennis 

Johann Hattingh Darwin Golf 

Eva-Marie Hempe St John’s Rowing 

Jamie Hood Hughes Hall Rugby 

Mark Johnson Girton Football 

7

Student College Sport Named Award 

Michael Johnson Jesus Football 

Anya Jones Fitzwilliam Rowing 

Danny Kerrigan Fitzwilliam Football 

Robert Legg Downing Tennis 

Harry Leitch Fitzwilliam Squash JENNENS 

John Lindsay Downing Shooting 

Josh Little Corpus Christi Swimming 

Max Little Trinity Football 

Hermione Mackay St John’s Rowing 

Tom March Fitzwilliam Riding 

Henry Marshall Downing Swimming 

Chris Maynard St John’s Football 

Nicholas McLoughlin Christ’s Waterpolo 

Thomas McNeil Hughes Hall Athletics 

Lisa Meegan Sidney Sussex Rowing 

Hannah Morgan Clare Rowing 

Josh Mouland King’s Athletics 

Kevin Musselman Peterhouse Hockey 

David Nefs Churchill Athletics 

Laura Nelson Corpus Christi Football 

Shane O’Mara Hughes Hall Rowing 

Clare Palmer Downing Athletics 

Louis Persent St John’s Athletics MARSHALL 

Charles Pitt-Ford Pembroke Rowing 

Elizabeth Polgreen Downing Rowing 


Heather Reynolds Jesus Archery 

Julia Robson Trinity Rowing 

Dane Rook Darwin Swimming 

Thomas Rootsey Jesus Swimming 

Tina Schwamb Girton Volleyball 

Peter Salvay Jesus Golf 

Ian Simson St John’s Athletics 

Lucy Spray Newnham Athletics 

Nora Staack Sidney Sussex Rowing 

James Strawson Trinity Rowing 

Rachel Sweeney Darwin Taekwondo 

Naomi Taschimowitz Trinity Athletics 

Emmalina Thompsell Gonville & Cauis Handball 

Pernille Thuesen Christ’s Rowing 

Ho-On To Trinity Swimming 

Caroline Walerud St John’s Basketball 

Angharad West Girton Lacrosse 

Joseph Wheeler St Edmund’s Rugby 

8 Sports Yearbook 2011

Philip Brook – Tennis and Maths 

As I take on the role of Chairman 

of The All England Lawn Tennis 

Club, home of Wimbledon – 

arguably the finest tennis 

tournament in the world – I have 

had many moments of reflection 

on being asked to take on this 

amazing opportunity and thought 

‘Why me? How did I end up here?’ 

I am not sure I have very good 

answers to my questions,but I do 

know that I would not have been 

where I am today had it not been for 

an innocuous‘flyer’which landed on 

the doormat at my parents’house 

many years ago offering a week of 

free tennis lessons. 

At the time, Pauline Whetton, a 

local tennis coach was looking for 

new junior players to join her 

programme at Rastrick Tennis 

Club. At the same time, my brother 

David and I were in our early teens, 

sport mad, but had not tried 

tennis.This seemed like an 

opportunity too good to miss. 

Pauline had an infectious 

enthusiasm for the sport and a 

great ability to teach. A week later 

I was hooked. David took up golf. 

From being a teenager, my mother 

would say ‘the two things that 

Philip is most interested in are 

tennis and maths’. She was 

probably right. By the time I was 

looking to go to university my 

tennis and my maths were both 

quite good, and I was encouraged 

to apply to Cambridge. Back then, 

Fitzwilliam had a great reputation 

for sport and seemed to be the 

natural College to which to apply. 

I was lucky enough to win a place 

to Fitz and in 1974 went up to 

Cambridge to study mathematics. 

The maths was tough, but 

Fitzwilliam was definitely a good 

choice of College. I was very 

fortunate to be there at the same 

time as both Alastair Hignell and 

Eddie Butler, two young men each 

of whom would go on to do great 

things in rugby, firstly as 

international players for their 

respective countries and then in 

the media. 

Tennis at Cambridge was 

definitely an important release 

from the study books and it 

certainly kept the team busy, 

practising during the week, but 

particularly at weekends when we 

played matches. 

However, not all was well with 

Cambridge tennis at that time. 

While we had a very strong team, 

we had almost no funding from 

the University to help with the 

costs of running the club.The lack 

of funding became critical during 

my second year, to the extent that, 

as well as playing the tennis, the 

team would take responsibility for 

buying, preparing and tidying up 

lunch and tea each time we played 

a match.That was before we took 

the opposing team to ‘The Fort St 

George’ for a post- match review 

over a few beers.Thankfully, the 

situation eased very considerably 

in my final year when Sir Geoffrey 

Cass took over responsibility for 

Cambridge tennis and somehow 

managed to find money to meet 

the day-to-day costs of running 

the club and for essential repairs 

and maintenance. Geoffrey and I 

became great friends that year 

and remain so to this day. 

One of the added attractions of 

being on the varsity tennis team 

9

was that it offered the opportunity 

to work at Wimbledon during The 

Championships. Better still, the job 

was to operate the Centre Court 

“manual” scoreboard. This was my 

first taste of Wimbledon - being 

paid to sit on Centre Court, do a 

little work and to watch my tennis 

heroes up close – how good was 

that. My best moments during 

those times were to play my small 

part in scoring the finals when 

Bjorn Borg won in 1976 & 1977 

and Virginia Wade in 1977. 

I left Cambridge in 1977 with an 

honours degree in Mathematics 

and three successive wins over 

Oxford in varsity tennis, the final 


year as Captain of the team. I also 

had the opportunity to represent 

the combined Oxford & 

Cambridge tennis team that 

played against Harvard & Yale in 

the ‘Prentice Cup’ in USA in 1976. 

My mother was definitely right – 

tennis and maths… in that order! 

Tennis and maths didn’t stop 

there. After graduation I trained 

and qualified as an actuary and 

have spend the past thirty years 

working in the profession, firstly in 

reinsurance and subsequently in 

financial consultancy. I continued 

to play tennis for Yorkshire, but 

also started to try to give back to 

the sport by involving myself in 

tennis ‘administration’. For fifteen 

years I was the Treasurer of the 

International Lawn Tennis Club of 

GB and for the past thirteen years I 

have been a committee member 

of the All England Club. 

I have learned a lot about 

Wimbledon in my time as a 

committee member.There have 

also been some memorable 

moments. One of my highlights 

has to be when I took Goran 

Ivanisevic for his post-match press 

interview after he won the Mens’ 

Singles Championship in 2001. 

Here he was, a 30 year old wildcard 

entry with little chance of 

progressing through the

tournament, and yet he won it. 

During that interview he uttered 

the now famous words ‘I don’t care 

if I never pick up a racket again, I 

am Wimbledon Champion’. I had 

the less difficult task of closing 

down the stream of questions so 

that we could leave the room. 

Wimbledon is an amazing place. 

What makes it so special is its 

ability to innovate, yet at the 

same time maintain those 

traditions that keep it unique. 

By doing so year after year it has 

undoubtedly strengthened its 

position as the world’s premier 

tennis tournament. 

Innovation has been pretty 

intense in the last 10-15 years.The 

grounds have undergone a major 

transformation including building 

a new No.1 Court, new facilities for 

players and media, a new 

museum, a new Court 2 and - the 

jewel in the crown - the roof on 

Centre Court which was 

completed in 2009 at the end of a 

massive, three year engineering 

project. In 2011 we will see the 

opening of new Courts 3 & 4 

while a number of other 

infrastructure projects are already 

in the pipeline. 

Additional examples of innovation 

include the use of ‘Hawkeye’, and 

the increasingly widespread use of 

digital media to access 

information about Wimbledon. In 

2010 the Wimbledon ‘App’ was 

downloaded by over 800,000 

iphone users. Hopefully, 2011 will 

see the first broadcast of 

Wimbledon in 3D, live in over 500 

cinemas worldwide. 

Maintaining Wimbledon’s 

traditions has also been an equally 

high priority. I like to call it 

‘thoughtful inactivity’, because 

that is exactly what it is – we 

debate the traditions, and very 

often decide to preserve them, 

typically by taking no action. 

The best examples would be the 

grass tennis courts, the white 

clothing for players, the lack of 

overt sponsorship around the 

grounds, the ‘Wimbledon ballot’ 

and the on-day queue - that allow 

determined tennis fans an 

opportunity to buy tickets for 

show courts and the ‘advantage’ 

final set – without which we 

would not have had the dramatic 

and historic 70-68 final set 

between John Isner and Nicolas 

Mahut in the 2010 Championships. 

We’ve also shied away from 

playing music at the change of 

ends, introducing on-court 

coaching or scheduled night 

sessions, all of which are features 

of some other tournaments. 

Wimbledon 2011 will be my first 

year as Chairman. I am very lucky 

to be taking on the role at a time 

when things are in such great 

shape, thanks to my predecessor 

Tim Phillips. My main priority over 

the coming years will be to keep 

this great institution moving 

forward – continuing to innovate 

while also maintaining its 

celebrated traditions. That’s the 

great skill - knowing what to 

change and what to leave alone. 

2012 will be an interesting and 

challenging year for all of us 

involved in Wimbledon. Just 20 

days after the completion of the 

2012 Championships, we will open 

our doors again and welcome the 

tennis world to the Olympic 

games. It promises to be a 

fantastic event in its own right and 

it will be the second time that 

Wimbledon has played host to 

the event. 

The first was in 1908, when all of 

the gold medals were won by 

British players – how about that 

for a suitable omen for next year? 

11

Harry Leitch – Balancing Act 

I’m an MB/PhD student and have 

been haunting the corridors of 

Fitzwilliam College for over seven 

years now. I took a year off during 

my undergraduate studies to 

compete at the 2006 

Commonwealth Games in 

Melbourne, where I reached the 

quarter-finals in the men’s 

doubles. After completing my part 

2 I joined the clinical school at 

Addenbrookes and enrolled on 

the MB/PhD programme, which 

combines clinical studies with a 

PhD in my chosen subject – 


developmental and stem cell 

biology. Combining clinical 

studies, research and teaching (I 

supervise physiology to 

undergraduate medics at Fitz) 

is a challenge in itself but with 

the addition of squash life is 

fairly chaotic. 

I’m passionate about research and 

my ultimate goal is to be a 

successful academic medic. If I am 

to achieve this it is imperative that 

academic work is my top priority. 

However, it became clear that the 

frustration of coming so close in 

Melbourne had left me with 

unfinished business on the squash 

court. For a while it was difficult to 

try and reconcile the desire to 

achieve my sporting goals with 

my now drastically reduced 

training opportunities. However, I 

found that concentrating on 

quality rather than quantity of 

training and taking a more relaxed 

approach allowed me not only to 

maintain, and even improve, my 

playing standard but also to enjoy 

my squash more than ever. 

The build up to Delhi started 3 

years ago. We chose to target the 

doubles competition as this form 

of the game is less widely played 

and has a much more even 

playing field than singles. I forged 

a new partnership with Scottish 

number 1 singles player (and 

world number 50) Alan Clyne – my 

previous partner John White 

having retired. I also joined forces 

with rising star Lisa Aitken for my 

first foray into mixed doubles. 

Qualifying took us from 

Manchester to Madras and then 

onto Melbourne and, with some 

good victories, we booked our 

place on the plane to Delhi. Being 

part of Team Scotland at a multisport 

event is a unique experience 

- truly inspirational. The Games 

village was ‘functional’, not the 

horror stories reported in the 

press but undoubtedly below 

expectations for a major sporting 

event. The squash facilities were 

excellent however, with one of 

the best show court arenas I’ve 

ever seen. 

The first week was taken up with 

the singles tournament. For us the 

priority was getting in some 

doubles training but we all had a 

run in the singles to keep us sharp 

and to get comfortable in the 

arena. I even managed a win over 

the world number 79 – not bad for

a doubles player (!) and a welcome 

morale boost leading into the 

main event. And the doubles 

certainly started off with a bang. 

Our opening mixed doubles was 

against world number 1 and 

singles gold-medallist, Nicol 

David, and her partner Ong Beng 

Hee, ranked 17 in the world, on 

the show court. To everyone’s 

amazement (apart from us!) Lisa 

and I blew them off court 2-0 in 

just over 30 minutes. All the hard 

work paid off with that win and it 

proved to everyone just how 

different a game doubles is.We 

followed up with victories against 

Canada and Kenya to make the 

quarter-finals. Unfortunately 

Lisa suffered a stress-fracture to 

her ankle in the warm up and so 

our competition ended at the 

quarter-final stage; a cruel blow 

when we were progressing with 

such momentum. 

In the men’s doubles we were 

seeded 6th and after solid wins 

against Pakistan and Botswana 

we beat the top Indian pair and 

home favourites in the last 16. 

Our quarter-final was against the 

3rd seeds and much-fancied 

English pairing Peter Barker and 

Daryl Selby (world numbers 8 and 

9 respectively). We dominated 

from start to finish playing some 

of our best doubles and 

emphatically ‘sent them 

homeward to think again’! In the 

semi-finals we played multiple 

world champion David Palmer 

and fellow top-ten player Stewart 

Boswell, the 2nd seeds from 

Australia. The first game lasted an 

hour and ended in a sudden 

death point at 10-all. That point 

slipped away and despite trying 

everything in a tight second 

game we just couldn’t break 

down the impressive Aussie pair. 

We gave our all and came very 

close, but at the highest level the 

margins are so small. After a 

night’s sleep we threw everything 

at the Bronze medal match but 

were once again beaten by some 

pesky Australians. Everything 

they say about 4th place is true 

and it hurt, falling just short of 

our goal. However, on reflection 

we can be proud that we 

performed to our full potential on 

the biggest stage in squash and 

almost pulled it off. 

Photo: Getty Images 

So, what now? Well, unfortunately 

that unfinished business is still 

there and the quest for that elusive 

medal will have to go on for 

another 4 years as we build 

towards Glasgow 2014. I guess that 

will mean a few more years of 

chaos for me yet! It is a bit scary 

thinking about how everything will 

pan out but ultimately I know 

where I want to go and I hope that 

if I just keep my head down and 

give my all in the lab, on the wards, 

in the classroom and on the squash 

court everything will work out OK. 

13

Amateur Boxing Club 

www.CUABC.org.uk 

CUABC exists to teach the art of 

boxing in the University of 

Cambridge, and to field a team 

in the annual Varsity match. 

We seek to develop students of 

the University in physical ability 

from any level into confident, 

skilled athletes. 

103rd Varsity Boxing Match 

result: Cambridge 5 - 4 Oxford. 

Cambridge leads 51- 48. 

The feeling on the bus from 

Cambridge to Oxford on 09 March 

2010 was electric, with Head 

Coach Ben Blowes and Junior 

Coaches Richard ‘Dolph’ Hardy 

and Lee Mitchell leading their 

9 boxers with the same 

determination of purpose that 

they had taking over the gym for 

the first time in October 2009. Ben 

never asked more of his athletes 

than he asked of himself – he is a 

sub 3 hour marathon runner. All 

the boxers had won their places 

through grit and determination 

against fierce opposition 

throughout the year, and the 5-4 

victory in the match over Oxford 

was similarly earned. 

The VM match was thrilling from 

beginning to end, a match where 

the Coaches recognised that every 

shot thrown would count. This 

analytic approach conditioned the 

coaches’ and the boxers’ attitude. 

James DeGale, British Olympic 

Heavyweight Boxing Gold 

medalist joined the team on 

the night, and donned a CUABC 

shirt with the team before the 

match began. 


Left in the ring after a noisy and 

hostile “face off” was Faisal Nasim. 

Adrenaline ran high with Oxford 

clearly keen to avenge their 9-0 

defeat of 2009. Nasim’s opponent 

Chen was the dominant boxer 

who tore out of the blue corner 

with classy rapid straight 

punching. Nasim never quite 

managed to rally himself to box 

off the back foot and make clear 

space, and Chen closed him 

down, denying him the 

opportunity to be the stylish 

free-flowing boxer he had 

shown himself to be in previous 

bouts. He lost on a unanimous 

points decision. 

Second up in the red corner for 

Cambridge was young Jason Blick 

(whose brother had boxed for 

Oxford in 2009). Blick carried a lot 

on his shoulders going into this 

bout, with family rivalry, and a 

closer knowledge of his Oxford 

opponent than other CUABC 

boxers. Blick suffered in Oxford 

Town Hall, between the crowd and 

Pearson, his larger and more 

experienced opponent, and was 

overwhelmed from the first bell. 

He was unable to release the very 

heart and guts that had won him 

his VM place in a fierce bout 

against teammate Shanley earlier 

in the season. The referee stopped 

the contest in the first round. 

Third up for Cambridge was the 

irrepressible Brett Shanley, a 

plucky character all season in the 

gym. Shanley was able to move in 

and out of contact in the ring, but 

he was never able to out 

manoeuvre the more capable 

Oxford boxer Upton. In a good 

three round contest Upton 

proved the stronger boxer and 

took the bout on a unanimous 

points decision. 

The home crowd were, by this 

point, enjoying a nuclear ecstasy. 

Ben Blowes in the CUABC corner 

had seen his first three boxers 

defeated, yet never wavered. 

Oxford seemed to have promised 

revenge for 2009 to the home 

crowd, and their coaching team 

were clearly excited by the chants 

of “9-0” by Oxford supporters. 

Bout 4 saw the first of OUABC star 

boxers, the former Scottish 

amateur national Fields step into 

the ring, against Cambridge’s 

Fergal McCool. The first round 

belonged to Fields, and his 

technical skill paid off. Yet McCool 

was to prove how much he had 

developed as a boxer, and how 

synchronized he was with his 

coaches’ instruction in not 

losing his nerve in the second 

and third rounds. 

McCool was unsuccessful in 

gaining a place on the 2008 VM 

team, and gave up boxing the next 

season, only to watch the 2009 

victory from the wings. From day 

one, there was no doubt in his 

mind that a Cambridge Blue’s 

blazer was his for the taking. 

A superb all round athlete, who 

could probably have competed on 

the track for the university, his 

athleticism shone in the second 

and third rounds. 

Fields became increasingly reliant 

on technical skill, as McCool

Photo: Jamie Gundry 

dominated from the centre of the 

ring, patiently chalking up the 

points on the scorecard. By the 

end of round 2 it was clear who 

was actually scoring. It was 

enough. The home crowd, who 

had been chanting “9-0!” at the 

end of third round were greatly 

reduced in volume as McCool’s 

hand was raised, and Cambridge 

supporters erupted in praise for 

their man. 

The fifth bout was a much 

anticipated clash between the two 

captains: Chris Webb for 

Cambridge and Pickering for 

Oxford. “Pickles”, as he became 

affectionately known in the 

Cambridge camp, cannot have 

fancied his chances much as he 

stepped into the ring.Webb, had 

demolished his Oxford opponent 

the year before, although 

Pickering had led his team from 

the front with impressive physique 

and improved skill. 

Webb, however, was relentless and 

delivered a constant stream of 

precision shots from every 

conceivable angle from the first to 

the last bell. Pickering was 

battered and bruised at the end 

of the first round, tired at the end 

of the second, and left hanging 

onto Webb several times during 

the third. There was no doubt at 

the end of an emphatic CUABC 

win in the ring, and the Nasim fan 

club led the chanting now:“it’s so 

quiet at Oxford!” And it was. 

The Cambridge vice-captain 

followed his captain into the ring 

for bout 6 against the two times 

Oxford Blue Walton. He seemed to 

have been brought out of 

retirement for this match, as he 

had participated in the OUABC 

wins of 2007 and 2008, but not in 

the defeat of 2009. Walton was on 

fine form and displayed great 

athleticism and skill, but then so 

did Chadwick. His last bout for 

Cambridge had ended when Ben 

Blowes threw in the towel, and it 

was this incredible drive to restore 

his boxing fortunes that led 

Chadwick on. 

Both boxers moved gracefully, 

both landed heavy shots, both 

were fit and demonstrated huge 

15

stamina, and the contest in the 

ring was splendid. The quiet grace 

between Walton and Chadwick 

after the bout gave credit to their 

teams. Again, it was the 

Cambridge man who landed most 

scoring shots, and this was how 

the judges unanimously awarded 

the bout to Chadwick. Cambridge 

fans were again ecstatic, and 

Oxford were in uproar as the 

match levelled at 3-3. 

It was not the Oxford boxers who 

were defeated first, but their 

coaching team. Even with the 

Olympic champion in the crowd, 

the Oxford coach kicked over a 

stool, remonstrated with the 

judges and stormed out of the 

hall. The chaos continued in the 

dressing room, until they could be 

coaxed back to continue the 

match. The contrast in conduct 

between boxers and coaching 

staff could not have been greater. 

Eventually the night was restored 

through the MC’s fair-minded 

intervention and appeals for 

calm, and the boxing was allowed 

to resume. 

Bout 7 saw new boxer Ssegawa- 

Ssekintu Kiwanuka take on 

OUABC’s Guevel, a kickboxing 

champion. Kiwanuka may have 

been the inexperienced boxer, but 

Guevel had not anticipated being 

hit quite so hard. Kiwanuka 

brought himself off the ropes in 

the first round and worked so hard 

that the initial flurry from Guevel 

was halted. An increasingly 

desperate fight through the 

second round led to a third where 

the rules of ‘last man standing’ 

applied. Kiwanuka was sent into 

the third with the encouragement 

from the Head Coach that only 

Guevel stood in between him and 

a Cambridge Boxing Blue. It was 

motivation enough. Guevel 

seemed incapable of a defence as 

Kiwanuka landed one jab after 


another. Out pointed on a 

majority decision, the bout 

went to Cambridge, who moved 

into the lead for the first time in 

the match. 

The consistency of Cambridge 

coaching over the 2009-10 season 

came to the fore in the eighth 

bout, in a magnificent display of 

coaching integrity. Burlton for 

Cambridge, in his first boxing 

match, stepped up to the plate to 

take on OUABC’s Morris. As in the 

second bout, the size and 

experience of the Oxford boxer 

was obvious, although Burlton 

ducked and weaved in the first 

round with an athleticism that 

demonstrated why he was chosen 

for the Varsity Team. However, 

Morris proved the stronger and, 

after clearly losing the first two 

rounds, the Head Coach lived up 

to the pastoral care he promised 

to his boxers from the outset, that 

he would not allow them to be 

hurt. He allowed his boxer the 

dignity and grace not to return for 

a third round. In the atmosphere 

of Oxford Town Hall that night, the 

decision between coach and 

boxer can only be applauded, in 

the conviction of true 

sportsmanship. The match was 

now level at 4-4. 

So the 103rd Varsity Match came 

down to the final bout of the night 

with Barton “The Bear” Dear 

accepting all of Cambridge hopes 

and aspirations, and unfazed by it 

all. His ice-cold determination was 

noted by team-mate Shanley on 

his way to the ring, with the words 

“I’m going to win this”. Oxford 

chanting of “Oggie! Oggie! Oggie! 

Oi! Oi! Oi!” was then replaced with 

“Oggie! Oggie! Oggie! Bart! Bart! 

Bart!” by one enthusiastic father 

who had flown across the world to 

witness his son’s magnificent 

performance. 

After three one-sided rounds, 

getting up and under the Oxford 

boxer’s greater reach, and scoring 

with the minimum of fuss, the 

whole room knew that the strong 

Texan’s right arm would be raised 

for the heavyweight bout, for the 

Varsity Match, and the Truelove 

Bowl. 

Town Vs Gown, 30 January 2010 

Ed Chadwick (CUABC) LOST to 

(MET POLICE) 

Fergal McCool (CUABC) LOST vs. 

(MET POLICE) 

James Phillips (CUABC) LOST vs. 

Martin (MET POLICE) 

Rob Pepper (CUABC) LOST vs. 

Smith (FULBOURN ABC) 

Elliot Chambers (CUABC) WON vs. 

Goddard (MET POLICE) 

Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka WON 

vs.Tichanow (ICENI ABC) by K.O 

Matt Linsley (CUABC) WON vs. Rob 

Liu (CUABC) 

Hely Matthews (CUABC) LOST vs. 

Clayton (MET POLICE) 

Chris Webb (CUABC) WON vs. 

(ICENI ABC) 

CUABC would like to thank: 

Ben Blowes, Richard ‘Dolph’ Hardy 

and Lee Mitchell 

At Glassworks Gym: Will Davies 

and Ben Vincent, & 

The PE Department at Fenner’s 

Gym, Cambridge.

Association Football Club 

www.cuafc.org/ 

CUAFC continues to represent 

University football at Cambridge, 

competing in various BUCS 

leagues, cup competitions and, of 

course, the annual Varsity match 

against Oxford. Currently, the club 

has around 60 members across 

the Mens and Women’s teams and 

is generously sponsored by 

Morgan Stanley.The Mens Blues 

and Falcons teams, and Women’s 

teams, all compete in BUCS 

leagues, with a third Men’s side 

formulated from the best players 

in the College leagues to complete 

the line up for the annual Varsity 

matches.The Women’s Blues also 

compete in the Eastern Region 

Women’s Football League. At the 

turn of the year, the Men’s Blues 

currently sit in 1st place in BUCS 

Midlands Conference 2B, whilst 

the Women’s Blues have an FA 

Women’s Cup First Round Proper 

match against Norwich City Ladies 

to look forward to. Both teams will 

be chasing League promotions 

this season, whilst the Men’s Blues 

will look to avenge their 2010 

Varsity defeat to Oxford at 

Cambridge United. 

Men’s Varsity 

Friday 30th April at The Abbey 

Stadium, Cambridge United 

Football Club 

Cambridge 1-1 Oxford (AET, 

Oxford won 5-3 on penalties) 

The moving of the 126th Varsity 

Football Match from Craven 

Cottage to Cambridge United's 

Abbey Stadium was not enough 

to help Cambridge stop Oxford 

leaving victorious as their 

Bahamian International 

Goalkeeper Dwayne Whylly saved 

miraculously from Mark Baxter's 

penalty in a foreseeable shoot out. 

Goalkeeper Stuart Ferguson was 

reduced to a kicking game but his 

clearance on the half hour was 

flicked on by striker Hylands for 

the rapid Matt Stock whose pace 

and trickery put Oxford left back 

Squires in a trance conceding a 

reckless penalty. Baxter made no 

mistake this time sliding it out of 

harm's reach. 

The crowd were ecstatic for at least 

a minute as hesitant chants 

reflected the diffident 

performance. Only after Hollywood 

acrobatics from Whylly, who 

palmed to safety an in-swinging 

corner, and a comfortable save 

from Ferguson with his feet, could 

both teams rethink their approach 

for the second half which proved 

more eventful. 

James Kelly, Oxford's technically 

gifted left midfielder, provided the 

outstanding moment with a 

twenty-five yard free kick flying 

beyond the helpless Ferguson into 

the bottom left hand corner in the 

88th minute. 

With overdue passes to his feet 

and with time to turn, Stock 

threatened to put the game 

beyond Oxford setting up Paul 

Hartley to strike a long range 

effort into the gloves of Whylly 

and forcing an opportunity for 

James Day who headed wide. 

The energised Stock stood out as 

Cambridge tormented Oxford in 

their pursuit of a second goal. 

Kerrigan soon felt the brunt of two 

horrendous hacks from Oxford for 

which Premier League referee Lee 

Mason issued the only yellow card 

of the game but denied 

Cambridge another penalty for 

the first of the two challenges. 

Ending the affair in live play was 

not to be as the final Oxford 

corner landed innocently, and 

symbolically, on the top of the 

Cambridge net. If Cambridge 

appeared the more deserving they 

were left lauding praise at the 

hands of the Oxford goalkeeper 

who produced the finest moment 

of creativity in the game to couple 

five faultless Oxford penalties. 

University of Cambridge Falcons 

1 – 0 University of Oxford 

Centaurs (AET) 

In a dramatic finish to the game, 

the Falcons managed to come 

away with victory in this year's 

Varsity match. 

The sunny conditions that greeted 

the fans who turned up to watch 

were however not matched by 

bright play on the pitch. For most 

of the match, the teams cancelled 

each other out with Oxford 

offering stern resistance but little 

attack whilst Cambridge could not 

capitalise going forward. 

With the game seemingly fizzling 

out to penalties, Broadway finally 

broke the deadlock in spectacular 

fashion. Receiving the ball just 

inside the box, he unleashed an 

unstoppable shot that went 

straight into the top corner. 

17

Mass celebrations followed, and, 

despite Oxford going close in the 

final minutes, they were fully 

realised moments later with the 

final whistle. It rounded off a 

fantastic year for the Falcons, who 

also enjoyed a successful league 

campaign ending with promotion. 

Season Results 

Mens Blues: 

BUCS Midlands Conference 2B – 

Runners Up 

BUCS Midlands Conference Cup – 

Runners Up 

Mens Falcons: 

BUCS Midlands Conference 5D – 

1st Place; promoted to Midlands 

Conference 4D 

2010/11 Activities 

The Mens Blues will be fulfilling 

their annual trip to La Manga Club, 

Spain, to train at the Football 

Center and fulfil two fixtures.This 

will include a tie against 

Cartagena FC Reserves. 

The Annual Old Boys Dinner will 

be held in November 2011. 

Women’s Varsity 

Saturday 20th February at Iffley 

Road Sports Centre, Oxford 

Oxford 0-1 Cambridge 

The Blues comfortably won their 

varsity match, with the final score 

not representing their dominance 

over Oxford. 

Supported by a large contingent 

of travelling fans the Light Blues 

started how they intended to 

continue. They piled pressure on 

the Oxford defense, with captain 

Leesa Haydock nearly opening the 

scoring early on. The pressure told 

with Oxford giving away a couple 

of free kicks just outside the 

penalty box which Emma Eldridge 

forced two good saves out of the 

Oxford keeper. 


Catherine Murphy burst into the 

Oxford penalty area and was 

hacked down by a defender but 

no foul was given. Cambridge 

continued to have all the play, with 

goalkeeper Sara Hainzi having no 

saves to make and yet more 

chances were squandered. 

Finally, after 40 minutes, the Light 

Blues were rewarded with a welldeserved 

goal. Winger, Masie-Rose 

Byrne played a delightful one-two 

with Ashley Winslow. Byrne then 

fired a cross into the box finding 

Kate Robinson who calmly shot 

into the top right keeper leaving 

the goal keeper helpless. Only 

minutes later Robinson was 

denied another goal, which was 

deemed to be offside. 

The second half saw an improved 

Oxford take to the field and the 

Cambridge defence was tested for 

the first time. Murphy and 

Eldridge thwarted the Oxford 

strikers whilst Griffiths and 

Bellfield prevented the wingers 

putting in any testing balls into 

the box. 

The midfield continued to be 

bossed by Haydock and Romy 

Trigg-Smith, both putting great 

balls through for the wingers to 

chase. Even the introduction of 

Victoria Clarkson up front and 

Laura Nelson down the wing failed 

to get Cambridge the decisive 

second goal. 

Cambridge managed to close out 

the game for a 1-0 victory without 

Oxford having any clear cut 

chances. The Blues hope to build 

on this performance for the rest of 

the season and retain the trophy 

next year, when the match will be 

held in Cambridge. 

League and Cup Results 

This season saw the Blues put 

together one of their highest 

finishes in the Eastern Regions 

Premier League, finishing fifth out 

of twelve. This was helped by the 

week-in-week-out availability of all 

players, especially outside of term 

time, with the season running 

from mid-August to the end of 

May. 

The Blues again reached the 

County cup final, narrowly losing 

to a last minute goal, making the 

final score 3-2 to Peterborough. 

Eagles (2nd Team) Season 

Review 

The Cambridge University Eagles 

started off the 2009-2010 season 

on the right foot with a new coach 

from the University of Warwick, 

Sam Jones. Dave Dempster and 

Sam Jones worked with the Eagles 

to improve their fitness 

throughout the year.This training 

paid off: the team finished 4th in 

the BUCS Midlands League (ahead 

of Warwick and Nottingham). 

An inconsistent performance 

throughout the season, mostly 

due to unavailability for away 

games, prevented the Eagles from 

making it past the round of 16 in 

the Midlands Cup.The highlight of 

the season was Varsity Match 

2010, despite a disappointing loss 

(3-2).While many players suffered 

from injuries, the Eagles fought 

hard to equalize the match in the 

first half, with Van Thorenburg’s 

strike bringing the score to 1-1. In 

the second half, a surprise goal 

scored by Gale (a defender), gave 

Cambridge the lead.The Oxford 

Furies however dominated in the 

final quarter, guaranteeing them a 

win for the second year in a row.

Athletic Club 

www.cuac.org.uk/ 

Cambridge University Athletic 

Club (CUAC) was the first 

university-wide athletic club to be 

established in the UK in 1857, 

followed by Oxford in 1863.This 

perhaps makes CUAC the oldest 

university athletics club in the 

world. 

The first Inter-Varsity Athletics 

match between the two 

Universities took place in 1864, 

32 years before the birth of the 

modern Olympics.Today, 

Cambridge competes with Oxford 

throughout the year in various 

invitational competitions and in 

particular in our 3 Varsity Matches, 

these being the Freshman Match in 

Michaelmas Term, the Field Events 

and Relays in Lent Term, and the 

Varsity Match itself in Easter. 

In 3 out of every 4 years, CUAC and 

OUAC unite as the Achilles Club to 

compete against American 

Universities in the oldest 

international athletic series in the 

world.The Harvard-Yale matches 

date back to 1894 and the Penn- 

Cornell series has roots in 1921. 

Every 4 years, including 2009, the 

English Universities tour the US 

over Easter to compete against all 

4 of the US institutions. 

CUAC also has an active social 

scene, with both the Alverstones 

and Alligators Clubs holding 

regular outings with other 

university sports clubs. 

CUAC welcomes athletes of all 

abilities and is keen to hear from 

anyone interested in joining the club. 

Men’s Blues: Oxford 102.5 

Cambridge 107.5 

Women’s Blues: Oxford 89 

Cambridge 112 

Men’s 2nd Team: Oxford 

Centipedes 99 Cambridge 

Alverstones 113 

Women’s 2nd Team: Oxford 

Millipedes 76 Cambridge 

Alligators 122 

15th May 2010, Iffley Road, 

Oxford 

The 136th Varsity Sports was a 

huge success for Cambridge 

University Athletics Club with a 

4-0 thrashing of Oxford at Iffley 

Road.This success was all the more 

notable because it included the 

first away victory for the Men’s 

Blues team for 22 years, and with a 

particularly young team. 

The club knew they had a great 

opportunity of emulating the 

success of the 3-1 victory the 

previous year, but the aim was to 

go one further, and to win every 

category, which was duly achieved. 

The Men’s Blues match was 

predicted to be especially tight, 

and so it proved, with only 

5 points separating the teams. 

The day went especially well for 

the Cambridge Men’s Blues on the 

track. 1-2s in 6 out of the 10 track 

events secured important points. 

A particularly crucial moment 

came with the Cambridge 

whitewash in the Men’s Blues 

100m. Storming runs by Mark 

Dyble and Amin Ahmadnia 

secured maximum points for the 

Light Blues and went some way 

towards easing CUAC nerves 

going into the relays.The hurdlers 

also proved a formidable force; 

whitewashes for the team of 

Christian Roberts and Eamonn 

Katter in both the 200m and the 

400m hurdles underlined how 

important the barriers are for 

Cambridge’s future prospects, 

President Lucy Spray led the way 

with a win in the 400m and 

second place behind women’s 

captain Kate Laidlow in the 200m, 

and things followed smoothly on 

from there for the Light Blue girls. 

Laura Duke’s match record in the 

Women’s Blues Hammer Throw 

provided another highlight on the 

way to a comprehensive victory 

over the cream of the Oxford 

female talent; the overall winning 

margin was a huge 112-89. Duke’s 

versatility was a key feature of the 

successful performance - her 

talent for all the throwing events 

and even the long jump and pole 

vault illustrate her centrality to 

future plans. 

Louis Persent, arguably the most 

distinguished figure in Cambridge 

athletics following medals at both 

the World and European Junior 

Athletics Championships, took a 

comfortable victory in the 400m in 

a blistering 46.72 seconds, very 

close to his personal best, before 

winning the 200m and running a 

superb leg in the 4x400m relay. 

In the event, the disqualification 

of the Oxford Men’s Blues team in 

the 4x100 relay considerably 

eased the pressure, and victory in 

the 4x400 secured the overall 

result.The relays were an 

important part of the match for 

19

the Light Blues - victories in 3 of 

the 4 contests secured big points 

for the away team. 

Emma Perkins followed her 

surprise victory in last year’s high 

jump with a triplet of successes in 

the long, high and triple jump, 

gaining a staggering 15 points on 

her way to winning the Susan 

Dennler Trophy for the best 

performance in the Womens’ 

Match. Naomi Taschimowicz’s 

match record in the Women’s 

Blues mile was a clear statement 

that her class is by no means 

limited to the cross-country field. 

Amanda Scott’s victory in the 

5000m completed the set of 

Cambridge victories in the 

endurance events. Other women’s 

successes came as Kate Laidlow 

backed up last year’s victory in the 

400m with a 100m and 200m 

double.This bettered her second 

places for the Cambridge team in 

these events in 2009, and was 

indeed a performance worthy of 

the women’s Captain. 

Both Cambridge second teams 

performed outstandingly to claim 

their victories and these wins 

reflect the quality in the club as a 

whole.The challenges of resisting 

complacency on the back of such 

a resounding victory, and of 

recruiting new blood to plug the 

gaps left by departing graduates 

will undoubtedly be significant. 

But the foundations have been 

laid for a very positive future for 

the Light Blues and the club 

should be extremely proud of 

their successes in 2010. 

Other Performances 

In addition to a dominant display 

at the Varsity match, CUAC 

athletes have excelled in other 

competitions throughout the year. 


In November’s Freshers’Varsity 

match, this year held in Oxford, the 

men’s team began a highly 

successful season with a 

comprehensive win of 100-79. 

Individually, Ed Moyse earned a 

triple win (400m Hurdles, Long 

Jump,Triple Jump) with Mark 

Dyble (100m, 200m), Felix Schaaf 

(Discus, Shot Putt) and Mickael 

Decressac (Javelin, Hammer 

Throw) achieving double wins. 

Decressac gained a championship 

best in the Javelin of 60.22m, 

earning him the Freshmen’s Medal, 

awarded to the best performance 

at the Freshmen’s Match.The 

women were narrowly defeated 

but still displayed some promising 

performances, with Laura Duke 

achieving a triple win (Hammer 

Throw, Shot Putt, Long Jump) and 

an impressive victory for Kate 

Laidlow in the 200m, winning by a 

margin of two seconds. 

CUAC carried this good form into 

the indoor season with the men 

dominating the Varsity Field 

Events and Relays as they had 

done the previous year, winning 

by 12 events to 2, with Ben 

Richardson bettering his own 

championship best performance 

in the 60m hurdles.The women 

were beaten by 8 events to 6, 

despite some superb 

performances.The 4x400m team 

narrowly missed the 

championship best, and the Pole 

Vault team of Laura Duke, Sarah 

Williams, Suzanne Tobin and 

Theresa Hall achieved a 

championship best, with 7.60m. 

Another highlight of the indoor 

season was a bronze medal at the 

England Athletics U20 indoor 

championships for Rory Graham- 

Watson in the 800m. 

2009 marked the year of the 

Achilles Transatlantic Tour, when 

CUAC combine with OUAC to 

represent the Achilles club in the 

oldest international athletics 

fixture in the world. Competing 

against a combined Harvard-Yale 

team, the Men’s Team achieved a 

historic victory, winning by 10 

events to 9.This was the first time 

the Achilles team had won since 

1993. Individual wins were 

achieved by Ben Richardson 

(110m Hurdles), Louis Persent 

(400m), Ian Simson (Triple Jump), 

Mickael Decressac (Javelin) and 

the men’s 4x100m team. Ben Ellis 

achieved a double win in the 

100m and 200m, as well as being a 

member of the sprint relay team, 

which earned him an award for 

most valuable performer. Entering 

as the underdogs, the women 

performed above expectation, 

losing by 12 events to 7, in a result 

much closer than anticipated. 

Laura Duke achieved an individual 

win in the Hammer Throw, and 

Florence Cavalli achieved the 

Blues standard in the pole vault 

despite an injury.The teams then 

journeyed onwards to compete at 

the prestigious Franklin Field, 

Philadelphia. Here they faced 

much tougher competition, in the 

form of a combined Penn-Cornell 

team.With many of the winning 

athletes from the previous match 

unavailable or injured, they were 

unable to repeat their 

performance of the previous week. 

The individual winners were Ben 

Richardson (110m Hurdles), Paolo 

Natali (5000m), Laura Duke 

(Hammer).The men’s 4x400m was 

a highlight of the day and fantastic 

end to the tour as anchor runner 

Louis Persent took the baton in 

last place, despite solid runs from 

the rest of the team, and slowly 

closed the gap down the back 

straight earning the win in the 

final strides, having made up 30m 

on the last leg. In 2010 Penn and 

Cornell will travel to Great Britain 

and continue this historic series.

CUAC athletes had further success 

at the BUCS Championships, with 

the men achieving 4th place in the 

team standings, beating the High 

Performance Centres at 

Birmingham and Brunel. In doing 

so they gained 3 silvers and 1 

bronze as well as some excellent 

performances. The silvers were 

won by Paolo Natali (3000m 

Steeplechase), Louis Persent 

(400m), Rory Graham-Watson 

(800m) and Humphrey 

Waddington (Triple Jump). The 

bronze was won by Paolo Natali in 

the 3000m Steeplechase. 

Badminton Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cucbc/ 

The Cambridge University 

Cockerels Badminton Club 

(CUCBC) consists of around thirty 

active members.Teams are put out 

to compete in the BUCS Badminton 

league enjoying a strong tradition, 

with many past teams enjoying 

success in the Premier League, as 

well as advancing deep into the 

yearly BUCS Individuals 

tournament in Nottingham.The 

Club also plays a yearly Varsity 

match against Oxford, and runs a 

league for College level play, as well 

as the yearly Cuppers. 

Men’s Varsity: Oxford 14-1 

Cambridge 

Women’s Varsity: Cambridge 9-6 

Oxford 

It was a grim day for the 

Cambridge Men’s squad in 

Alongside this CUAC produced 7 

finalists and 5 semi-finalists. 

There have also been other superb 

performances from CUAC athletes 

past and present. Phyllis Agbo, 

who graduated in 2007, is 

currently ranking second in the UK 

for the heptathlon and has 

achieved the ‘B’ entry standard for 

the World Championships in 

Berlin. She has also been invited to 

an international for the top 20 

heptathletes in the world. Her 

long jump personal best this year 

takes her to 15th on the UK alltime 

rankings. 

general.The 1st and 2nd team 

were totally outclassed, with 

Cambridge only managing to 

wrestle one game from Oxford 

1sts, courtesy of Peter and Arjun 

in a thrilling three setter of a 

doubles match.The 2nd Men’s 

team fared little better, only 

managing to take two games off 

Oxford.The final scores: 1-14 to 

Oxford for Men’s 1sts, 2-13 to 

Oxford for Men’s 2nds. 

There was more to cheer for in the 

match between the 3rd teams, 

with some gutsy badminton being 

played to end up narrowly losing 

7-8 to Oxford. 

The Women’s team fared much 

better, beating Oxford 

convincingly across the board. 

Oxford could not match the depth 

of the Cambridge squad, and the 

The former women’s captain Grace 

Clements was ranked 4th in the 

UK in 2008 for heptathlon and has 

also represented Great Britain. 

Former Cambridge students Steve 

Green and Ben Carne were ranked 

3rd and 8th respectively for the 

400m Hurdles in the UK. Louis 

Persent, a current Johnian, has 

been selected to compete for GB 

in a junior international match in 

Germany this year, having been 

ranked 3rd in the under 20 age 

group in 2008 for 400m. 

final results stood at 9-6 for the 

1sts, and 12-3 for the 2nds. 

Overall however, Cambridge 

suffered a defeat to the tune of 

31-44, allowing Oxford to take 

revenge for the year before, when 

Cambridge won a narrow victory. 

League Report 

Men’s: 

After a promising start drawing 

with Loughborough this year saw 

a team depleted through injury 

and other commitments demoted 

down to division 2A. Despite the 

unfortunate league result, the 

BUCS individual event saw 

Robert Hird and Peter Galloway 

proceed to the last 16 knocking 

out the third and fourth seeds 

and so hopefully meeting the Full 

Blue conditions. In the BUCS cup 

21

the men’s team, struggling for 

players, did not proceed past the 

first round. 

Women’s: 

A fantastic season saw the 

women’s team finished 3rd in the 

premier division narrowly losing 

out on second place in their final 

Basketball Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cubbc/ 


Basketball Club has two teams, a 

men’s first (Blues) and a second 

(Lions) team. Both team play in 

BUCS league and cup 

competitions at a fairly high 

standard.The University team train 

up to four times a week and 

usually play at least one game per 

week during the first two terms. 

Each team competes in a Varsity 

match which is held at the end 

of February. 

Varsity 

21st Februrary 2010, Iffley Road 

Sport Complex, Oxford 

Oxford Blues 117-64 Cambridge 

Blues 

Oxford 2nd 61-50 Cambridge 

Lions 

Both Oxford teams showed 

their strength and the reason 

they are all ranked 1 division 

higher than their Cambridge 

counterparts during a 

competitive but ultimately 

disappointing weekend. 


match. Strong performances by 

Karen Hird and Catherine Murphy 

put them into the last 16 at the 

BUCS individual Championships 

again earning Full Blue status. The 

women’s team also faired well in 

the BUCS Cup, reaching the 

quarter-finals. 

Blues 

The first team match of saw the 

return of the England Universities 

duo of Reed Doucette and 

Stephen Danley - both college 

players from the US and a key part 

of an Oxford squad that finished 

this year as the third best team in 

the country.The Light Blues had 

no choice but to be aggressive 

early on to combat Oxford's size 

advantage. Excellent strong inside 

play from Richard Marting and 

outside shooting from Chris Haar 

and Milos Puzovic put the teams 

level at the end of the first quarter. 

Unfortunately, the first quarter 

completely exhausted the Light 

Blues and the Dark Blues looked 

much fresher and keen to put the 

game out of Cambridge’s reach. As 

the match wore on it became 

apparent just how fast and welldrilled 

the Dark Blues were. Apart 

for some good offensive one-onone 

plays from Torsten Geelan the 

Light Blues had no way of 

stopping Oxford from getting 

open shots and opening fast 

breaks. Nevertheless, Cambridge 

showed some excellent phases, 

and with all of the Oxford starting 

line-up leaving this year the future 

looks brighter than the past. It will 

be interesting to see how Oxford 

fare without their star players 

next season. 

Lions 

Cambridge Lions began the day as 

perhaps the most favoured to 

upset their rivals. A strong start to 

the first quarter by the point 

guard Lewis Cannon gave a small 

but respectable advantage to the 

Light Blues. He was followed by 

strong rebounding from John 

Feng and good inside play from 

Oscar Wilsby. Dark Blues sacrificed 

height on the court by choosing 

to field players with good longrange 

shooting ability.This reaped 

the benefits and the teams went 

to half-time level.The third quarter 

scoring drought from Light Blues 

and continued good long-range 

shooting from the Dark Blues 

allowed Oxford Twos to pull away. 

The end result was a close 61-50 

loss for the Light Blue team, but 

having played the game without 

their coach they came away fairly

satisfied and itching for revenge 

next year. 

Other Competitions and Results 

The Blues competed in the highly 

competitive BUCS Midlands 

League Division 1 this season. 

After good showing at the annual 

preseason tournament at Kelsey 

Kerridge and convincing win in 

the first game expectations were 

high. Unfortunately due to illness 

and injuries to the several key 

players the Blues lost the next five 

games and by the Christmas the 

season was effectively finished. 

Most players from this year will 

remain in Cambridge next year, 

and the Blues will hope for a 

better showing in BUCS 

competitions next year. 

The Lions team this year consisted 

of mostly new players. It took 

them a good part of the first half 

of the season to become welldrilled 

team but once they have 

reached their peak there was no 

limit to their play. Good on-season 

work was rewarded with five 

consecutive wins in BUCS Midlands 

League Division 3.The team next 

season will be unchanged and it 

will be expected that the Lions 

contest for promotion next year. 

At the end of the season the 

University team was invited to the 

annual Bocconi Basketball 

University tournament. A mixed 

team, consisting of Blues and 

Lions players, convincingly won 

the tournament. 

Other News 

From 13th to 20th December a 

team of current and past Blues 

players was invited to tour Serbia. 

Having a Serbian coach and 

current player certainly helped 

smooth the trip over, but all of the 

committee played their parts in 

getting it organised and carrying 

it off. 

During the trip the team played 

four teams from Macedonia and 

Serbia - all of an extremely high 

standard and with a majority of 

the players looking to play 

professionally in Europe. First up 

were Skopje - a 17/18 year old 

team from the Macedonian 

capital.The difference in quality 

between British and East 

23

European basketball was 

immediately apparent, with any 

slight mismatch (of which there 

were many) or poor pass being 

punished ruthlessly. Nevertheless, 

a second half rally and some key 

shots down the stretch kept the 

scoreline respectable. 

The next two games were very 

different stories. Playing the FMP 

and Partizan academy sides we 

were ranged against a collection 

of players who are all aiming to 

make a career in basketball. 

Despite keeping the game against 

FMP within 12 points for three 

quarters, they were playing very 

much in 1st gear and upped it in 

the 4th quarter to open up a fortypoint 

advantage.The ball 

movement and fast breaks were at 

times exquisite. Obviously trying 

to outdo their local rivals, Partizan 

fielded by far the strongest side of 

the trip, and held the Blues to 4 

first quarter points whilst racking 

up 40 themselves. As a learning 

experience, lessons don't come 

much better than that! However, 

Women’s Basketball Club 

www.cuwbbc.org.uk/ 

Varsity 


The Cambridge Light Blues, led by 

captain Kathleen Beniuk, president 

Kim Lamza, and coached by the 

talented and well organized Sam 

Qian, took a strong team to the 

varsity match. The Light Blues 

fought hard in the match and 

despite great defensive efforts, 

were unfortunately bested by the 

Dark Blues and their tall American 

all-star. Final Score: Oxford 62 - 

Cambridge 37. 

The team is looking forward to 

returning the favour on our home 


court in February 2011. 2009/10 

Team members: Kathleen Beniuk 

(c), Kim Lamza, Alexandra Zieritz, 

Briony Jones, Hanna Hörnberg, 

Paloma Navarro, Caroline Walerud, 

Stephanie Ko, Stephanie 

Polderdijk,Tina Herringshaw, Sarah 

Sheldon, Ritika Sood, Laura Nelson, 

Nicola Hands, and Malika Cantor. 

Plans for 2010/11 

This year we are happy to have a 

new coach, Amalio Fernandez- 

Pacheco from Zaragoza, Spain. 

Amalio is working hard to train the 

team in preparation for Varsity, 

which is to be held on 26 February 

in Cambridge.The club is, for the 

first time, fielding a Seconds Team, 

showing both the interest and 

dedication to women’s basketball 

the final score of 107-33 was not 

as terrible as it appeared. 

The final game of the tour was 

against Belgrade University, who 

were easily the most comparable 

to a British team. A weary 

Cambridge team battled in vain 

to avoid the Eastern whitewash, 

but eventually fell in a close game 

by 12 points.With a full squad, 

fresher legs and perhaps more 

urgency this result would have 

been different. 

in Cambridge. Strengthening our 

alumni relations, the committee, 

lead by President Caroline 

Walerud, has appointed two 

Alumni Representatives, Stephanie 

Ko and Briony Jones. On 27 

November 2010, the team played 

its first ever Alumni game, which 

saw alumni return to Cambridge 

from all over Europe including 

Germany and Holland. This season 

we plan to attend the Beirut 

Unisports Festival and tour to 

Finland again, to claim a place on 

the pedestal. CUWBbC is proud of 

our new sponsor,TD Waterhouse; 

without their support none of this 

would be possible.

Boat Club 

www.cubc.org.uk/ 

Founded in 1828, Cambridge 

University Boat Club is responsible 

for organising, training and 

selecting the Cambridge crews for 

the Boat Race. 

Outside of their various and 

distinguished academic pursuits, 

the Cambridge squad spend a 

large part of their time in two 

training facilities. Located in the 

heart of Cambridge, the Goldie 

Boat House contains a fullyequipped 

gym, ergometers, a 

rowing tank. Following morning 

workouts in Goldie, most 

afternoons the Cambridge squad 

can be found training on the River 

Ouse at Ely. 

Expectations are high this year as 

the CUBC pursues its 157th Boat 

Race campaign, looking to build 

upon the success of the two wins 

on Boat Race day last year. 

Encouraged by last year’s success, 

the club boats several returners 

from last year, including returning 

Blues Derek Rasmussen 

(President), Geoff Roth (VP), 

George Nash, and Hardy Cubasch 

(2009), along with Joel Jennings, 

Mike Thorp, and cox Liz Box from 

last year's Goldie crew. 

Varsity 

3rd April 2010, River Thames, 

London 

Cambridge Won by 1 and 1/3 

Lengths 

In a truly epic battle on the 

Tideway, Cambridge confounded 

the bookies by coming from 

behind to win the 156th Boat 


Race.Their victory denied Oxford 

the hat-trick, and increased the 

Light Blues overall advantage in 

the series - Cambridge have now 

won 80 races against Oxford’s 75. 

Oxford won the toss and chose 

the Surrey station - always the 

safer bet when the forecasts 

promised squally showers with the 

wind swinging round to the south 

west. Off the start their stroke, 

Charlie Burkitt, took the crew off at 

47 strokes a minute against 

Cambridge at 45, and along the 

boat houses Oxford begand to eke 

out a small advantage. But as the 

crews settled at 37 and got into 

their race pace beyond Beverley 

Brook, Cambridge - on the inside 

of the Middlesex bend - had 

drawn level. 

Oxford now moved into a solid 

rhythm which gave them a canvas 

advantage by the time the crews 

reached Barn Elms. Despite being 

warned for their steering by 

umpire Simon Harris, they reached 

the Mile Post a second ahead of 

Cambridge, with both crews now 

rating 35. 

Oxford were now determined to 

maximise the advantage of the 

inside of the Hammersmith bend 

and, despite a slight push from the 

Light Blues, went half a length 

clear at Harrods, and maintained 

the edge at Hammersmith Bridge, 

where there was a margin of two 

seconds between the crews. 

As Cambridge now dug deep on 

the outside of the curve to 

prevent the opposition moving 

away. Maintaining the higher rate 

past St Paul’s boathouse they 

began to close the gap, and 

Oxford upped their own rate to 36 

to stave off the attack. As the 

forecast choppy conditions 

prevailed down Corney Reach, so 

the pressure from Cambridge 

proved relentless - they continued 

to close past Chiswick Eyot and 

narrowed the Oxford lead to just 

0.5sec at Chiswick Steps. 

Cambridge went for another push 

at the Crossing, which proved the 

crucial point in the race and this 

time the Dark Blues could not 

respond. For the first time 

Cambridge took the lead, finding 

new reserves of power in their 

confident stroke, while an air of 

desperation crept in to the 

Oxford boat. 

Cambridge reached Barnes Bridge 

two seconds up and the Dark 

Blues faced the monumental task 

of moving round the outside of 

the final bend to recapture the 

lead. In a final push they upped 

the rate to 36 and began to close, 

but a confident response from 

Cambridge put the result in no 

doubt.The Light Blues pushed the 

rate back up to 38 to move away 

and cross the line four seconds 

clear in 17 mins 35 secs. 

Report by Robert Treharne Jones, 

www.theboatrace.org 


The squad's first test of the 2010- 

11 Boat Race season took place at 

Fuller's Head of the River Fours 

(Fours' Head), a race in held in 

early November on the London 

Tideway. Following the reverse

direction of the Boat Race course, 

the race allows the squad to 

effectively put down a marker 

noting the progress made through 

the first two months' training. 

CUBC fielded five coxed fours, all 

of which posted comparable times 

to those achieved by the dark 

blues' (racing both coxed and 

coxless boats). 

Held at the end of Michelmas 

term, the squad's next major 

milestone took the form of the 

annual CUBC Trial Eights race, in 

which two evenly matched CUBC 

crews race over the boat race 

course in its entirety. Shake and 

Bake (a catch phrase from the film 

Women’s Boat Club 

www.cuwbc.org/ 

CUWBC exists to give University of 

Cambridge students the 

opportunity to compete against 

their Oxford University 

counterparts in the annual Henley 

Boat Races, a side-by-side race 

along a 2 kilometre stretch of the 

Henley reach.The event, which 

attracts up to 7,000 spectators to 

the venue in Henley on Thames, 

consists of four main competitions. 

CUWBC compete in three: the 

Women’s Blue Boat race; the 

Women’s Heavyweight Reserves 

race; and the Women’s 

Lightweight race.To date CUWBC 

has a win rate of 77 to Oxford 

University’s 53. 

Talladega Nights) were 

pronounced the official names of 

the crews for 2010-11. Come race 

day, a heavier and more powerful 

Shake took advantage of an early 

head wind to be half a length up 

at the mile post.With the Surrey 

bend then in its favour, Shake 

stretched out its lead to win by 

four lengths. A good win for Shake 

but also a gutsy performance from 

Bake in unfavourable conditions. 

Following a lot of work laid down 

at CUBC Winter Training Camp 

held in Banyoles, Spain, provisional 

Goldie and Blues Boat crews 

competed in Quentin Head in late 

January.The provisional Blues Boat 

Athletes begin trials for selection 

in September of each year. From 

an initial squad of up to 50 at the 

beginning to the season, 24 

oarswomen and 3 coxes are 

selected to represent CUWBC at 

the Henley Boat Races in the 

spring.Training is split between 

the Club’s two main training bases 

in Cambridge and Ely. 

CUWBC’s athletes compete in 

many of the UK’s major domestic 

rowing events, including the 

Women’s Eights Head of the River. 

CUWBC is also a member of BUCS 

and is a regular competitor at 

BUCS sponsored events 

throughout the year, which attract 

representatives from many of the 

major Universities in the UK. 

took first place to achieve the 

Overall and Elite titles. Prevailing 

over University of London, 

Durham, and Newcastle crews, 

Goldie finished 4 seconds behind 

the London Rowing Club Senior 

8+ to finish third overall and take 

second in the Senior category. 

Provisional Goldie and Blues Boat 

crews will be competing at the 

BUCS Championship Head Race in 

Peterborough on February 20th, 

2011, as well as appearing in a 

number of Tideway fixures in the 

lead up to the Boat Race on March 

26th, 2011. 

28/03/2010 at Henley on 

Thames, London 

Cambridge Blue Boat lost: 

4 lengths 

Cambridge Lightweights lost: 

2 1 /2 lengths 

Cambridge Blondie lost: 3 1 /2 

lengths 

The Henley Boat Races took place 

on Sunday 28th March this year. 

The Cambridge University Women’s 

Blue Boat,Lightweights and Blondie 

(Heavyweight reserve) crews 

arrived in Henley on the previous 

Sunday in order to get used to the 

water before the culmination of 

six months of training. Heavy rain 

earlier in the week failed to dent 

proceedings for the 2010 Henley 

Boat Races and with a strong 

27

stream and a freshening southwesterly 

tailwind, fast times were 

always a possibility. 

The first race of the day for CUWBC 

was Blondie versus Osiris. Blondie 

went off fastest, at 42 strokes a 

minute, but Osiris turned out to be 

the faster crew, winning by 3 1 /2 

lengths.This was disappointing for 

Blondie, who had come together 

well during the weeks leading up 

to the race, but credit is due to 

Oxford for fielding one of the 

strongest reserve crews for years. 

Cambridge once again had the 

higher stroke rate off the start in 

the women’s Lightweights race, 

going off at 45 against Oxford at 

42, but this time the race was a 

much closer affair.The Cambridge 

Lightweights heroically pulled 

back an Oxford lead with strong 

pushes through the middle section 

of the race. However, this was not 

Bowmen 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cub/ 

Cambridge University Bowmen is 

a club open to anybody interested 

in giving archery a go; we 

welcome people who have never 

picked up a bow and arrow in 

their life, with have-a-go sessions, 

beginner’s courses and equipment 

loans.We also cater for 

experienced archers of any bow 

discipline, and it is possible to 

practice daily for those who are 

keen to improve. 


enough and the Dark Blues won 

with a margin of 2 1 /2 lengths. 

Finally, in the Women’s Blue Boat 

Race, the Oxford crew was lighter 

and more experienced, with many 

national and international medals 

in their crew. Cambridge pushed 

hard and kept the faith but the 

experienced Oxford crew held on 

to their early lead and won by 

4 lengths. 

Other competitions and results 

On 13th November, the club sent 

one heavyweight crew to race in 

the Veteran Fours Head on the 

tideway.The Cambridge crew 

won the Intermediate 3 coxed 

fours category. 

The club entered three VIIIs into 

the Fairbairn Cup races hosted by 

Jesus College Boat Club on the 

Cam.The 1st heavyweight crew 

won the event, the lightweight 

We are a competitive club, with 

many tournaments throughout 

the year, open to seniors and 

novices.The highlights of the year 

are the Varsity Match held in May, 

and the BUCS indoor and outdoor 

championships, but we are also 

part of the BUTTS league, which 

holds regular legs and is currently 

the most competitive and the 

highest scoring league in the UK, 

comprising Cambridge, Oxford, 

Nottingham, Warwick, 

Loughborough, Derby, 

crew came in just 10s behind and 

the 2nd heavyweight crew a 

further 35s behind that. 

On February 13th, three CUWBC 

crews raced in Henley Eights 

Head of the River.The 1st Boat 

won the Intermediate 2 category 

with the other crews also putting 

in strong performances 

. 

At the 2010 Women’s Head of the 

River races in London, the club 

entered potential Boat Race Blue 

Boat and Blondie crews.The Blue 

Boat came 21st and Blondie 58th. 

The club entered a Blondie IV and 

a Lightweight VIII into the BUCS 

Price Waterhouse Coopers Rowing 

Regatta 2010. CUWBC performed 

strongly, the lightweight VIII 

reaching the finals and the 

Blondie IV won gold in the 

Intermediate coxed IVs category, 

beating OUWLRC along the way. 

Birmingham and Nottingham 

Trent Universities.We also take 

part in the British inter-universities 

E-league, which is open to 

anybody who shoots a 

Portsmouth round indoors, and is 

a fun way to compare scores 

across the country, and each year 

we send at least one team to the 

British University Target 

Championships, where they must 

shoot under pressurised 

conditions in head-to-head 

matches to beat the opponents.

We have several archers who 

shoot for their county and 

compete in local and national 

level tournaments and, indeed, we 

have archers – including Heather 

Reynolds and Carrie Oliver – who 

hold external British records. 

16th May 2010 on John’s Backs, 

Cambridge 

Cambridge: 3344, Oxford: 3238 

(Cambridge win) 

Cambridge novices: 2132, 

Oxford novices: 2780 (Oxford 

novice win) 

After a convincing win by 

Cambridge last year, the pressure 

and expectations were on the 

Cambridge archers to seal their 

13th consecutive Varsity match 

win back on home soil. And they 

did not disappoint. 

Throughout the day, Cambridge 

stayed focussed on their goal of 

lifting the historic Rose Bowl, and 

were rewarded by sunny and 

reasonably calm conditions to 

make the task an even more 

enjoyable one.There was some 

good shooting from Oxford’s 

leading archers, however, it was 

Cambridge’s solidarity and great 

team effort that sealed the victory, 

with the highest threshold to 

make the team in recorded history. 

In the final team, and achieving 

their Half Blues were Carrie Oliver, 

Heather Reynolds, Caroline 

Sandford and Tak Ho. 

Carrie Oliver put in the highest 

score of the match, and was 

rewarded in her last ever Varsity 

match with her first 6-gold end (a 

perfect end). 

Unfortunately, despite their 

convincing win last year, the 

Cambridge novice team (Otava 

Piha, Ben Price, Nick Soderberg 

and Katie Borley) did not fare so 

well this time, and their efforts 

were not enough to hold off the 

fearsome Oxford novice 

competition. 

However, the Cambridge mood at 

the end of the shoot was a 

positive one and, as we packed up 

the field, Oxford busied 

themselves making human 

pyramids, much to the 

bemusement of the Master of 

St John’s College, our Lord Patron 

for the match. Afterwards both 

teams headed off to Pembroke 

College for a fun formal. 

Other News from 2009/10 

As usual, all three terms were 

packed with competitions and 

Cambridge squad members 

managed to bring home a good 

medal haul. Notably, Heather 

Reynolds won an individual silver 

ladies longbow medal at the BUCS 

indoor championships in Sheffield, 

as well as a gold, silver and bronze 

medal in the senior ladies recurve 

at the three BUTTS league shoots 

she attended. Caroline Sandford 

also won a ladies silver medal at 

the Derby BUTTS leg, and Tak Ho 

won gents senior bronze. 

The novice team was fantastic 

over the indoor season, with two 

gold team medals at Oxford and 

Nottingham BUTTS matches. Ed 

Marffy was the star archer, winning 

3 individual gold gents novice 

recurve medals to add to his team 

medals. Ferenc Huszar also 

managed 2 silver gents medals, 

Karl Williams won a bronze gents 

medal, Otava Piha won one gold 

and one silver ladies novice 

medals, and Katie Borley won the 

gold at the BUTTS indoor 

championships for ladies novice 

recurve. 

The annual Cuppers match was 

won by Robinson College (Tim 

Craig and Kingsley Warren), who 

narrowly defeated the Jesus pair 

(Heather Reynolds and Sam 

Burnand) in the final. 

29

Canoe Club 

Photo: Jamie Gundry 

www.cucanoe.co.uk/wp/ 

Cambridge University Canoe Club 

caters for those who have never 

been in a boat before, through to 

people who want to throw a ball 

around while staying upright or 

paddle crazy grade 5 rapids. Most 

of the time we paddle on the Cam, 

trying to dodge the punts, though 

we do go to Wales, Scotland and 

the Alps, amongst other places, in 

search of more interesting water. 

We also play Canoe Polo, five-aside 

in kayaks, where pushing your 

opponents in is in the rules! 

Varsity 2009/10 

Cambridge Oxford 

White Water Race 

Mens 17 10 

Womens 9 0 

Canoe Polo 

Mens A 0 8 

Mens B 8 1 

Womens 2 4 

Marathon 

Mens 9 27 

Womens 20 24 

Freestyle 

Mens 27 41 

Womens 30 16 


Wight Water Race 

The White Water Race was held at 

the River Washburn alongside the 

BUCS WWR event. Cambridge’s 

men’s team of Rich Hendron, Rob 

Anderson and Ian Dumolo put in a 

very impressive performance, 

coming in 2nd overall and beating 

Oxford by 16 points to 10. A strong 

race from Alison Galloway, Hannah 

Salter and Hayley Sharp put the 

ladies team in 7th place overall. 

This led to a convincing 9-1 points 

victory over Oxford. 

Marathon 

The marathon race was held on 

the River Cam, running from just 

upstream of the Fen Causeway up 

to Grantchester and back, once for 

ladies and twice for men.The 

ladies event could have gone 

either way. A very strong race from 

Cambridge’s Alison Galloway put 

her in 1st place. However 2nd, 3rd 

and 4th placed Oxford 

competitors led to a narrow 

Oxford victory on points. In the 

men’s race, a strong Oxford team 

took the victory. 

Polo 

The polo matches were also held 

on the Cam, alongside Jesus 

Green.The men’s team started off 

well, with strong defending from 

both sides. Oxford managed to 

seize a goal, leaving the score 1-0 

at half time. Unfortunately 

Cambridge fell apart in the second 

half, leading to an 8-0 loss, a 

disappointing end to an otherwise 

successful season.The closely 

fought ladies match eventually 

came to a 4-2 loss. 

Freestyle 

The freestyle event has not run for 

several years, so it was good to see 

it make a return. It was held at the 

artificial white water course at 

Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. It 

was great to see so many 

Cambridge freestyle novices 

testing their skills on the newly 

refurbished course.The more 

experienced Oxford paddlers took 

the victory. 

Other news from 2009/10 

As a club we have broad canoeing 

and kayaking interests; from white 

water kayaking to marathon 

boating, canoe polo to freestyle. 

We train on the river Cam and at a 

local swimming pool on a weekly 

basis, with sessions for both 

general kayaking skills and canoe 

polo.We also hold 1* and 2* 

training courses throughout the 

year for novices to the sport.When 

the water levels are up, white 

water trips to Wales and the Lake 

District are run for both advanced 

and novice paddlers. Many of our 

members also participate in a 

range of competitive kayaking 

events.The annual BUCS Wild 

Water Racing (WWR) 

Championships, Slalom and Canoe 

Polo are very popular. Our men's 

team also competes in the 

regional canoe polo division 3 and 

the men's, women's and novice 

teams participate in regional polo 

tournaments.The annual Varsity 

match comprises BUCS WWR, 

along with marathon kayaking, 

canoe polo, and the recently 

reinstated freestyle.

Competition results for the year: 

BUCS Wild Water Race 

Men's team - 2nd place 

Women's team - 7th place 

University ranking - 7th 

Varsity points – 26 (Oxford 10) 

BUCS Slalom 

Men's individual K1 - 4th - James 

Dixon 

Cricket Club 

www.cucc.net/ 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuwcc/ 

Blues Varsity Matches, Lords, 4 July 


There is life in Varsity cricket yet: 

the crowds may no longer come in 

thousands, but, as Cambridge 

chased 271 to defeat an 

experienced Oxford side – and to 

record only a third win at Lord’s 

since 2000 – the health of the 

ancient fixture was made clear. 

Parity was maintained throughout 

most of the first two hours. 

Cambridge captain Akbar Ansari 

had asked Oxford to bat first, and 

while openers Daniel King and 

Sam Agarwal fell over straight 

balls and Dark Blue captain Raj 

Sharma chipped to cover, the elder 

Sharma – Avi – and long-time 

Cambridge’s bête noire, Neil 

Kruger, took the score to 132 

without further alarm. Still, when 

Sharma skewed Dan Goodwin to 

point and Kruger was caught 

smartly at the wicket, restricting 

BUCS Polo 

Mens – 4th 

Women's – 19th 

Open league – 4th 

Old boys – 5th 

Men's Regional Division 1 Canoe 

Polo – 1st 

Men’s National Division 3 Central 

League Canoe Polo – 8th 

Oxford to fewer than 230 seemed 

eminently possible. Such was not 

to be: the returning Cambridge 

seamers offered width and 

generous lengths, and some 

seventy runs haemorrhaged from 

the batting power play, taken by 

Australian duo Nick Meadows and 

Daniel Pascoe. Meadows was 

finally caught for a summarily 

brutal 66 from 49 balls as Oxford 

finished on 270, a total which had 

not been chased successfully since 

the inauguration of the C.B. Fry 

Trophy. Choice among the 

Cambridge bowlers had been 

Goodwin (2 for 43) and Marc 

Rosenberg (2 for 28): only the 

profligacy of their team-mates had 

loosened a leash that they had 

held tightly; only an electric 

fielding triumvirate of Ansari, 

Rosenberg, and Richard Hesketh 

had prevented disintegration. 

Perhaps becalmed by an 

extraordinary lunch, the 

Cambridge batsmen began their 

reply inauspiciously. Richard 

ULU Canoe Polo Tournament 

Men's Team – 3rd 

Open Team – 2nd 

Timms fell lbw to Lewis Dingle; 

Hesketh gloved a rising brute from 

John Lodwick, while Anand Ashok 

– struggling to replicate the form 

which delivered him the Walter 

Lawrence Trophy in 2009 – 

scraped to 34 in some 20 overs 

before charging and missing. From 

here, though, captain Ansari and 

Rosenberg led a compelling fightback.The 

spinners Agarwal and 

Pascoe were manoeuvred deftly, 

and – when opportunity arose – 

the forty-yard boundary to the 

Warner Stand was targeted with 

impunity. At 196/3, with both guns 

firing, Cambridge looked set to 

record a comfortable victory. 

207/5, however, was less 

promising: Rosenberg had finally 

been caught at long-on and Ansari 

lost – perhaps fatally – to a mix-up 

with new batsman Frankie Brown. 

Redemption found Brown, 

however, by way of a thrilling, 

unbeaten partnership of 64 with 

Kennedy in which flamboyant 

upper-cuts, scything square drives, 

and smart running wrested back 

31

momentum allowing Cambridge 

to secure a famous victory with 

just thirteen balls to spare. 

Oxford will rue the reprieves they 

gave to Rosenberg and the 

generosity of their bowlers 

(24 wides is too many under any 

circumstances); but the maturity 

of Brown and Kennedy would 

have finished tougher chases than 

this. In the context of 

disappointment in the T20 

fixture and the ignominious defeat 

in the first-class fixture the 

following week, this victory at the 

Home of Cricket was a 

tremendous result for the 

underdog Cambridge team. 

Meanwhile, on the Nursery 

Ground, having eased to victory by 

10 wickets in 2009, Cambridge’s 

Women’s team arrived at Lord's 

eager to reassert their dominance. 

The women had prepared with 

their annual game against the 

Army, who were not, it seems, the 

powerhouse they were in 2009: 

Cambridge amassed 210-7 

(Hornsby 37, Donnelly 35, Bellfield 

56) and then demolished the 

forces for 91 (Clarkson 3-22 and 

Davis 3-15). So they entered their 

winner-takes-all varsity match 

with high confidence. After losing 

the toss and being put into bat, 

openers Sophia Davis and 

Charlotte Hornsby established a 

solid base, with Hornsby reaching 

27 before being caught at slip. 

Cambridge lost wickets at a steady 

rate, but each member proved 

their worth to the team. Helen 

Bellfield, batting at 4, scored a fine 

45 before falling to a dubious LBW 

appeal from Oxford. The 

partnership of Bellfield and 

captain Ellie Fielding steadied 

the Cambridge ship somewhat 

and vice-captain Danielle 

Lavender scored a fine 24 batting 

with the tail. Cambridge were all 

out with just 3 balls to go and 


hoped that 241 would be enough 

with the small boundary on the 

nursery pitch. 

Before the match began, 

Cambridge were well aware of the 

reliance of Oxford on their 

opening bat and captain, 

LeMarchand. She looked in good 

form, and as she fell into her stride 

Cambridge knew something had 

to be done. Commence the day of 

Bellfield - with a solid 45 under her 

belt she came onto bowl from the 

top end and with flighted right 

arm off-spin she soon took 

LeMarchand caught and bowled 

on 79. Bellfield (“Squirrel”) ended 

the match with 4-33. After the 

demise of their captain Oxford 

collapsed with Bellfield taking 2 

more wickets and Clarkson 

returning to clean up the rest 

ending with figures of 2-38. 

Fielding took the last catch to end 

Oxford's hopes of turning the 

tables from last year, bowled out in 

35.4 overs. 

Crusaders’ 3-day Varsity Match, 

Fenner’s, 23-25 July 2010 

Oxford arrived full of energy, no 

doubt disappointed by the result 

of the T20 but probably assuming 

they could take the positives from 

that performance and compete 

with the bat and ball.They left two 

days later broken men, having 

been outbowled, outfielded, and 

outbatted so comprehensively 

that – even at lunch on the first 

day – they must have seen the 

writing on the wall. 

The game's first half hour gave no 

indication of the coming storm. 

Thomas Probert bowled as 

parsimoniously as he would all 

innings (of his 17 overs, 10 were 

maidens, finishing with 4-25). The 

ball was beating the bat, but this 

was to be expected first up.The 

question was what would happen 

in the following 10 overs, when 

the lacquer came off the ball and 

the pitch's initial liveliness died 

out. The answer was carnage. In 

22 breathless overs and 90 elated 

minutes, Oxford found themselves 

completely blown away - all but 

bowled out, and all but out of the 

match as a contest. 8 wickets fell: 

first Patel's off pole was sent 

cartwheeling by a delivery from 

Geoff Wilmot that swung in and 

nipped away, then danger-man 

Stafford edged a Probert 

outswinger to third slip, where 

Tom Askew did the honours in 

total comfort. Number four Portz 

snicked through to keeper Gus 

Kennedy, and 11-0 had become 

18-3. Fifteen minutes of playing 

and missing with no reward 

followed, as opener Stearn and 

captain Baillie attempted to reanchor 

the innings. A bowling 

change was needed, and it could 

not have reaped more immediate 

rewards.With his very first ball 

Dave Milodowski induced the 

circumspect Stearn to edge to an 

expectant Phil Ashton in the 

cordon. 24-4. Minutes later, Baillie, 

doubtless near-suicidal in the 

knowledge that all his recognised 

batsmen were back in the hutch 

after just 81 minutes of play, 

edged Probert to Ashton, who 

again made no mistake. Dave 

Milodowski then had the lefthanded 

Hopton adjudged caught 

behind in slightly controversial 

circumstances, a fact that was of 

little concern to a rampant 

Cambridge team, who went into 

lunch buoyed by one further 

wicket – Swann, brilliantly caught 

by a full-length Kennedy inches off 

the ground, as captain George 

Reynolds' plan of coming on to 

mop up the tail came to fruition. 

Soon after lunch Reynolds had 

Shakespeare LBW and Probert 

removed World's Unhappiest Man 

Kearns - who'd flinched and

Photo: Matt Bright 

33

whinged at every turn during a 

barrage of short stuff – via an 

athletic one-handed grab by Mike 

Carson in the gully. 76 all out. 

With Cambridge bowling, Fenner's 

had looked lively, bouncy – a place 

where crease occupation, not free 

scoring, was the way forward. 10 

overs into the Cambridge reply, it 

was fairly clear that this wasn't the 

case at all: it was, predictably, a 

total belter.The folly of the Oxford 

batting performance – or the 

extreme accuracy of the 

Cambridge bowling performance 

– came into stark focus; all it took 

was a few meaty blows from 

Ashton and an uncharacteristically 

aggressive approach from Phil 

Hughes to smash all residue of 

shine off the ball, as a series of 

loose deliveries were punished en 

route to an opening partnership 

of 80 off 12.5 overs. Whatever the 

wicket, however, good bowling is 

still always hard to score off.When 

Ashton fell, Oxford finally began to 

put some dots together and build 

some pressure. Hughes soon 

followed, and the new partnership 

between Ananya Sen and Ed 

Pearson was not worth many 

when Evans conjured an inswinger 

to trap Pearson in front 

shouldering arms. 116-3 – a lead of 

just 40. Fortunately, Askew and 

Sen kept their cool to put 

Cambridge back on track. 

Exercising admirable restraint, 

they took their time, putting away 

the odd full one and – in Sen's 

case – cutting with aplomb. It was 

one such cut that, as the day's play 

entered its final half-hour, took 

Sen from 49 to 53; it was another 

sort of cutter off the bowling of 

Stearn that, one ball later, sent him 

back to the hutch, LBW for 53 at 

the end of the days play. 

The Authentics, started the 

morning of the second day full of 

energy, doubtless hoping that 


with a few early wicket a lead of 

150-odd was not insurmountable, 

and possibly even entertaining 

notions of salvaging a draw or an 

improbable victory. By lunch, any 

such hope – and any hope at all, 

really – had been extinguished, 

and the spectators were treated to 

the sight of mere shells of men 

going through the motions of 

playing cricket; drained by the hot 

sun, wearied by constantly chasing 

leather, bruised after a blistering 

assault from resident horseman of 

the Apocalypse, Michael Carson. It 

had all started so well for the Dark 

Blues, as Askew looking good to 

build on his overnight foundation, 

was unfortunate to snick off to the 

impressive Evans.This only served 

to bring Kennedy to the crease, 

and his positive approach chimed 

with the increasingly aggressive 

instincts of Carson.The result was 

a ninety-minute period prior to 

lunch in which 150 runs were put 

on in increasingly quick time, and 

Oxford went from sentient beings 

to broken husks. Oxford opener 

Shakespeare took the most 

punishment, as Carson hammered 

him all round the ground, and 

even Stearn, during his mammoth 

41-over bowling effort, also took 

some tap. And even after Carson’s 

holing out to deep mid-wicket for 

153, Kennedy never looked in 

trouble and motored to an 

unbeaten, chanceless 103 with yet 

another crisp shot down the 

ground, which also served to take 

Cambridge more than 400 past 

Oxford's score. 

The scorecard suggests that 

Oxford made a better fist of it 

second time round, but to be 

honest, they didn't really. O'Herlihy 

delivered on his first innings 

promise and brutalised 70 before 

missing a straight one from 

Wilmot, but without his 

contribution Oxford were left as 

clueless and spineless as they had 

been first time round.Wilmot 

produced another beauty that 

ducked back in a clipped the top 

of the hapless Patel's off pole; 

Reynolds had the immense 

satisfaction of adding a 30 yearold 

man exhausted by 40 overs' 

bowling to his list of 

"Inappropriate People I've Got Out 

With The Short Ball", and trapped 

the clueless Portz in front soon 

after. Baillie was admirably limpetlike 

until he chased one of the 

widest balls of the day and 

snicked off, Swann fell insideedging 

a Wilmot inducker that 

Kennedy pouched diving to his 

left in one of the catches of the 

season; balls later Askew produced 

Kennedy's only competition in 

diving full stretch to his right to 

claim Stafford's outside edge off 

Wilmot's bowling (the fifth wicket 

for the big man). All it then needed 

was for Carson to apply the coup 

de grace, and this he did, bowling 

Kearns and taking a sharp 

grabbed-and-bowled to send 

Shakespeare backing and cue 

almost embarrassed celebrations 

from the victorious Crusaders. 

"Embarrassed"? Embarrassed.The 

gulf in class between the two sides 

had been that big. 

CUCC Tour of India, January 2010 

The Vice Chancellor, Professor 

Alison Richard, was visiting alumni 

in India at the beginning of 

January and it was suggested that 

an accompanying tour by the 

Cambridge University Cricket Club 

would be well received.This was 

an opportunity not to be missed 

for fourteen cricketers, a coach 

and a tour manager.What made it 

all possible was the very generous 

sponsorship by Dr Yusuf Hamied, 

the chairman of CIPLA, his own 

pharmaceutical company. Dr 

Hamied had been at Cambridge at 

the same time as Tony Lewis the 

former England cricket captain 

and they were both able to watch

some of the cricket and to meet 

the team, as did the Vice 

Chancellor’s party. A tour itinerary 

was hastily put together by Sachin 

Bajaj, the founder of the Global 

Cricket School, who lives in 

Mumbai and organises many 

coaching courses in India for 

county, club and school cricketers. 

He organised accommodation and 

fixtures and on Thursday 7th 

January the team arrived in Delhi, 

leaving behind the ice and snow 

in the UK. 

That same evening the first match, 

a Twenty20, took place with the 

High Commission team under 

floodlights.The floodlights were 

poor in the dusk and the dark, the 

seasonal fog made matters worse 

and seeing anything from the 

boundaries was almost impossible 

for fielders and spectators alike. 

Despite that handicap the CUCC 

team held on to a number of good 

catches when the ball was skied. 

The match was won by seventy 

runs and several of the team had 

the chance to bat against some 

friendly club bowling and bowl 

without too much pressure.The 

hospitality back at the High 

Commission bar was warm and 

friendly and it seemed to have 

been a long day by the time the 

coach arrived back at the Ashok 

Country Resort at about 11.00pm 

The following day the team had an 

early start to travel from the hotel 

in South West Delhi to St Stephen’s 

College Ground in North Delhi to 

play a Delhi and District Cricket 

Association XI.Yet again there was 

thick mist and fog and it was cold. 

There was no chance of starting 

on time because of the fog but 

eventually it was agreed to reduce 

the match to another Twenty20 

and start at 12.30pm. 

Disappointingly, CUCC batted 

poorly, only scored 114 and the 

match was lost by six wickets, 

though there were a couple of 

moments in the DDCA innings 

when they might have been 

restricted to fewer runs.The game 

against Roshanara Cricket Club 

was less disturbed by fog, 

although the weather was still 

cold. CUCC batted first and four 

batsmen started well without any 

of them dominating the attack or 

going on to a big score.The 

innings lost momentum on a 

couple of occasions and CUCC 

scored about thirty runs too few, 

ending on 205 for 6. After a 

disastrous start, with numerous 

wide deliveries, the team was 

always on the back foot, although 

the bowlers did manage to claw 

their way back into the game, until 

a big left hander put the result out 

of doubt, striking the ball well, 

both straight and over wide mid 

on.The match was lost by six 

wickets; the second loss to a team 

which was no better than CUCC 

and could have been beaten.The 

reception with the Vice Chancellor 

afterwards was well organised and 

the team mingled well.There were 

speeches and a buffet and the 

Cambridge alumni were 

welcoming and interested to meet 

the present-day students. 

The trip from Delhi to Mumbai saw 

a considerable rise in temperature, 

better grounds and a real 

opportunity for the team to 

experience Indian playing 

conditions.Two matches were 

played at Bombay Gymkhana 

Ground, the venue for the first Test 

Match ever played on Indian soil, 

one was played at the Brabourne 

Stadium, the home of the Cricket 

Club of India and an international 

match venue, and the other game 

was played at the Mumbai Cricket 

Association Recreation Ground, 

where Sachin Tendulkar was 

having a short practice net in the 

background.These were all 

impressive grounds with excellent 

facilities and the cricket was 

always close. It was disappointing 

that Bombay University chose to 

treat their fixture as a practice 

game.They played fourteen 

players, despite the CUCC’s 

captain’s insistence, rightly, that 

this had not been agreed before 

the start and therefore should not 

have been allowed by the umpires. 

This game was also shortened 

from a two-day match to a oneday 

game, so it was necessary to 

arrange another fixture for the 

second day, which was achieved 

by playing Nirlon CC at the 

Bombay Gymkhana Ground.The 

game with Bombay University saw 

two large scores and some good 

striking of the ball. It would have 

been good to have seen a 

competitive match because the 

two squads looked reasonably 

well matched. Nirlon CC were 

beaten and after the match there 

was plenty of time to spend at CCI, 

where the team swam and went 

to the gym before being treated 

to a meal by Sachin Bajaj at the 

Pool Café. 

The CCI team had one or two 

really good players, but the 

remainder were not outstanding. 

CUCC batted first and should have 

scored 15 or so more runs. 217 was 

always a few too many short of the 

target. Once again batsmen 

played themselves in and then 

failed to go on past fifty, although 

the CCI bowling was not very 

penetrative.This inability to make 

large scores was one of the 

abiding memories of the tour and 

always put the bowlers under 

pressure.The CCI innings was led 

by a batsman who paced his 

innings very well and, although 

CUCC had moments when they 

were able to put some pressure on 

the batsmen, the main batsman 

guided them home by six wickets 

with one over to spare in a 40-over 

match.This match was the first 

35

attended by Dr Yusuf Hamied, 

Tony and Joan Lewis.Yusuf and 

Tony greeted the CUCC players, 

who responded very well indeed. 

After the match CUCC beat a pair 

of CCI snooker players (in a 

handicap contest) and there was 

an excellent reception, courtesy of 

Sachin Bajaj, who presented the 

Raj Singh Dungapur Scholarship 

for a CUCC player to come to the 

Global Cricket School for coaching 

annually with all costs, except 

flights, paid. 

The final match against Bombay 

Gymkhana, who were the 

strongest opponents of the tour 

by some distance, took place at 

the Gymkhana ground.They had a 

solid bowling attack of five good 

bowlers, including a Rajasthan 

Royals quick bowler who was 

coming back from changing his 

action and so did not bowl at full 

pace.There was also a good 

opening bowler who swung the 

ball both ways, a promising new 

recruit from Kashmir and the 

nephew of Mike Brearley’s wife, 

who plays as a contracted 

overseas player in England. Even 

the captain, as the sixth bowler, 

was a wily off-spinner. CUCC 

managed to reach 174 for 7, but 

this was another situation where 

batsmen got in and could not 

continue. CUCC lost convincingly 

by 8 wickets when an explosive 

opening batsman hit several 

boundaries on a good even-paced 

pitch After this match was the 

second reception with the Vice 

Chancellor.This was hosted by the 

President of the Cambridge 

University Alumni and took the 

form of speeches by the President, 

the Vice Chancellor, the Tour 

Manager and Dr Hamied and a 

Question & Answer session with 

the gathered alumni. Once again 

there was the opportunity for the 

alumni to meet the CUCC touring 

party over a buffet supper. 


The tour was a marvellous 

experience for all the players. It 

gave them the chance to play in 

different conditions against 

players, for the most part, of the 

same standard. It also provided an 

opportunity for the captain and 

coach to see how the cricketers 

reacted in pressure situations. Off 

the field they were all excellent 

ambassadors for the university 

and a pleasure to be with. On the 

field, there were many 

encouraging signs of talent, but 

throughout the tour the team 

struggled to score enough runs. 

The bowling was not strong as a 

unit, although at times one or 

other of the bowlers did manage 

to give the captain an element of 

control. Generally there was not 

sufficient consistency and so more 

games were lost than won.The 

captain grew in confidence and 

stature during the tour and there 

were signs of a growing team 

spirit, which should be helpful in 

the summer term’s fixtures.This 

winter tour was an excellent 

experience and, thanks to CIPLA’s 

and Dr Hamied’s generosity, 

fourteen players, a coach and a 

tour manager had a most 

enjoyable ten days in India. 

[Roger Knight President of CUCC 

and Tour Manager] 

Other University Cricket 

The Men’s side competed in the 

BUCS Midlands League 1A, 

winning all bar one of their games, 

including two good wins away at 

Loughborough. However, as is 

ever the case with Blues, 

performance in this competition 

the onset of exams for a 

predominantly undergraduate 

side meant that a match had to be 

forfeited against a very weak UEA 

side. This cost the Men the title, 

and, more gallingly, the 

opportunity to play in a strong 

Premier League next year. 

The Cambridge women knew the 

2010 season would be a tough 

one: promotion to the Northern 

Premier entailed stronger 

opposition but also further travel - 

a major issue with 3 finalists and 

4 post-graduate students working 

hard to complete their theses. 

Cambridge struggled to compete 

against the accurate bowling of 

Leeds and Loughborough, but had 

a closer match against Durham. 

After a 5 hour journey Cambridge 

put up a good fight with a greatly 

weakened side but lacked the 

experience to chase down their 

total. However, the tables were 

turned when they came to 

Pembroke, when we put them into 

bat and bowled them out for 131 

with Bellfield talking 4-12 and 

Lavender 3-26. Bellfield then went 

on to score a fine 66 in a 4-wicket 

victory. This solitary victory left 

the women at the bottom of the 

Northern Prem, having to travel to 

Birmingham at the peak of exam 

time and so only managing a 

scratch XI. Despite this, they 

bowled well and kept them to 

170-6 on a small pitch (Fielding 

taking 2-25). We had a strong 

reply and with 10 overs to go it 

looked as though we could make 

it. Sadly, we lacked the depth in 

our batting and after 30 overs we 

were 125-9. Brave innings from 

Davis (26) and Fielding (46*) were 

in vain. 

Both the Men and the Women 

entertained the MCC in matches at 

Fenner’s. The women played host 

just before May Week, with 2009- 

Blue Ross returned for the MCC to 

play against her old team mates. 

She scored a match-winning 75 

before being caught by Fielding at 

mid-off from Bellfield's bowling. 

The MCC made 198-6 before 

lunch. After a hopeful start for 

Cambridge's batters, they were 

unable to defend their wickets 

and soon fell to the MCC for under

100. The men’s 3-day encounter 

was a higher-scoring affair. The 

MCC, batting first, amassed 380 

runs on the first day, with ex- 

Academy player Eddie Ballard 

making a career-best 190. On the 

second day, an excellent 

partnership between captain 

Ansari (128*) and keeper Kennedy 

(46) allowed the Blues to declare 

50 runs short and invite the MCC 

to make a game of it on the final 

day. This they duly did and, after a 

ponderous start, they set 352 in 

just over two sessions. A solid 

base was established by openers 

Timms and Ashok, who dominated 

the seamers before lunch. 

However, with their demise shortly 

afterwards, and the MCC’s 

introduction of two talented 

spinners the Blues run-rate 

dwindled, reaching 160-4 at just 

4 runs per over. However, in a 

thrilling final hour, Ansari proved 

what a devastating threat he can 

be, blasting his second unbeaten 

century of the game (110*) to 

bring his side home with just 

minutes to spare. 

MCCU – Combined Academy Side 

From September 2009 to March 

2010 the squad worked hard on 

their physical shape as well as 

technical skills ensuring that the 

Cambridge MCCU entered the 

2010 season with a clean bill of 

health knowing, as always, it 

would be an important season to 

justify the MCC backing of the 

scheme.We welcomed new faces 

in to the squad but realised that 

we had to play to our full potential 

to compete in all of our 

competitions. Many thanks go to 

Nick Lee for his skill and hard work 

co-ordinating and running the 

strength and conditioning 

programme, which also bonded 

the group. 

Due to a very early start to our 

fixture programme pre season 

friendlies began in late March and 

included matches versus Essex 2’s, 

Northants 2’s, Derbyshire 2’s and 

MCC’YC’s 

First Class Games 

vs. Surrey April 3rd-5th 

After a delayed start Cambridge 

MCCU won the toss and elected to 

field first. Pete Turnbull bowled 

exceptionally well to reduce 

Surrey to 28-2 and at one time 

were 183-5, however Steve Davies 

on his Surrey debut batted very 

well and Surrey finished on 366-7. 

Turnbull finished with figures of 

5-92 off his 30 overs. Cambridge 

batted steadily throughout but 

only Adam Wheater made a halfcentury 

(52), Jivan Lotay was 

unbeaten on 34.The game ended 

quietly as a draw, but, on what was 

an excellent wicket for the time of 

year, Surrey was well satisfied with 

their early season workout. 

vs. Leicestershire April 21st-23rd 

Again Cambridge MCCU fielded 

first, and, after a good mornings 

work Leicestershire were reduced 

to 47-3 with more good bowling 

from Woolley and Turnbull. Ex 

Granta player Du Toit rescued 

Leicestershire and, after surviving 

an early chance, he made 154 to 

help his team to 411-7 dec. 

Cambridge replied with a slightly 

disappointing 199a/o with 

Wheater, again, making a half 

century along with Woolley 55no 

and Lee 39.The game ended in a 

draw but in Cambridge’s 2nd 

innings Ben Ackland made a solid 

51no on debut and Steve Gray was 

undefeated on 35 

vs. Sussex May 12th-14th 

Once again Cambridge fielded 

first and once again made early 

inroads but failed to capitalise. 

At one stage Sussex were 43-4, but 

international batsman Joyce 

scored a lovely 100 to enable 

Sussex to declare on 277-5. 

Cambridge were indebted to Craig 

Park who made 72 out of 181 a/o. 

In the second innings Cambridge 

were set 350 to win, but, although 

batting well, were all out for 265 

with Lee making 63 in his last 

first class appearance for 

Cambridge, as well as good 

contributions from Ackland, 

Hughes, Woolley and Gray. 

In all 3 first class games Cambridge 

provided credible and competitive 

opposition for the county sides. 

Once again they were given first 

class pitches and practice facilities 

at Fenners and the coaches of all 3 

sides spoke positively of their 

experience.The new ball bowling 

for Cambridge of Turnbull and 

Woolley got early breakthroughs 

in all 3 games and most of the 

batting contributed at different 

times without anyone capitalising 

and making 3 figures to put 

themselves in the shop window. 

MCC Universities 2 Day 

Competition 

In what became a hugely 

frustrating campaign Cambridge 

began very impressively with a 

comfortable win versus a strong 

Bradford /Leeds side and an 

equally comfortable draw against 

Oxford on a very flat pitch at the 

Parks.The following game against 

Loughborough went down to the 

very last ball of the match where 

Loughborough overhauled 

Cambridge’s 401 with 9 wickets 

down. Outplayed against the best 

side in the competition, Durham, 

meant that Cambridge entered 

the last game versus Cardiff 

needing a first innings win to go 

to Lords as runners up. However 

287-6 became 292 a/o and despite 

Cardiff’s run chase stuttering all 

the way they eventually got their 

target with 7 wickets down. 

37

The outstanding performer in the 

competition with the bat was 

Steve Gray who scored centuries 

versus Bradford/Leeds and 

Loughborough plus a 64 against 

Oxford.The other batting 

performances of note was a 

century for Phil Hughes against 

Oxford in his first match and 98 by 

Anil Gupta against Loughborough 

in also his first match after being 

called up half an hour before the 

match began. Ultimately what 

cost Cambridge was a lack of 

consistent availability of key 

players throughout the campaign 

due to a variety of reasons, but 

those that took the field made a 

good account of themselves and 

new players were discovered. 

Bucs 50-over Competition 

In recent years Cambridge have 

struggled in this competition, an 

issue that was addressed 

frequently during the off-season, 

and, after a poor performance in 

the opening game versus Exeter it 

looked again as if this would be 

the case. However a quite 

incredible partnership versus 

Bradford/Leeds by Woolley and 

Turnbull gave Cambridge a win 

and with a straight-forward win 

Cruising Club 

www.cucrc.org/ 

The CUCrC is the umbrella club for 

the University Sailing Team, the 

Windsurfing Team, the Casual 

Sailing Club and the Yachting Club. 


versus Bath plus 2 no results 

meant that we showed some 

progress in this competition, 

something we are keen to build 

on in 2011 

Inter MCCU 20/20 

On the opening day of the inter 

20/20 tournament held at 

Loughborough, Cambridge put in 

2 exceptional performances versus 

Bradford/Leeds and Exeter to 

record good wins.This put the 

team through to the semi-finals on 

the next day against a very strong 

Durham 2XI. However Durham’s 

superior quality showed and the 

easily overcame Cambridge and 

eventually won the competition. In 

the last 2 seasons Cambridge have 

performed very well in this 

tournament and beaten 4 

university sides only losing to 

Derbyshire and Durham 2XI’s 

Overall 

There was a heavy work load on 

our 3 main seamers,Turnbull (30 

wickets), Woolley (24 wickets) and 

Park (11 wickets), our spinners 

Lotay and Brown performed well 

but through a variety of reasons 

were not available often enough 

Varsity 2010 Match Report: 

The Varsity Match is truly the 

highlight of the sailing season – it 

is a celebration of a sport that we 

give our lives to over the course of 

for Cambridge to consistently 

compete in all competitions. Adam 

Wheater went on to be a regular 

member of Essex’s pro 40 side and 

did very well. Rob Woolley became 

a regular member of Lancashire 

2XI side and took several wickets. 

Turnbull and Park played almost 

every game for the MCCU 

combined side and became 

important players. Lotay, Gray, 

Woolley and Ansari also 

represented this side and gave 

good accounts of themselves. The 

3 female members of the squad 

enjoyed good seasons 

representing Cambridge MCCU in 

the BUCS competition and at 

Lords against Loughborough for 

the best of the rest. 

Beginning courses at the 

Cambridge Centre for the 2010/11 

period include Paul Best 

(Warwickshire and England U19 

capt) and Zafer Ansari (Surrey and 

England U19), both of whom will 

be studying at the University of 

Cambridge. A squad will be 

selected throughout October and 

be announced on October 30th 

before beginning the programme. 

the academic year (although 

thankfully, not our degrees, for the 

most part). Instead of rain, there is 

sun. Instead of flat calm, there is 

wind. Instead of bitter cold 

mornings in December, there is

warmth.The Varsity Match is the 

most civilised sailing event of the 

year. And 2010 has been no 

exception.This year saw us sailing 

RS Elites, a relatively new class, at 

the Royal Lymington Yacht Club 

on the south coast. 

The Friday saw some of the closest 

team racing in the mixed event in 

several years. Race 1 saw tight 

racing up to the windward mark, 

with Pete Bunch and Pete Dannatt 

of Cambridge holding their nerve 

at the top of the course to allow 

Greg Hall into 1st.The 1,2,3 that 

was produced quickly became 

1,2,6 on the run, but was 

successfully held to ensure first 

blood went to Cambridge. On the 

start line, Race 2 looked like 

another Cambridge 1,2 – but 

some excellent sailing from 

Oxford, forcing us out into the tide, 

saw the emergence of a 

Cambridge 1,4,5 as the run 

progressed. A close umpire call at 

the bottom mark saw it slip away 

from us, and the scores drew level 

at 1-1. 

Having swapped boats, we 

entered Race 3. In an inversion of 

race 1, Oxford gained an extremely 

close 1,2 down the run that they 

held, despite the valiant efforts of 

the two Petes – Bunch and 

Dannatt. 2-1 Oxford. Race 4 was to 

be the last race of the day, and it 

was a must-win for Cambridge to 

level the scores and keep up 

morale.The positions went to and 

fro throughout the race, with 

another call at the leeward mark 

forcing Cambridge into a losing 

combination. But thanks to the 

superb skill of Henry Maxfield, 

and the speed of Will Kalderon, 

Oxford were given turns just 

metres from the line, and 

Cambridge squeaked away with a 

1,4,5. Results for Day 1: 2-2. 

The evening saw a barbeque 

sponsored by Fullers brewery – 

which made the straight sets 

defeat of Andy Murray that bit 

easier to bear. Both teams were 

confident that the next morning 

would bring them the victory. 

Both teams drank plenty of beer. 

Day 2 brought with it an initial 

bought of rain – but in true Varsity 

style this soon disappeared and 

we were once again left with 

glorious sunshine. Both teams 

knew they had to win two races of 

three to take home the Challenge 

Cup. Cambridge left Oxford 

stunned at the start-line in Race 5 

– skilled delaying tactics by Pete 

Dannatt and Greg Hall allowed 

Pete Bunch to scream in on the 

starboard lay-line and leave 2 

Oxford boats behind in his wake. 

The windward saw the Cambridge 

take a 1,2,4 lead onto the run – a 

lead that was held, just, to the end. 

3-2 Cambridge. Oxford knew they 

faced an uphill struggle, and 

Cambridge, feeling more and 

more confident, lined up with the 

express aim of ending Oxford’s 2year 

retention of the trophy. 

Another superb start from 

Cambridge saw a 1,2 emerge, and 

this was held down the run – the 

efforts of Andrew Lewis saw off a 

last ditch challenge from Oxford to 

romp home to win the series 4-2! 

I have only to mention the 

otherwise unsung heroes of every 

sailing event – the other two 

crews Pete Wathen and Max Darke 

– and then offer my heartfelt 

thanks to all those above for 

rounding off what has been an 

exciting, challenging but 

ultimately successful year for 

Cambridge Sailing. 

Felix Danczak 

Captain 2009-10 

Club Activities and Results: 

Sailing: 

Varsity Match: Won 

BUSA place: 5th 

Sheffield Shuffle: 1st 

Oxford Top Gun: 3rd 

Oxford Magnum: 5th 

Warwick Turtle: 3rd 

Wessex Warmer: 8th 

Yachting: 

The yachting section has run a 

series of successful trips in their 

yacht Kestrel throughout the year. 

Windsurfing: 

Varsity match: Lost 

39

Sarah Crossman 

I began sailing competitively aged 8 years old and 

have progressed from club racing in toppers and 

lasers to sailing at open events and national 

championships in the RS800 and RS200 classes. I have 

also been a member of the Cambridge University 

Sailing Team; I sailed on the Ladies' team in 2007 and 

2008 and the 1st mixed team in 2009, have competed 

in three Varsity Matches and gained 3 Full Blues. In 

2010 my main focus will be sailing the RS800 on the 

UK racing circuit.The RS800 is a twin trapeze skiff boat 

sailed by two people, with competitive amateur racing 

around the UK as well as a Eurocup. It is a physically 

demanding boat to sail but a lot of fun as well, 

especially in wind and waves. My aim is consistent top 

3 results in the silver fleet at the circuit events that are 

held around the UK during the summer, and a top 15 

result overall at the national championships at the end 

of the summer.

Cycling Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cycling/ 

Varsity 

7th March, 2010 Mountain Biking 

at Crowthorne Wood, Surrey 

Result: Cambridge Win 

1st May, 2010 Road Race held on 

the H25/17R near Oxford 

Result: Oxford Win 

BUCS Review 

Having once again successfully 

defended its BUCS title, 

Cambridge University Cycling Club 

has continued to punch well 

above its weight.The club enters 

BUCS races of all disciplines, on 

and off road as well as competing 

at both regional and national 

races. Although mainly geared 

towards racing, the club strives to 

cater for all abilities and levels of 

experience. 

Cambridge University Cycling Club 

(CUCC) clinched the British 

Universities and Colleges Sports 

Championships (BUCS) for the 

third year running with their 

recent domination of the Track 

Cycling Championships. 

Llewellyn Kinch of Jesus cleaned 

up at the most recent BUCS 

competition winning the 4km 

individual pursuit gold medal, as 

well as gold in the points race and 

a further gold in the individual 

one kilometre time trial. He was 

backed up by James Hawkins, who 

was second fastest in the 

individual pursuit, and Toby 

Parnell, who took third spot in that 

same event as well as bronze in 

the sprint, going on to win overall 

team gold with Kinch. 

George Bate of Cambridge came 

in second behind Kinch in the 

points race to further bump up 

Cambridge’s BUCS points tally. 

Toby Weatherall was second in the 

sprint and fourth in the individual 

pursuit, giving Cambridge a one, 

two, three, four ahead of 

Birmingham’s fastest rider (who 

had a BUCS champion lycra 

skinsuit made up in anticipation of 

his victory). 

Weatherall and Hawkins took 

team silver to complete a very 

successful day of racing and 

secure Cambridge’s firm position 

at the top of the BUCS cycling table. 

Earlier in the year Andrew Nichols, 

Toby Weatherall and Wojciech 

Szlachta ensured CUCC’s BUCS 

campaign set off on the right 

pedal stroke by winning team 

silver in the Hill Climb, Nichols 

coming second overall. 

Nichols, Parnell and Mark Holt 

then earned Cambridge another 

team silver at the Cyclocross 

Championship in Lent term. 

Weatherall, Parnell and Dan 

Ahearn snuck to BUCS Gold in the 

Team Time Trial, raced over 50km 

in a time of just under one hour 

and eight minutes, beating 

Durham by three seconds. 

Tom Morris, Ahearn and Weatherall 

took team gold, destroying the 

competition in the 10 mile Time 

Trial in May term, with Morris 

coming second overall. 

Morris then won the Varsity match 

and BUCS Gold in the 25 mile Time 

Trial (averaging nearly 29 mph), 

with Ahearn and Hawkins helping 

Cambridge to a team silver. Good 

performances from, Hawkins,Tom 

Durno and Szlachta made the 

Light Blues’ presence felt in the 

BUCS Road Race earning a further 

BUCS team silver. 

Similarly, Parnell and Phil 

Buckham-Bonnet both came in 

the top 20 in the BUCS Mountain 

Biking to earn their Half-blues, held 

in Dumfries in a chilly Lent term, 

but also did not score any points. 

The Track Championships 

provided the ultimate triumph for 

Cambridge, sending the Light 

Blues above the rest of the 

country’s universities and 

retaining the championship 

in style. 

41

Fencing Club 

www.cufencing.org.uk/ 

The Cambridge University Fencing 

Club (CUFC) comprises nearly 200 

members, ranging in ability from 

absolute beginners to 

internationally ranked fencers.The 

Men’s and Women’s teams 

compete in the annual Varsity 

Match, as well as the BUCS 

leagues. Club members train and 

compete in each of the three 

weapon disciplines – Foil, Epee 

and Sabre. In recent years club 

members have competed in both 

the Olympic and the 

Commonwealth Games. 

Varsity Match 

Venue:The Exam Halls, Oxford 

Men’s 1sts: Defeat 

Women’s 1sts: Victory 

Men’s 2nds: Victory 

Women’s 2nds: Victory 

The 103rd Fencing Varsity Match 

was eagerly anticipated by both 

universities. As always, the 

matches were hotly contested, and 

legions of supporters from both 


sides cheered their respective 

teams on during the day. 

The day started with the Women's 

Firsts and Men's Seconds matches. 

This year had seen Cambridge's 

Women's Firsts meet Oxford's 

twice already, and with each team 

having won one match, both times 

with tight scores, the Varsity match 

was set to be close-fought.The 

match began with Epée.The Dark 

Blues were in the lead for the first 

few bouts, but Cambridge's strong 

team won the lead back, finishing 

45-37 up. Next was Sabre, in which 

the two teams were evenly 

matched.With great performances 

from everyone, Cambridge came 

out on top, beating Oxford 45-43. 

Going into Foil, the final weapon 

and Oxford's strongest, Cambridge 

had a ten-point margin over 

Oxford: a definite advantage, but 

not a decisive one.The team 

fenced well, and despite losing the 

Foil 42-38 (a consolation prize for 

Oxford), the Light Blues deserved 

the victory. 

The Men's Seconds team this year 

was particularly strong, and went 

into Varsity 2010 looking for a 

victory.The match started with 

epée. After some neat and 

comfortable fencing Cambridge 

won 45-34 with no significant 

hurdles. As this appeared to be 

Oxford's strongest weapon, the 

Light Blues were feeling 

comfortable going into the foil, 

despite some technical difficulties 

with the electric kit. All three 

foilists performed excellently, with 

a special mention for Richard 

Morris who scored 9-2, 5-0, and 5- 

1. Kudos also to Rich Booth, who 

scored a perfect 5-0 after being 

subbed on last-minute. Going into 

the sabre, Cambridge needed five 

points to win; these were scored 

comfortably by Matt Tointon who 

went on to achieve another 

excellent +10 indicator despite a 

last-minute push by Oxford. 

The afternoon saw the Men's Firsts 

and Women's Seconds match. 

Hopes were high in the Men's 

Blues match after beating Oxford 

twice in the league this season. 

Sabre was up first and was won by 

Cambridge, 45 - 43, after a great 

turn-around by Anthony Crutchett 

and Felix Wood in the final two 

bouts. In the foil, captain Zach 

Eaton-Rosen led from the front by 

winning all his bouts, including a 

6-0 demolition of the opposing 

captain. Solid back up from the 

other team members, despite a 

few hiccups, made the weapon 

Cambridge's, 45 -33.This left the 

Light Blues needing to be within 

14 points in the epee to win the 

match - on past performance a 

highly achievable target. However, 

the star of the show turned out to 

be from the Oxford team -international 

fencer Philippe 

Birget stealing the plaudits, and 

the match, with a sensational 

performance. Final score, 115-121 

Oxford Win. 

The Women's Seconds match 

commenced with Cambridge's 

strongest weapon, foil. Cambridge 

dominated from the start and this 

resulted in them thrashing Oxford 

45-22.This strong start left Oxford 

unsettled, and, with the 

Cambridge epee team at full 

strength, this weapon was also

convincingly won 45-29. At this 

stage the team only needed 6 hits 

to win the match.The match 

concluded with a good show from 

the sabreurs against a strong 

Oxford team, losing by only 36-45. 

Cambridge victory 126-96. 

Despite narrowly losing out in the 

Men’s Firsts, Cambridge won the 

day. Both teams anticipate an 

equally exciting set of matches 

next year, when Cambridge will 

host Oxford for Varsity 2011. 

Season Review 

2009-10 was an exciting season for 

Cambridge fencing.The Men’s 

Firsts, Seconds and Women’s Firsts 

teams all performed well in the 

BUCS league, taking them through 

to the Finals at the English 

Institute of Sport in Sheffield. 

The Women's Firsts drew 

Edinburgh in the semi-finals, a 

particularly strong team. Despite 

being without both an epéeist and 

a sabreur, Cambridge put up a 

Gliding Club 

www.cugc.org.uk/cms/ 

Cambridge University Gliding Club 

is part of Cambridge Gliding 

Centre offering both trial flights 

for those interested in trying 

gliding and providing training for 

those wishing to learn to fly 

themselves. Members can train 

whenever the airfield is open and 

we also run dedicated training 

good fight in all three weapons, 

winning the epée, but in the end 

lost overall 126-100. Although 

narrowly missing out on getting 

their Full Blues, the fact that 

Oxford lost too, and that 

Edinburgh went on to win the 

final, was some consolation for the 

Cambridge team. 

The Men's Seconds drew 

Loughborough in the semi-finals - 

another tough match for the Light 

Blues. Cambridge were missing 

several epéeists due to exam 

commitments, putting them on 

the back foot from the start. 

Despite some valiant efforts, 

especially from newcomer foilist 

Richard Morris, Loughborough 

managed to pull ahead in the 

epée and sabre, winning 132-126 

over-all. 

Having lost to Oxford by only a 

few points in the Varsity Match, 

The Men's Firsts team was keen to 

set the record straight against 

their old foes in their BUCS semi- 

weeks both at our home airfield, 

Gransden Lodge, and further 

afield.The varsity competition is a 

basic soaring competition but 

several of our members enjoy 

cross country flying both in 

competitions such as the Junior 

Nationals and in their free time to 

participate in the British Gliding 

Association Ladder. 

finals draw. Despite not being able 

to field sabreur Felix Wood or 

epéeist Matt Gasperetti as a result 

of academic commitments, 

Cambridge felt confident.Things 

started well in the sabre, with 

Anthony Crutchett beating his 

brother Alexander in the final 

fight.The epeeists held their 

ground, leaving the foilists with a 

slight lead. Despite a slow start in 

the foil, the Light Blues drove 

home their advantage, winning 

127-108 and advanced to face 

Imperial in the finals. 

Having recruited a number of 

strong fencers that year, Imperial 

were going to give Cambridge a 

real challenge. However the Light 

Blues, fired up by their victory over 

Oxford, started well in the foil, and 

managed to overcome Imperial's 

strong sabre team to put 

Cambridge in the lead. Going into 

the epée, Imperial struggled hard 

to close the gap, but to no avail. 

The Cambridge Men's Firsts won 

the BUCS final 127-117. 

Score Oxford 496, Cambridge 426 

The 2010 Varsity match was held 

during the Inter-University Gliding 

Task Week at Bicester airfield, the 

home of OUGC. 

Saturday was unsoarable so on 

Sunday 8th July a team of four 

pilots from each club rigged their 

gliders in anticipation of the good 

weather. Philippa Roberts, 

43

Cambridge Captain and Lukas 

Brandt, Oxford launched first to 

test the conditions, they were 

closely followed by Graham 

Spelman, Cambridge and Rory 

Barker, Oxford. Lukas and Philippa 

flew a very close match with only 

2 points between them; 

unfortunately for the Cambridge 

side Rory beat Graham by 72 

points.Tragically the weekend's 

flying was cut short by the death 

of Miss Amy Barsby in an accident. 

Amy, 25, a pilot from Trinity 

College Dublin contributed a lot to 

university gliding and we would 

like to take this opportunity to 

recognise that contribution. 

Before the season had even 

started Peter Buchlovsky 

completed a Basic Instructors 

course. Meanwhile Graham 

Spelman and Julia Rigby passed 

the theory part of their bronze 

badge.The season then started 

with a joint university expedition 

Photo: Philip Scott 


to Portmoak over Easter. During 

the summer we had many 

individual achievements with 

Simon Hay, Julia Rigby and 

Graham Spelman all going solo. 

As a club we finished 5th in the 

Inter-University Cross Country 

competition which is part of the 

Inter-University Task Week and 3rd 

in University Ladder which runs 

throughout the season. In the 

summer competitions we had 

2 current and 1 ex members flying 

in the Junior Nationals: Philippa 

Roberts finished 37th, Julia 

Robson 42nd and Philip Scott 

(alumni) 32nd. Philippa also 

finished 13th in the Bicester 

Regionals. In the individual 

ladders: Julia Robson ranked 35th 

in the Junior ladder and 446th 

overall, Kate Woods was 189th 

overall, Peter Buchlovsky 233rd 

overall and Philip Scott 13th in the 

Junior ladder and 207th overall.

Golf Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cugolfclub/ 

CUGC/CUGC/Welcome.html 

The Cambridge University Golf 

Club has a history reaching back 

over 120 years and caters to men 

and women of all levels of ability. 

The CUGC fields two mens’ 

teams – the Blues and the Stymies 

– and one ladies’ team to contest 

their respective Varsity Matches 

each year against Oxford. The 

Men’s Blues match, played each 

March, is the oldest amateur 

fixture in golf. 

2009-2010 Season Summary 

For much of the season, the focus 

was on building on the talents of 

the existing squad and turning 

golfing potential into successful 

results.The Michaelmas term 

began well, with draws against 

strong sides at Little Aston and 

Blackwell Golf Clubs. 

Unfortunately, the remainder of 

the term was less successful, with 

a number of narrow losses, but 

hopes were high for Lent, as the 

hard work in coaching sessions 

was starting to show itself in 

medal rounds and the last few 

matches of term. 

The Lent term was a constant 

battle against the elements, with 

five out of the sixteen fixtures 

cancelled due to snow and ice. 

However, the Blues and the 

Stymies were not put off, and hard 

work on the range paid dividends, 

with strong morning sessions at 

Rye and The Berkshire.Throughout 

the second half of the Lent term, 

the focus was solely on the Varsity 

Match, with intense coaching 

sessions and a series of good 

results, ending with a thumping 

win at West Hill Golf Club, leaving 

the spirits of the team high for the 

match at Porthcawl. 

Varsity Matches 

The Varsity golf matches are all 

played over the course of 5 days at 

nearby venues. The Ladies’ match 

is customarily played on the 

Tuesday, followed by the Stymies 

(mens’ second team) on the 

Wednesday, and the Dinner 

Match (Blues alternates) on the 

Thursday. Each of these matches 

consists of 18-hole foursomes 

matches in the morning and 

18-hole singles matches in 

the afternoon. 

The week culminates in the twoday 

University Golf Match 

between the Blues sides, which is 

played on Friday, with 5 36-hole 

foursomes matches, and Saturday, 

with 10 36-hole singles matches. 

The 2010 University Golf Match, 

together with the Dinner Match 

and the Ladies’ match was hosted 

at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in 

Porthcawl, Wales. The Stymies’ 

match was played at Pennard 

Golf Club, about 30 minutes north 

of Porthcawl. 

Cambridge Women 5.5-3.5 

Oxford Women 

On the back of a strong season, 

expectations for the Cambridge 

Ladies were high at Royal 

Porthcawl and, as the first match 

of the week, a win would set the 

tone for the matches to follow 

later in the week. The Ladies 

obliged, winning a hard-fought 

contest the came down to the last 

match on the course. 

In the morning foursomes, the 

Cambridge top pair of Louisa Tarn 

and Michaela Bacon winning the 

top match comfortably, and Olivia 

McBride and Katie Taylor doing 

likewise in the bottom game. 

Oxford’s top pair were played out 

second and defeated former 

Cambridge captain Leanne Mullen 

and Hilary Crowe. 

Oxford again juggled their order in 

the afternoon singles order, 

meaning that although captain 

Louisa Tarn claimed her match by 

a commanding 9&8 margin, there 

was hard work to be done by 

those further down the 

Cambridge order. Crowe and 

Mullen both had tough matches 

and lost despite some good golf. 

That left the match tied with three 

games on the course, and 

Cambridge needing to secure at 

least two points to earn the 

victory, as Cambridge reserve 

Lucy Akrill lost a heartbreaking 

game down the last in reserve 

match, which would serve as 

the tie-breaker. 

The bottom of the Cambridge 

order responded. McBride, four 

down at one stage in her match, 

staged a brave comeback, winning 

the last three holes for a wellearned, 

and vital, half against her 

strong Oxford opponent. In the 

fifth game, Katie Taylor hung onto 

her lead down the last to earn an 

equally vital full point for 

Cambridge. That left Michaela 

Bacon on the course needing at 

least a half to see Cambridge 

retain the title they had held for 

three years. A brave five on the 

tricky 16th hole set up a dramatic 

45

par down the long 17th. Although 

she would go on to capture the 

full point, that par assured Bacon, 

and Cambridge, the half point 

needed to win the Ladies’ match 

for the fourth consecutive year. 

The final score was 5.5 - 3.5 and 

the week began with some light 

blue on the board. 

Cambridge 2nd Team (Stymies) 

9-6 Oxford 2nd Team 

The Stymies, having had one of 

the strongest seasons in recent 

memory, arrived at Pennard with a 

quiet confidence that they would 

be able to reverse the defeats 

suffered the past two years at 

Formby and Royal Cinque Ports. 

In a morning foursomes round 

marred by a fog heavy enough 

that the Stymies’ iridescent orange 

cords actually became beacons in 

the fairways, the team managed a 

tricky Pennard layout well, but 

nonetheless found themselves 

trailing 3-2 heading into lunch. 

However, with the fog lifting, the 

team came out storming in the 

afternoon singles. Captain Harvey 

Bradley led from the front, 

jumping out to an early lead 

which he would not relinquish. In 

a round featuring good ball 

striking and solid putting, Bradley 

claimed the top game by a 6&5 

margin. Bennison, Gregson and 

Burton all followed his lead by 

notching up comfortable victories 

to see the Stymies vault ahead of a 

shaken Divots team. However, a 

pair of heavy defeats for the 

middle part of the Stymies 

order tightened the match 

considerably, with the Stymies 

needing at least two points from 

the four matches remaining. 

In the event, the remaining 

Stymies on the course - Michael 

Milstein,Tim Bray,Tim Cannings 

and Geoff Wilmot - all secured 


vital points. Tim Bray made a good 

par on the treacherous par-5 16th 

en route to his 3&2 win, but the 

other three matches all went 

down the 18th and, in each case, 

the Stymies won the hole under 

the mounting pressure. Milstein’s 

win, including an up-and-down 

from a gorse bush, secured his full 

point, while both Wilmot and 

Cannings won the hole to earn a 

half point each, in the latter’s case, 

with a gutsy 8-footer made 

thinking the match remained in 

the balance. 

The final score was 9-6 to the 

Stymies, and the victory was rightly 

celebrated well into the night! 

Cambridge Blues 6-9 Oxford 

Blues 

The Blues arrived at Royal 

Porthcawl in March 2010 to a 

warm welcome from the club and 

to a course in tremendous 

condition. The greens rolled well, 

and the course was playing hard, 

fast and fair. The team also arrived 

as underdogs against a muchfancied 

Oxford side coming off a 

season that saw them capture no 

less than 16 wins from 22 matches. 

However, a season of careful 

preparation saw the Light Blues 

undaunted when the 121st 

University Golf Match began in fair 

conditions on Friday morning. 

The top two Oxford pairs got off to 

quick starts, though Cambridge’s 

top pair of David Duncan and 

Charlie Dewhurst battled back to 

remain in touch at lunch. Good 

play further down the Cambridge 

order saw former captain Benoit 

Ramsay and Ruaraidh Stewart 

holding a narrow lead over Oxford 

Captain Oliver Stephen and 

Claudio Consul in the third game, 

while Andrew Dinsmore and Peter 

Selvay had taken control of the 

fourth game, taking a 5-up lead 

into the break. In the last game, 

captain John Valley and fresher 

Alex Silver battled against a gritty 

Oxford pair, but played well 

coming home to claim a one-up 

lead at the interval. 

Conditions deteriorated quickly in 

the afternoon, with a heavy rain 

settling over the golf course and 

taking some of the pace off of 

greens that had been running at 

11.8 on the stimpmeter earlier in 

the day. Solid play from newlyminted 

Blues Duncan and 

Dewhurst was not enough to close 

the morning’s deficit in the top 

game, and Whittington and Said 

lost in the second game. The 

bright Cambridge start seemed 

very much in jeopardy when 

Consul and Stephen stormed back 

in the afternoon edge a narrow 

win against determined play by 

Ramsay and Stewart. However, 

Dinsmore and Selvay claimed the 

fourth game comfortably, leaving 

Valley and Silver to keep 

Cambridge in touch heading into 

Saturday’s singles. With Valley 

having holed critical putts to halve 

the 11th and 14th holes to 

maintain the Cambridge 

advantage, Silver hit a solid second 

into the long par-4 15th and made 

clutch putts both there and on 16 

to close out the match. With only 

a single point separating the sides 

after the first day’s play, there was 

all to play for on day two. 

Saturday’s singles started as Friday 

had ended: with players and 

spectators alike lashed by heavy 

rain and wind. Through most of 

the day, there was little separating 

the sides and the result remained 

very much in doubt until late in 

the afternoon. In the captains‘ 

game, Valley’s short game had 

been the difference most of the 

day until a run of good fortune, 

exemplified by a 60 foot putt 

holed at speed on the 13th, shone 

on Oxford and swung that match

in the Dark Blues’ favour by an 

agonizingly close 2&1 margin. The 

next four matches were split 

evenly between the sides, with the 

victories claimed by veterans 

Ramsay and Whittington leaving 

the match poised on a razor’s 

edge. In the sixth match, Andrew 

Dinsmore ran out of holes as he 

fought back well from a 4-down 

deficit at lunch, and David 

Duncan’s four birdies early in his 

afternoon round saw him gain 

little ground in the face of solid 

golf by Oxford perennial Ben 

Twiney. Alex Silver, playing in the 

last match, also lost a closelyfought 

contest, meaning that even 

the comfortable wins by Stewart 

and Dewhurst in the eighth and 

ninth games, respectively, were 

not enough to turn the tables for 

the Light Blues. 

Olympic Gymnastics Club 

www.societies.cam.ac.uk/ 

gymclub/ 

The Gymnastics Club is a friendly, 

social club that caters for 

gymnasts at all levels, from 

beginners to international 

competitors.The club continues to 

grow year upon year, and currently 

has a larger membership than ever 

before.We train up to five times a 

week, both at Fenner’s gym in 

Cambridge and Marriott’s gym in 

Stevenage. 

21st February, 2010 

Huntingdon Olympic 

Gymnastics Club 

Men: Cambridge 339.00 – 

321.20 Oxford 

Women: Cambridge 192.60 – 

207.90 Oxford 

Women B Team: Cambridge 

100.50 – 98.00 

Throughout recent years the level 

of gymnastics displayed at the 

annual varsity match has been 

rising steadily; the 2010 Varsity 

match was no exception. After 

months of focussed and exhausting 

training,the 21st of February was 

the day to travel to the Olympic 

Gymnastics Club in Huntingdon and 

to battle it out with the equally wellprepared 

Oxford teams. 

After the loss of former Captain 

and national athlete Alex Hedges, 

as well as another of the 2009 

competitors, Jeff Wheeler, the 

men’s team was reinforced by two 

new members - Richard Mochrie, 

another national athlete, and Tom 

Bachmann. In addition, Mike 

Andrew, Seb Barfoot, Edgar Engel 

and Steven Methven made reappearances.The 

Oxford team was 

stronger than ever, with the return 

of Matthew Bullimore, a former GB 

gymnast, and Simon Haenni, a 

former Swiss national champion, 

both of whom produced some 

spectacular routines. However, 

Cambridge fresher Richard 

Mochrie wowed the crowds with 

When the scores were tallied, the 

final result was a 9-6 win for 

Oxford. However, the standard of 

the golf was uniformly high 

throughout the week. Indeed, it 

was a relieved Oxford side - having 

been so heavily favoured, and 

having won by such a narrow 

margin - that headed into the 

clubhouse to celebrate on 

Saturday evening. 

some stunning displays, and was 

the only gymnast to finish in the 

top three in all disciplines. 

Cambridge were stronger all 

round, and the result of their 

effort: another victory, a new 

Varsity team record of 339.00 

points, three individual scores 

worth Full Blues - Richard Mochrie 

(overall winner in the individuals 

category): 92.40 points, Edgar 

Engel: 85.10 points,Tom Bachmann: 

80.4 points, and another three 

worth Half Blues - Seb Barfoot: 

41.70 points, Steven Methven: 

39.50 points, Mike Andrew: 38.30 

points.The Oxford team, despite 

beating their previous year’s 

winning score, had to accept 

defeat with 321.20 points. 

The men’s B team, captained by 

Jolyon Winter, had prepared 

thoroughly for the event, and were 

extremely disappointed to turn up 

and find that Oxford had failed to 

put together a team, and there was 

thus no opportunity to perform. 

47

On the women’s side, the 

Cambridge team put in some 

excellent performances, with 

Christie Lowe and Kate Bramall 

taking second place on the floor 

and vault respectively, and 

Stephanie Bailey finishing third on 

the floor. Sadly the Oxford team 

Hare and Hounds 

www.cuhh.org.uk/ 

The Hare & Hounds is the 

University’s running club, and one 

of the oldest running clubs in 

Britain.We cater for athletes of all 


were stronger overall, taking first 

place in every event to win by 

207.90 to 192.60. 

The women’s B team fared much 

better though, with Sophie 

Durham, Jenny Murdoch and 

Nicole Bryan-Quamina taking top 

abilities and give any member of 

the University the chance to 

compete against Oxford. Places in 

the Varsity Matches are fiercely 

contested, but no one misses out: 

our men’s fourth team and 

three positions in various 

disciplines. In particular Sophie 

Durham finished first on the vault 

and the balance beam, and second 

on the floor, to take top spot in the 

individual event. Jenny Murdoch 

finished in third place individually. 

Overall, the Cambridge team won 

by 100.50 to Oxford’s 98.00. 

Cambridge even fielded a C team, 

albeit an uncontested one, with 

newcomer Laura Vale giving an 

excellent performance in her 

floor routine. 

All the gymnasts can be very 

proud of this year’s results, and 

another year of intensive training 

will hopefully ensure a clean 

sweep of victories for Cambridge 

in the 2011 event. 


Former men’s captain Alex Hedges 

qualified for the 2010 Delhi 

Commonwealth games, and after 

graduating last year went into 

intensive training for the 

competition. Competing for the Isle 

of Man team,he made it through to 

the individual final,qualifying in 

22nd place.Alex went on to finish 

19th overall,an excellent result. 

women’s third team are unlimited 

in size.This means that the Cross- 

Country Varsity Matches typically 

feature over 150 runners in total. 

In Lent Term, we participate in 

BUCS, while in April many of our

members compete in the London 

Marathon, which doubles as the 

Varsity Marathon against Oxford. 

The club also organises road 

running events, including the 

Boundary Run, a marathon race 

around the perimeter of 

Cambridge.The club prides itself 

on its diverse membership and 

active social scene and indeed 

includes many social runners as 

well as highly competitive 

athletes. 

Varsity Match 

5th December 2009 

Wimbledon Common 

Women: Oxford win 17-21 

Men: Oxford win 28-52 

The 34th ladies’ race began with 

Cambridge having very realistic 

hopes of registering their first win 

since 2006. In the early stages, it 

looked as if these hopes would be 

fulfilled with Amanda Scott and 

Naomi Taschimowitz taking the 

lead, splashing through the 

stream, with the main body of the 

Light Blue team packed in the 

middle order. 

However, as the course flattened 

out towards the half-way point, it 

was the Dark Blues who started to 

emerge ominously with Michelle 

Sikes, last year’s winner, moving 

into second and solid support 

forming behind her. The Oxford 

girls picked off the Cambridge 

runners and crucially relegated 

our fourth scorer to 10th. With 

Oxford holding a narrow 

advantage as the runners hit the 

heavy mud of the butts, the result 

was still in doubt. However, the 

Dark Blues’ strong team work 

meant that they were able to hold 

their positions and secure a 17 

points to 21 victory. However, Light 

Blue pride was still emanating 

thanks to Taschimowitz’s stunning 

individual victory and Scott’s 

3rd place. 

Buoyed by their ladies’ 

performance, the youthful, but 

talented, Oxford gentlemen’s team 

produced an outstanding 

performance to take the honours 

in the 119th race of their series. 

From the off, it was last year’s first 

two, Richard Franzese and David 

Bruce, once again making the 

running over the wet 7 1 /2 mile 

course,accompanied by team-mate, 

Andrew Heyes, and experienced 

Light Blue, James Kelly. Behind 

them, and emulating their ladies’ 

team, Oxford were backed-up by a 

good supporting pack. 

By just after half-way, Oxford were 

looking extremely strong and it 

appeared that only misfortune 

could deny them. However, it was 

to be their day and with Andrew 

Heyes pulling away from Kelly in 

the closing stages, they were able 

to secure a 1-2-3 and a 28 points 

to 52 victory.The individual 

honours were taken by David 

Bruce in a very fine time of 38:02. 

Varsity IInds-IVths Matches 

28th November 2009 

Shotover Hill, Oxford 

Men’s Seconds: Oxford win 

31-54 

Men’s Thirds: Oxford win 

31-48 

Men’s Fourths: Cambridge 

win 359-477 

Women’s Seconds: Oxford win 

15-23 

Women’s Thirds: Cambridge 

win 213-248 

The fearsome slopes of Shotover 

Hill served as the battleground for 

over 50 Cambridge athletes to 

take on their Dark Blue 

counterparts.The Women's IInds 

were first to get underway but the 

race result was sadly decided by a 

poorly marked course as fell as 

race leader Polly Keen of 

Cambridge strayed off route, 

dropping ten places as a result. In 

spite of this misfortune, the Light 

Blues did gain a medallist in the 

form of Lowri Richards who ran a 

brilliantly executed race to take 

2nd place overall. The Cambridge 

Women’s Captain, Emma Figures, 

also had a very determined race to 

finish 4th. However, the marking 

errors proved decisive for the 

Light Blues as Oxford took the 

team victory. 

The Men's Second and Thirds 

teams, despite medals for Alex 

Young and Ben Davis (2nd and 3rd, 

Men’s Seconds) and Rowan 

Brackston (3rd, Men’s Thirds), were 

unfortunately outdone by some 

remarkably strong Oxford 

performances Nevertheless, 

commanding victories in the mob 

matches restored Light Blue pride 

as Grace Geilinger and Rachel 

Kitchen in first and second 

impressively led the Women's IIIrd 

Team home to victory. Similarly, 

inspired were the Men’s Fourths 

who not only outnumbered but 

also out-muscled their Dark Blue 

opponents. An emphatic win by 

former-Blues runner Tim Pattison 

set the trend for a number of great 

performances despite the fact that 

(yet again) the routes taken by the 

competitors varied quite 

significantly. 

The Varsity Marathon 

25th April 2010 

London (Blackheath to The Mall) 

Cambridge win 4366-5800 

While Oxford had come out on top 

through the mud, it was a Light 

Blue day in the London Marathon. 

Cambridge have not lost this 

event since its foundation and 

carried on that record despite the 

strongest Dark Blue challenge in 

years. An unbelievably gutsy run 

from James Kelly, running with a 

stress fracture to the fibula, saw 

him take the men’s BUCS bronze 

49

medal, while Amanda Scott 

claimed the women’s BUCS silver 

medal. Cambridge had over 20 

finishers, many of whom had 

raised thousands of pounds for 

various fantastic causes. 


Following on from her Varsity 

victory, Naomi Taschimowitz 

achieved a superb 4th place in the 

under-20 National Cross Country 

Championships, which earned her 

Ice Hockey Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuihc/ 

Ice hockey at Cambridge has a 

tradition that stretches as far back 

as 1885 when the first Varsity 


a call-up for England in the Home 

Countries International. Following 

strong showings in the early part 

of the cross-country season Robin 

Brown and Aidan McGowan were 

also selected for Northern Ireland. 

The club has recently set up a 

fundraising and donations 

scheme, information about which 

can be found on our website.We 

also seek to raise funds by 

organising the Boundary Run each 

Match was played at St. Moritz in 

Switzerland.The annual 

Cambridge-Oxford match has now 

been recognised by the Hockey 

Hall of Fame as the oldest ongoing 

March.This event is supported by 

Sweatshop, the David Lloyd 

Centre,The Cambridge 

Preservation Society and KPMG 

but its organisation relies entirely 

on the efforts of over forty 

members of the club. 

The new captains for the 2010- 

2011 season are Matt Grant 

(Queens’) and Lowri Richards 

(Robinson). Feel free to contact us 

with any questions. 

hockey rivalry in the world. 

In addition to participating in the 

Varsity Match, the Blues also play 

at the top level of University 

competition, competing in 

Division 1 South of the BUIHA and 

participating in Tier 1 of the 

University National 

Championships.The team trains 

weekly and also travels to 

Switzerland for a week long 

training camp on an outdoor ice 

rink surrounded by the Alps. 

Players of all skill levels are 

welcomed into the club.The only 

requirement is a very high 

motivation for the fastest game on 

earth, ice hockey. 

Saturday February 27, Oxford 

Cambridge 6 – 7 Oxford (OT) 

The ice hockey Varsity Match was 

held Saturday February 27 at 

Oxford Ice Rink. More than 500 

supporters packed the arena to 

see the match, which marked the 

125th anniversary of the 

foundation of both clubs.

The atmosphere was electric, 

expectations were high, and what 

followed was surely one of the 

most dramatic Varsity Matches in 

any sport in recent memory. 

Oxford was first on the score sheet 

with a goal three minutes into 

play, but Cambridge replied 

immediately with a goal from 

centre Dan Tavana.Tavana’s pace 

and determination were simply 

too much for the Oxford 

defenders to handle and ten 

minutes later Tavana had notched 

his second tally to give Cambridge 

a 2-1 lead.The Cambridge 

defensive pairing of Luc St-Pierre 

and David Waterman were 

effective in shutting down 

Oxford’s top line for the remainder 

of the period, and Waterman set 

the tone with a thundering body 

check that sent an Oxford attacker 

to the locker room for repairs. 

At the beginning of the second 

period, Cambridge took two 

penalties and Oxford was able to 

Judo Club 

www.judo.soc.ucam.org/ 

One of the country's oldest judo 

establishments, Cambridge 

University Judo Club hones the 

talents of experienced judoka who 

join the university, and annually 

invites beginners to learn the art. 

The club is also open to nonstudent 

residents of Cambridge, 

running classes both in and out of 

capitalise on the powerplay, tying 

the game at two. But less than a 

minute later, Cambridge regained 

their one goal lead when Dan 

Tavana scored his third of the 

game.The teams exchanged 

tallies before Oxford tied it at 4-4 

with only a minute remaining in 

the period. 

After having led most of the game, 

Cambridge fell behind early in the 

third and final period when Oxford 

scored on a rapid counter attack. 

Fast and furious hockey ensued as 

Cambridge pushed for the tying 

goal and netminder Carl Mazurek 

stood tall to keep the Light Blues 

within one.With five minutes 

remaining, Cambridge forward 

Tom Whillier beat the Oxford 

goalie with a hard wrist shot to tie 

the game and bring Cambridge’s 

travelling supporters roaring to 

their feet.The ‘Cambridge’ chants 

were still filling the rink a minute 

later when Peter Morelli took a 

perfect pass from Adrian Fielding 

and scored to regain Cambridge’s 

term time. CUJC fights annually 

in the Varsity match against 

Oxford, enters national 

university competitions such 

as BUCS, and sends players to 

fight in other local and national 

competitions. CUJC is friendly 

and very welcoming to new 

members, and regularly goes on 

trips abroad. 

lead at 6-5. In the dying minutes 

Oxford applied continuous 

pressure to the Cambridge 

defence. In a desperate attempt to 

tie the game Oxford pulled their 

goalie in favour of an extra skater. 

Their strategy paid off as a mad 

scramble in front of the 

Cambridge net resulted in an 

Oxford goal with only 30 seconds 

left to play.The game finished 

even at 6-6 and after a short break 

the teams retook the ice for a fiveminute 

sudden-death overtime. 

Carrying the momentum from 

their late-game heroics, Oxford 

pressed offensively in the 

overtime period. After two 

minutes of extra time the title 

slipped through Cambridge’s 

hands when Oxford scored quickly 

after a faceoff. It was a remarkably 

strong effort from Cambridge, but 

unfortunately the final result went 

in favour of Oxford. Captain Luc St- 

Pierre was named as Cambridge’s 

man-of-the-match for his 

consistent defensive presence. 

A Varsity Match Report 

The 80th Judo Varsity match took 

place on 27th February in the 

fantastic setting of Oxford’s town 

hall.The atmosphere was intense 

as always, and there was an 

excellent display of judo from 

both sides. 

The first match was between the 

city teams. First up for Cambridge 

51

was former CUJC president 

Archibald Reid, who won by ippon 

with a pin.This was followed by 

wins for Akim Lassissi (ARU), 

Norbert Grof, Matt Maddison, 

Douglas Heller (CU alumnus) and 

Nicolas Antolinos (ARU). Kevin 

Field and Megan Sorensen fought 

well but lost to tough opponents. 

This gave Cambridge a convincing 

start to the day with a 6-2 victory. 

The men’s 2nd teams squared off 

next.Torben Schuettfort (King's) 

and Peter Mann (St Edmund's) put 

in good performances but both 

were overcome by their 

opponents. John Aldis (Fitz), who 

started judo last October, stepped 

up next and produced an 

outstanding ippon.This was 

followed by an arm-bar from the 

team captain,Tobias Schmidutz, to 

level the match at two wins each. 

After a promising start, James 

Coghill (Pembroke) was held 

down by his opponent. Next up 

was ground-specialist Silas Davis 

(Jesus), who eventually won with a 


pin.This left the match at 3-3. 

Despite improving tremendously 

this year, Robert Blackburn 

(Emma) was thrown for ippon. Max 

Wood (Queens') then started well 

scoring a yuko but was eventually 

pinned giving Oxford a 5-3 victory. 

Following last year’s Varsity thriller 

with a narrow defeat in Golden 

Score after an initial draw, the 

Cambridge team was keen to 

finally regain the women’s judo 

trophy. Marianne Butler 

(Pembroke) was the first out but 

was overpowered by her blackbelt 

opponent. Anna Baxter 

(Robinson) then evened out the 

score for Cambridge, winning by 

hold-down. Cambridge captain 

Lisa Kleiminger (Fitz) was next on 

the mat, but was caught by 

Oxford’s captain with a throw early 

on in her fight. President Catharina 

Casper (Corpus) put up a good 

fight against the strongest Oxford 

player but eventually ended up in 

a hold down leading to an early 

overall win for Oxford.With 

nothing to lose Jessica Alsiö 

(Clare) performed well against a 

higher grade opponent before 

being overpowered in the second 

half of the fight. Oxford therefore 

claimed the Women’s Judo trophy, 

now for the 8th consecutive time. 

The final match was between the 

men’s 1st teams. Last year the 

match was decided by a nail biting 

tie break and this year it was 

expected to be close again. 

Fighting first was Mason Edwards 

(Catz) who picked up his +100kg 

opponent with a huge ura-nage to 

score waza-ari before being 

thrown for ippon.The 2nd fight 

was between two former club 

presidents, Gary Chandler (Emma) 

for Cambridge and Ifor Capel for 

Oxford. After putting up a good 

fight Gary was eventually thrown 

for ippon. Cambridge captain 

Kane Chandler (Darwin) then 

came on needing a win against 

Oxford captain Justin Gregory, and 

delivered for the team with a 

smashing ippon. Robin Irvine 

(Corpus) showed tremendous 

courage against a more 

experienced Oxford opponent, 

losing by ippon. Philipp 

Oberhumer (Queens’) fought 

Andrew Stewart, and after initially 

conceding a throw, arm-locked his 

opponent for victory. James 

Maheswaran (Queens’) then 

fought a close fight and near the 

end of the bout pulled off a 

strangle to claim the win. Jorg 

Klein (Downing) made a 

promising but start lost his fight. 

With the score 4-3 to Oxford, 

Cambridge’s Xiong Chang (Trinity) 

caught his opponent with a 

beautiful ko-soto-gari to even the 

scores. As all fights had been won 

by ippon it was decided to draw 

three pairs out of a hat to fight 

again and decide the match. 

Mason, Gary and James were 

picked and although they gave 

their all, Oxford emerged 

triumphant and took home the 

Judo Challenge Cup. 

Despite winning only one of the 

four matches, all of the Cambridge 

team fought incredibly well and 

should be pleased with their 

performance.There is no shame in 

losing to a strong, dedicated 

opponent and Oxford is exactly that. 

1st London Universities Senior 

Invitation Championships 

On Saturday 28th November 

members of CUJC headed down 

to London to take part in the 1st 

London Universities Senior 

Invitation Championships.The 

competition was well attended 

and of a high standard, with teams 

from across the entire UK including 

Bath and Oxford Universities. 

Jessica Alsiö and Robert Blackburn 

took silver medals in their Kyu 

grade categories, and Lisa

Kleiminger fought for the first time 

in the 1st Kyu/Dan-grade category, 

getting through to the semi-finals 

and taking bronze.Tobias 

Schmidutz fought three matches, 

narrowly missing out on a medal. 

CUJC black-belts Philipp 

Oberhumer and Kane Chandler 

were fighting in the same weight 

category. Both passed through to 

the final with flying colours, with 

Kane even fighting his semi-final 

match twice. His opponent had 

refused to accept the referee's 

decision that he had been beaten in 

the first match, so Kane agreed to a 

rematch, the result of which 

promptly settled the dispute in 

Kane's favour.The following all- 

Cambridge final was bound to be 

interesting as both players knew 

the other’s strengths and 

weaknesses. A few seconds before 

the end Philip managed to secure a 

hold-down, winning the match and 

leaving Kane with a well deserved 

silver medal. Despite entering only 

six players, Cambridge University 

came 3rd in the overall rankings. 

Littleport 

The following day, four members of 

the club competed at the Littleport 

Open 3star Senior Competition. 

Alex Farnsworth won gold in the 

U100kg kyu-grade category. Dave 

Saxton won his first fight but lost 

his next two, narrowly losing in the 

fight for bronze. Peter Mann fought 

in his first contest and had some 

tough fights in the U90kg kyugrade 

group, and Kane Chandler 

won Bronze in the U81kg dangrade 

category. 

BUCS 

This year’s Judo BUCS were held 

on the 13th and 14th of March in 

Sheffield. Due to injuries earlier 

on this year only six players were 

fit to enter: Jessica Alsiö, Anna 

Baxter, Catharina Casper, Lisa 

Kleiminger,Tobias Schmidutz and 

Kane Chandler. 

Jessica fought first, winning all 

four of her fights in the U52 kyugrade 

category, taking gold, and 

demonstrating her impressive 

ground-work skills. Next on were 

Catharina and Lisa both fighting in 

the U57– 1st kyu/dan-grade 

division. Lisa missed out on the 

quarter-finals but Catharina got 

through to a quarter-final against 

Oxford's Rebecca Bayliss, losing on 

penalty points after the regular 

fighting time was over. Catharina 

qualified for the repechage and 

managed to secure a bronze 

medal. Anna (U78-1st kyu/dan 

grades) lost her first match against 

an England squad player. In the 

following contest Anna threw her 

opponent for ippon with an uchimata 

in extra-time, securing the 

silver medal.Tobias (U73–1st 

kyu/dan grades) won three of his 

five group stage matches but 

unfortunately had to pull out halfway 

through his first fight in the 

next round due to a knee-injury 

from an earlier fight. Kane Chandler 

(U81-1st kyu/dan grades) threw his 

first opponent twice for waza-ari, 

winning this match, and beat his 

next opponent with a strangle. His 

final pool match was against worldcup 

finalist Tom Reed (Bath 

University) and despite putting up 

a good fight Kane was eventually 

thrown for ippon. In the round of 

16 he lost narrowly lost to the 

bronze medallist by a throw. 

The next day the Cambridge 

women’s team consisting of Anna, 

Catharina and Lisa were pooled 

together with Bath, Oxford and 

Imperial College.They won their 

first match 2.5 – 0.5 against 

Imperial, but after losses to strong 

Oxford and Bath teams, 

Cambridge came third in the pool, 

missing out on the quarter-finals. 

Kane entered the regional 

competition in the Eastern Area 

Universities team. Kane won all 

three of his fights, beating the 

opponent who knocked him out 

of the contest the day before, but 

unfortunately his team mates did 

not match his excellent 

performances and failed to get 

through to the next round. 

Coaches 

Thanks to Alec Edwards and his 

coaching team, including Nick 

Palmer, Chris Swainson and Gary 

Chandler, for the training they 

have given throughout the year, 

and the help they have given in 

preparation for the year's 

competitions.With their support 

we hope to build on our success 

into 2011. 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 

This year, CUJC ran classes in 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Gracie 

Barra black-belt Alex Machado. 

A sport and fighting style closely 

related to judo, this training has 

really helped CUJC members 

improve their ground-work skills. 

Members of the club have also 

competed in BJJ competitions. 

Kane Chandler won bronze in the 

purple belt division at the Gracie 

Invitational, a good result, 

especially since he had competed 

in the London International Judo 

Open the day before and placed 

5th.The following month he 

competed in Lisbon at the Iberian 

Open and won his class. 

Helsinki 

CUJC takes part in a yearly 

exchange with Helsinki and 

Marburg judo clubs, and in 

September 2010 it was Helsinki’s 

turn to host. Many Cambridge 

members had never participated 

in an exchange before, and very 

few had been on the last visit to 

Helsinki, so it was a great new 

experience for everyone.The 

format for the week was that every 

day there was a couple of hours of 

hard judo training together, and a 

53

“cultural” activity.These activities 

ranged from orienteering around 

Helsinki by bicycle, through 

Finnish tango and Finnish 

baseball, to spending a night in a 

holiday cottage (complete with a 

Finnish sauna) on the shore of the 

freezing Lake Tuusulanjrvi. Each 

evening was spent socialising with 

our German and Finnish friends, 

and putting our new tango skills 

to the test. It was an absolutely 

fantastic trip; it’s always good to 

train hard with new people and 

learn new judo techniques, and 

everyone’s friendliness and 

enthusiasm made the hours off 

Karate Club 

www.cukc.org/ 

Cambridge University Karate Club 

(CUKC) was formed back in 1976, 

and over the years the club has 

evolved and grown into one of the 

largest and most successful 

university karate clubs in the UK. 

We are fortunate to count Sensei 

Richard Poole (6th Dan Black Belt) 

as our Chief Instructor, under 

whose guidance CUKC has 

developed a long and 

distinguished record at regional, 

national and international 

competitions.The club is always 

keen to welcome new people to 

compete for CUKC, and the squad 

typically contains members from 

a wide variety of styles, training 

backgrounds, and levels of 

experience ranging from people 

who have only been doing 


the mat fly by.The only thing we 

could have wished for was more 

time to sleep! Next June 

Cambridge is hosting the 

exchange, and we’ll have to work 

very hard to make sure it is as 

good as this last one. 

Looking forward to 2010/11 

University judo is getting bigger 

every year and this year the club 

will be competing at four 

university competitions.The first is 

the London Invitational taking 

place in November. After a good 

result last year we hope to do even 

better this time. Lent Term will be 

karate for 6 months right 

through to several members of 

national squads. 

Varsity Match 

21/02/09 at Iffley Road Sports 

Centre, Oxford 

Men's A: 94-34 

Men's B: 86 - 16 

Women's: 74 – 54 

For the fourth year in a row 

Cambridge brought back the 

Enoeda Cup. Cambridge 

comfortably defeated Oxford in 

every category. 

In the men’s A Kata, Roman Sztyler 

took 1st place for the Light Blues 

for the third year running, 

followed in 2nd by men’s captain 

Nim Sukumar. Paul Smith and 

very busy for CUJC with a new 

universities competition taking 

place in Warwick, followed by the 

University of Sheffield 

International Student Team 

competition.These will be good 

practice for the varsity match, in 

which we hope to turn last year’s 

result around with victory in 

Cambridge, and BUCS. 

CUJC will be going to Poland in 

January 2011 for a week of skiing 

and judo, and have invited club 

alumni and friends from Helsinki 

and Marburg. It is certain to be an 

exhausting but incredible week. 

Club President Jonty Fairless 

seized 4th and 5th respectively 

ensuring a dominating position on 

the score boards from the start. In 

the women’s event, Oxford took 

1st place, however the next three 

places were taken by Cambridge, 

with varsity veteran Madeleine 

Wood 2nd place, and precise and 

powerful performances from 

Mingwei Tan and Malgorzata 

Stanislawek resulting in a tied 

3rd place. 

In the sparring event, Kumite, 

Cambridge continued to build on 

its solid points base leaving little 

hope for Oxford. Men’s A opened 

with England international Paul 

Smith, who in an aggressive 

display dismantled his Oxford 

opponent. Next was current Men's 

Captain Nim Sukumar, taking an

early lead against his worthy 

Oxford foe, however the match ran 

until full time when the fight 

ended a draw.Thibault Flinois was 

straight out of the gate in third, 

displaying a great fearless attitude 

unfortunately after a sharp 

exchange his shoulder was 

dislocated. Next was Liam Gabb 

who secured a win with some 

fantastically timed head punches 

against a higher graded opponent. 

The men’s A event concluded with 

a textbook display from Richard 

Oriji, who took an early lead in his 

fight, and was awarded the fight 

when his opponent was unable 

to continue. 

In the women’s fighting junior 

England Squad’s Emma Nunn in 

her Varsity debut took the Oxford 

women’s captain out of the 

running. Next came a very well 

spirited display from Malgorzata 

Stanislawek, who left no room for 

her Oxford opponent behind a 

barrage of techniques that 

brought about a second win for 

the women. Madeleine Wood, a 

national squad member, also 

secured a win which left 

Stephanie McTighe to finish 

off.With some beautifully 

executed displays a 4-0 win for 

Korfball Club 

Cambridge University Korfball 

Club (CUKC) is an inclusive, relaxed 

yet enthusiastic club with no 

requirement for any previous 

experience of playing korfball.We 

are proud of our consistent 

the Light Blue women’s team 

was sealed. 

In the men’s B fighting, the strike 

of the tournament has to be given 

to Nikon Rasumov who delivered a 

forceful front kick that left his 

opponent winded and weary 

and secured the fight for 

Cambridge. Craig Woodhead 

followed up with some of his 

renowned kicking techniques 

taking a second win for 

Cambridge. Ahmed Al-Shabab 

made his debut also, and fought 

hard and fearlessly for a draw 

securing a quadruple win 

for Cambridge. 


Titles were won by members of 

CUKC at the following 

competitions and matches this 

year: 

BUCS Karate Championships 2010, 

KUGB Central Regions 

Championships 2010, 

KUGB Student National 

Championships 2009 

Karate England National 

Championships 2009 

CUKC vs KUGB Northern Regions 


KUGB Shotokan Cup 2009 

performances in BUCS, Varsity and 

local league matches and 

constantly strive to improve the 

quality of korfball that we play. 

KUGB Kyu Grades Championships 


CUKC for the first time was 

awarded the KUGB Central 

Regions Kumite Shield, an 

incredible triumph for the club. 

Madeleine Wood, Paul Smith and 

Emma Nunn were all reselected 

for the KUGB England Squad. 

Stephanie McTighe and 

Malgorzata Stanislawek won 

senior silver and bronze medals 

respectively at the BUCS 

championships. 

Varsity 

28th February 2010 at Iffley Road 

Sports Complex, Oxford 

Cambridge 1st 18 – 7 Oxford 1st 

Cambridge 2nd 6 – 6 Oxford 2nd 

55

Cambridge put in a fantastic 

performance and secured yet 

another resounding victory 

against Oxford this year, retaining 

the Varsity Trophy for the third 

year in a row. Oxford had 

produced some skillful plays, but 

the impressive display of korfball 

by Cambridge sealed a massive 

victory over their rivals. Not to be 

outdone, the second team 

concluded with a draw, the best 

that they have achieved in five 

years against a historically strong 

and experienced Oxford team. 

The game began tensely as both 

teams played a cautious defence 

with each team having their fair 

share of scoring opportunities. 

However, the difference in talent 

and experience began to show ten 

Lacrosse Club 

www.culacrosse.org/ 


Lacrosse Club was founded in 

1882, making it the oldest 

university lacrosse club in the 

country and one of the oldest 

clubs in the world.There continues 

to be a desire to maintain a high 

standard of lacrosse and the 

Varsity match result shows that 

Cambridge is still able to produce 

great lacrosse athletes.The 

Cambridge Blues play in the South 

England Men’s Lacrosse 

Association (SEMLA) while the 

development second team plays 

in the British Universities League 


minutes into the game as Nicholas 

Buttinger sunk a series of big longshots, 

further extending the gap 

between Cambridge and Oxford. 

With a comfortable lead, 

Cambridge played a confident 

passing game and began to 

loosen up in attack. Some 

exquisite shooting by Laura Soul 

at one end of the court, followed 

by the trademark rebound and 

assist of Joe Bakes for some good 

distance shooting of Nicholas 

Buttinger at the other end racked 

up the score for Cambridge. 

Cambridge displayed an 

exceptional ability to score from 

long range, which Oxford found 

extremely difficult to defend 

against. At the end of the second 

period, Oxford continued to hang 

in and score occasionally, but the 

(BUCS).This has been the most 

successful Cambridge Lacrosse 

season for decades and from here 

we can only expect CULC to 

continue on the same tracks. 

Varsity 

Cambridge 8 – Oxford 6 

27th February 2010 

University Parks, Oxford 

The 94th Varsity Lacrosse match 

took place at University Parks on 

Saturday 27th February with 

Cambridge very much the 

underdogs against a strong 

Oxford team who had lost just one 

good shooting form of Laura Soul 

and Nicholas Buttinger and the 

penetrating runs of Sophie Cuene- 

Grandidier, Elgon Corner and 

Anthony Hitchin ensured an 

impressive victory for Cambridge. 

The evening saw a fantastic Varsity 

dinner, courtesy of Oxford, where 

Cambridge was officially 

presented with the Varsity Trophy 

and Nicholas Buttinger with the 

MVP.The light-hearted mood of 

the dinner turned rivals into 

friends as both teams celebrated a 

fun-filled and exciting match with 

lots of goals scored. All in all it was 

an extremely fun day - all the 

matches were played in fantastic 

spirit and thanks to Oxford for 

hosting such a wonderful dinner! 

game so far this season. However, 

it was the Light Blues that would 

emerge the eventual victors in an 

incredible display of 

determination and teamwork that 

was simply too much for a group 

of individuals, regardless of how 

skilful or experienced they might be. 

The game began with a great deal 

of intensity from both teams; with 

squad numbers limited to 13 men, 

whoever took an early lead would 

be put in a very strong position. 

Fortunately it was Cambridge 

attacker Todd Nichols who began 

the scoring,putting Oxford firmly 

on the back foot as they had

expected to dominate the game 

throughout. 

Cambridge were able to hold the 

ball well and moved it confidently 

around the goal, but nevertheless 

saw the scores levelled when an 

Oxford shot bounced off a 

defender and rolled into the goal. 

It didn’t take long for Cambridge 

to respond, determined not to lose 

focus early on, and Ian Ralby got 

his first of three goals to put the 

Light Blues back in front. 

The 1st quarter ended 2-1 to 

Cambridge, with everything still to 

play for. Oxford struggled to cope 

with a tenacious midfield effort 

while Cambridge were competing 

with a highly experienced side 

that were prepared to turn up the 

intensity for the 2nd quarter.This 

soon became clear as Oxford put 

in two quick goals to go 2-3 up 

after half time. 

Light Blue fortunes were not to 

improve straight away as Oxford 

put in one more at the beginning 

of the third quarter to extend their 

lead to two goals. At this point the 

weather turned to heavy rain and 

even hail; Cambridge had to step 

their game up or face losing 

Varsity for a 3rd year in a row. 

Fortunately, the Light Blue 

warriors took advantage when 

mistakes in the Oxford game 

began to show and the score line 

reflected this. 

For the rest of the third quarter, 

the Dark Blues were shut out by 

MVP and goalie captain Sam 

Spurrell.With the defence 

regularly causing turnovers and 

clearing well, Ralby and Nichols, 

ably assisted by Duncan Barrigan, 

alternated the scoring between 

them to put Cambridge firmly 

back in front at 7-4 at the end of 

the 3rd quarter. 

In the 4th, there was still a lot of 

work to be done.The midfield 

players, led by the outstanding 

Phil Hall, were absolutely crucial in 

grinding out a Light Blue victory 

against a Dark Blue side that 

weren’t about to give up without a 

fight.They continued to battle to 

the end and even brought the 

score back to 7-6 with just 10 

minutes to go.With just 5 minutes 

left, Duncan Barrigan managed to 

kick the ball in to the goal to give 

the Light Blues a two goal cushion. 

The Light Blues then showed great 

maturity as a team, maintaining 

possession for the rest of the 

game to secure the win. 


This season was the most 

successful one for decades as we 

competed in two leagues; the 

South England Men’s Lacrosse 

Association (SEMLA) and in the 

British University leagues (BUCS). 

Overall we played 34 games, won 

23, drew 2 and lost 9; clearly a 

monumental achievement 

that could only come through 

100% commitment and a well 

organised team. 

In SEMLA, we finished second, 

though this was only due to a 

technicality.The Cambridge Blues 

were among the founding teams of 

SEMLA over 100 years ago and they 

continue to put out a competitive 

team every year. In the Flags knock 

out competition CULC advanced to 

the Semi-Finals, and were only 

narrowly defeated after a 

commendable late comeback. 

The BUCS league is used to train 

up newcomers to the team and to 

develop the squad. Nevertheless, 

we finished 2nd in this league as 

well and were able to advance to 

the quarter finals of the BUCS 

trophy, losing only to the 

eventual winners. 

Special Interest/Other News 

This year Sam Spurrell (Clare) and 

Phil Hall (Trinity) were selected to 

play for the South England 

Universities Team.This team 

competed at the British National 

Championships in Manchester in 

May, and also in the International 

Lacrosse Festival happening 

alongside the World Championships 

also in Manchester in July. 

CULC also continued to develop 

the relationship between 

Cambridge and Ljubljana, 

Slovenia. In October the Ljubljana 

Dragons visited Cambridge for a 

competitive friendly game in 

which Cambridge emerged 

eventual victors 8-3. In June a 

team made up of Cambridge 

players and other English 

recruits travelled to the 

Slovenian Lacrosse Open for 

a weekend of Lacrosse and 

CULC finished 3rd in an 

enjoyable weekend. 

57

Women’s Lacrosse Club 

www.culacrosse.org/womens 

Cambridge University Women’s 

Lacrosse Club (C.U.W.L.C.) was 

founded in 1912 and is arguably 

one of the most successful female 

sports clubs at the University. 

C.U.W.L.C. looks to strengthen its 

squad annually and constantly 

strives to better its achievements, 

in order to sustain its position in 

current leagues and retain its 

prestigious status as a Cambridge 

University Full Blue sport. 

Varsity Match 

The Club participates in an annual 

Varsity Match against Oxford 

University. On Saturday 27th 

February 2010, the Varsity Match 

was held in Oxford, with both 

the Blues and Kingfishers 

convincingly winning their 

respective matches. Cambridge 

Blues 5 – Oxford Blues 2. 

Cambridge Kingfishers 6 – Oxford 

Swifts 3 

Blues 

The Blues started brightly, making 

light of a waterlogged pitch. 

Captain Ellie Walshe led by 

example, opening the scoring with 

a neat goal mid-way through the 

first quarter.The next quarter saw 

the second goal from Cambridge's 

Laura Plant. As Cambridge 

continued to assert their 

dominance over proceedings, 

Georgie Hurt made space to pass 

to Alana Livesey, who laid the ball 

off nicely to Plant. Plant then 

discharged a powerful shot, which 

elicited a smart save from Oxford’s 

goalkeeper. However, only 

moments later, Oxford’s Emily 

Sever, scored (against the run of 


the play) so the teams went into 

half time with the score at 2-1 in 

the Light Blues’ favour. 

After the half time break, the Dark 

Blues came out re-energised and 

equalised almost immediately. As 

Lister sprinted towards the goal, 

she drew a foul and utilized the 

resulting penalty, bringing the 

score to 2-2.Then came the first of 

Hurt’s three goals for the Light 

Blues, which nudged Cambridge 

into a 3-2 lead. Moments after the 

next draw,Cambridge’s Livesey ran 

the ball from the half-way line 

before passing it to Hurt who scored 

again to give Cambridge the allimportant 

two-goal cushion.Next, 

an Oxford pass was intercepted, 

with Livesey breaking out of the 

Cambridge half to find Jackie 

Vullinghs behind the goal.Vullinghs 

sent the ball onto Hurt,who quicksticked 

her way to a hat-trick and 

sealed the game for Cambridge. 

The final quarter saw a series of 

well-saved shots from both sides, 

neither team being able to register 

a further goal and Cambridge 

having no problems in 

comfortably closing off a 

5-2 victory. 

Kingfishers (2nds) 

Having played Oxford in a 

previous BUCS match and won 

convincingly (although the Dark 

Blues had been without their 

goalkeeper), the Kingfishers were 

expecting a tough Varsity Match 

as Oxford would be playing their 

strongest line-up.The Light Blues’ 

nerves were quickly set-aside with 

the first goal from Ellie Pithers, 

which followed a fast break from 

Tamara Astor in midfield.This was 

the first of three goals for Pithers, 

who scored two more, with drives 

from behind goal, beating the 

goalkeeper one on one. Becky 

Hilbert then illustrated the 

importance of Cambridge’s ‘set 

plays’ and scored with flair. 

Victory was within the Kingfishers’ 

grasp as they began the second 

half in the lead, but the pressure 

was on to maintain it. First, Check 

Warner held the ball safely in 

attack until the moment was right 

to make a drive.Then Lauren York 

scored from a midfield pass to 

secure a 6-3 win to Cambridge. 

British Universities and Colleges 

Sport (BUCS) 

The Club enters 2 teams into the 

BUCS Leagues.The Blues play in 

the Southern Premiership, while 

the Kingfishers play in the 

Midlands’ Conference. 

In 2009/10, the Blues were 

unbeaten in the Southern 

Premiership, having defeated 

Bristol, Exeter, Oxford, Cardiff and 

Bath, both home and away.The 

Blues then won their knockout 

matches against Newcastle and 

Edinburgh and went on to defeat 

Durham in the semi-final – 

therefore progressing to the final 

of BUCS where they faced 

Birmingham. Despite a close 

game, Cambridge narrowly lost, 

meaning that they finished 2nd in 

the British Universities and 

Colleges Sport Lacrosse 

Championship for 2009/10. 

Other Achievements 

The C.U.W.L.C squad is made up of 

approximately 40 players – a

number of whom represent their 

countries at both regional and 

international level. 

Roshni Best Scotland U19 

Anna Harrison Senior East and 

Senior England 

Lawn Tennis Club 

www.societies.cam.ac.uk/cultc/ 

The Cambridge University Lawn 

Tennis Club is one of the most 

ancient lawn tennis clubs in the 

world, founded in 1881, seven 

years before the Lawn Tennis 

Association of Great Britain.The 

Club represents tennis for all the 

Colleges and the other institutions 

Georgie Hurt Senior East and 

Senior England 

Alana Livesey Senior North 

and Senior 

England 

Ellie Walshe Senior East and 

Senior Wales 

which are part of the University, 

primarily catering for serious 

tennis players who will represent 

the University in the Men’s and 

Women’s teams. 

The Club is directly affiliated to the 

Lawn Tennis Association of Great 

Britain and has a representative on 

the Council and on the Board of 

Angharad West Senior Wales 

Sponsors 

C.U.W.L.C would like to thank 

Barnett Waddingham for their 

sponsorship this season. 

the Association. Honorary 

President and previous Chairman 

of the Club, Sir Geoffrey Cass, was 

President and Chairman of the 

Council of the LTA from 1997 to 

1999.The Club also helps support 

British tennis through making its 

courts available for hosting 

County Week. 

59

There are currently approximately 

100 members of the club, and 

have two men’s and women’s 

teams competing in BUCS, each in 

National Premier and Region 

Conference Divisions.Teams also 

have annual fixtures against other 

universities, county sides,The All 

England, Queen's and 

Roehampton Club amongst 

others.Team squads have 

arranged coached training 

sessions and practises are 

organised for social players. 

Varsity 

Roehampton National Tennis 

Centre (Grass Courts), 28th-30th 

June 2010 

Men’s: Cambridge 13-8 Oxford, 

Women’s: Cambridge 18-3 Oxford 

The Men’s and Women’s Tennis 

Blues completed the double over 

their Oxford counterparts for the 

second year in a row in the 

Barclay’s Varsity Tennis Matches 

played on the grass courts of the 

National Tennis Centre, 

Roehampton, 28-30th June 2010. 

The Women won emphatically 

18-3, clinching the silverware by 

the end of day two of three at 12-3 

up, with six doubles still left to 

play.They continued their 

demolition on the third day, 

achieving a 6-0 whitewash. 

Laura Morrill (Murray Edwards) at 

#1 was simply brilliant and won all 

of her matches. Against her onform 

opposite number, whom she 

had only just defeated in three 

sets the previous year, she raised 

her game and won convincingly 

6-2, 6-4. Cambridge's American #2, 

Alex McGoodwin (Lucy Cavendish), 

couldn’t replicate Laura’s success 

against Oxford’s #1, but produced a 

flawless performance against 

Oxford’s #2 winning 6-0, 6-1. 

Captain Victoria Watson (Jesus) 

produced typically efficient 


performances at #3, grinding 

down her opponents in terrier-like 

fashion, while Italian Varsity 

novice Silvia Guglielmi 

(Homerton) played with her 

characteristic aggression at #4, 

also winning both her singles 

matches comfortably. 

Fresher Emma Kudzin (Newnham), 

at #5, achieved the same feat to 

impressively maintain her 

unbeaten singles record for the 

year while the Cambridge #6, 

Romanian second-time Blue Corina 

Balaban (Homerton), produced a 

magnificent performance to defeat 

an opponent she lost to easily the 

previous year.The team won 8 out 

of 9 doubles matches with the 

most memorable being reserves 

Genevieve Gotla (Christ's) and 

Georgina Kilbourn (Trinity Hall) 

miraculously prevailing 9-7 in a 

third set, having trailed 5-1.This 

capped off an incredible Varsity 

victory and a highly successful year 

to remember. 

The Men produced their fifth 

consecutive win, 13-8.The Light 

Blues took seven of the twelve 

singles on the first two days, 

including all six matches against 

Oxford’s #4, 5 and 6, before 

winning the first four of nine 

doubles to complete their victory. 

By his own admission Captain and 

Cambridge #1 Rob Blythe 

(Emmanuel), was not playing at his 

usual best, struggling in his singles 

matches against a strong Oxford 

top order. However, with doubles 

partner freshman Cameron 

Johnston (Christ’s) pivotally beat 

the Oxford 1st pair 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 

before decimating their 3rd pair, 

6-0, 6-1 to win the tie. An ace 

from Blythe on match point was 

a particularly apt seal to the 

Men’s victory in his last match for 

the University. 

Also playing their final Varsity 

matches, four-time Blue and 

lascivious ex-captain John Western 

(Selwyn), at #3, played the best 

tennis he ever has at Varsity, and 

five-time Blue, Dutchman Rutger- 

Jan Lange (King’s), at #2, 

unexpectedly crushed the Oxford 

#1 both physically and mentally. 

This was a real testament to his 

improvement since playing singles 

at #6 in 2006. 

Another five-year Varsity veteran, 

Russian Kirill Zavodov 

(Magdalene), and American 

graduate fresher Kenny 

Taubenslag (Emmanuel) were 

crucial in the team victory, wiping 

the floor with four singles victories 

at #5 and #6 respectively.Typically, 

Cambridge totally dominated 

Oxford on vocal support.Watching 

family, friends and reserves Nick 

Jenkins and Rob Legg proved to 

be the ‘second man’ in many of the 

singles games from the court side. 

BUCS 2009/10 

The Men's Blues battled bravely 

over the Michaelmas term but 

found the going tough in a very 

strong BUCS Northern Premier 

League.The 1st team pushed 

some of the top teams very hard 

and avoided relegation with a 

match to spare. 

After our first two matches against 

Leeds Metropolitan Carnegie and 

the University of Stirling, the Blues 

were still to get on the board, 

losing 10-0 on both occasions. 

These results didn't do us justice, 

with the Cambridge Number 1, Rob 

Blythe, losing both of his singles 

matches in tight three setters. 

However a hard fought draw 

against the University of 

Manchester and a resounding 8-2 

win over Nottingham put us back 

on track as John Western finally 

chalked up his first win of the

season, Cameron Johnston 

produced some wonderful 

performances and veteran 

combatants, Kirll Zavodov and 

Rutger-Jan Lange continued their 

fine form after 4 consecutive 

Varsity victories. 

The Women's Blues hit top form in 

the BUCS Premier League over 

Michaelmas Term and, with wins 

over reigning BUCS Tennis 

Champions London Metropolitan 

University 7-2, Bath University 10-0, 

and Bournemouth University 9-1, 

excelled to finish in second place. 

Laura Morrill has been on fine 

form, convincingly defeating 

London Met's intimidating 

Number 1, with a combination of 

exquisitely timed groundstrokes 

and powerful serving.Victoria 

Watson has followed suit, 

doggedly coming back from a 

set down two weeks on the 

bounce to power home in two 

epic three-setters. 

Lightweight Rowing Club 

www.culrc.org/ 

Varsity 

Henley-on-Thames, Sunday 28th 

March 2010 

Result: Cambridge won by two 

feet in a time of 5:28 

The weather in the run up to the 

Henley Boat Races was almost as 

good as we could have wished – 

warm and (mostly) dry during our 

training sessions but with 

torrential rain most nights giving 

an increasingly fast stream 

towards the end of the week. On 

the eve of the race, spirits were 

high in the CULRC house: with a 

moderate tailwind forecast, we 

were confident not only that we 

would outrow Oxford but also that 

we stood a good chance of 

breaking their 2006 record.We 

expected them to go out hard off 

the start, but knew they had no 

chance of matching our power 

over the full two kilometres. 

At the weigh-in, we made full use 

of our 70kg maximum average 

weight, while Oxford undershot 

and only averaged 69.3kg. 

Similarly, our cox was exactly on 

her minimum weight, while the 

Oxford cox had to carry 

deadweight.We left with our 

confidence increased. Oxford won 

the toss, as they had done for the 

three women's races before us, 

and chose the Berkshire station, 

leaving us on Buckinghamshire. 

A poorly executed start from the 

Cambridge boat, combined with 

the stronger stream on the Berks 

station in the first few hundred 

meters, allowed Oxford to take an 

early lead. By Remenham Club 

Oxford, still rating more than forty 

strokes per minute, had a lead of 

almost a length and began to 

Alice Barnes, Cambridge's classy 

Number 1, produced a backhand 

slice display for onlookers to relish 

against Bath. Important as well 

were the earlier performances of 

two fresher acquisitions, namely 

ex-UCLA doubles specialist Alex 

McGoodwin and Emma Kudzin, 

who showed little inexperience in 

the art of Light Blue belligerence. 

steer over to the centre of the 

stream. However, the Cambridge 

crew dug in and began to chip 

away at Oxford's lead.The battle 

for the fastest stream in the 

middle of the river was closely 

fought, with so many blade 

clashes that the race seemed at 

times more like an aquatic fencing 

match with the umpire looking on 

and waving his flag one way and 

then the other. Each push gained 

us another couple of seats until, 

just after the Barrier, we drew level 

with Oxford for the first time in the 

race. A flat-out sprint for the finish 

line followed, with the lead 

changing hands practically every 

stroke, but it was Cambridge who 

crossed the line first, with a 

winning margin of just two feet. 

Season Report 

Anyone looking at the eager faces 

at the beginning-of-season 

meeting in September 2009 could 

61

have been forgiven for thinking 

the Lightweight Boat Race was a 

foregone conclusion.We had four 

returning members of the 2009 

lightweight eight which had 

dominated both the Henley Boat 

Races and the BUCS Rowing 

Championships, a member of the 

2007 crew who had graduated 

that year but came back for a PhD 

after our crew beat his Leander 

lightweight eight, and several 

other talented athletes. However, 

even the naturally pessimistic 

among us could not have guessed 

how close the race would be. 

We started the season well, with 

six CULRC triallists qualifying 

through the first round of the GB 

rowing trials, more than any other 

club. (Two were eventually chosen 

for the GB team for the World 

Universities Rowing 

Championships – more on that 

later.) Four of these GB triallists 

formed a lightweight coxless quad 

for the Fours' Head of the River in 

November – unfortunately this 

race was cancelled due to adverse 

weather conditions, depriving us 

of our only chance to compare 

Photo:Toby Parnell 


ourselves directly with Oxford 

before the Boat Race. 

Bad weather became a recurring 

theme as heavy snow forced the 

cancellation of the second round 

of GB rowing trials and, more 

importantly, the flights that were 

to have taken us to the south of 

France for our January training 

camp.We made the best of a bad 

situation by staying in Cambridge 

and going out rowing whenever 

the river wasn't frozen over. After 

selecting the Boat Race crew in 

early February, we arranged a 

number of sparring matches 

against prominent clubs such as 

London RC and Leander Club to 

give us race practice in the run-up 

to the Henley Boat Races. 

After beating Oxford in the Henley 

Boat Races (which are described in 

more detail above) we split up for 

the Easter holidays before 

reconvening for the BUCS Regatta. 

Our coxless four won a bronze 

medal, but the eight was unable to 

race after one rower failed to 

make the weight limit. At the end 

of the Easter Term we entered the 

Temple Challenge Cup at Henley 

Royal Regatta but illness and 

injury led to a sub-standard 

performance and we were 

knocked out in the first round. 

John Hale and Charlie Pitt Ford 

then left us to train for the World 

Universities Championships, 

where they competed in the GB 

coxless four alongside athletes 

from Imperial College and Oxford 

Brookes. Meanwhile, the rest of the 

team were treated to a free trip to 

China where we competed in a 

regatta on the Shunyi Olympic 

Rowing Lake in Beijing. On 

returning from our travels, the four 

of us who still had nothing better 

to do with our holidays got 

together to form a coxless four for 

the EUSA European Universities 

Rowing Championships. After a 

dodgy performance in our heat, 

we came from behind in the final 

to win a silver medal in a time 

that was faster than the previous 

EUSA record.

Modern Pentathlon Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cumpc/index. 

php 

CUMPC is a hugely successful club 

with members of an international 

standard training alongside 

beginners and our friendly, 

welcoming ethos earning us 

the title of the most sociable club 

in Cambridge. 

Modern Pentathlon is an Olympic 

Sport consisting of Swimming, 

Fencing, Horse-riding, Running 

and Shooting; the latter 2 being 

combined into one event made up 

of three 1Km run loops, each 

preceded by a 5 shot shoot in a 

similar style to the ski-rifle 

biathlon. Our members come from 

all backgrounds- some who have 

never competed at any of the 

5 events before (a notable case is 

Hannah Darcy who achieved a 

Half-blue this year having arrived 

in 2007 as a novice in all 

disciplines!) and some who are 

currently representing GB at the 

sport.Therefore there is a huge 

team spirit within the squad with 

everyone able to teach or learn 

something from each other.The 

Varsity Match held at the start of 

the Easter holidays is the highlight 

of our calendar with 6 Men and 6 

Women competing in the full 5 

events as well as 3 male and 3 

female reserves who compete in 

the swim, run and shoot.There are 

also many other competitions 

held throughout the year, which 

are open to anyone whatever their 

level of experience. 

Varsity 

The 2010 Varsity Match was held 

at Tonbridge School, Kent on 

26th-27th March.Won Ladies Trophy, 

Ladies Reserves competiton and 

Men's reserves competition. Lost 

Men's trophy competition. 

The theme of the 2010 Varsity 

Match was certainly broken things; 

broken wrists, broken stirrups and 

broken records.The broken wrist 

was courtesy of our Men's team 

member- Rich Allen who had to 

withdraw from the team and join 

the reserves squad a week before 

the competition allowing Dan 

Paine to step up into the trophy 

competition.The build- up to the 

match was no less dramatic for the 

Women's squad with both our 

newcomer and super-swimmer 

Henrietta Dillon and pentathlon 

veteran Emma Kenney-Herbert 

sustaining injuries in the few days 

preceding the competition, 

necessitating the recruitment of 

novice Abigail Wood 24 hours 

before the match. 

Despite these set backs, the 

Cambridge Pentathletes were 

direct contenders from the very 

first event- the fence. Brad Dixon 

came top in the Men's fencing 

competition followed closely by 

another Cantab Daniel Housley. 

Not to be outdone, the Women put 

in a similarly fantastic performance 

with newcomer Laura Plant 

winning the women's fence and 

setting a new varsity record for the 

highest fencing score. 

The Swim helped seal 

Cambridge's domination of the 

first day of the 2010 Varsity Match. 

All of the squad achieved personal 

best times in the pool with the 

largest improvement going to 

Danae Mercer who knocked off an 

astonishing 98 seconds from her 

first ever timed 200m.The Men's 

swim was won narrowly by Brad 

Dixon, who came in 0.03 seconds 

before the Oxford Men's captain, 

whilst Laura Plant won the 

women's swim event. 

The squad arrived for the ride 

event the next morning, confident 

of their lead. However, the ride 

event lived up to tradition of 

providing a few challenges and 

proved to be the downfall of the 

63

men's team. Dan Housley, the 

Cambridge Men's captain pulled 

off a spectacular clear round and 

Brad Dixon completed the course 

on a difficult mount, whilst 

newcomer Matt Comin took up the 

reins for the first time in 

competition and,after some 

disagreement with the horse, 

decided that the destruction of the 

jump was the easiest way of 

overcoming the difficulty of getting 

over it.Sadly,the more experienced 

Oxford Men's team rode better on 

the day and so headed onto the 

lead for the first time. 

Fortunately the women's team 

pulled off 6 fantastic 

performances in the ride with a 

beautiful clear from Hannah Darcy 

and a speedy but stylish round 

from Ayla Haddenhorst. Having 

been thrown into the deep end in 

all other 4 events, Abi Wood –a 

confident rider – was feeling less 

daunted by this phase of the 

competition; however a slight 

wardrobe malfunction meant that 

Abi's stirrup leather snapped half 

way round the course.This left Abi 

with 6 jumps to jump with only 

one foot supported by a stirrup 

and, after demonstrating 

exceptional balance, Abi 

completed a fantastic round to 

much applause and maintained 

the now comfortable lead over the 

Oxford Women. 

The final event was the combined 

event- a new concept to all 

pentathletes globally.This was the 

first time it had been part of the 

Varsity match and tensions were 

high.The Cambridge pentathletes 

were well prepared for this new 

event thanks to the generous gun 

grant received last year from the 

University and some dedicated 

training.This commitment paid off 

and some fantastic performances 

were achieved: Nick England and 

Zoe Rutterford took the fastest 


shoot times in the Men's and 

Women's events, Hannah Darcy 

got best women's run and Laura 

Plant was the overall winner of the 

Women's combined event. 

The 4th consecutive Women's 

victory was claimed whilst the 

Men's team show huge potential 

for next year, the end of the Varsity 

Match was celebrated in true 

pentathlon style with a fabulous 

black tie dinner in Tonbridge. 


During the summer vacation, the 

Cambridge pentathletes travelled 

to Sandhurst Military Barracks in 

Surrey to compete in a triangular 

competition against Oxford and 

the Army. Despite not having 

matriculated yet,Tom Barber and 

Josh Radvan bravely came to meet 

CUMPC and compete for 

Cambridge for the first time.They 

proved a huge success with Josh 

Radvan beating off all Army and 

Oxford competition to come in 

first after a nail-biting combined 

event against fellow Cantab- Tom 

Barber who came in second. 

Congratulations to the team of 

Brad Dixon, Henny Dillon,Tom 

Barber, Laura Plant and Nick 

England who won the team event 

and secured yet more silverware 

for the CUMPC cabinet. 

The club is hoping to nurture this 

link with the Army throughout the 

coming year; the OTC have kindly 

agreed to lend resources to 

CUMPC and an Army team will be 

attending the Cambridge Old 

Blue's competition.This is exciting 

not only for the Cambridge 

Pentathletes but also for the 

promotion of Modern Pentathlon 

across the country.We wish the 

best of luck to the incoming 

committee and encourage any 

interested students to look at our 

website or get in contact. 

Joshua Radvan 

My name is Josh Radvan, I am an 

18 year old fresher reading Land 

Economy at St Catharine’s. My sport 

is Modern Pentathlon, which is a 

combination of running, swimming, 

shooting, riding and fencing. 

I have been competing in various 

competitions, both National and 

International, since I was 13 years 

of age. My biggest achievements 

so far are winning the World 

Biathle Championships 

(continuous running and 

swimming) at U19 and U17 age 

groups with a bronze medal in 

between these years. I am 

currently National U19 Modern 

Pentathlon Champion and was 

also champion at U17 level. I’ve 

represented GB in World and 

European events around the globe 

since 2006. 

With the support of TASS and the 

coaching at Cambridge, I hope to 

continue competing at highest 

levels of my sport.This would 

include World Cup events, and my 

ultimate aim is the 2016 Olympic 

Games. I would also obviously like 

to represent Cambridge at 

Modern Pentathlon and achieve 

Blue standard. 

Combining sports and studies is an 

important part of my daily life and I 

am fortunate that training for each 

event is specifically timetabled to 

avoid major clashes with my 

academic needs. Most training 

sessions are in the morning and 

evenings, and after one term I have 

managed to successfully and 

comfortably integrate my sporting 

requirements into my weekly 

timetable. Most importantly, I have 

found the standards of training 

and talent for all the individual 

sports has been high and 

therefore is helping me develop 

as an athlete.

Netball Club 

www.culnc.org 

CULNC plays a thriving role in 

Cambridge Women’s sport being 

renowned for both sporting 

excellence as well as great team 

spirit and dedication to both the 

on and off court aspects of the 

sport.We have a squad of roughly 

25 people, producing two teams 

that both compete in the British 

Universities and Colleges Sport 

(BUCS) leagues as well as the 

regional BUCS cup knockout 

tournament and, of course, the 

annual Varsity matches. 

The 2009-2010 season proved 

extremely successful for CULNC 

with a Varsity victory for the Jays, 

whilst the Blues reached the 

Midlands Conference Cup BUCS 

Final and finished top of their 

division in the league to achieve 

promotion to Division 1.This sets 

an exciting and challenging 

prospect for the forthcoming 

season where the Blues will meet 

tough opposition in the higher 

division with both teams aiming 

to improve on last year’s fantastic 

performance, especially as the 

Varsity match returns to home soil. 

As well as the University 

component, the Club runs a Ladies 

and Mixed College League and 

annual Cupper’s Tournament that 

is well supported and provides a 

vital opportunity for netball to be 

played and enjoyed at all ability 

levels within the university. 


Varsity 

20/02/2010: Oxford 

Blues: 35-44 

Jays: 36-34 

The Varsity matches proved to be 

a day of mixed results but what 

was undeniable was the high level 

of netball produced by all four 

teams and a clear culmination of a 

whole seasons dedicated training. 

The Jays match was extremely 

closely fought but due to the 

excellent shooting and team work 

of Anna Fries and Sarah Gill the 

Light Blues entered the last 

quarter with a 6 goal lead over 

Oxford. However the Dark Blues 

were not done yet and fought 

back to produce a nail biting final 

15 minutes. Cambridge kept their 

nerve and after endless turnovers 

secured a well deserved victory 

that displayed the progress the 

team had made throughout the 

last season.The whole team 

produced an outstanding 

performance and Hannah 

Pennicott at WA was named man 

of the match by Oxford. 

The Blues were once again so 

evenly matched in speed and 

agility to their Dark Blue 

opponents that the final score 

does not reflect the extremely 

close fought battle for each point 

throughout the match that was 

clear to all spectators.With some 

excellent shooting by Jessica 

McGeorge and defence by 

Antonia Akoto the Light Blues 

finished 11-10 up after the first 

quarter. However, with an Oxford 

side spurred on by a home crowd 

this lead slipped slightly in the 

second quarter but victory was 

still very much in the Light Blues 

sights at half time. Unfortunately 

Cambridge suffered severe injuries 

to two key players in the second 

half and whilst the side fought 

determinedly to the end, victory 

became illusive. However, with 

much of the team staying on 

for next season and Varsity 

returning to home soil there are 

high hopes of success for both 

teams next year.

Other news 

The Blues produced a storming 

performance in the BUCS League, 

losing only one match in the whole 

season. As such they finished top of 

the league and safely secured 

promotion for the 2010-11 season 

with a hugely impressive 227 goal 

difference over the other members 

of the division. Furthermore the 

Blues reached the final of the BUCS 

Knockout Cup where they met the 

strong Birmingham 2nd’s side and 

at the end of full time the whistle 

Orienteering Club 

www.cuoc.org.uk/ 

CUOC is a relatively small sports 

club for members of Cambridge 

University. Membership varies 

around 30 members, ranging from 

complete beginners to British 

Champions.The club’s main aims 

are to attend orienteering events 

around the country and to provide 

training for its members so that 

they can improve. CUOC was 

founded in 1970 with a committee 

of just two people, and has been 

going ever since. 

The club organises two events 

each year: the Sprint-O which is a 

combined orienteering/social 

event for members of any 

university, and the Icenian which is 

open to the general public and 

usually attracts around 300 

orienteers. 

The main competitions attended 

by the club every year are Varsity 

went to signal a draw, just as the 

Blues had the ball in the circle 

ready to shoot. Extra time saw the 

goals continue to be exchanged 

alternatively until in the dying 

moments, further injuries to the 

Blues allowed Birmingham to steal 

the victory and leave Cambridge 

the silver medal.This was a result 

that could easily have gone 

either way but it is safe to say 

that in terms of the netball played 

it was the Blues performance of 

the season. 

and the British University 

Championships (BUCS).The 

annual Varsity match takes place 

at the end of Lent term each year. 

This could be anywhere in the 

country, and is usually abroad 

every three years. In 2008 it was 

held in Sweden and in 2011 will be 

held in the Czech Republic. 

BUCS again could be held 

anywhere in the country, and is a 

competition open to all university 

orienteering clubs in Britain. It is a 

weekend competition with an 

individual race on the Saturday 

and a team relay on the Sunday, 

with a big social event on the 

Saturday night. 

CUOC organises transport for its 

members to around six events 

each term, and organises a week 

long training camp (often in the 

Lake District) every Christmas for 

members of CUOC and OUOC. 

The Jays had a mixed season in 

BUCS but with many key victories 

and a draw finished third in their 

highly competitive division. 

Overall, the squad has had an 

incredibly successful season and 

this has laid firm foundations for 

next year.With many players 

looking to return, the 2010-11 

season has exciting prospects. 

Varsity 

Date: 6th March 2010 

Venue: Penhale Sands, Cornwall 

Result: Oxford won by 10 minutes 

overall in the men’s; Cambridge 

could not field a full women’s 

team 

This year's Varsity Match took 

place on Saturday 6th March on 

Penhale Sands in Cornwall, with 

excellent (and technically 

challenging) courses planned by 

Scott Collier (JOK). 

The Varsity Match is made up of a 

Men’s Course and a Women’s 

Course, with runners starting at 

6 minute intervals, alternating 

between Oxford and Cambridge 

(so members of the same club are 

spaced by 12 minutes). Each club 

is allowed to choose the order of 

their starters, so it is tactically best 

to start the fastest off last.The top 

four men and top three women 

67

count for each club.The match is 

always followed by a fun relay on 

the Sunday. 

First off for Cambridge in the 

Men’s Match was Alex Küng, 

followed at 12 minute intervals by 

Ben Windsor, Adam Bennett, 

Matthew Halliday, and Ben 

Stevens. Matt flew around the 

course despite the pain of a knee 

injury, and took victory in just over 

60 minutes for the 8.8km course. 

There was a close race between 

Ben Stevens and Mark McLeod of 

Oxford, with Ben catching Mark up 

by their 6 minute separation 

before pulling away slightly at the 

end to take second position. 

However, Oxford’s consistency was 

their strength and they took the 

next four positions. Cambridge’s 

other two times to count were 

Adam Bennett’s and Ben Windsor’s 


in 80 and 81 minutes respectively. 

Once all of the runners had 

returned, we found to CUOC’s 

disappointment that Oxford’s 

combined time was 10 minutes 

quicker, and they took the 

Men’s title. 

We were unable to field a full team 

of three in the Women’s Race, and 

our two runners were Victoria 

Stevens and Mairead Rocke.This 

meant the result of the Women’s 

Match was decided before it even 

began. Oxford took the two top 

spots with Anne Edwards winning 

in 53 minutes, but Cambridge ran 

strongly and Mairead finished in 

third place in a time of 67 minutes 

for the 6.6km course, with Vicky 

finishing four minutes behind in 

fourth place. 

Despite our defeat, the weekend 

was great fun and we look 

forwards to challenging Oxford 

once again on 2nd April 2011 in 

the Czech Republic, where we 

intend to have a complete team! 


BUCS 2010 

CUOC attended BUCS in the Forest 

of Dean on 13th-14th March 2010. 

Unfortunately the event was 

plagued with misfortunes; 

Mairead had tonsillitis and so had 

to pull out at the last minute, the 

A14 was closed so the second car 

was late and had to have delayed 

starts, Adam Bennett was given 

the wrong map so did an extra 

5km before starting on the correct 

course and then managed to 

injure himself near the end of 

the course, and Vicky Stevens 

injured herself during the 

individual and so was unable to 

compete in the relay. 

Fortunately we were still able to 

salvage a good result due to some 

very good runs. Matt was 8th, and 

Ben was 17th with Adam 

completing the team in 46th. 

Mairead and Vicky both ran very 

well coming 14th and 16th 

respectively.This left us in 4th 

place with the relays to go on the 

Sunday. Mairead had a very 

impressive run, coming back in 

3rd; unfortunately Vicky had fallen 

through a cattle grid the previous 

day, which meant we had an 

incomplete team. Matt, Adam, and 

Ben all had very consistent runs 

which took them well clear of the 

third-placed Oxford.This put the 

men 3rd and the university 4th 

overall which was very fortunate 

given the number of mishaps, and 

is consistent with previous years. 

Tours 

CUOC organised a training tour at 

Christmas 2009 in the Lake District 

for a week. OUOC organised a 

training tour near Strömstad, 

Sweden for a week, which CUOC 

were also invited to attend. Both 

tours were great successes, with 

members having fantastic 

opportunities to improve their 

skills in some of the best 

orienteering terrain in the world. 


Matthew Halliday and Mairead 

Rocke were both selected for the 

second time to run at the Junior 

World Championships (JWOC) for 

Great Britain, held in Denmark at 

the beginning of July 2010.They 

were also both selected for the 

British Orienteering International 

Racing Camp in Gdansk, Poland at 

the start of August 2010, whilst 

Victoria Stevens was selected for 

the British Orienteering Academy 

Coaching Camp held in Uppsala, 

Sweden at the end of July 2010.

Mairead Rocke 

I study Geography at Churchill 

College and I am also part of 

British Orienteering’s World Class 

Academy Squad. My most recent 

international competition was the 

Junior World Orienteering 

Championships 2010 which was 

held in Denmark. I achieved a 

personal best of 20th position in 

the Middle race final.This was the 

culmination of a successful 

domestic competition season in 

which I won the individual medal 

for my age group at the Jan 

Kjellstrom International Festival 

of Orienteering. I was also part of 

the South Yorkshire Orienteer’s 

Team who won the Women’s 

Relay Trophy. 

The aims of my training for 2011 

focus upon the Junior World 

Orienteering Championships 

which are to be held in Poland in 

July. I hope to improve upon my 

past performances, particularly in 

the sprint and the long race. 2011 

is my final year competing as a 

junior and so I also hope to make 

good foundations on which I can 

progress up to the senior level. 

Sport is a key part of my life at 

Cambridge.Whilst being a 

member of Cambridge University 

Orienteering Club, I also train with 

the Hare and Hounds crosscountry 

club. Furthermore, I am 

very grateful for the support 

provided by the Talented Athlete 

Sponsorship Scheme.Through 

this I have had regular access to 

a strength and conditioning 

coach at Fenner’s Gym and I have 

also been provided with 

opportunities to travel to more 

technical terrains which are not 

abundant in Cambridge. 

69

Polo Club 

The club has its own ponies and 

aims to provide cheap, accessible 

polo to players of any ability – 

from complete beginners who 

have never picked up a stick to 

those who arrive at Cambridge 

having already played for many 

years.We arrange regular lessons 

and tournaments, both at home 

and away and, for many, the year 

culminates in the Varsity match 

played at Guards Polo Club in 

June. 

Varsity 

June 2010 


Powerlifting Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuplc/ 

Cambridge University Powerlifting 

Club (CUPLC) exists to facilitate 

strength training within the 

university and particularly to 

supply a powerlifting team to 

compete in the annual Varsity 

powerlifting match. As well as 

dedicated powerlifters, our 

membership includes sporting 

people from various other 

disciplines (athletics, martial arts, 

sailing), as well as a number of 

people who train simply as part of 

a healthy lifestyle, without 

sporting ambitions. 


This was the closest fought match 

of recent years with Oxford 

fielding a team, which, on paper, 

looked very strong.Traditionally 

playing off the stick rather than off 

handicap, our boys fought back 

well and played better than ever, 

despite their obvious 

disadvantage.The game was close, 

with Tobi Edun putting an 

equalizing goal through the posts 

in what spectators thought was 

the last second of play. 

Unfortunately the umpire ruled 

against it, claiming the last bell 

went before the ball crossed the 

line, to the outrage of most of the 

stands and even the commentator. 

The club is friendly and open and 

encourages new members, 

regardless of previous experience. 

If you are interested in lifting 

weights it is important not to feel 

intimidated by the weights you 

might see more experienced 

people lifting. No experienced 

lifter expects a novice to walk in 

and lift heavy weights - most can 

remember their own first efforts! 

So you should not feel you have to 

impress or compete. 

Any member of The University can 

join the club, although only those 

registered for a degree can 

compete in the Varsity match. 

It was a high standard match and 

a fantastic day out, and the boys 

should be congratulated on how 

well they played. 

Looking Forward to 2011 

We will be sending teams to the 

National University Arena 

Championship from 17th-20th 

February, and we are also fielding 

a team comprising two students 

and one old boy to play in the O2 

arena on 24th Feb.The Jack Wills 

Varsity Match this year is on 11th 

June at Guards Polo Club. 

Varsity 

27th February, 2010,“Core 

Cambridge” Facility, Cambridge 

Oxford 1203.1 - 995.5 Cambridge 

Although Cambridge lost, we had 

some great performances with 

lots of newcomers who showed 

some real talent.The top three 

lifters from Cambridge were Jerrell 

Whitehead, Alexander Blessing 

and Alp Notghi. Jerrell especially 

was very impressive, totalling 

620kg at a bodyweight of 94kg, 

which should earn him a Full Blue. 

I was very happy to see many 

people competing for their first

time.Well done to Louis Cox- 

Brusseau, James Barton, William 

Blackwell, Josh Mouland, David 

Parkes and Shaun Ng as well as to 

Ivy Owens and Krish Mahbubani, 

who showed that Powerlifting is 

not just for men. 

I would like to thank Andrew Lee, 

Adam Scrivner and Steve Martin 

for helping out tremendously. 

Looking Forward to 2010/11 

This year we are focussing on 

rebuilding our Varsity squad with 

the intention of inflicting a 

resounding defeat upon Oxford in 

this year’s Varsity match, to be held 

at the Pro Am Fight Centre in 

Cambridge.To this end we have 

been fortunate to recruit a large 

number of highly talented lifters 

with a solid background in 

strength sports from across 

the University, from both 

undergraduate and 

postgraduate camps. 

Rackets Club 

The rackets match against Oxford 

is one of the longest-standing 

fixtures in university sport, and the 

club’s main aim is to find a team, 

traditionally two pairs, to keep up 

that tradition. One difficulty is the 

lack of a rackets court in 

Cambridge, but Haileybury kindly 

provide practice facilities. 

The 2010/11 Secretary is James 

Watson (Trinity Hall) – please 

contact him for any enquiries. 

The club has also had the 

opportunity to forge ties with 

London-based club British Barbell, 

allowing several members of the 

Varsity squad to improve their 

technique under the aegis of 

British Barbell’s internationally 

ranked powerlifters, with an aim to 

qualifying for the British Nationals 

later this year. Finally, the Varsity 

Varsity 

March 10th, 2010 at The Queen's 

Club, London W14 


1st pairs. 

James Stallibras (Radley School 

and Trinity Hall) lost to William 

Fortune (Harrow School and 

Brasenose), 1-15, 2-15, 7-15 

James Watson (Marlborough 

School and Trinity Hall) lost to Alex 

squad was also fortunate to attend 

a seminar held in Cambridge by 

‘The World’s Strongest Man’, and 

World Deadlift Record Holder, 

Andy Bolton.The knowledge 

gained from this seminar was 

useful both to novice and 

advanced lifters alike, inspiring 

many of the club’s lifters to rethink 

their approach to the ‘king’ of lifts. 

Portz (Winchester School and 

Somerville), 3-15, 3-15, 4-15 

Doubles: J. Stallibras and J.Watson 

lost to W.Fortune and A.Portz, 0-15, 

2-15, 7-15 

2nd pairs. 

Edward Pearson (The Perse School 

and Robinson) lost to Chris 

Steganowicz (Eton School and 

Regent's Park), 4-15, 1-15, 0-15 

Patrick Stobbs (Eton School and 

71

King's) lost to Horatio Carey (Eton 

School and Trinity), 3-15, 8-15, 7-15 

Pearson and Stobbs lost to 

Steganowicz and Carey, 6-15, 15-9, 

5-15, 6-15 

Real Tennis Club 

www.curtc.net/ 

The so-called “king of racquet 

sports”, Real tennis is the original 

indoor racquet sport from which 

the modern game of lawn tennis is 

descended. It is a fast-paced game 

that requires strength and speed 

but also finesse. Cambridge 

University is one of 23 clubs in the 

UK and one of only three clubs in 

the country to have two real tennis 

courts.The club has a large student 

community and new members and 

players are always welcome. 

Varsity 

19-20th February 2010, MCC, Lords’. 

Men’s 1st Team: Cambridge 2-4 

Oxford 

Women’s 1st Team: Cambridge 6-0 

Oxford 

6th March 2010, Oxford Real 

Tennis Club 

Men’s 2nd Team: Cambridge 1-5 

Oxford 

Women’s 2nd Team: Cambridge 

1-5 Oxford 


Cambridge were outgunned by 

the more experienced Oxford 

players, and found it hard to return 

serve consistently or confidently 

on the notoriously severe Queen's 

club court.They played spiritedly 

in the rallies, and the matches 

were all well-contested, especially 

the doubles - the 1st pair held a 

Men’s Varsity Match Report 

After what felt like a year with all 

the right preparation leading up 

to the Varsity match, it all ended 

rather bitterly for the Men’s 

squads. A resounding victory for 

Cambridge the previous year only 

served to fuel Oxford’s 

determination to have their 

revenge.Two 5-set thrillers in the 

doubles resulted in the scores 

being tied after the first day.The 

Cambridge partnership of Ali 

Hakimi and James Watson 

narrowly lost out to Horatio Cary 

and Sam Halliday 6/2, 3/6, 5/6, 6/5, 

4/6 in a topsy-turvy battle.The pair 

certainly had their chances to 

snatch victory particularly in the 

third set where they squandered a 

5-3 lead. Rob Hird and Ed Pearson 

levelled the tie with another 

mouth-watering encounter lasting 

over 3 hours on court with a 2/6, 

6/3, 6/4, 5/6, 6/4 victory over Will 

Fortune and Chris Stefanowicz. 

Captain Ed Pearson began the 

proceedings on the following day 

in the first singles match to meet a 

truly inspired Chris Stefanowicz 

deserved lead of 7-5 in the third 

game, and the second pair were 

one game all in their contest. 

Howard Angus, the Club President, 

marked the matches. Pol Roger, 

the sponsors, hosted a generous 

reception afterwards in the 

Museum of the Queen's club. 

who came out all guns blazing to 

silence the Cambridge crowd. 

Underdog Stefanowicz ran out the 

convincing winner 6/4, 6/3. 

Oxford 3rd string man Sam 

Halliday will surely wish he had 

never stepped out on court to face 

an incensed James Watson. Having 

lost out in the doubles the 

previous day, Watson was thirsty 

for blood.Watson crushed Halliday 

6/1, 6/0 in under 35 minutes.That 

impressive performance left the 

match in the balance at 2-2 with 

the 1st and 2nd string singles still 

to come. 

Practice partners and healthy 

rivals Ali Hakimi and Horatio Cary 

did battle in the 2nd string singles. 

Hakimi’s decision to change his 

game plan moments before the 

start proved to be a mistake as he 

was downed 0/6 in the first set 

with Cary in superb form.The 

second set saw Hakimi race to a 3/0 

lead but was unable to maintain 

enough quality to overcome Cary’s 

impressive retrieving skills, 

eventually losing 4/6.

The highly anticipated match 

between two of the UK’s most 

talented youngsters, Rob Hird and 

Will Fortune, was now a must-win 

for Cambridge. Having sustained 

serious ligament damage to his 

wrist a week before the Varsity 

match, Hird faced a tough task but 

his grit and determination shone 

through as the two players 

produced one of the finest Varsity 

matches of all time. Hird was 

rattled by Fortune’s clinical start 

losing the first set 3/6. Like all 

great players, Hird called upon his 

quality just at the right time, 

managing to quell Fortune’s 

obvious excitement trumping him 

6/1 to take the second set.With 

the injury slowly starting to eat 

away at Hird’s confidence, the 

scales tipped back in Fortune’s 

favour as he took the final set with 

a convincing 6/1 scoreline.The 

Oxford contingency went wild as 

they recorded their first men’s 

varsity victory for over 6 years with 

a 4-2 win over Cambridge. 

Women’s Varsity Match Report 

The Varsity weekend began with 

the women’s singles on Friday 

morning. First on court at Lord’s 

for Cambridge was 4th seed Pippa 

Tregear (Trinity), against ex- 

Cambrigian Charlotte Barker. A 

bundle of nervous excitement (as 

it was her first Varsity experience 

at this impressive venue), Pippa 

was grateful for having trained 

hard in preparation for the game 

and started well, taking an early 

lead. Continued consistent play 

saw her win the match 6/0, 6/4. 

Next on was Lucie Browning 

(Fitzwilliam) vs Oxford’s 3rd seed 

Sarah Hird.With the Cambridge 

captain looking to build on Pippa’s 

success and ex world champion 

Charlotte Cornwallis there to 

support her former pupil, the 

pressure was on. Lucie took some 

time to adjust to the pace of the 

new court and initially struggled 

against Sarah’s strong volleying 

and return of serve.The odds 

weren’t looking good when Sarah 

won the first set 1-6. However, 

determined not to let her side 

down, Lucie managed to get back 

in the game by sticking to her 

trusted bobble serve and went on 

to win the next two sets (and 

consequently the match) 6/4, 6/4. 

The Oxbridge battle proceeded 

into the 2nd seeds game between 

Alexandra Bryant (Christ’s) and 

Stephanie Walton. Alex didn’t 

hang about. Serving well and 

making the most of her height 

advantage and long reach, it didn’t 

take her long to finish the match, 

winning comfortably 6/0, 6/3. 

Last on for the Cambridge team 

was Karen Hird (ranked 2nd in the 

world at the time), against the 

Oxford captain Victoria Ormerod. 

73

The Hird Triplets 

In 2006, the Hirds began their 

university careers; Robert studying 

Mathematics at Trinity College, 

Cambridge; Karen studying 

Economics at St Catharine’s 

College, Cambridge; while Sarah 

chose Merton College, Oxford to 

study PPE. 

Encouraged by their parents from 

an early age they all played a 

variety of sports – Robert and 

Karen had represented England at 

Badminton from U13 up to U17 

while Sarah’s main focus was 

Swimming, where she swam in the 

regional finals for a number of 

years.They also played the 

esoteric sport of Real Tennis. 

With two courts on their doorstep 

at Cambridge and a court for 

Sarah at Merton, all three of them 

played Real Tennis regularly while 

at Uni. In their 1st year, all three of 

them were selected for both the 

Real Tennis and Badminton Varsity 

matches. However, in the month 

before, Robert tore his cruciate 

ligament and Sarah tore ligaments 

in her ankle ruling them out of the 

Varsity matches.Thankfully, Karen 

stayed fit and won all of her 

matches in helping the Cambridge 

team win in both sports. 

In 2nd year, Robert became 

captain of the Cambridge Men’s 

Real Tennis team; Sarah captained 

the Oxford Women’s Badminton 

team, while Karen captained both 

the Real Tennis and Badminton 

Women’s teams. Indeed, the 

Badminton match saw Karen and 

Sarah go head to head at first 

string – Karen prevailing and 

leading her team to a 

comprehensive win. Cambridge 

also won the Real Tennis Varsity 

matches, men and women, by 

5 matches to 1.This year, Karen 

had also been selected for the 


Squash and Eton Fives Varsity 

teams, two sports she had taken 

up on arriving at University, while 

Robert played in the Rackets 

Varsity match. 

On to 3rd year, and Karen 

completed the hat-trick of Varsity 

wins in both Badminton and Real 

Tennis, once again defeating 

Sarah’s Oxford team. 

Unfortunately, Robert again 

injured himself in the month 

before the matches, this time 

breaking a bone and tearing a 

ligament in his wrist. Knowing he 

needed surgery anyway, he had it 

strapped to play the Real Tennis 

Varsity match. Despite a brave 

effort he lost the deciding match 

to the Oxford number 1 6-3,1-6,6- 

1. Once again Karen played the 

Squash and Eton Fives matches as 

well, ending her university career 

with 8 Full Blues and 2 Half Blues. 

Karen graduated with an 

Economics degree (II.1) and is 

currently in training for the Real 

Tennis World Championships to be 

held at the Royal Melbourne 

Tennis Club in May 2011. Sarah 

also graduated, with a PPE degree 

(II.1) and is moving to Indonesia to 

teach English. Meanwhile, Robert 

is continuing at Cambridge to 

study for a Masters in 

Mathematics, having got a First 

last year.

Having faced each other on both 

the squash and real tennis court in 

the Varsity matches last year, these 

players were no strangers to one 

another. However, Karen’s 

experience on the real tennis 

court made her the easy favourite 

to win and she didn’t disappoint. 

Although Victoria played bravely, 

Karen was clearly the stronger 

player and won the match in a 

clean 6/0, 6/0. The Cambridge 

side were left to rest easy that 

night, knowing they’d secured 

the overall title having won 4 of 

the 6 matches to be played over 

the weekend. 

The next day saw an early start to 

the doubles matches, as both the 

Oxford and Cambridge sides had 

players needing to be at the 

squash Varsity matches elsewhere 

in London that afternoon! First on 

were Karen and Lucie, looking to 

beat Victoria and Charlotte. Lucie 

www.srcf.ucam.org/curpc/ 

Cambridge University Revolver 

and Pistol Club (CURPC) is a 

friendly yet competitive club.We 

shoot mainly air pistol as well as 

Lightweight Sporting Rifle (LSR) at 

20yds.We compete in several 

competitions throughout the year 

ranging from local leagues and 

the Varsity Match up to national 

and international championships. 

Our club meets twice a week and 

we have training suitable for 

seemed a lot happier on court 

next to her teammate and 

although Victoria and Charlotte 

tried to direct play away from 

Karen, they struggled in the face of 

some tactical serving from the 

Cambridge pair. It was a 

comfortable 6/0, 6/0 win for 

Cambridge. Pippa and Alex were 

last on court for the women, and 

although Stephanie and Sarah put 

up a fight, they couldn’t do 

enough to avoid some fantastic 

volleying from Pippa whilst Alex 

held her ground at the back of the 

court.They went on to take the 

match 6/4, 6/1, securing an overall 

6-0 victory for the Cambridge 

women and retaining the trophy 

for the 4th year in succession. 


European Inter-Universities 

Championship, Winners 2010, 

Team: Ed Pearson, Ali Hakimi, 

James Watson 

Revolver and Pistol Club 

complete beginners up to national 

squad level. Shooting ranks 

amongst Cambridge’s oldest 

varsity sports and has links dating 

back to at least 1803 with the 

formation of the Cambridge 

University Rifle Volunteers.The 

University Revolver club was 

formed as an independent club in 

1902.The first revolver (full-bore) 

varsity match between Oxford and 

Cambridge most likely took place 

in 1908 at the NRA Imperial meet 

and was officially incorporated 

Rob Hird 

British Open, 1st Round 

British Real Tennis Academy 

Ali Hakimi 

British Real Tennis Academy 

Development Squad 

James Watson & Ed Pearson 

National League Division 4, 

Runners Up 

Karen Hird 

Ladies World No. 2, 2009/10 

World doubles champion and 

singles finalist, 2009 

French Open, Winner (singles), 


British Open, Winner (doubles), 

Finalist (singles), 2009 

Sponsors 

Cambridge University Press 

Pol Roger 

Harrow 

into the programme in 1909 with 

the first win going to Cambridge. 

The full-bore varsity is still 

contested at the Imperial match 

every summer (although it is now 

shot using centre fire gallery rifles 

following the ban on revolvers in 

1997).The pistol (small-bore) 

Varsity match was established in 

1960 (now shot on air pistols) and 

has become the main focus of the 

inter University pistol 

competitions. 

75

The CURPC team is proud to be 

sponsored by Haendler & 

Natermann Sport. 

Varsity 

This year’s spring Varsity match 

was held at Oxford’s Wantage 

range on the 21st February 

between CURPC and OUPC. 

Cambridge had so far enjoyed a 

very successful season with a 

squad comprising both 

experienced members (having 

recently competed at county or 

international level) and many new 

and talented shooters. However, 

last year’s small-bore Varsity was 

won by a close margin and the 

summer full-bore GRCF (Imperial) 

match lost by only a single point, 

making the recent competition 

extremely close.The Varsity match 

follows the ‘standard pistol’ course 

of fire (gauged for a .22 round), 

comprising precision and rapid 

fire rounds shot in teams of four 

over 20 yards.This year’s 

competition saw Oxford hosting, 

giving the Dark Blue side the 

home ground advantage. Both 

teams started strongly, shooting 

shoulder to shoulder, Cambridge 

with Oxford. However unfamiliar 

range conditions threw a number 

of the Cambridge side allowing 

Oxford to pull into an early lead. 

Equipment problems then put 

paid to Cambridge’s 4th man’s 

hopes of a comeback allowing 


Oxford to claim victory in the A 

team match.The CURPC ladies 

team on the other hand managed 

to successfully deal with all these 

setbacks (including a gun 

malfunction), despite the side 

consisting mostly of novices. An 

ability to remain calm under 

pressure is crucial to any 

competitive shooting sport, and 

the squad clearly rose to this on the 

day with a personal best score from 

ladies captain Wenjun Qu helping 

to secure the 2010 ladies trophy. 


The 2009/2010 season was an 

extremely successful one for 

CURPC and its members, with too 

many medals earned to mention 

them all in detail. Individual golds 

were won by James Bullock at the 

NRA Imperial meet and the ESSU 

air pistol league, by Vin Shen Ban 

in the Eley Postal competition, and 

a 2nd place cat. E ranking achieved 

by Chris Clemente at the 

Cambridge.177 April competition. 

CURPC took the team gold in 

‘standard pistol’ at the NSRA 

British Pistol Championships. On 

the county side, CURPC was 

heavily represented in the 

Cambridgeshire 1st team which 

won division 5 of the long running 

NSRA national winter league, and 

(for the first time in memory) the 

6 Counties trophy. Cheng Liu was 

the top scorer in the 6 Counties 

match with an impressive 551/600. 

CURPC also travelled to Wales to 

shoot in the Welsh Open air gun 

championships which proved a 

good opportunity to gain national 

level match experience for all who 

took part.The club put in a good 

showing as the ‘present’ in the 

annual past and present meeting 

at Bisley shooting a friendly match 

against the current Oxford side 

and the old boys from both 

Universities (the ‘Faded Blues’).The 

past did as always win on the day 

but CURPC still took home the 

novice trophy and the ‘wine prize’. 


This year CURPC’s captain James 

Bullock travelled to the 

Netherlands to shoot for England 

at senior level in the annual 

Intershoot championships. 

Intershoot is held in The Hague 

and is a major international air 

gun competition with teams sent 

from around 16 different countries 

to compete. CURPC is one of the 

few clubs that also sends a team 

to this event. A respectable 90.6% 

was scored on the second day, 

ranking in the top half of the 

England team results.The 

competition takes place over 

three days and each involves a 

separate 60 shot 10m match, 

complete with Olympic final for 

the top 8 shooters.

Riding Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/curiding/ 

The riding club provides 

equestrian activities for all levels, 

from complete beginners to 

advanced riders. Our aim is to 

promote the enjoyment and 

learning of equestrian enthusiasts; 

whether you are a seasoned 

competitor leaving a horse at 

home, or completely new to the 

sport. 

The team are chosen from those 

seasoned competitors and only 

the best 4 riders in the University 

have the opportunity to compete 

against Oxford.Trials were extremely 

competitive again last year. 

Varsity Match 

Oxford took a lead of 3 penalties 

after dressage but, after the showjumping 

phase, we overtook to 

Rifle Association 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cura/cura/ 

The Cambridge University Rifle 

Association competes in full-bore 

target shooting in two disciplines: 

Match Rifle and Target Rifle.Target 

Rifle involves prone single shot 

precision shooting using aperture 

iron sights at 'round bull' targets at 

win by 24 penalties ensuring a 7th 

consecutive victory in the riding 

Varsity match.We were also 

successful individually with 

Georgie Messenger taking the win 

with a score of 0 penalties. 


We competed against Writtle, 

Essex and the University of East 

Anglia, winning all four of our 

league matches and by over 100 

penalties on more than one 

occasion.We also had at least 3 

people in the top 5 at every match 

with individual wins for Tom 

March and Izzy Edmundson. 

Two teams representing Great 

Britain were sent to the student 

riding nations cup match held in 

Canada over 4 days in July and 

there were two Cambridge 

students were selected to be 

distances from 300 to 1000 yards. 

Unlike target rifle, match rifle uses 

telescopic sights and is shot at 

longer ranges between 1000 and 

1200 yards. Our season begins 

with our annual training week at 

Bisley during the Easter Holiday. 

Throughout the Easter holidays 

and the summer term, we have 

amongst them, Sam Cutts and 

Georgie Messenger.These 

competitions take a similar format 

to the matches the University 

riding team competes in but are 

between teams representing 

nations from all over the world. 

They consist of a team dressage 

test ridden by all three team 

members and then subsequent 

rounds of increasing difficulty up 

to advanced level, all on horses 

drawn randomly which can only 

be ridden for 5 minutes by the 

competitor before they must ride 

for the judges. A similar format is 

used for the showjumping with 

the fences increasing in height 

until the final round at around 

1.3m.The two Great Britain teams 

took Bronze and 4th and Georgie 

Messenger also took overall 

individual bronze. 

numerous weekend matches 

against many different clubs, 

counties and countries, regardless 

of the weather. Rifle shooting is a 

very sociable sport, open to men 

and women who compete on an 

equal basis. During the summer 

vacation we enter the National 

Rifle Association Imperial Meeting. 

77

Edward Dickson 

Edward won his first National championships at the age of 11 with an air 

rifle. He progressed through .22 small-bore target rifle and eventually to 

7.62mm target rifle at Oundle School, where he won the National Cadet 

Pair competition in 2004. 

Moving to Marlborough College in 2005, he toured Denmark with the 

British Schools’ Shooting Team, winning the 50m and 300m individual 

competitions without dropping a point as well as the team competition. 

Earmarked as the “one to watch” by the team manager, he captained and 

wind-coached Marlborough to 2nd place in both 2006 and 2007 in the 

Cadet Team competition,“The Ashburton”. Ed now considers himself to be 

an all round shot, as both a shooter and wind coach, and since leaving 

school has competed for Great Britain in the U21 Team World 

Championship in Canada in 2007 and the GB U19 Team to South Africa in 

2008, where the squad won all its team matches. 

In the last 3 years whilst at Cambridge he has finished 20th, 4th and 4th 

respectively in the BUCS individual small-bore competitions and 3rd and 

2nd in the 2008 and 2009 full-bore competitions, as well as being a 

member of 3 winning small-bore and 2 winning full-bore varsity matches. 

He was a reserve for England in 2008 and shot England trial matches in 

2009 and 2010. 

This year he is captain of the Cambridge University Rifle Association and 

was selected as Adjutant and coach for the Great Britain U25 tour of 

Australia for the World Championships in 2011. Despite not even making 

an application, he was also selected for the Great Britain Senior Team to 

Canada in 2011; unfortunately he had to turn the selection down, as the 

tour departs just two days after his wedding and his fiancée didn't think a 

shooting tour to be the ideal honeymoon! 


This is the highlight of the year, 

and includes dozens of 

competitions, both team and 

individual. CURA currently holds 

the record for the longest number 

of consecutive Varsity wins – 24. 

Varsity 

Match Rifle held on Thursday 15th 

July 2010 at The National Shooting 

Centre, Bisley, Surrey 

CURA beat OURC by 51 pts: 

783.49v – 732.27v 

Target Rifle held on Friday 23rd 

July 2010 at The National Shooting 

Centre, Bisley, Surrey 

CURA beat OURC by 188 pts: 

1153.125v – 965.75v 

The first of our full bore varsity 

matches was the Humphry 

Challenge Cup which is competed 

for by teams of four each firing 1 

sighter and 15 shots to count at 

1000, 1100 and 1200 yards.The 

conditions for the day could not 

have been much worse with 

forecasts of winds gusting up to 

50mph and heavy rain. At the first 

range, 1000 yards, 15 minutes of 

wind were used on the sights.This 

is equivalent to aiming around 15 

feet to the left of the target. Under 

these conditions, the greater 

organisation of the team and 

ability of the shooters gave 

Cambridge a 26 point lead. At 

1100 yards, the rain added to the 

tricky wind but Cambridge 

continued as they had started and 

increased their lead to 43 points. 

At the final range after a chance to 

dry out over lunch, the wind was 

just as complicated as ever and 

the importance of the wind 

coaches becomes more dominant. 

CURA once again had a slight lead 

over the opposition outscoring 

Oxford by 8 points.This led to a 

final margin of victory of 51 points 

and marked the tenth year in a 

row that Cambridge has won the

Humphry Challenge Cup.This run 

of successive victories is only 

matched by Oxford in the first ten 

years of this competition. Since 

the founding of this competition 

in 1881, Cambridge has won 68 

times to Oxford’s 51. 

The Chancellors’ Challenge Plate, 

presented in 1862 is the Target 

Rifle Varsity match. Unfortunately 

Oxford had one firer unable to 

make the match and so CURA 

started with a 150 point lead.With 

this margin starting, it would be 

highly unlikely for Cambridge to 

lose but instead of half-heartily 

approaching the match, the 

Cambridge team went out to put 

in an impressive score and show 

the high calibre of shooting at 

Cambridge.The course of fire for 

this match is 1 sighter and ten to 

count at 300, 500 and 600 yards 

and the wind coaches have to also 

be shooters in the team.The 

conditions for the day were tricky 

but our coaches were up to task. 

The top scorer for the day was 

Holly Foster with an impressive 

149.20v out of a maximum 

150.30v. Congratulations must also 

go to John Lindsay who put in a 

nervy 148.15v, within two points 

of the average of the Great Britain 

team who were shooting along 

side. This, coupled with his small 

bore varsity score, earned him a 

Full Blue. Narrowly missing out on 

the Full Blue was Ed Dickson who 

scored 147.21v unfortunately 

dropping his 28th and 29th of the 

30 shots in the match out of the 

bull.The standard of shooting 

from Cambridge was high with 

CURA making the eighth highest 

score in the 138 year history of the 

Chancellors. CURA beat Oxford by 

188 points, which is 38 more than 

the starting margin. Even without 

the problems that plagued Oxford 

in fielding a full team, this score 

would most likely have led to 

another victory for Cambridge. 

CURA’s season started at the 

beginning of the Easter Holidays 

with our annual training week at 

Bisley.We had a good attendance 

during this week where those new 

to shooting were introduced to fullbore 

shooting and those 

experienced shots could dust off the 

cobwebs in preparation for the new 

season.The first external match of 

the season took place on the final 

day of this training week.It was shot 

against the Oxford and Cambridge 

Rifle Association.CURA was leading 

by two points into the final distance 

but was narrowly pipped at the final 

range to lose by 4 points. 

Throughout the Easter term,7 more 

team matches and two individual 

competitions took place with CURA 

putting in a strong showing at each. 

This was impressive given that it is 

always difficult to field our strongest 

team due to exam pressures. 

This experience set us up well for 

the imperial competition where 

79

we would compete against Oxford 

and other universities. CURA 

enjoyed success in both the 

Varsity matches.This meant the 

CURA and CUSBC (our sister club) 

had a clean sweep in the all the 

Varsity matches for the second 

year running. In the BUCS events, 

CURA won both the Universities 

Henry Day 

My Sport is Long Range Target 

Rifle Shooting.This involves 

shooting a target at distances 

ranging from 300 to 1000 yards 

and trying to get the highest score 

possible by judging the wind 

conditions and setting one’s sights 

accordingly. I compete in 

individual competitions but enjoy 

team-shooting most. 


Aggregate and the Universities 

Long Range competitions. After 

the Imperial Meeting, several other 

open meetings were attended by 

members of CURA, in both Match 

Rifle and Target Rifle. A trio from 

Cambridge also competed in the 

Scottish Match Rifle open meeting 

in September. 

In 2010 I was selected for the GB 

team to Canada.This was my first 

senior international cap and 

represents a huge achievement for 

me as I was one of the youngest 

members of the team, one that is 

made up of many people with far 

more experience.Whilst in Canada 

I was the top U25 in the Grand 

Aggregate of competitions and I 

shot for the winning GB team in 

the Outlander, Commonwealth 

and America matches.The 

America match is one of our 

“majors” and is undoubtedly the 

best and most intense sporting 

experience I have ever had. 

I have previously toured Canada 

twice, South Africa and the 

Channel Islands. Representing 

BUCS, GB U19s (Captain) and GB 

U21s. Breaking into senior 

international level competition 

requires a huge step up in the 

level of training, both by practising 

The Association has been awarded 

3 Full Blues in the last 2 years with 

members competing for Great 

Britain at both the Under 21 and 

senior levels.We are fortunate to 

continue to have some great talent 

on the team, in both disciplines, 

who are willing to pass their 

knowledge onto new members. 

but also analysing my technique, 

fitness and nutrition. 

Recently I have been selected to 

represent GB again on tour to 

Canada in August 2011 and to 

represent the GB U25s in the U25 

World Championships in Australia 

in October 2011. 

Unfortunately Target Shooting is 

an expensive sport; there is no 

sponsorship of the sport and what 

prize money there is does not 

cover the costs of the competition. 

Competitors predominantly have 

to fund themselves, which is 

becoming increasingly difficult. 

I am therefore very grateful for the 

support of the Eric Evans Fund as 

well as the Hawks’ Charitable Trust 

and my college that has made my 

achievements this year possible 

and affordable.

Rugby Fives Club 

Rugby Fives has been played at 

Cambridge University for over 100 

years and the Cambridge 

University Rugby Fives Club was 

set up in 1925.The first rugby fives 

courts were built in Portugal Place 

in 1892 and these were used, 

though refurbished from time to 

time, up until 1995. At present 

there are no courts in Cambridge, 

so a commitment of travelling 

weekly to Oundle School to 

practice is required. Although the 

sport is rather unknown to most, 

the club throughout the years has 

had some extremely talented 

players.The club prides itself on its 

long tradition and success and 

continues to breed new talent. 

Varsity 


St Paul’s, Oxford 

Sport can sometimes kick you 

when you’re down, and this year’s 

Varsity Match at St Paul’s was a 

cruel example of this for the team. 

Oxford were almost unchanged 

from last year’s victorious eight – 

only adding freshman Hine to give 

them extra fire-power in the 

doubles – while Cambridge, still 

without home courts, were forced 

to field a side weakened by a 

combination of illness and 

unavoidable absence.This 

inevitably led to something of a 

mismatch, at least as far as the 

scores were concerned. 

Oxford, led by British Universities 

and National Under 25 champion 

Tristão, boasted a formidable 

singles line-up, including some 

seasoned veterans. Fabes at two, a 

winning captain for Cambridge 

back in 2002, and Ronan at three 

had each played in four previous 

Varsity Matches. In the event, 

Oxford’s top three overwhelmed 

their less experienced though 

talented opponents, Malone, Ladak 

and Rowland; while at four last 

year’s captain, Park, beat the 

Cambridge secretary Compton with 

something to spare. Sixty points to 

eight was the score at lunch. 

The doubles brought Cambridge 

no relief, as none of their pairs 

were able to make any real 

impression on the well-balanced 

Oxford line-up.The third and 

fourth Oxford pairs played as well 

as any of recent years and gave 

Cambridge little chance.The first 

eight games of doubles were so 

conclusive that the result of the 

match was already determined by 

that stage, with none of the 

Cambridge pairs reaching double 

figures in any game. 

The question now was this: could 

Oxford keep pressing to create a 

remarkable record by scoring 

three hundred points and limiting 

their opponents to fewer than 

fifty? Despite whole-hearted 

resistance from Cambridge, they 

managed to achieve this aim, 

conceding only thirty-eight points 

overall while amassing a 

maximum – the first time since the 

very first Varsity Match in 1925 

that the winning margin has been 

over 250 points. 

This was always going to be a very 

tough year, even without the 

injuries and absences that 

occurred.With several players 

returning from abroad for next 

season and a host of talented 

freshmen the future is looking 

good and hopefully the side can 

get back to winning ways in 2011. 


This season unfortunately the club 

did not participate in BUCS, and so 

apart from the season ending 

Varsity match we had just weekly 

fixtures against school and clubs 

from over the country. 

As with Varsity the host of long 

term absence due to injury and 

illness meant we fared badly in 

fixtures.There were several close 

games but unfortunately no 

victories were obtained 

throughout the season. 

A notable high point of the season 

as always was the past v present 

match held annually. During the 

day the match was held, 

eventually being won by the past. 

Then in the evening past players 

joined the current squad in 

Magdalene for a formal meal. 

Looking Towards 2011 

The 2009/2010 season was an 

‘annus horribilis’ in terms of results 

for the club but with old hands 

back and plenty of fresh blood, 

the 2010/2011 season is looking 

very promising. 

In November a team of eight will 

be going to BUCS our first entry 

for four years, and we hope to win 

at least one of the singles or 

doubles titles. Early results are 

alluding to a very exciting Varsity 

match with both teams looking 

closely matched. 

81

Rugby Union Football Club 

www.curufc.com/ 

Cambridge University Rugby 

Union Football Club (CURUFC) was 

officially founded in 1872, the first 

Varsity Match being played in that 

year. In addition to the first XV (the 

Blues) CURUFC runs a second XV 

(the LX Club) an Under 21 side, an 

U21 A XV and a Colleges XV. Each 

December there is a series of five 

rugby varsity matches played 

against the corresponding teams 

at OURFC. All teams have strong 

fixture schedules and receive 

regular coaching. 

The club is, as a Constituent Body 

of the RFU, also responsible for the 

administration of some 400 

matches a season involving intercollegiate 

leagues and cup 

matches. In addition in the Lent 

term an U20 XV plays in the 

national championship. 

The Club is financially and 

managerially independent of the 

University and is run by a small 

committee. Given that the playing 

membership of CURUFC turns 

over with great frequency 

(depending on the length of a 

student's course) the Committee is 

primarily concerned with 

continuity in terms of tradition, 

facilities, finance and 

development. 

Varsity 2010 

December 9th, 2010,Twickenham 

Stadium 



Captain Jimmy Richards’ men 

went down 21-10 against Oxford 

at Twickenham in the 129th Varsity 

match.The result will ultimately be 

seen as a disappointing 

performance after a solid season 

and thorough preparation.The 

Blues will be asking themselves 

what went wrong on the day. 

The team didn't hit the levels seen 

over the course of the season, and 

with the one off nature of the 

Varsity Match, Oxford were the 

superior team on the day and fully 

deserved the plaudits. Cambridge 

came off second best in the 

contact area and despite largely 

dominating the scrums were 

never quite able to get sufficient 

'go forward' to apply sustained 

pressure.Too many mistakes were 

made and momentum lost. 

Cambridge scorers were Jimmy 

Richards with a penalty and the 

conversion of a penalty try. 


College Rugby 2009/2010 season 

Division One Champions: St John's 

Division Two Champions: Queen's 

Promoted: Magdalene 

Division Three Champions: 

Robinson 

Promoted: Clare/Corpus/King's 

(CCK) 

Fitzwilliam College were awarded 

the CUDRRS 'Fair Play' Trophy. 

Cuppers 2010 Winners: St John's 

Cuppers Plate Winners: Downing 

Cuppers Shield Winners: 

Magdalene 

Colleges 7's Tournament Winners: 

Homerton 

Plate Winners: Fitzwilliam 

Cambridge also contributed 

strongly to the Oxbridge U23 XV, 

which played against the 

Combined Services U23 XV at 

Twickenham in the curtain raiser 

for the annual Army V Navy match. 

It was an honour to be asked to 

play in the game and a very 

strong, skilful and pacy Oxbridge 

team performed magnificently to 

win by 50-22 in an open and 

entertaining game. 

CURUFC were invited to represent 

the RFU at the Casablanca 

University 7's tournament and the 

squad both enjoyed the trip and 

performed well to reach the final 

where it just fell short as a very 

strong South African Student team 

took the trophy. In addition, the 7's 

squad played at the Melrose 7's, 

reached the plate final of the ULR 

Samurai 7's and the semi finals at 

the London Floodlit Sevens. 

Looking towards 2010/10 

In 2010-11 season the Blues squad 

will visit the eastern USA for a preseason 

training camp.The 

inaugural Barcap Sevens 

tournament will be held at Grange 

Road as a season opener in late 

September.The Oxbridge U23's 

will again play at Twickenham on 

Army/Navy day. CURUFC 7's have 

received a return invite to the 

Casablanca 7's.

Women’s Rugby Union Football Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuwrfc/ 

Cambridge University Women’s 

Rugby Club prides itself on its 

commitment and dedication to 

the sport of rugby, as well as its 

inclusion of players with a wide 

range of experience levels, from 

complete beginners to those 

having played nearly a decade. 

CUWRFC competes in both the 

RFUW Championship Midlands 2 

and BUCS Midlands 1A divisions 

during Michaelmas and Lent Term. 

The Varsity Match is usually played 

in the final weeks of Lent Term, 

with the venue alternating 

annually between Cambridge and 

Oxford. CUWRFC is now also 

pleased to boast a reinstatement 

of their Full Blue status based on 

their continuous success over the 

past three years. 

Women’s rugby is one of the 

fastest growing sports 

internationally. In Summer 2010, 

England hosted the Women’s 

Rugby World Cup, which featured 

the top twelve teams from around 

the globe. Each of the three days 

of pool matches was sold out, and 

over 13,000 people attended the 

final at Twickenham Stoop. 

Moreover, both men’s and 

women’s rugby sevens have 

been approved as an Olympic 

sport, beginning with the 

2016 Olympics. 

CUWRFC is a very inclusive club 

and, in addition to a vigorous 

match and training schedule, 

offers a very active social calendar 

to its members, including team 

meals, themed pub crawls, swaps 

and our annual Pocklington Tour. 

Varsity 

Cambridge Blues 25 – 0 Oxford 

Blues 

Cambridge Tigers 9 – 7 Oxford 

Panthers 

The Cambridge Blues came out 

strong against an Oxford side 

hungry to avenge their previous 

two Varsity losses; however, 

Cambridge was clearly the 

dominant team, quickly putting 

points on the board. Although 

Oxford came back in the second 

half more aggressively, a strong 

Cambridge defence kept them 

scoreless.Tries were scored by Nat 

Cordon, Sammy Graham, Lauren 

Iredale, Rachel Thompson and 

Anne Venner. 

Earlier that day, the second teams 

battled it out in a more closely 

contested match. Both teams 

fought fiercely for possession, with 

the boot of scrum half Helen 

Bellfield making the difference on 

the scoreboard with three penalties. 

Within the last ten minutes of the 

Photo: Emily Matthews 

match, Oxford finally put one over 

the try line, which they then 

converted; however, it was too little 

too late as Cambridge claimed 

their third double Varsity victory in 

three years. 


The 2009-2010 season was a 

phenomenal one for CUWRFC. In 

addition to clinching first place in 

the RFUW Championship Midlands 

2 division with a final record of 9-3 

(including two walkovers they were 

prevented from rescheduling by 

RFUW and thus were forced to 

concede), Cambridge was 

undefeated in their BUCS Midlands 

1A division, with an astounding 

points differential of 544 scored 

and 3 conceded. After defeating 

Loughborough and Portsmouth in 

the BUCS Knockout tournament, 

Cambridge lost in the semi-finals to 

eventual champions, UWIC. 

CUWRFC is looking forward to the 

2010-2011 season as an 

opportunity to expand and build 

up the club to ensure continued 

success over the next several years. 

83

Ski & 

Snowboard 

Club 

www.cussc.org.uk/ 

Amidst the end-of-term antics, the 

ski resort of Tignes also played 

host to the annual Varsity ski races. 

Despite delays to proceedings, 

ironically due to snowfall, the 87th 

year of racing saw exciting races 

between 10 teams of Oxbridge 

students. Ultimately, it was to be 

the underdogs Cambridge who 

roared the loudest, claiming the 

coveted Men’s Blue’s trophy for the 

first time since 2004. 

With the ferocious Catherine 

Pelton commanding me to be 

male race captain, the daunting 

task proved to be most rewarding. 

After hours of training, time-trials 

and preparation, the racing got 

underway on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Cambridge Blues were 

confirmed to have not only the 

stronger vocal support, but also 

the stronger nerves, with many of 

the Oxford male First team not 

being able to match the pressure 

they faced.The slalom saw 

creditable performances by Jamie 

Pleydell-Bouverie and Jeremy 

Hulse, but the real star of the 

proceedings was Pete Calvert. 

Calvert’s calm consistency paid 

dividends, translating into success 

in the following day’s races, 

finishing almost eight seconds 

clear of his nearest rival; 

proceeding to reclaim the overall 

individual trophy, making it two 

wins in three years for the finalyear 

CompSci from Trinity.Yet it

was not only veteran Calvert that 

ensured victory for the Blues team, 

with strong performances from 

Pleydell-Bouverie once again, and 

Jim Pockson showing himself to 

be a master in the speedier 

discipline of the Giant Slalom. 

Wednesday morning saw the lead 

established on the previous day’s 

slalom course comfortably 

defended, easing the Cambridge 

First team to be pronounced 

victorious over a deflated Oxford. 

The Men’s 3rds produced an 

outstanding, winning team 

performance, with many of its 

members performing a long way 

above expectation. Noteworthy is 

Jamie Salter, who managed to 

finish comfortably in the top ten 

competitors overall in his first 

Varsity race, heading the 

Cambridge Third’s to glory. 

Unfortunately the success of the 

men’s First and Third teams was 

not replicated elsewhere in the 

races. Oxford’s women benefited 

from having a star Canadian skier 

amongst their numbers within 

their First squad. Even in the face 

of this talent, the Cambridge 

women managed to put up a 

worthy challenge, with Clair 

Brunner and Katie Salter proving 

to be steady competitors in both 

days of skiing.The gem of the 

Cambridge women’s ski teams, 

though, was the Cambridge race 

captain, Pelton.The New Hall 

second-year was able to lead by 

example, producing solid 

performances in every single race, 

and managing to claim a trophy of 

her own for her prowess in the 

faster Giant Slalom. Both the men’s 

and women’s seconds found 

creditable performances in the 

shape of Emerick Derian,Tim 

Johanson and Larissa Normanton, 

yet consistency proved to get the 

better of both teams. 

The racing produced a mixed bag 

of results for Cambridge, including 

the usual tension and surprises 

that have become accepted as 

typical to the Varsity ski races. In 

light of the dominance of Oxford 

Fiona Hughes 

in recent years, Cambridge rose 

to the challenge, and it was the 

Light Blues who flew back 

triumphant to Heathrow with the 

greatest smiles. 

I am part of the British Cross Country Ski Team and have been racing 

competitively for the past five years. My training involves a lot of running, 

biking, strength work and rollerskiing (summer skis on wheels), and 

spending as much time on snow as possible. I’ve spent the last two years 

training and racing full time before starting my degree. So far I’ve been 

successful at fitting cross country skiing into my life whilst studying at 

Cambridge.This requires a lot of planning ahead, good time management 

and motivation, but good results this winter are proof that it is working. My 

main aim for this season is the World Under 23 Championships in Estonia. 

My biggest achievements to date include placing 41st at the World Junior 

Championships in 2010 and coming 67th at the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

I aim to continue to develop and improve as a cross country skier whilst 

studying at Cambridge, and to continue to compete at a high level on the 

international stage. 

85

Small Bore Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cura/cusbc/ 

Cambridge University Small Bore 

Club, and its sister club,The 

Cambridge University Rifle 

Association, are amongst the 

oldest varsity clubs at the 

University. The small bore club 

focuses on shooting at a distance 

of 25m at cardboard targets with 

1.2cm diameter bulls eyes. 

Varsity 

Cambridge 1511-1485 Oxford 

The Cambridge University Smallbore 

Club continued its recent 

domination over Oxford, winning 

all of the matches played.The 1st 

VIII (Heslop match) triumphed 

with 1511 vs. 1485 ex. 1600 with 

the Cambridge captain, James 

Diviney, top scoring. Special notice 

to Ian Craigie who broke the Halfblue 

threshold for the first time 

with a score of 195 and joins E 

Dickson, J. Diviney, and J. Lindsay 

in eligibility for a Full Blue. 

The Bentata (Ladies IV) ended with 

another Cambridge victory 729 vs. 

716 ex 800 with the ladies captain, 

Jo Harris, top scoring in this 

competition as well as requalifying 

for her Half-blue. 


The final 2 matches, shot a week 

later, ended with 2 more 

Cambridge victories.The 2nd VIII 

(Kensington match) winning 1283 

vs. 1194 ex 1400 (S. Murugesu- 

Cambridge, top scoring) and the 

Lerman (3 Position match) 

winning 916 vs. 752 ex 1200 (J 

Lindsay - Cambridge, top scoring). 

Other Results 

General Results: 

Grand Prix 1st leg 

Team: 

Cambridge A: 1st place 1149 

ex.1200 

Cambridge B: 5th , 939 

Cambridge C: 6th/7 , 609 

Individual: 

J Diviney top scored 197 

E Dickson 3rd/34 195 

Ladies: 

J Harris 3rd/8 190 

Fresher 

A Abrahams 2nd/11 179 

Grand Prix 2 

Team: 

Southampton 1st 

Cambridge A:2nd 

Cambridge B 6th/7 teams 

Individual: 

J Diviney 5th 191 

G Greenbury 10th/35 189 

Ladies: 

J Harris 4th/9 182 

Fresher: 

A Abrahams: 4th/10 172 

BUCS 

Postal leagues: 

2nd division: Cambridge: 1st 4038, 

2nd Edinburgh 3988, 3rd Cardiff A 

3974 

Individual top 20: 

Ed Dickson 4th (785 ex. 800) 

James Diviney 17th (778 ex. 800) 

Knockout: Knocked out in 1st 

round 

Other Matches 

Cuppers: 

1st : Gonville and Caius, 387 ex. 400 

(Diviney and Greenbury) 

2nd : Selwyn, 376 (Bryson and 

Eastham) 

3rd : Sidney Sussex, 352 (Muregesu 

and Skinner) 

Greshams School: Greshams A Win 

Cambridge A: 2nd : 1486 

Cambridge B: 4th : 1411

Squash Rackets Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cusrc/ 

The CUSRC has a squad of around 

40 players across 3 men’s and 3 

women’s teams.The Men's team 

hold a strong history in the varsity 

match (on a current streak of 11 

wins out of 12), have varied 

success throughout the season 

against touring teams and London 

clubs, and have entered a team 

into BUCS for the coming season. 

The women are the strongest 

team in Cambridgeshire (winning 

both the county league and cup) 

and came 3rd in the BUCS premier 

league. Unfortunately, in recent 

years the Women's Blues have 

been struggling against Oxford 

due to some very good players 

having an inability to graduate. 

Overall the atmosphere in the club 

is very friendly with a hearty 

amount of competition, where we 

train hard and know how to 

reward ourselves afterwards! 

Varsity 

On a crisp February morning it 

was once again time for the 79th 

annual Squash Varsity match 

against Oxford (one of the oldest 

matches in squash). After lots of 

hard training and strong new 

players both Cambridge teams 

were ready. 

The match is held at the Royal 

Automobile Club on Pall Mall; 

some of the toughest courts out 

there. Spectators line the back and 

sides of the court, peering in, the 

humidity is way up and the 

pressure of the game makes for 

the game a fierce battle of ability 

and nerves. 

The women go on court first, 

Andrea Kuesters (reserve) and 

Karen Hird (5th String) leading the 

way; Andrea winning comfortably 

3-0, but Karen fighting well 

couldn't fend off the strong 

Oxford opponent, losing 3-0. Kate 

Mason (4th String) couldn't find 

her rhythm also losing 3-0.The 

Cambridge captain, Alexandra 

Bryant, (3rd String) clawed back 

the match with a 3-1 win and Ann 

Babtie (1st String) quickly finished 

off the Oxford 1st string to level it. 

Unfortunately after a tense match 

Rebecca Palmer (2nd String) 

couldn't fend off a 3-1 defeat. 

The men follow, on the back of 10 

varsity wins out of 11, full of 

confidence.The men went on 

strong and quickly had the match 

sewn up; Craig Winthrop (reserve) 

3-0, Jack Styles (5th String) 3-1, 

Mike MacKay (4th String) 3-0, Dave 

Allman (3rd Sting) 3-0. Oxford 

were saved from complete 

humiliation through a 3-0 win over 

Nick Sutcliffe (2nd String). 

However, Cambridge finished the 

day in style, with Harry Leitch (1st 

Sting) only losing 2 points. 


The men's teams had varied 

results throughout the season, 

with the main focus being on the 

varsity matches.The Blues won 

their varsity match 4-1, the 2nds 

lost 3-2 and the 3rds won 4-1. 

The women's team, with a more 

focused calendar, came 3rd in the 

BUCS premier league, were 

narrowly knocked out by Oxford in 

the BUCS cup quarter-finals, won 

the Cambridgeshire County 

League and Cup.Their varsity 

results were as follows: Blues lost 

3-2, 2nds won 5-0 and the 3rds 

won 5-0. 

Looking Toward 2010/11 

Both the men's and women's 

teams have had a strong influx of 

players.They and the old-hands 

will be training their racket skills 

twice a week, their fitness once a 

week and play as many games as 

possible outside of that. 

The men look forward to a busy 

calendar of touring teams (Jesters, 

Escorts, Ghostboaters), London 

clubs (Hurlingham, Bath & 

Racquets, Royal Automobile Club, 

Oxford & Cambridge Club) and the 

RAF.They also entered a team into 

the 2nd division of BUCS. 

The women also will be having a 

busy season with weekly 

Cambridgeshire League matches 

and weekends away to play in the 

BUCS premier league. 

At the end of October the club will 

be putting on an exhibition and 

coaching day to try to inspire new 

players into the sport. 

87

Swimming & Waterpolo Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuswpc/ 

Varsity 

Swimming 

The culmination of a year’s hard 

training and racing for the 

Cambridge University Swimming 

Team came as they travelled to 

Oxford for the Annual Varsity 

Match. Rivalry going into the 

match was as strong as ever, 

especially after Oxford took 

victory in the 2009 Varsity match 

by just 1 point (90 to the Light 

Blues’ 89), when Cambridge had 

won the 8 out of the previous 

9 competitions. 

As the gala got underway, it was 

clear that this was going to be the 

fastest Varsity ever seen.The 

Cambridge girls dominated their 

individual events, winning all but 

one, with some spectacular 

personal best times. In every 

individual event, a Cambridge 

swimmer swam within the fastest 

five times ever recorded by a 

Cambridge lady, and three 

swimmers broke all-time records: 

Henrietta Dillon in the 200m IM, 

Caroline Gordon in the 100m 

breaststroke and Captain Emily 

Bottle in the 100m backstroke.The 

Medley Relay team destroyed the 

Dark Blues by more than half a 

length. By the end of the gala, the 

final score in the Ladies’ match 

was 51-39 to Cambridge. 

The Men’s team went into the 

match knowing the going would 

be tough – Oxford were boasting 

an extremely strong team, which 

included Michael Phelps’ former 

training partner and US World 


Championship swimmer Davis 

Tarwater. From the very start, the 

atmosphere on poolside was 

electrifying, and this only 

increased with several finishes 

separated by hundredths of 

seconds.There was stunning 

swimming from both Oxford and 

Cambridge swimmers, which 

merely highlighted the 

unprecedented standard of 

achievement on both sides. Nearly 

every Cambridge swimmer swum 

faster than they ever had before, 

and times that would have won 

the match by a full second and a 

half last year placed in 4th this 

year. As in the Ladies’ match, there 

were three all-time individual 

Cambridge records, set by Dane 

Rook, Joel Carpenter, and Captain 

Tom Rootsey, and the all-time 

Medley record was also smashed 

by over two seconds. In the end, 

however, Oxford were too strong, 

and came out on top of a match 

that saw swimming at an 

astonishingly high level for the 

two small teams. The final overall 

score was 97 – 83 to Oxford. 

However, the Light Blues have an 

additional chance in which to take 

on their Oxford counterparts later 

this year - in something of a 

departure from the warmth of an 

indoor pool.This summer sees the 

return of the biennial Channel 

Swim Relay, where teams of 

6 swimmers from each University 

race from England to France, 

through the busiest shipping lane 

in the world. Certainly a very 

different challenge, but one which 

will allow the two teams to further 

fuel their blossoming rivalry. 

Waterpolo 

The 110th Varsity Water Polo 

matches took place on the 20th 

February at the Rosenblatt 

Swimming pool in Oxford.The 

Cambridge Ladies’ team edged 

out a dramatic 5-6 win over the 

Dark Blues, whereas the Cambridge 

Men put in what was easily their 

best performance of the season, 

but unfortunately went down 6-4 

to a strong Oxford side, spurred on 

by an energetic crowd. 

After an impressive victory for the 

Cambridge alumni, the women 

were on first.The team went into 

their Varsity match with 

confidence after a recent 

dominant win over Oxford in 

BUCS. However, the Light Blues 

knew that Oxford would raise their 

game for the grudge match, and 

they did, keeping the match tight 

and remaining in the game up 

until the final whistle. 

It soon became apparent that 

Oxford had fielded a much more 

disciplined team than Cambridge 

were prepared for.They had 

sharpened up their tactics, and 

played an effective drop on the pit 

to keep several key players out of 

the game. Cambridge seemed 

unsure of how to respond, with 

several speculative and 

unsuccessful efforts from range, as 

well as easily intercepted passes to 

the pit attacker. Despite struggling 

offensively, Cambridge showed 

their class with a strong defence 

from Sally Bullock and Lizzy Day in 

particular. Notable goals from 

Sarah Hopkins and Jeanie Ward- 

Waller kept Cambridge within two 

points of Oxford.

After a stern team talk at half time, 

Cambridge regrouped and 

Captain Josie Faulkner led 

numerous high-speed 

counterattacks up the pool. Oxford 

continued their drop, allowing 

Cambridge to move closer in to 

goal, and unleash some powerful 

testing shots, notably from 

Rebecca Vorhees. Voorhees won it 

for the team, scoring four blinding 

goals giving Cambridge the lead 

in the fourth quarter. 

Although a slightly less assured 

performance than that of a few 

weeks before, Cambridge did 

always look the better side, and 

played a better standard of Water 

Polo throughout the match. It was 

an extremely close contest 

culminating in a deserved win for 

the Light Blues. 

Boosted by the women’s result the 

men’s match opened with some 

encouraging attacking play from 

Cambridge and, although 

seemingly unable to convert some 

of their early opportunities, Steve 

Cooke scored a good individual 

goal to give Cambridge the lead. 

Oxford came back strong, testing 

the Cambridge defence, and 

eventually equalising.The second 

and third quarters were very close, 

with not much to separate the 

teams, although with players tiring 

both sides lost some of their shape 

in attack.With the score tied at 4-4 

going into the final quarter, the 

Cambridge team knew that the 

match could still be won, and 

started out strong after fiery 

words from Captain Riccardo di 

Pietro and Coach Andy Knight. 

Crucially, 3 minutes into the fourth 

quarter Oxford re-took the lead, 

once again Cambridge pushed 

forward and tried valiantly to 

equalise, but with no result. After 

the Dark Blues doubled their lead 

with less than two minutes 

remaining Cambridge still fought 

hard, but were unable to claw back 

the deficit, the match finishing a 

frustrating 6-4 defeat. 

The Cambridge side put in a 

disciplined performance, and 

members of the crowd 

commented on how unified they 

looked as a team. Sadly a chronic 

inability to put away their goalscoring 

opportunities throughout 

the match meant that the Men 

were unable to capitalise on some 

good attacking play. Defensively 

they looked fairly solid, covering 

back well, and impressively 

managed to keep a side featuring 

the imposing Shaun Hotchkiss to 

just six goals. Goalkeeper Alex 

Ross also consistently made topclass 

saves, including one penalty, 

to keep the match close. 

Cambridge now really need to 

work on their finishing if they 

want to take their polo to the 

next level. 


Men’s Swimming 

The start of the term saw a 

dedicated core of swimmers left 

on the men’s team, but having lost 

several team members last year, it 

looked like a good intake would 

be needed from the trials. Freshers’ 

Fair saw many sign ups and soon 

the eagerly awaited trials were 

upon us. We saw, as always, a 

huge variety of ability at trials, 

but there were six people who 

stood out, and none could be left 

out of the team. Despite this 

causing the exceeding of the 

unofficial quota of 12 swimmers, 

the following six swimmers were 

welcomed into the team: Dane 

Rook; Joel Carpenter; Jack Long; 

Henry Marshall; Tom Hill and Brad 

Dixon. They have integrated well 

and have very quickly become 

crucial members of our tightly 

knit team. 

This year, for the first time in 

several years, there is a 

strengthening link between our 

Club and City of Cambridge 

Swimming Club (CoCSC). A 

number of our swimmers are now 

training with the Top Squad, under 

the guidance of James Freezer, 

whilst others are training with the 

Senior Squad and Masters. The 

benefits to us are clear – we have 

some coached sessions, as well as 

more pool time. This, I feel, has 

worked very well with significant 

benefits to those people who 

attend these sessions. 

The first competition of the year 

was the Relays Gala, held at 

Parkside. This was one of the first 

opportunities for everyone to see 

each other swim, and begin to 

really bond as a team. Everyone 

swam really well, and the teams 

(after some scoring confusion) 

were well placed. Some 

outstanding individual 

performances, though important, 

were far eclipsed by the team 

spirit shown even at this early 

stage in the year! 

The next major event was BUCS 

short-course championships, held 

in Sheffield on 13th – 15th 

November. We managed to take a 

good sized team, making entries 

difficult as people wanted to swim 

so much! There were again some 

outstanding personal 

achievements, with several Blues 

times achieved. Of the guys, Andy, 

Dane and Tom swam impressively 

to achieve these times so early in 

the season. The single final made 

by Tom in the 200 back does not 

do justice to the efforts and 

achievements of the team as a 

whole! The relay teams swam 

impressively, missing out on finals 

by a matter of a couple of places. 

Again, the team spirit and 

excellent attitude of the team 

showed through. 

89

Following a few more weeks of 

training, we were ready for the 

major competition of the term – 

BUCS teams. Held at Hatfield, the 

Southern round was the stepping 

stone to the National finals held at 

Sheffield in March. Having been 

relegated last year, the team was 

keen to regain our rightful 

position in the first division. 

Following some impressive and 

gutsy individual and team 

performances, the team won the 

division, beating both Bath teams 

in the process. 

The 2nd January saw the team on 

the way to Italy for the annual 

training camp, on which the boys 

managed to swim more than 

85000 metres in the week – a 

stunning feat of endurance, which 

was key to the amazing Varsity 

swims that were seen later on in 

the term. Almost as soon as we 

returned, it was time for City of 

Cambridge Open meet, at which 

there were many hard fought 

swims, battling with the fatigue 

from the week before, but still 

many good results, with many 

swimmers swimming lots of 

events, not always on their no. 1 

strokes. Joel Carpenter’s epic 

performance to secure 3rd place 

in the “skins” event stands out as 

the performance of the weekend. 

Women’s Swimming 

The term got off to a positive start 

with a strong turnout at trials and 

a bunch of promising new recruits. 

The first major test of the team’s 

fitness and speed came at the 

BUCS Short Course 

Championships in Sheffield, where 

there were a number of great 

individual performances including 

fresher Henrietta Dillon’s Blues 

time on 100m butterfly – the first 

female to achieve such a time in 

the academic year. Emily Darley 

reaped the rewards of her 

commitment to training and with 


a time faster than at Varsity in 

2009, and Jo Lister took more than 

6 seconds off her 100m 

backstroke, just 6 weeks after trials 

and a long summer break. 

Training continued with a 

vengeance until the very end of 

term, because the final weekend 

saw the return of the BUCS Team 

championships, at which we 

desperately sought promotion to 

the first division. As it turned out, 

we need not have worried – the 

4-strong team of Caroline Gordon, 

Kat de Rome, Emily Bottle and 

Henny Dillon stormed the first 

relay in the fastest time of all 

divisions. From then on the only 

way was up, and many events 

were won in the fastest time of 

the meet - so that it was clear 

that Cambridge were the 

strongest female team of the 

25 Universities present. 

During the Christmas break, the 

team battled through snow and 

ice to their local pools to maintain 

regular training and then met just 

after New Year for the annual 

training camp.The week spent in 

Italy was fantastic – not only for 

the emergence of a strong team 

spirit, but for the way in which the 

girls battled to 81000m swimming 

in 14 sessions.This ensured we 

entered Lent term with a great 

basis on which to begin the final 6 

weeks until Varsity. Just a week 

after returning from the camp 

there were some remarkable 

performances at the City of 

Cambridge Open, considering the 

continuing fatigue from such an 

intense week of training abroad. 

Henny Dillon again showed her 

strength, gaining a time in the 

100m free which was the fastest 

ever by any Cambridge lady.The 

depth of the team was 

demonstrated, with many people 

competing in unusual events, and 

in many races over the weekend. 

BUCS Teams Final 

Throughout the year, the Men’s 

and Women’s teams train together, 

and as such think of the swimmers 

as one team, but race results are 

often separated. The BUCS teams 

final was a chance to perform as a 

team, as it was the overall result 

here that counted. The swimmers 

came into this meet confident 

from strong individual 

performances a few weeks before 

at Varsity, and hoped to rectify last 

year’s relegation with a strong 

performance to ensure promotion 

back up to the top division where 

a team as strong as this belongs. 

Both the men and women got off 

to a great start, winning the 

medley relays that started the gala 

with times that would have 

troubled the top few in the top 

division. The 100 metre 

individuals came next, with 

Cambridge consistently finishing 

in the top few, with several wins to 

add to the pot. Notably, 

Cambridge came home first in 

both the 100m freestyle races with 

Kat de Rome and Andy Corley 

swimming superbly to do so. Both 

breaststrokers also deserve a 

mention, both coming home in 

new Cambridge records, Dane 

Rook winning his race in the rapid 

time of 1.03.96, only 0.03 seconds 

off the fastest time of the day in 

the top division. Caroline Gordon 

was second in her race, but beat 

everyone in the top division, 

showing yet again the quality of 

the Cambridge team. 

After the 200m freestyle races, in 

which Kat and Andy battled well 

to second and third places 

respectively, the fast and furious 

50m races began. Good 

performances came from all 

quarters, the breaststrokers again 

making a big impact, both 

swimming season’s bests, Dane 

dipping under 30 seconds for

another new Cambridge record, 

and Caroline with a record of 

33.58. Joel Carpenter was also on 

fire, swimming two season’s bests 

and records in the 50s free and fly, 

with 23.99, and 25.45 respectively, 

winning both races. 

The final two relays were solid 

swims from all involved, defending 

the team’s considerable lead with 

points to spare. There was still of 

course the tense wait to hear the 

results, worrying whether 

calculations were correct! The 

team were announced as winners 

of the second division to great 

celebration. They collected 

medals and a trophy (which had to 

be given back immediately!), and 

confirmed their promotion back 

into the top division, a highly 

deserved result following an 

industrious and successful year. 

Channel Swim 

Having completed all the physical 

and mental preparation for the 

challenge of swimming in the cold 

seawater in a race against arch 

rivals Oxford, the team of 6 (three 

guys and three girls) were down in 

Folkestone waiting for the go 

ahead to swim. The start was first 

set to be Monday morning, but 

with less than 12 hours to go, the 

pilot let the team know a forecast 

had changed, and it would not be 

the day to go. At 8pm the next 

evening, the call came that the 

team would be meeting the pilot 

at 2am on Tuesday 13th July (the 

next day). After a few hours sleep, 

the team met up with pilot Reg 

Brickell in Dover harbour in the 

pitch dark and light drizzle. The 

two teams’ pilot boats took the 

swimmers round to Shakespeare 

Beach to begin the race at 3am. 

The first swimmers from each 

team entered the water and swam 

back to the beach in order to 

begin the race. After a quick 

handshake between the 

swimmers, lit only by a quavering 

faint spotlight from the boat, 

starting horn went, and the 

swimmers plunged into the water. 

Rootsey made an impressive start 

quickly taking the lead from 

Oxford and widening the gap 

between our two boats - a lead 

which was then maintained 

throughout the race. After an 

incredible start by Rootsey (only 

just falling short of the world 

record distance set by a solo 

swimmer in their first hour) the 

Light Blues were well in the lead 

by the time Emily Darley entered 

the water. Darley then maintained 

the lead for her hour as Oxford 

desperately tried to catch the 

Cambridge boat as the sky 

lightened, managing to close the 

gap marginally by the time Andy 

Corley (captain) entered the water 

having just witness a beautiful 

dawn over the sea. Corley then 

managed to extend the lead of the 

Light Blues over the hour of his 

swim as Oxford fell behind even 

further. During this third hour the 

rain began to fall heavily, but the 

Light Blues kept up their spirits 

and maintained the cheering for 

their swimmer on deck while 

Oxford sought shelter in their 

boat’s cabin. 

The next changeover saw Kat de 

Rome enter the water maintaining 

the lead gained by the previous 

swimmers. At the end of de Rome’s 

hour Mike Curtis entered the 

water to hold the distance 

between the two boats as Oxford 

tried to outmanoeuvre the 

Cambridge boat. Here the team 

relied on the skill and knowledge 

of our pilot to guide us through, 

despite several large tankers 

steaming past all around as the 

boat began to cross the first 

shipping lane. In the last 15 

minutes of Curtis’ time in the 

water the first major swarm of 

jellyfish was encountered, which 

filled the water to all sides. Curtis 

continued to battle through this 

large group of stinging jellyfish 

until the end of his hour. Here the 

bravery of the 6th member of the 

Cambridge team deserves a 

special mention as Josie Faulkner 

entered into the water in the 

middle of the swarm.This was a 

key moment in the race as the 

Oxford swimmer that entered the 

water was not as tough as 

Cambridge’s Faulkner and was 

refusing to swim freestyle, instead 

switching to breaststroke as 

Faulkner ploughed onwards 

through the shoal at a good pace 

allowing Cambridge to extend the 

fluctuating gap again. Eventually 

the jellyfish diminished and the 

team were able to carry on 

unimpeded. 

At the end of the sixth hour the 

team began to cycle again 

through its first swimmers as 

Rootsey entered the water for a 

second time, comfortable in the 

knowledge that he could extend 

the gap further once again.The 

second hour of swimming proved 

very tough for all those who had 

to swim again, as the tide was 

pulling us away from the French 

coast, combined with the 

tiredness of the swimmers 

themselves. Despite these 

conditions, Rootsey gave another 

excellent performance for the 

Light Blues, taking up a challenge 

by the CSA observer to at least 

double the gap, and gradually did 

so after an early attempt by the 

Dark Blues to close up. Through 

this hour, choppy waves were 

building significantly. Darley then 

entered the water for a second 

time giving everything for her 

whole hour fighting against these 

waves, and preventing Oxford 

from closing the gap. As Darley 

approached the end of her hour in 

the water Corley prepared for his 

91

second swim while being told by 

the pilot that he could be the 

swimmer to finish the race for the 

Light Blues. 

At the changeover Corley entered 

the water as Kouji Urata (Oxford 

Captain) entered for the Dark 

Blues. Urata made a rapid start for 

the initial part of his hour and 

began to close the gap on the 

Light Blues but Corley increased 

the pace and then maintained this 

speed, allowing the Light Blues to 

pull away again as the French 

coast began to near.The French 

coastline was within sight, but the 

currents kept pushing both 

swimmers out as they struggled to 

make it to the shore. It was unclear 

if Corley was going to be able to 

Table Tennis Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuttc/CUTTC 

/CUTTC.html 

CUTTC provides coaching, 

matches and training for table 

tennis abilities ranging from 

absolute beginner to international 

level.We also have frequent socials 

throughout the year and allow 

members to play over vacations. 

Varsity matches have been played 

every year for the past 67 years. 

We have around 60-70 members, 

and compete in the men's and 

women's BUCS league in 

Michaelmas term, the BUCS 

knockout tournament, Varsity 

match and CDTTL ('town vs gown') 

tournament in Lent term. 


finish the race and so de Rome 

prepared to enter the water once 

again getting into the tender 

which could get closer to the 

shore. Finally, Corley, battling with 

the tide, reached the French coast 

and cleared the water to win the 

race for the Light Blues in 8 hours 

51 minutes.The Oxford boat came 

in behind and prepared to finish 

the race, having to make a final 

changeover before reaching 

French soil allowing Roz Bray to 

finish for the Dark Blues in a time 

of 9 hours 2 minutes. 

Both teams had achieved 

excellent times given the 

conditions they had faced over the 

course of the swim giving yet 

another close Cross-Channel relay 

Varsity 

Iffley Road, Oxford, 28/02/10. 

Men's 1sts: 10 - 0 win. 

Men's 2nds: 10 - 0 win. 

Women's 1sts: 4 - 6 loss. 

CUTTC rewrote the history books 

at the table tennis Varsity match in 

2009/2010, where both Men’s 

teams beat Oxford 10-0 – the 

first time since records began, 

67 years ago. 

The men’s second team had a 

shaky start as Raphael Assier went 

7-2 down in the final set against 

Arjun Gopalaswamy, but excellent 

use of a timeout and relentless 

Cambridge support allowed him 

to claw back to an 11-9 victory. 

Doug Speed entertained the 

race. Once both teams were back 

aboard their boats they set off side 

by side to make the crossing back 

to England as they had a well 

deserved rest. As part of the event, 

both teams had been raising 

sponsorship for the Royal National 

Lifeboats Institution with the 

Cambridge team alone raising well 

over £1000 to support this charity 

which saves hundreds of lives at 

sea every year. Despite a close race 

throughout, Cambridge emerged 

triumphant, levelling the score at 

three all, with one draw. 

CUSWPC sponsors 

Roland Berger (Strategy 

Consultant) 

crowd with spectacular off the 

table play, winning both singles 

matches 3-1.Teeradej Kittipassorn 

kept a clean sheet, and Christian 

Staudt gave a solid performance, 

dropping only one game. Justin 

Drake and Rick Chen cruised to 

victory 3-0 in the doubles whilst 

Assier and Kittipassorn clinched 

the doubles 3-2. 

The men's first team had a similar 

start as Hamish Yeung beat Jingyu 

Sun 12-10 in the fifth game, after a 

disputed edge/side ball. Captain 

Shaun Hall showed no mercy 

against captain Phil Hartley, 

winning 3-0. Josh Bleakley and Jan 

Natolski had no problems, winning 

both singles with relative ease.

Both doubles matches went to five 

games, but Cambridge raised their 

game to take the final sets. Hall 

had a close game with rival Sun, 

but managed to clinch a victory, 

aided by coach Bleakley's tactical 

advice.Yeung followed with some 

exhibition play against Hartley, 

winning 3-1. 

Unfortunately, the women's team 

didn't share the same success, to 

losing three nail bitingly close 

matches in the fifth game. Sasha 

Tsai and Captain Nga Nguyen lost 

to experienced players Maitreyi 

Shivkumar and Susan Chai whilst 

Vanda Ho and Yudan Ren gave an 

impressive performance and won 

their singles. Both doubles 

matches were lost in the fifth, with 

Nguyen and Ren losing with an 

unbelievable 17-19 score.The 

result was a 4-6 loss. 


The men's first team came second 

in the BUCS Premier South league, 

losing only to London 

Metropolitan University, an 

international standard team.They 

also gained a silver medal in the 

BUCS team knockout tournament, 

defeating top class Nottingham 

University 9-8 in the semi final and 

losing to Loughborough 9-4 in the 

final.This allowed CUTTC to enter 

a team in the European 

Universities Championships held 

in Kazan, Russia. All five major 

titles were won at the annual 

'town vs gown' of table tennis, the 

CDTTL championships, by Shaun 

Hall, Vanda Ho, Sasha Tsai and 

Hamish Yeung. 

Cambridge University Table 

Tennis Club at The 4th European 

Universities Championships in 

Kazan, Russia, June 2010 

CUTTC sent a team consisting of 

Joshua Bleakley, Shaun Hall, Jan 

Natolski and Hamish Yeung to the 

European Universities 

championship in Kazan, Russia 

from 22-26th June 2010. Here is a 

diary of their trip: 

Day 0 – June 20th 

The daily training routine at 

St Catharine’s squash courts 

finished today, and was followed 

by a team bonding dinner at The 

Anchor. Josh Bleakley and Shaun 

Hall crashed on Hamish Yeung’s 

floor where Bleakley’s violent 

snoring caused Hall to lose sleep. 

Day 1 – June 21st 

Jan Natolski arrived at 5.05am, 

shortly followed by the taxi.We 

arrived in Moscow at 3.05pm local 

time (GMT+4), and arrived in 

Kazan airport at 9.10pm. 

The moment we stepped on 

Kazan soil, we were escorted into a 

private bus to the baggage 

collection area, where we met 

organiser Gulfina and team 

chaperone Albina.The University 

of Minho, Portugal also arrived, 

and we travelled to the hotel in a 

bus together. 

Shortly after arrival at Ibis hotel, the 

first disaster struck. Hamish had left 

his pass in the bus, causing Albina 

to make the appropriate phone call 

to get the bus back. 

Day 2 

After breakfast at the hotel, 

captain Shaun decided to go with 

the team on a sightseeing tour, 

instead of the ‘educational 

methodical seminar’.We were told 

about revolutionary Karl Fuchs, the 

Kremlin and the history of Kazan, 

the third capital city of Russia.We 

were also shown the first Mosque 

in Kazan, built in 1767.The team 

took the opportunity to blend in 

with the Tatarstan locals. After 

lunch, we headed over to the 

sports palace to participate in the 

draw process, practice and give a 

local television interview. Captain 

Hall was quoted to say “we’re 

going for gold” while rivals from 

Nottingham University were less 

confident and were intent on 

avoiding the wooden spoon. 

Hall secured a partnership with 

the ladies from Anadolu University, 

Turkey in the mixed doubles 

events for all but Natolski, who 

used his linguistic skills to make an 

arrangement with Gorbenko from 

Duisburg-Essen University. 

Day 3 

Cambridge had a fortunate draw – 

we were in a group of five, 

meaning that it was not possible 

to finish 11th (last place). Even so, 

we were determined not to finish 

last place in the group.We were 

not scheduled to play in the first 

round of matches, so we used the 

time to scout and separate the 

world class opponents from the 

beatable.The University of Minho, 

Portugal and The University of 

Freiburg, Germany were selected 

as the weak links, while Rzeskov 

University, Poland and Russian 

State University for Humanities 

(RSUH) were deemed 

“untouchable” after seeing world 

class rallies featuring several 

‘round the net’ shots. Firstly, we 

played RSUH, losing 3-0 in straight 

sets. Bleakley faced number 24 in 

the world junior rankings,Taras 

Merzlikin. Although outclassed, 

the great sportsmanship of the 

Russians resulted in an enjoyable 

encounter.The opening ceremony 

followed, with an enjoyable display 

of drumming and dancing, and a 

presentation of local speciality dish 

“chuk chuk”to each team. 

93

Next, we played Rzeskov 

University, Poland, where Yeung 

faced Polish national player 

Tomasz Lewandowski, while 

Natolski and Bleakley faced the 

Chmiel brothers. Natolski put 

Cambridge on the score sheet by 

taking a game against Pawel and 

celebrated accordingly. 

Day 4 

The day started with a match 

against The University of Freiburg, 

Germany.Yeung gave a good fight 

against number one Volker 

Schneider, losing 3-1, and Yeung 

and Hall both defeated number 

two Wadim Hurlebaus 3-0. 

Bleakley gave a strong effort in the 

first two games against Till Werner, 

losing 16-14 in both, but lost 3-0. 

The final match was Hall against 

Scheneider, and the German had 


the edge, winning 3-0 with two 

deuces. Result: 3-2 loss.We needed 

a win against Minho University, 

Portugal to avoid the bottom 

place in the group and play rivals 

Nottingham University for 7th/8th 

playoff.Yeung had a superb game 

against number one Joni Sousa 

but lost 3-2 in a game full of 

topspin – topspin rallies. Hall had 

little trouble against number two 

Carlos Fernandes, as did Natolski 

against Tiago Abreu. Sousa’s 

topspins were too powerfull for 

Hall, resulting in a 3-0 defeat. 

Yeung played Fernandes in the 

decider, and relaxed after a 7-1 

lead in the fifth set, resulting in 

another 3-2 loss for Cambridge. 

Cambridge faced the University of 

Geneva, Switzerland in the 

9th/10th playoff. Natolski powered 

through Loris Biro-Levescot, 

winning 3-1, and Hall had no 

problems against Benoit Luiser, 

winning 3-1. Bleakley failed to hit 

through Laurent Langel’s off the 

table play, losing 3-0. Natolski felt 

the pressure against Luiser and 

lost 11-9 in the fifth game. Hall 

took the first two against Biro- 

Levescot but tiredness and 

pressure kicked in as the TV 

cameras focussed on the game, 

and lost the next two. Coach 

Yeung provided the required 

motivation, resulting in an easy 

11-6 win in the final game. Result: 

3-2 win. 

Meanwhile, Natolski befriended 

Polish coach and legend Wieslaw 

Pieta, resulting in an invitation for 

the team to visit Jan Dlugosz 

University, Poland!

Orenburg State University had no 

trouble winning the team event, 

with the help of 55 in the world,Kirill 

Skachkov,with Kazan Volga Federal 

University in second,followed by 

Rzeszov University,Poland. 

Yeung fell victim to an unlucky 

draw where he faced Schneider 

from Freiburg University in the 

qualifying stage. Despite having 

had a close game earlier in the 

team event, Schneider came out 

on top, winning 3-0. 

Day 5 

Bleakley avoided the qualifying 

stage in the singles, but faced Polish 

national player Lewandowski. 

Bleakley enjoyed the game, but lost 

3-0. Hall was drawn against Cypriot 

Iakovoa Iakovou, but decided not to 

turn up after losing every match the 

previous day. He faced Russian 

Sergey Martykov in the last sixteen, 

and despite Bleakley’s top quality 

coaching, lost 3-0. Natolski faced 

Freiburg’s Till Werner in the first 

round, and clinched a victory 

deuce in the fifth, defending 

Trampoline Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cutc/index. 

php 

CUTC is a large,high-profile club.We 

cater for all levels,from complete 

beginners to elite competitors, 

whether you want to compete,or 

just turn up for some exercise and 

against several match points. He 

then faced number one seed 

Pawel Chmiel, and could do little 

but watch in awe. 

In the men’s doubles event, 

Bleakley and Natolski had a strong 

first game against a pair from the 

Russian State University for 

Humanties, but were overpowered 

in the next two, losing 3-0. Hall and 

Yeung had a close game against a 

pair from Coimbra University, 

Portugal, losing the first 11-9 and 

the last 12-10, but failed to gel as a 

team and lost 3-0. 

The mixed doubles events saw 

Bleakley, Hall and Yeung pair up 

with Turkish players Ozel, Koc and 

Halacoglu, whilst Natolski played 

with German, Gorbenko. Bleakley 

and Ozel had a tough match 

against a German pair and lost 3-0, 

whilst Yeung and Halacoglu lost 

close in the fifth to a strong 

Russian pair. Natolski and 

Gorbenko also had a good game 

but had an unlucky draw against a 

Russian pair, losing 3-1. 

fun.We take teams to many 

competitions throughout the year, 

including several hosted in 

Cambridge.We have four weekly 

training sessions attended by 

friendly student coaches,in addition 

to the many social events including 

pub meets and formal swaps. 

Hall and Koc endured a tactical 

match against a German and Swiss 

pair, where each game went to the 

team where the man was playing 

to the woman.The final set, 

therefore was balanced, and Hall 

and Koc came through to win 

deuce in the fifth.They faced a 

Russian pair in the next round and 

played superbly but lost 3-1, they 

went on to win silver. 

We went to a bar with our Turkish 

friends in the evening where 

charades were the main form 

of entertainment. 

Day 6 

Following a well deserved lie in, 

we went around Kazan for a 

second time, this time going inside 

the Kremlin, and along the 

pedestrian street. 

In the evening, we went to a bar, a 

rock concert “the creation of 

peace” and finally finished the trip 

off with a visit to a Russian night 

club with the majority of 

competitors, communicating 

through the common language of 

ping pong related dance moves. 

On Sunday 7 March 2010, the 

Cambridge trampolining team 

travelled to Oxford to take on the 

Dark Blues in the 89th trampolining 

varsity match; a competition that 

would provide valuable practice 

for the next weekend's BUCS 

national championships. 

95

The Cambridge squad was led by 

their Blues team, consisting of 

reigning national champion, Asha 

Bayliss, club captain Kate Bramall, 

newcomer David Chapman, and 

club veteran Charlotte Pocock. 

Captain Bramall led from the front, 

finishing both routines strongly 

and collecting the highest score in 

the Blues competition. Emma 

Nicholson, Oxford's best bouncer, 

was second with a routine of 

slightly lower difficulty than 

Bramall's. Showing some slight 

fatigue from winning a national 

gala competition the previous day, 

Bayliss still showed her class, 

finishing in third with the most 

difficult routine of the day, which 

included 4 double somersaults. 

Chapman and Pocock both 

bounced strongly, showing that 

they are in good form for 

nationals, as Cambridge won the 

match 159.5 to 143.5. 

The B team competition was more 

one-sided, as the four Cambridge 

bouncers took the top 4 places. 

Sarah Pearcey took the B team 

individual title with an excellent 

voluntary routine. Suzanne Tobin, 


who earned a very well-deserved 

Half-blue this season, took the 

individual second place and Helen 

Smith,who has performed very well 

all year,showed plenty of promise 

for nationals,finishing in third. 

A couple of incomplete routines in 

the C team made the competition 

closer than it should have been. 

Club president, Brioney Gee, 

capped off a solid season by easily 

winning the individual C team 

title. Making her varsity match 

debut, Christine Schmaus showed 

the benefit of her solid training 

and preparation finishing second; 

and making her final appearance 

in a light blue leotard, Katharina 

Kohler capped off an excellent 

season, finishing third. 

Club musketeer, Stephen Flexer, 

was typically stoic after his 

performance for the C team. 

Denying rumours of a debilitating 

foot injury, he spoke briefly to 

reporters to assure supporters that 

he will be in top form for nationals. 

Overall, Cambridge won the 

cup by 75.2 points, the largest 

margin in the recorded history of 

the competition. 

Speaking at the stylish varsity 

dinner, President Gee, also making 

her final Light Blue appearance, 

thanked the club's judges, 

coaching staff and supporters who 

travelled to the match. "I'm 

delighted, as President, to have led 

the club to a third successive 

varsity victory", she said. "Oxford 

organised a fantastic competition 

and we look forward to the halfhour 

walk back to the team bus." 


BUCS Regionals, 13 February 2010 

12 competitors travelled to 

Nottingham to try to qualify for the 

national championships in levels 3 

and 4.There was also a level 5 

competition, which for no obvious 

reason doesn't have a national 

competition. Cambridge had 4 

representatives in women's level 3 

and 3 in the men's competition - 

the most of any university 

represented at the competition. 

Club president, Brioney Gee, led the 

charge, attempting to qualify for 

the 3rd year in a row. Suzanne 

Tobin had been training strongly 

and was in typically high spirits, 

confident of qualifying after last 

year's disappointment. Katie 

Bertrand and Katharina Kohler 

were also hopeful of qualifying, 

despite the stricter qualification 

rules for this year's competition. 

The 'three musketeers', Stephen 

Flexer, Alan McCreanor and Gareth 

Tear made up 30% of the entries in 

men's level 3, so with the top 20% 

to qualify, it was likely that at least 

one would make it through. In 

level 4, making their debut at that 

level, were Kate Davies, Lucy 

Loong and Christine Schmaus. 

Also bouncing in level 4, and now 

wearing the Light Blue 

(figuratively speaking) leotard was 

last year's Oxford Tramp Club 

president, Charlotte Houldcroft. 

Zanna Szlachta was Cambridge's 

sole representative in level 5 and, 

after Lucy's performance in level 5 

last year, had big shoes to fill. 

Even though there were less 

entries than last year, the standard 

was noticeably higher across all 

levels. First to compete for 

Cambridge were the level 3 boys. 

All 3 safely completed both 

routines, but only Stephen was 

able to finish in the top half.The 

top 2 places automatically 

qualified, but the organising 

committee decided that extra 

qualifiers were required to make 

the national final less farcical, since 

the other regions had even less 

entries. Consequently, Stephen's 

5th place was sufficient for

qualification. Speaking to the 

assembled media after the results 

were announced, Stephen 

expressed his thanks to the 5 

people who had entered, but 

failed to turn up on the day. 

All the level 3 girls bounced below 

their best, but still achieved 

notable results. Brioney recorded 

the third highest set routine score 

of the day and scored exactly the 

same total score as last year, but 

finished in 11th, compared with 

8th last year.The scores were very 

close and a small increase in score 

could have resulted in a jump of 

several places. Suzanne finally 

scored the Half-blue score that she 

has deserved, but finished 

annoyingly just outside the 

qualification places. Katie just 

missed out on a Half-blue score, 

which will provide her with plenty 

of motivation for next year. 

Katharina's aim was to complete 

both routines, having had some 

trouble with the vol routine 

especially at training, and she was 

able to do so with comparative 

ease, finishing with a smile and 

her highest ever score at a 

BUCS competition. 

All the level 4 girls produced their 

best routines of the day when the 

pressure was on. Some of them 

had a couple of small wobbles 

during their set routines, but every 

competed vol routine was the best 

it had ever been when it mattered 

most. Christine and Kate both 

finished in the top half, separated 

by 0.1 points. Lucy and Charlotte 

were not far behind. Charlotte 

substantially improved on her 

score from the previous year, 

showing the benefit of leaving the 

dark side. 

Zanna completed the team's 

perfect record of 24 out of 24 

routines scored out of 10 with a 

pair of solid routines. She finished 

well in the top half of level 5 with 

the 14th best vol routine score of 

the day out of 81 competitors. 

Special thanks to Helen, who 

judged all day on panel 3 and 

provided all our level 3 competitors 

with such high scores, and to Kate 

Bramall, who helped on the day by 

coaching and encouraging our 

nervous bouncers. 

Warwick Open, 28 February 2010 

A team of 11 from Cambridge 

travelled to the Warwick Open in 

search of some useful match 

practice before the next week's 

Varsity Match.The competition 

was very well organised although 

the labyrinthine sports hall at 

Warwick Uni required 2 strong 

sherpas and a week's supply of 

food in order to safely navigate. 

Zanna Szlachta saved her best 

form for her last competition of 

the season, finishing a very 

impressive 5th in the novice 

women category, which as usual 

had a vast number of entries. 

Christine Schmaus and Kate 

Davies also demonstrated a 

noticeable improvement in their 

competition form with 10th and 

15th respectively in the rarely seen 

inter-advanced category. 

The advanced and elite 

competitors were all drawn to 

compete on Warwick Uni's two 

new spider trampolines.These 

tramps are the norm at 

competitions now, but the lack of 

experience of Cambridge's 

bouncers on these slower tramps 

was noticeable. However, despite 

the short opportunity to get used 

to the different timing, we still 

recorded some good results. 

Katharina Kohler, flying the 

Cambridge flag on her own in 

advanced women, finished 12th. 

Gareth Tear was the best of the 

three musketeers in handling the 

new tramps, finishing 5th. Alan 

McCreanor and Stephen Flexer 

both struggled to finish their 

routines, coming home 7th and 

8th respectively. 

In the elite categories, Charlotte 

Pocock showed her class and 

experience finishing 13th with a 

solid score of 45.0. Helen Smith 

performed a partially 

unintentional forward roll 

dismount on to the adjacent 

trampoline at the end of her 

voluntary routine, which resulted 

in 14th place.The elite men carried 

our last hopes for a medal from 

the competition. Dave Chapman 

nearly delivered, but a repeated 

barani pike in his voluntary 

routine cost him difficulty bonus, 

resulting in 4th place with a score 

of 46.6. Rob McNeil copied Dave's 

repeated barani pike, but 

unfortunately it was in his 

compulsory routine which 

resulted in scores out of 6. Despite 

this setback, Rob recovered to 

claim 6th place. 

It was a very enjoyable 

competition even though we all 

got lost on the drive home. 

BUCS Nationals, 14 March 2010 

Hoping to improve on their 

successful 2009 campaign, an 8 

strong Cambridge contingent 

travelled to Sheffield for the BUCS 

national trampoline 

championships.The nationals 

were this year, for the first time, 

part of the 'BUCS Championships', 

which comprised 26 sports, mostly 

played in Sheffield on the same 

weekend. As far as trampolining 

was concerned it made no 

difference because we didn't get 

to see any of the other sports, 

although we did all get a free tshirt 

each. 

97

After taking over 2 hours to reach 

the A1 thanks to the A14 being 

closed for repairs, we missed 

virtually all of the Saturday 

familiarisation session. But we all 

collected our free t-shirts, so 

everyone was happy and warm, 

despite the t-shirts coming in a 

one-size-fits-all size, which didn't 

really fit any of us. 

We spent Saturday night at Lucy's 

parents' house, where Lucy's mum 

had made us a good luck cake 

with a sugar trampoline on top 

and 'Good Luck' piped on it. It was 

definitely the most awesome 

good luck cake any of us had ever 

seen. After playing many rounds of 

the potentially injury causing egg 

game and a game of ImagineIff, 

we went to bed to rest up for the 

big day. 

Helen Smith was first to compete 

for us in women's level 2. She 

found the spider tramps to her 

liking and performed close to her 

best ever routines when it 

mattered, scoring enough for a 

Half-blue. Sarah Pearcey followed 

in the next level 2 flight and 

seemed to take inspiration from 

Triathlon Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cutri/ 

CUTriC is one of the newest sports 

clubs at the university. Helped by 

the recent growth in interest in 

triathlon, the club has been 


Helen's performance as she scored 

an almost identical score to also 

earn a Half-blue. On the other 

panel, Stephen Flexer put down a 

good level 3 set routine but lost a 

bit of form in his vol but was still 

good enough for a top 10 place. 

Lottie Pocock completed our trio 

of level 2 women with a very solid 

pair of routines that scored just 

short of the Half-blue standard. 

Meanwhile, on panel 2, Dave 

Chapman put in a couple of 

excellent routines, finding himself 

in 4th place with a preliminary 

score of 50.2, making him the first 

men's Blue in club history. Another 

solid final routine followed, but 

it wasn't quite enough to hold 

on to 4th – relegated to 5th on a 

tie break. 

Our three level 1 entries were next. 

Competing in his first BUCS 

national championships, Jacob 

Sharpe showed that he was in the 

wrong level and should have 

actually put in some training 

before the competition. He 

crashed out of both routines, 

spoiling the club's perfect record 

of completed routines on the day. 

undergoing a rapid expansion, as 

more and more people have 

caught the swimming, cycling and 

running bug. 2009-10 has been a 

hugely important year for the club 

that has seen it achieve a lot. 

Kate Bramall and last year's silver 

medalist, Asha Bayliss, showed 

their class in the ladies' elite 

category. Asha just missed out on 

the final, finishing in an agonising 

9th place, but still with a Full Blue 

standard score. Kate cut back her 

voluntary routine difficulty slightly 

to make sure she got through 

both routines.The decision paid 

off with a 4th place finish – one 

place higher than last year, but 

agonisingly just out of the medals. 

Kate, Asha and Helen combined 

to finish 5th for Cambridge in 

the women's team competition, 

and the men's team finished a 

respectable 10th. Kate, Dave 

and Asha were the top 3 

Cambridge scores, with which 

we finished 6th in the combined 

team competition. 

UWIC were the dominant team on 

the day, comfortably winning 

men's, women's and the overall 

team title.The individual 

championships were won by 

Emma Scanlon (Manchester 

University) and Jason Ploughman 

(University of Kent). 

A significant development has 

been the establishment of a 

regular training programme, 

which has helped cement the 

club’s identity and foster team 

spirit. Numerous social events

Lucy Gossage 

Conquering the lava fields in 

Hawaii 

If someone had told me 5 years 

ago that I would be racing 

Ironman triathlons I would 

probably have laughed and 

wondered why they thought I 

would be good at weight lifting. If 

they told me an ironman actually 

involved a 2.4 mile swim, followed 

by a 112 mile bike ride and then a 

full marathon, I would have 

laughed even louder. But it’s funny 

what you can make your body do, 

if you’re determined enough. 

I’ve now completed 7 ironman 

races with a personal best time of 

9 hrs 53 minutes at the Ironman 

European Championships in 

Germany, where I finished as 3rd 

female amateur. In October 2010 I 

raced the Ironman World 

Championships, where I finished 

8th amateur female overall, 4th 

in my age group and first 

amateur Brit. 

Racing the Ironman World 

Championships in Hawaii is 

something most amateur 

triathletes dream of. Simply 

qualifying is a challenging task, 

and without a doubt it represents 

the most competitive amateur 

triathlon in the world.The day 

starts with the swim in huge swell 

in the crystal clear Pacific ocean 

with 1800 other people all battling 

for the same bit of water – fists fly, 

goggles get knocked off, swim 

technique goes out of the window 

as you try to focus on moving 

forward as best you can amidst 

the mayhem and turmoil. Running 

out of the water, through the huge 

transition on a pier, volunteers rub 

sunscreen on your back as you 

rush to get your bike helmet and 

sunglasses before heading out on 

the bike into the searing heat with 

temperatures up to 380C and 90% 

humidity.You ride out across the 

Hawaii lava fields fighting to keep 

your bike upright in 30 mile per 

hour cross winds, strong enough 

to throw several athletes off their 

bike each year.You try to keep 

hydrated despite nature’s best 

efforts to dehydrate you. And the 

marathon in the afternoon sun 

takes every ounce of mental and 

physical strength you can 

summon to keep running. 

There are so many times when 

your body and brain tells you to 

quit, and the mental battle to keep 

running is as important as the 

physical effort. But it’s all worth it 

when you run down the finish line, 

exhausted, hurting all over but 

smiling, knowing you have given 

absolutely everything you had to 

get there. 

99

have contributed to team 

building too! 

The club is firmly committed to 

encouraging people without prior 

experience of triathlon to become 

involved in the sport. A key part of 

this has been the introduction of 

‘novice’ swimming, running and 

cycling sessions.Triathlon can 

often be a very ‘individual’ sport, 

with different people taking part 

for a variety of reasons and with a 

range of aims - but the club is 

determined to be inclusive and 

accessible to people regardless of 

their experience or objectives. 

Varsity 

Duathlon 

21/02/10 at the Big Cow Duathlon, 

Milton Keynes 

Men: Cambridge Won 96 to 115 

Women: Cambridge Won 6 to 26 

Due to its swimming component, 

triathlon is generally restricted to 

the warmer summer months.To 

help give the club something to 

focus on during the Lent term, the 

club organised a Varsity duathlon 

match against Oxford. Duathlon 

events have a run-bike-run format, 

the absence of immersion in water 

making the event much more 

suitable for the colder parts of the 

year! 

The race consisted of a 4.5 km run, 

a lapped 13 km bike ride, followed 

by a final 4.2 km run.These 

relatively short distances made for 

a fast race – and also helped 

encourage less experienced 

athletes to take part. 

Cambridge took an early lead in 

the men’s race, attacking the first 

run section at a high pace. Coming 

into transition, five of the first six 

men were from Cambridge. 

However, a number of Oxford 

athletes recorded some fast times 


on the bike section, balancing the 

competition and making the 

second run section very 

important.The relative 

inexperience of some racers 

showed itself during the next 

transition, with more than a 

couple of Cambridge athletes 

having trouble locating their kit! 

Some more fast running on the 

second run from the Cambridge 

team was enough to ensure 

victory, with Alex Young coming in 

first after leading from the start. 

The women’s race was more onesided, 

fortunately in the favour of 

Cambridge, with Lucy Gossage, 

Polly Keen and Emma Figures 

taking the podium spots. 

Triathlon 

06/06/10 at the BTF National 

Sprint Triathlon Championships, 

Emberton Park 

Men: Cambridge won – 3:10: 01 to 

3:16:54 

Women: Cambridge won – 3:40:26 

to 3:43:16 

Varsity triathlon 2010 took place at 

the National Sprint Triathlon 

Championships.The race 

organisers, Big Cow Events, had 

been extremely helpful and 

arranged for a dedicated varsity 

‘wave’, allowing the race to begin 

with a mass start consisting solely 

of Oxford and Cambridge racers, 

leaving no confusion as to who 

the competition was! 

In all, 39 people were racing for 

Cambridge – though some key 

Cambridge athletes were missing, 

with Charlotte Roach racing at 

Blenheim elite triathlon, and 

Lucy Gossage tapering for an 

upcoming Ironman. 

The race started with a 750m open 

water swim, beginning in typical 

triathlon style, with a mix of 

thrashing wetsuits, wayward 

elbows and flying goggles 

keeping things exciting until the 

pack thinned out a little. Alex 

Young established the pattern for 

his race by setting the fastest swim 

time, whilst Josie Faulkner also 

swam very strongly to come in 

one second ahead of Oxford's 

fastest woman. A fast bike course 

over gently rolling hills followed, 

with Cambridge again showing 

their strength; CU Cycling Club 

rider-turned-triathlete Till Wagner 

posted the best time, completing 

the 20km course in under 30 

minutes.The race finished with a 

flat and fast 5 km run back 

around the lake, which saw some 

fantastic efforts as people battled 

against Oxford runners to move 

up the positions. 

The top three Cambridge men 

(Alex Young, Jamie Brunning and 

Andy Collier) secured victory of 

their varsity match by finishing 

with a combined time of 3:10:01 

compared to Oxford’s top three 

total of 3:16:54. The Cambridge 

women’s team (Polly Keen, Lowri 

Richards and Jenny Brown) also 

won, with a total time of 3:40:26, 

narrowly beating Oxford’s 3:43:16. 

More importantly, Cambridge also 

triumphed in both ‘mob’ matches 

that every competitor had 

contributed to – a real testament 

to the club’s culture of involving 

everyone as fully as possible. 


Fifteen CUTriC members raced at 

BUCS triathlon in Calne, Wiltshire 

in May - five of whom were 

competing in their first ever 

triathlon.The ‘sprint’ distance race 

consisted of a 750m pool swim, an 

undulating 25km bike course and 

a 5km run, and provided a good 

practice for varsity triathlon which 

was due to take place the 

following month. Alex Young 

and Andy Collier had particularly 

good races, both finishing in the 

top 50.

In October 2009 Charlotte Roach 

was selected to take part in 

TriGold, the British Triathlon 

Federation’s selective program to 

develop triathletes for the 2012 

Olympics. Less than two months in 

she was involved in a serious 

traffic accident, and unfortunately 

had to leave TriGold because of 

her injuries. After several months 

of recovery, she returned to 

Cambridge and began training 

again, displaying an inspiring level 

of determination and drive. Over 

the summer, she competed in elite 

level races at Strathclyde, 

Blenheim and Windsor, and came 

7th in the BTF Super Series – a 

phenomenal achievement for 

anyone, let alone someone 

suffering such a bad injury setback. 

Downing PhD student Lucy 

Gossage had an outstanding year 

of training for and racing at 

Volleyball Club 

www.srcf.ucam.org/cuvc/index. 

php 


Volleyball Club (CUVC) currently 

consists of four teams:The 

Women’s Blues, the Men’s Blues, 

the UCCW (Women’s second team) 

and the UCCM (Men’s second 

team).The Blues teams have a 

long history of success and have 

consistently ranked among the 

top Universities in the country. In 

addition, both Blues teams have 

taken part in the European 

University Championships in 

Ironman triathlons – long distance 

races consisting of a 3.9 km swim, 

a 180 km bike ride, and a 42 km 

(marathon) run. As a prelude to 

her main races, Lucy’s 2010 

included victories at the 

‘Swashbuckler’ and ‘Vitruvian’ half 

ironman races, completing the 

London marathon in 2:57:31, and 

racing a 180 km bike stage at the 

Outlaw triathlon as part of the 

eventual winning relay team. She 

completed Ironman Frankfurt in a 

time of 9:53:28, earning herself a 

place at the Ironman World 

Championships held in Kona, 

Hawaii. At the World 

Championships, she finished in a 

time of 10:01:04, coming 4th in her 

age group and beating a significant 

number of the professional 

athletes racing at the same time! 

First year Matt Halliday 

represented Great Britain at the 

previous years.The second teams 

play in the regional leagues, 

gaining important game practice 

and representing the University 

on a local level. All four teams 

battle against Oxford in the annual 

Varsity matches. 

Varsity 

Women’s Blues 

After a 3-0 Varsity victory of the 

Cambridge women’s second team 

and a 3-0 defeat of the men’s 

second team, the Women’s Blues 

were the third team to face their 

ITU Duathlon World 

Championships and won a bronze 

medal in the 18-19 age group 

category. Racing against athletes 

from all over the world on a tough 

and hilly course in Edinburgh, he 

completed the 10km run, 41.6km 

cycle, and final 5km run course in 

an overall time of 2 hours 

16 minutes and 55 seconds. 

Other club members have also 

had successful years, most notably 

Alex Young (one of Cambridge’s 

TASS athletes) who completed 

against professionals on the elite 

triathlon race circuit including the 

prestigious London Triathlon, and 

Jamie Brunning who completed 

the infamous “Norseman” long 

distance triathlon in Norway. 

Sponsors 

Primo Cycles, Cambridge 

Dark Blue opponents. Cambridge 

brought a full squad of 12 players 

(Petra Schwalie, Sarah Greasley, 

Bettina Studer, Barbora Doslikova , 

Anna Protasio, Katie Scotter, 

Alexandra Rinnert , Maddie 

Sowash,Tina Schwamb , Alice 

Hsieh, Ariane Hanssum and Helena 

Blechova) to Oxford and was 

accompanied by 3 further team 

members supporting their team. 

Having lost both games in the 

BUCS against Oxford this season, 

Cambridge was determined to 

take the Varsity win. In the 

absence of Jon Clarke, the team 

101

was coached by Jean Jacquet. 

After a strong warm up, the Light 

Blues started with outside hitters 

Petra Schwalie (c) and Anna 

Protasio, opposite Barbora 

Doslikova, setter Bettina Studer, 

middle blocker Katie Scotter and 

libero Helena Blechova, who was 

receiving for middle blocker Sarah 

Greasley. 

From the beginning on, both 

teams fought for every point 

supported by an excited and 

impressively loud crowd. 

Cambridge started the first set 

strong and confident, quickly 

taking the serve from Oxford.The 

first third of the set was a head-tohead 

race, with strong attacks and 

defences on both sides.Towards 

the middle of the game, a service 

run of Oxford number 7 brought 

the Dark Blues into a lead. Coach 

Jean Jacquet called the first timeout 

for Cambridge, after which the 

Light Blues managed to break the 

run. Another period of close rallies 

and strong attacks on both sides 

of the court followed, however, 

Oxford managed to keep their 

lead.Very strong serve receives on 

the Dark Blue side forced 

Cambridge servers into high-risk 

serves and serving errors were 

becoming more frequent. In the 

end, Cambridge gave away the 

first set 19:25 to a slightly 

stronger Oxford. 

Encouraged by a strong 

performance in the first set, the 

same team entered the court for 

the second set. Cambridge started 

the second set with high energy 

and strong serves and managed to 

play out a 5-points lead within the 

first service round. Oxford called 

their first time-out of the game 

after a 3-points service run by 

Barbora Doslikova at a score of 9:4. 

However, the Light Blues were 

unaffected by the time-out and 

managed to extend their lead to 


11:4. Oxford started fighting back 

and managed to score a few 

points with strong back-court 

attacks and eventually manage to 

catch up with Cambridge at a 

score of 15:15. In the next part of 

the set, every point was battled 

out fervently with Cambridge 

staying on top of the game. 

Cambridge was putting up the 

stronger attack with Petra 

Schwalie and Anna Protasio 

scoring through the outside and 

Barbora Doslikova winning points 

in front and back row attacks, 

while Oxford had the stronger 

defence and better passing 

accuracy.The Cambridge crowd 

raised the noise level to support 

the team to take the set. However, 

the confidence and emotions of 

the Light Blues were shaken by 

some decisions from the first 

referee, throughout the second 

half of the second set, that were 

perceived as unfair by the 

Cambridge team and supporters. 

Oxford profited from this 

confidence loss on the Cambridge 

side and took the second set in a 

very tight win (set score: 24:26). 

Cambridge started the third set 

receiving, and Oxford managed to 

play out a steady 3-points lead in 

the first service round. Coach Jean 

Jacquet made the first 

substitutions of the game, in an 

attempt to boost the team with 

new energy: Setter Alexandra 

Rinnert replaced Bettina Studer 

and middle blocker Alice Hsieh 

replaced Katie Scotter.The fight 

for every point went on, both 

teams being at eye level. Oxford 

managed to defend their small yet 

constant lead by showing superior 

pass accuracy and putting up 

stronger attacks from free balls 

than Cambridge. On a five pointslead 

of Oxford in the second half 

of the game, outside hitter Maddie 

Sowash replaced Petra Schwalie. 

Reinforced by the new players, 

Cambridge fought back, with Alice 

Hsieh and Barbora Doslikova 

winning points with their strong 

attacks. Both teams continued to 

play strong, with Cambridge 

having the stronger attack but 

struggling to win points out of 

their serve.Towards the end of the 

set, middle blocker Arianne 

Hanssum was brought in for Sarah 

Greasley.The match ended with a 

serving mistake on the Cambridge 

side with a set score of 23:25. 

MVP was Barbora Doslikova 

Men’s Blues 

After a win and a loss in the two 

previous meetings of the current 

season with the Dark Blues, the 

Cambridge Men were keen to 

defend their Varsity title on this 

year’s away game. The squad 

consisted of the following players: 

Michael Hannon (capt), Martin 

Ostholt-Niederste, Christian 

Luginsland, Johnny Ong, Andrey 

Volturnist, Clemens Wiltsche, 

Pieterjan Van Uytvanck, Andrea 

Pastore, Alex Rendahl, Agustin 

Bellosi, Mathias Arens and Eric Lai. 

Cambridge lined up with their 

strongest players (setter: Michael, 

middle blocker: Pieterjan and 

Andrey, outside hitter: Johnny and 

Christian, opposite: Martin and 

libero: Eric Lai), some of whom had 

made few appearances in BUCS 

games this season. Cambridge 

showed considerable starting 

problems and quickly fell behind. 

Coach Jacquet made a 

substitution in the middle 

(Clemens for Pieterjan), and 

Cambridge managed to catch up a 

few points, however still gave 

away the first set (23:25).The 

second set marked a fresh start for 

the Light Blues. No substitutions 

were made in the break and the 

team stabilized and grew stronger, 

easily dominating the rest of the 

game.The second and third sets

were determined by long service 

runs from Johnny and strong 

attacks from all Cambridge hitters. 

Cambridge took the second set 

with 25:12. Halfway through the 

set, middle blocker Clemens was 

replaced by Andrey.The third set 

saw an equally fast win for 

Cambridge with 25:12, with one 

substitution towards the end of 

the set (Andrea for Martin on 

the opposite). 

Cambridge started the last and 

final set with the same line up as 

at the beginning of the third set. 

The Light Blue quickly ran out a 

good lead and coach Jacquet 

made a series of substitutions in 

the second half, bringing the 

remaining players onto court: 

Agustin came for Mike, Pieterjan 

came back onto court for Axel and 

Mathias Arens replaced Johnny. 

Cambridge won the final set 

with 25:18. 

MVP was Christian Luginsland. 

Women’s second team 

UCCW entered their first ever 

away-Varsity match with a strong 

squad containing the following 11 

players: Natasha Nicholson (c), 

Rafaela Duguay, Svea De Vries, 

Sabine Reihl, Pippa Kennedy, Ellie 

Hind, Asmita Tingare, Juliane 

Mueller , Annika Oellrich, Camilla 

Catania, Dreamy Wang. 

Despite not having played many 

matches this year, Cambridge’s 

second women’s team made a 

good start.The starting six 

(consisting of setters Natasha and 

Dreamy, middle blockers Svea and 

Ellie and outside hitters Camilla 

and Sabine) entered the court 

with a confident and calm 

appearance and worked together 

as a team from the very beginning. 

While the first half of the first set 

saw rapid changes of servers on 

both sides, longer rallies emerged 

in the second half. Cambridge put 

up a strong defence and ran out a 

consistent lead.The team finished 

the set off, without having called 

any time-outs with a score of 

25:21.The same line-up went into 

the second set and showed good 

passing accuracy and hard attacks, 

particularly from Svea.The team 

furthermore profited from long 

serve-runs from Camilla and Sabine. 

UCCW played the second half of 

the set with a consistent lead and 

a strong support from an 

enthusiastic Cambridge crowd 

(final set score: 25:20).The third set 

saw the appearance of Pippa 

Kennedy (middle) and Juliane 

Mueller (outside) on court. 

Cambridge again dominated the 

first half of the set, playing out a 

good lead of 6 points. As a 

consequence, Oxford’s coach 

called for a desperately needed 

time-out, after which the Oxford 

team became alive and managed 

to catch up. However, Sabine’s 

strong serves brought UCCW 

quickly back into the leading role. 

Asmita (middle) and Rafaela 

(outside) were substituted in and 

strengthened the team with new 

energy. UCCW took the third set 

with 25:21 and celebrated their 

second 3:0-Varsity win. 

MVP was Svea De Vries. 

Men’s second team 

After a difficult season, the 

Cambridge Men’s second team 

entered their first ever away- 

Varsity match with a somewhat 

short-cut squad. CUVC alumnus 

Chris Wymant was coaching the 

team for the day and lined up the 

following starting six: setter Leo Li, 

opposite Martin Weber (capt) and 

middle/outside attackers Madhav 

Sukumaran, Maciek Laska, Bastian 

Stern and Bruno Falcone. 

From the start, Oxford dominated 

the game. Cambridge battled 

hard and managed to steal points, 

however they took a clear defeat 

in their first set 17:23. In the break, 

two substitutions were made: 

Lennart Stern and Maciek Reich 

came for Bruno and Madhav.The 

second set saw more misery for 

the UCCM. 

Although the motivating words of 

captain Martin seemed to help 

and Cambridge started to get into 

the match, Oxford also took the 

second set. Cambridge undertook 

another round of substitutions 

bringing Madhav and Bruno back 

on court.The third set started 

where the second set had left and 

the Cambridge Men bravely 

continued to battle against a 

dominating Oxford. In the end, the 

Oxford Men’s second team took 

the third set (20:25) and the game 

ended with a 0:3-loss for 

Cambridge. 

MVP was Martin Weber 

103

Hawks’ Club 

The past year has been incredibly 

successful for the Hawks’ Club. 

Though we are a private club, the 

community we support reaches 

well beyond our limited 

membership. A visit to our 

Clubhouse any night of the week 

(save Mondays when we are 

closed) provides strong evidence 

of progress in our efforts to make 

the Club welcoming to the many 

guests of our members, regardless 

of their age, gender, or sporting 

abilities. Many of our activities 

also extend far beyond the 

membership and even beyond 

those who represent the 

University in sport. Five key areas 

are worth highlighting: our events, 

our charitable focus, the Hawks’ 

Talks Speaker Series, our support 

of the sporting community, and 

our involvement in efforts toward 

a sports complex in Cambridge. 

Events: 

The Hawks’ Club is increasingly 

known for organising large, 

enjoyable events at reasonable 

prices that are not exclusive to our 

members. In November 2009, a 

Hawks’ & Ospreys’ Megahall at 

Churchill College, open to the 

entire Cambridge community, saw 

340 people dine together in 

celebration of Cambridge sport 

(regardless of their participation in 

it). This extremely successful event 

was followed by a very nice four 

course Hawks’ Charity Dinner at 

St John’s College in Lent 2010 at 

which hundreds of pounds were 

raised in support of UNICEF and 

The Prince’s Trust. 

Business was wrapped up for the 

2009-2010 academic year with the 


annual Hawks’ Event, held in mid- 

June at Fenner’s Cricket Ground by 

kind permission of the ground 

staff.The Event, open to the 

Cambridge community at-large, 

was a triumph of organisation, and 

was a fitting end to the Presidency 

of Pat Crossley. The Event sold out 

its 450 tickets, and provided one of 

the most welcoming, least 

expensive and most fun events in 

May Week 2010. The 

determination to provide an 

approachable, and cost-effective 

club for its members, and to 

support the sporting community 

at large, has been central to the 

ethos of the 2010-2011 

Committee, led by Crossley’s 

successor, Ian Ralby. The new 

Committee started off the year 

with a hugely successful Charity 

Ball run in conjunction with the 

Ospreys, and hopes to continue to 

produce similarly enjoyable and 

socially conscious events 

throughout the year. 

Charity: 

One aspect that has really been 

emphasised since the start of the 

2010-2011 academic year has 

been the Club’s charitable focus. 

Throughout the year, the Hawks’ 

Club have been proudly 

supporting Right To Play, both 

fundraising and promoting this 

worthwhile organisation and the 

work they are doing across the 

globe in conflict zones.To this end, 

the Club was very pleased to be 

able to raise £5000 for Right To 

Play through the Hawks’ & Ospreys’ 

Charity Ball held in the Cambridge 

Union at the end of October.This 

event proved a great night for all 

guests, with a very successful 

auction of sporting memorabilia, 

and fostered a great deal of good 

will. The Hawks’ Club looks 

forward to continuing to support 

Right To Play throughout the year 

by adding a charitable component 

to all its events. 

Hawks’Talks Speaker Series: 

On 17 November 2010, we 

launched the Hawks’Talks Speaker 

Series in conjunction with the 

Cambridge Union. Designed to 

bring notable sporting figures— 

principally from among the Hawks’ 

Club alumni ranks—to Cambridge, 

the Hawks’Talks are intended to 

enrich the offerings of the Union 

and the experience of the 

Cambridge sporting community. 

Cambridge, Scotland and Lions 

rugby union legend, Gavin 

Hastings, OBE (Magdalene) gave 

the inaugural talk in which he 

recounted tales from his own days 

at Cambridge, shared his 

experiences of the Varsity Match, 

and provided his frank and 

forthright perspectives about the 

future of the game and the 

importance of sport in the 

United Kingdom.We look forward 

to the second talk of the series on 

Friday 18 February 2011 when 

former Cambridge lacrosse 

and cricket blue, and former 

England Cricket Captain Mike 

Brearley, OBE (St John’s) will 

address the chamber. 

Support of the Sporting 

Community 

The Club is also pleased to note 

the continuing success and 

increasing scope of the Hawks’ 

Charitable Trust. The Trust accepts 

applications from all members of

the Cambridge sporting 

community—male and female, 

regardless of Club membership— 

and provides financial support to 

successful applicants looking to 

pursue sport at a recognisably 

high level.With a number of 

international representative 

honours amongst this year’s 

recipients, Cambridge sport 

appears to hold great potential, 

and with the 2012 London 

Olympics creeping ever closer, we 

can hopefully look forward to 

seeing a few familiar faces amongst 

the athletes at the Games. 

Efforts Towards a Sports 

Complex in Cambridge 

Recognising the need for 

improvement in sporting facilities 

and support for Cambridge sports 

teams, a group of prominent 

Hawks’ Club alumni have 

committed themselves to working 

The Ospreys 

Happy New Year and all the best 

for 2011, I’m Charlotte Roach the 

2010-2011 Ospreys President.The 

last year has been extremely 

successful for the Ospreys.Thanks 

to the exceptional work of Victoria 

Watson (2009-2010 President) the 

Ospreys are more prominent, widereaching 

and financially stable. 

The Ospreys is a club for University 

sportswomen who have achieved 

a Blue, Half-blue or University 

colour. Our aim is to integrate and 

provide assistance to sportspeople 

with the University to help deliver 

on the long-awaited Sports 

Complex to remedy these 

deficiencies. Though the Hawks’ 

Club itself has no official role in 

this effort, we are extremely 

appreciative of this work being 

undertaken by some of our 

members and we wish to be as 

helpful in the process as possible. 

All in all, the Hawks’ Club is 

thriving. Our excellent stewards 

Karen and Mike Gurney work daily 

to make sure the Clubhouse is 

running as well as can be with 

delicious dining options and a 

friendly social environment. Our 

legendary administrator, Sarah 

Malcolm ensures that the Club’s 

membership, not just in 

Cambridge, but also around the 

globe, is accounted for and kept 

involved. And our Committee is 

doing a fantastic job to improve 

from different backgrounds, 

whether this be financial, kit drops, 

career opportunities or simply a 

body of support.We also host a 

range of social events, usually 

open to all, with discounts 

available to members. 

So far this year has been great fun 

with a magnificent committee and 

closer ties with our partner society 

the Hawks. For the first time in 

Michaelmas we jointly held a 

charity ball raising £5000 for Right 

to Play, a charity who use sport as 

the Club’s opportunities afforded 

its members, the Club’s 

relationship with the wider 

Cambridge community, and Club’s 

sense of greater social 

responsibility. The Committee has 

enjoyed strengthening ties with 

other clubs in Cambridge and the 

improved collaboration with the 

Ospreys’ Committee has allowed 

both Clubs to provide greater 

services to our respective 

members and to all the men and 

women of Cambridge who 

participate in sport, but who are 

not members of either Club. 

The Hawks’ Club looks forward to 

finishing out this academic year 

with even greater success than it 

has had so far. We wish all 

Cambridge teams the very best in 

their Varsity Matches and 

emphatically shout our battle cry, 

GDBO! 

a medium to pass on important 

messages and integrate broken 

societies. It was a successful and 

enjoyable evening that I hope 

will become an annual event for 

us both. 

In Michealmas, the Ospreys also 

enjoyed a Welcome event and an 

awards ceremony.These are both 

in line with our commitment to 

integrate the activities of the 

Ospreys and the Blues committee 

to bring a united approach to 

improving and supporting 

105

Cambridge sport.We feel that 

it is important to recognise 

the achievements of our 

sportswomen often in 

challenging conditions, Blue and 

Half-blues are handed out and 

celebrated. At the end of this term 

there will be a final ceremony 

including thousands of pounds of 

bursaries to be handed out to 

individuals and teams. For which 

we invite applications. 

Next term’s major event is another 

first for the Ospreys.The Boat Race 

event will have garden party 

format with a riverside location - 

this will be the place for 

Cambridge supporters to 

celebrate our win. Details and 

details for this and other events 

can be found on our Facebook 

page, and through our website 

(www.theospreys.org). 

This year we have a new influx of 

kit, the introduction of Ospreys 

blazers, free pashminas and keep 

your eyes peeled for Ospreys 

backpacks coming soon. 

I would like to thank all of those 

who have worked hard on this 

year’s committee to make this 

possible. But most importantly the 

opportunities described would 

not be available to sportswomen 

without the help of our fantastic 

sponsors, Barclays Capital, JP 

Morgan, Bank of America and 

Merrill Lynch and OC&C, all of 

whom have provided career 

opportunities and information in 

addition to financial support to 

many Ospreys this year. 

I wish you all the success for 2011. 

Charlotte Roach, Osprey’s 

President 2010/11 

January 2011 


Michealmas Review 2010/11 

With the majority of Varsity 

fixtures taking place in Lent and 

Easter Term, much of Michaelmas 

Term is spent honing squads and, 

for many, concentrating on the 

BUCS League Structure. Having 

finished a respectable 14th in the 

BUCS Overall Championships in 

2009/10, Clubs set off to get back 

in the top ten for 2010/11 when 

fixtures began on October 13th, 

2010. Below are some of the 

highlights and lowlights of the 

season for Cambridge students 

so far. 

October 13th, 2010 

A total of 5 Cambridge teams were 

in action on BUCS’ first day of 

fixtures.The Women’s Lacrosse 

Club started their campaign 

impressively and the 1st team 

thrashed Bath’s 1st team 24-2 in 

the Premier League South to send 

a warning to the rest of the 

competition that they mean 

business in this year’s 

Championship.The 2nd team also 

recorded a big win, beating 

Nottingham’s 2nd team 18-2 .The 

Netball Club started with a win, by 

the narrowest of margins, at home 

to Loughborough’s 2nd team. 

It wasn’t all good news though as 

the Women’s Badminton 1st team 

lost 8-0 in their opening Premier 

League South clash with Bath and 

the Men’s Rugby League club were 

beaten 22-14 by Warwick in the 

Midlands League. 


Week 2 saw many other teams get 

into action, with a total of 18 

fixtures. Eight teams recorded 

victories, including all of the 

winners from week one.Women’s 

Lacrosse 1st team had to settle for 

a 15-4 scoreline over Bristol’s 1st 

team, while the 2nd team racked 

up 23 more goals in a 23-2 victory 

over Loughborough’s 2nd team. 

The Netballers beat 

Loughborough’s 3rd team and 

were joined in the win column by 

the 2nd team, who recorded a 35- 

20 win over Nottingham Trent’s 

3rd team. In Tennis, the Women’s 

1st team opened up their 

campaign with a 10-2 victory over 

Bristol’s 1st team and the Women’s 

Volleyball 1st team overcame 

Cranfield’s 1st team 3-0.The final 

Cambridge victory came courtesy 

of the Men’s Squash team, who 

beat Warwick’s second team 

in 4-1. 

Elsewhere, the Women’s Rugby 

Union 2nd team drew a tight, lowscoring 

affair 5-5 at Nottingham 

Trent and the Women’s Badminton 

team continued their poor start 

with another 8-0 reverse, this time 

at the hands of Cardiff’s 1st team. 

Women’s Football and Hockey lost 

their opening fixtures to Worcester 

and Birmingham’s 2nd teams. 


Week 3 was another mixed week 

with Cambridge’s teams suffering 

defeats in half of the 20 fixtures 

that took place whilst winning 

eight and drawing two. 

Unsurprisingly, the Women’s 

Lacrosse 1st team were among the 

winners, beating Southampton’s 

1st team 24-0 and although the 

second team lost to Nottingham’s 

1st team, the Lacrosse Men 1st 

team recorded a win in their first 

fixture by defeating 

Northampton’s 1st team 12-8. 

The Netball 1st and 2nd teams 

recorded victories over the 1st 

teams of Nottingham and East 

Anglia respectively whilst the 

Women’s Volleyball 1st team saw 

off the challenge of Nottingham’s 

1st team in a 3-1 victory.Women’s 

Rugby Union again recorded a 

draw, this time 10-10, with 

Birmingham’s 1st team and the 

Men’s Football opened their BUCS 

campaign at Fenner’s by beating 

Bedfordshire (Luton) 4-0.The 

Men’s Basketball team managed a 

comprehensive 87-57 win over 

East Anglia’s 1st team. 

The Women’s Football and Hockey 

teams lost narrowly for the 2nd 

week in a row, to Warwick’s 1st 

team and Loughborough’s 2nd 

teams respectively, while the 

Women’s Lacrosse 2nd team tasted 

defeat for the first time, losing 9-7 

to Nottingham’s 1st team. 

November 3rd, 2010 

Undoubtedly the low point of the 

season, Cambridge teams lost 14 

out of the 20 fixtures played, with 

6 wins.The Women’s Badminton 

1st team made it three 8-0 defeats 

in a row away to Bath’s 1st team, 

with notable defeats also suffered 

by the Men’s Lacrosse, Netball, 

Women’s Football, Women’s 

Hockey and the Men’s and Women 

Tennis 1st teams. 

The positive results came from the 

Women’s Lacrosse 1st and 2nd 

teams (who beat Bath’s 1st team 20- 

3 and Nottingham’s 2nd team 20-8 

respectively) the Netball 2nd team 

(68-6 against Birmingham City 

University) the Men’s Badminton 1st 

team (6-2 against Worcester’s 1st 

team) and the Men’s Tennis 2nd 

team (12-0 against Leicester’s 2nd 

team).Perhaps the sweetest victory 

came from the Women’s Volleyball 

1st team,who dispatched Oxford’s 

1st team 3-0. 

November 10th, 2010 

Results picked up massively after 

the disappointment of week 4, 

with 12 victories and 6 defeats 

from the 18 fixtures contested. It 

was a good week for Tennis, with 

only the Men’s 1st team tasting 

defeat (10-2 at Loughborough) 

amongst wins for the Women;s 1st 

team and the Mens and Women’s 

2nd teams (against Exeter, Oxford 

107

Brookes and East Anglia 

respectively).The Men’s Squash 1st 

team recorded a 5-0 win against 

Warwick’s 3rd team and there 

were wins also for the Men’s 

Football 1st and 2nd teams (3-0 

and 2-0 against the Bedford 1st 

team and Worcester 3rd teams 

respectively).The Women’s Hockey 

1st team recorded their first win, 3- 

0 over Loughborough University’s 

3rd team and there was another 

win each for the Women’s Lacrosse 

1st and 2nd teams, 15-6 and 10-9 

over the 1st teams of Exeter and 

Oxford Brookes. 

Women’s Football continued their 

early struggles with a 7-1 defeat at 

the hands of East Anglia’s 1st team, 

while the Women’s Badminton did 

manage to win 2 games in their 6- 

2 defeat against Exeter’s 1st team. 


Another good week, which saw 

14 wins, 6 defeats and 3 draws in 

all.The Badminton Men’s 1st team 

won 8-0 against Nottingham’s 3rd 

team and Men’s Basketball won 

106-44 against Oxford Brookes 

2nd team.The Men’s Lacrosse 1st 

team beat Nottingham’s 2nd team 

16-0 to make it a good week for 

Lacrosse (again) as the Women’s 

1st team beat Oxford’s 1st team 

15-9 and the 2nd team repeated 

the feat, also beating their Dark 

Blue counterparts by a scoreline of 

10-5. Both the Netball teams won, 

the 1st team 48-33 against 

Birmingham’s 2nd team and the 

2nd team 44-36 against 

Northampton’s first team. 

Women’s Rugby Union beat 

Warwick 22-5 while the Men’s 

Squash 1st team won 5-0 against 

Oxford’s 2nd team.The Tennis Club 

again won all of their matches 

with the exception of the Men’s 

first team who lost 12-0 at 

Loughborough’s 2nd team.The 

Men’s 2nd team won 12-0 against 

Oxford’s 3rd team while the 


Women’s 1st team continued their 

good form in the Premier League 

South by beating Bournemouth 

10-2 and, with their 2nd team 

beating Nottingham’s 2nd team 

8-4. Both the Men’s and Women’s 

Volleyball 1st teams recorded 3-0 

wins again, by beating Oxford’s 

2nd team and Birmingham’s 1st 

teams respectively. 


Eight wins and 9 defeats were 

recorded from the 17 fixtures 

played, several of which were in 

Conference Cup games.There was 

no let up for Women’s Lacrosse, 

whose 1st and 2nd teams 

marched on by recording 13-2 and 

19-6 wins over their counterparts 

from Bristol and Loughborough in 

their league fixtures.Women’s 

Tennis 1st team continued to pile 

up victories by beating Bristol 10-2 

but the Men’s 1st team lost again, 

12-0 at the hand of Leeds Met 

Carnegie in the Premier League 

North.The Men’s Football 1st team 

easily disposed of Staffordshire’s 

3rd team in the Midlands Cup, 7-1. 

The Women’s Badminton 1st team 

continued their upturn in form, 

narrowly losing 5-3 at home to 

Cardiff in the Premier League 

South.The Women’s Hockey 1st 

team unfortunately lost their away 

fixture with Birmingham’s 2nd 

team by a score of 3-1. 

December 1st, 2010 

Unsurprisingly, arctic weather 

conditions put paid to nearly all of 

the fixtures to be played outdoors 

but Cambridge teams still 

managed to win 9 of 13 games to 

end the term on a very positive 

note.The Men’s badminton 1st 

team beat their counterparts from 

Oxford Brookes 8-0, while the 

Men’s Basketball 1st and 2nd 

teams racked up 78-66 and 54-39 

victories over Northampton and 

Cranfield’s respective 1st teams. 

Sticking with Basketball, the 

Women’s 1st team weren’t so 

lucky, losing 74-31 to 

Nottingham’s 1st team.The 

Netball Club managed to record 

2 victories, beating Nottingham 

and Leicester’s 1st teams to 

continue what has been a good 

term for both the 1st and 2nd 

teams. In Table Tennis, the Men’s 

and Women’s 1st teams recorded 

victories over Bath’s 1st team (by 

walkover) and Nottingham’s 1st 

team (5-0), but the Men’s Tennis 

team endured a torrid trip all the 

way to Stirling, after having a flight 

to Edinburgh cancelled the 

managed to get an alternate flight 

to Glasgow, followed by a long taxi 

journey – only to lose the fixture 

12-0. In Volleyball, the Women’s 1st 

team tasted defeat for the 1st 

time, losing 3-2 to Nottingham’s 

1st team while the Men’s 1st team 

beat Anglia Ruskin 3-1. 

At the end of all that action, 

Cambridge currently sit in 5th 

position in the Overall 

Championship table going into 

the Christmas break. Lots more 

fixtures, promotion and relegation 

battles will be decided in Lent 

Term, along with a number of 

Individual Championships. 

All the teams results and tables 

can be viewed at www.bucs.org.uk 

by clicking on the Fixtures and 

Results link at the top of the page. 

Fixture updates and news will also 

be appearing on this website.

VARSITY 2010/2011 

VARSITY 2010/2011 

The Annual Varsity matches with Oxford are the key focus of many of the Sports Clubs at Cambridge. At the time of 

going to press the following dates had been arranged for 2011. For more details on times, dates, locations and 

tickets please use the calendar that is available at www.sport.cam.ac.uk, which will be updated regularly. 

Men’s Varsity Matches 

Date Time Location 

Archery 

Association Football 

May 2011 TBC Oxford 

Athletics Sat 21st May 2011 11.30am-5.30pm Wilberforce Road, Cambridge 

Badminton 26th Feb 2011 10am-5pm Perse School Cambridge 

Basketball 26th Feb 2011 5pm-7pm Kelsey Kerridge, Cambridge 

Boat Race 27th March 2011 3.30pm Henley-On-Thames 

Boxing 

Canoe 

Cricket (4 Day) 

17th March 2011 TBC York Hall, London (TBC) 

Cricket (1 Day) 26th June 2011 11.00am Lord’s Cricket Ground, London 

Cross Country 

Crusing:Sailing (Casual/Team) 

Cruising:Yachting 

Cruising:Windsurfing 

Sat 3rd Dec 2011 1pm Richardson Evans Memorial 

Playing Fields, Roehampton 

Cycling Road/Time Trial: 30th April 3pm Bottisham Sports Centre, 

Cambridgeshire 

Eton Fives 5th March 2011 2pm Eton 

Fencing Sat 26th Feb 2011 2pm Exam Halls, New Museums Site, 

Cambridge 

Gliding 

Golf 

Gymnastics 

TBC Apr/Mar 2010 April/June 2011 TBC Gransden Lodge Airfield, 

Nr Cambridge TBC 

Hockey 

Ice Hockey 

8th March 2011 1pm & 3pm Southgate Hockey Club 

Judo Sat 5th March 2011 2pm-6pm Hills Road Sports & Tennis Centre, 

Cambridge 

Karate 

Korfball 

19th Feb 2011 10am-1pm Chesterton Sports Centre, 

Cambridge 

109

Lacrosse Sat 26th Feb 2011 From 1pm onwards Parkers Piece, Cambridge 

Lawn Tennis 29th-30th June 2011 11am start National Tennis Centre, 

Roehampton 

Lightweight Rowing See Boat Race 

Modern Pentathlon Fri 8th-9th April 2011 All day events Bradfield College, Reading 

Mountain Biking 6th March 2011 2.20pm Deepcut, Surrey 

Orienteering 2nd & 3rd April 2011 All Day Event Doksy, Czech Republic 

Powerlifting Sun 20th Feb 2011 Weigh in:9am Pro-Am Fight Centre, 

First WaveLift:10.30am Sturton St, Cambridge 

Revolver/Pistol Shooting Elizabeth Way Range, Cambridge 

Polo 11 June 2011 10am-4pm Guards Polo Club 

Rackets Tues 8th March 2011 2pm Queen’s Club London 

Real Tennis 25th & 26th Feb 2011 25th: 12pm-6pm 

26th: 9am-6pm MCC, Lords, London 

Riding Feb/March 2011 To be arranged 

Rifle Shooting 14th & 22nd July 2011 14th: 9am-2.30pm 

22nd: 8.30am-12.30pm Bisley Camp, Surrey 

Rugby Fives Sat 19th Feb 2011 11am & 2pm St Paul’s School, 

Barnes London 

Rugby League Thurs 3rd March 2011 7pm Stoop Memorial Ground, 

Twickenham, London 

Rugby Union 

Skiing 

8th Dec 2011 2pm Twickenham, London 

Small Bore/Revolver 12th Feb 2011 TBC The Lord Roberts Centre 

Bisley, Surrey 

Squash 19th Feb 2011 4pm Royal Automobile Club, London 

Swimming 19th Feb 2011 1pm Parkside Pool, Cambridge 

Table Tennis Sat 5th Mar 2011 3.30pm-6pm Fenners Gallery,Kelsey Kerridge 

Sports Hall,Cambs 

Trampoline 

Triathlon 

Sat 26th Feb 2011 5pm The Leys School, Cambridge 

Volleyball Sat 19th Feb 2011 5pm (2nds – 1pm) Kelsey Kerridge, Cambridge 

Waterpolo 19th Feb 2011 After Swimming Varsity Parkside Pool, Cambridge 

Women’s Varsity Matches 

Archery 

Association Football 

Date Time Location 

Athletics Sat 21st May 2011 11.30am-5.30pm Wilberforce Road, Cambridge 

Badminton 26th Feb 2011 10am-5pm Perse School, Cambridge 

Basketball Sat 26th Feb 2011 3-5pm Kelsey Kerridge, Cambridge 

Boat Race 27th March 2011 3pm Henley-On-Thames 


Canoe TBC TBC Oxford 

Cricket 26th June 2011 10.45am Lord’s Cricket Club, London 

Cross Country Sat 3rd Dec 2011 1pm Richardson Evans Memorial 

Playing Fields, Roehampton 

Cruising : Sailing 

Cruising: Windsurfing 

Cruising:Yachting 

Cycling Road/Time Trial: 30th April 11 3pm Bottisham Sports Centre, 

Cambridgeshire 

Eton Fives 5th March 2011 2pm Eton 

Fencing Sat 26th Feb 2011 10.30am Exam Halls, New Museums Site, 

Cambridge 

Gliding 

Golf 

Gymnastics 

April/June 2011 (TBC) TBC Gransden Lodge Airfield, 

Nr Cambridge. (TBC) 

Hockey 

Ice Hockey 

8th March 2011 1pm & 3pm Southgate Hockey Club 

Judo Sat 5th March 2011 2pm-5pm Hills Road Sports & Tennis Centre, 

Cambridge 

Karate 

Korfball 

19th Feb 2011 10am-1pm Chesterton Sports Centre, 

Cambridge 

Lacrosse Sat 26th Feb 2011 From 1pm onwards Parkers Piece, Cambridge 

Lawn Tennis 

Lightweight Rowing 

29th -30th June 2011 11am start National Tennis Centre, 

Roehampton 

Modern Pentathlon Fri 8th- 9th April 11 All day events Bradfield College, Reading 

Mountain Biking 6th March 2011 2.20pm Deepcut, Surrey 

Netball Feb 19th 2011 12pm-4pm, 

Blues 2.30pm start Leys School Cambridge 

Orienteering 2nd & 3rd April 2011 All Day Doksy, Czech Republic 

Revolver/Pistol Shooting Queen Elizabeth Way Range, 

Cambridge 

Polo 11th June 2011 10am-4pm Guards Polo Club 

Power Lifting Sun 20th Feb 2011 First Lift 10.30am Pro-Am Fight Club, Sturton St, 

Cambridge 

Real Tennis 25th & 26th Feb 2011 25th: 12pm-6pm 

26th: 9am-6pm MCC, Lords, London 

Rifle Shooting 14th & 22nd July 2011 14th: 9am-2.30pm 

22nd: 8.30am-12.30pm Bisley Camp, Surrey 

Riding Feb/March 2011 To Be Arranged 

Rugby Union Sat 5th March 2011 2.30pm (2nds:11.30am) Grange Road , Cambridge 

111

Skiing 

Small Bore/Revolver 12th Feb 2011 TBC The Lord Roberts Centre, Bisley, 

Surrey. 

Squash 19th Feb 2011 1.30pm Royal Automobile Club, London 

Swimming 19th Feb 2011 1pm Parkside Pool Cambridge 

Table Tennis Sat 5th Mar 2011 1pm-3.30pm Fenner’s Gallery, Kelsey Kerridge 

Sports Hall, Cambs 

Trampoline 

Triathlon 

Sat 26th Feb 2011 5pm The Leys School, Cambridge 

Volleyball Sat 19th Feb 2011 3pm (2nds -1pm) Kelsey Kerridge, Cambridge 

Waterpolo 19th Feb 2011 After swimming varsity Parkside Pool, Cambridge 


Positions and Awards 

Association Football Club 

Position Name College 

President Michael Johnson Jesus 

Senior Treasurer Dr John Little St Catharine’s 

Men’s Vice-Captain Max Little Trinity 

Secretary Jack Hylands Girton 

Name College Full Half Club 

Blue Half Colours 

Stuart Ferguson Selwyn • 

Mark Johnson Girton • 

James Day Jesus • 

Daniel Gwyther Wolfson • 

Chris Maynard St John’s • 

Mark Baxter Selwyn • 

Michael Johnson Jesus • 

Paul Hartley Fitzwilliam • 

Jack Hylands Girton • 

Matthew Stock St Catharine’s • 

Chris Gotch Trinity • 

Chris Peacock Trinity • 

Dan Kerrigan Fitzwilliam • 

James Rutt Trinity • 

Chris Ellis Jesus • 

Chris Kingcombe Girton • 

James Revell Christ’s • 

Chris Peacock Trinity • 

Tom Clare Hughes Hall • 

Tom Balling Queen’s • 

Ross Broadway Gonville & Caius • 

James Taylor Jesus • 

Max Wolke Fitzwilliam • 

Dan Kerrigan Fitzwilliam • 

Kieran Anderson Peterhouse • 

Kalil Rouse Jesus • 

George Hill St Catharine’s • 

Peter Stovall St John’s • 

Women’s Association Football Club 


President Laura Nelson Corpus Christi 

Senior Treasurer Dr John Little St Catharine’s 

Women’s Captain Leesa Haydock Selwyn 



Sara Haenzi Newnham • 

Dannielle Griffiths Trinity • 

Emma Eldridge St Catharine’s • 

Catherine Murphy Robinson • 

Helen Bellfield Homerton • 

Masie-Rose Byrne Jesus • 

Leesa Haydock Selwyn • 

Romy Trigg-Smith Darwin • 

Lisa Grimes Wolfson • 

Ashley Winslow Wolfson • 

Kate Robinson Newnham • 

Laura Nelson Corpus Christi • 

Victoria Clarkson Murray 

Edwards • 

Hollie Booth King’s • 

Sarah Tooze Murray 

Edwards • 

Rachel Folwell Pembroke • 

Furzana 

Dudhwala Corpus Christi • 

Marion Gale Murray 

Edwards • 

Elizabeth 

Robinshaw Pembroke • 

Clare Longden Jesus • 

Alice Adriaenssens • 

Kate Murray 

Hadley-Brown Edwards • 

Nicola Dutton St Catharine’s • 

Anna Trench King’s • 

Manon van 

Thorenburg St John’s • 

Laura Mawer Murray 

Edwards • 

Patricia Snell Murray 

Edwards • 

113

Athletic Club 


President Lucy Spray Newnham 

Senior Treasurer Dr Robert Harle Downing 

Men’s Captain Sam Dobin Trinity 

Women’s Captain Katherine Laidlow Jesus 

Honorary Secretary Laura Duke Newnham 



Eamonn Katter St Edmunds • 

Mark Dyble Clare • 

James Kelly Jesus • 

Christian Roberts St John’s • 

Louis Persent St John’s • 

Neil Weijer Robinson • 

Ian Simson St John’s • 

Rory 

Graham-Watson Trinity • 

Chris Bannon Downing • 

Amin Ahmadnia Trinity • 

Tom Heslop Clare • 

Sam Dobin Trinity • 

Declan Murray Magdalene • 

F. Schaaf St John’s • 

Andrew Lynch King’s • 

Kaladerhan 

Agbontaen Jesus • 

Ray Malekout Selwyn • 

Ed Moyse Selwyn • 

Nate Sharpe King’s • 

Aiden McGowan Girton • 

Matt Grant Queens’ • 

Will Harrison Trinity • 

Ayo Adeyemi Churchill • 

Tom Wagner Sidney Sussex • 

Florence Cavalli Darwin • 

Laura Duke Newnham • 

Polly Keen Murray 

Edwards • 

Kate Laidlow Jesus • 

Naomi 

Taschimowitz Trinity • 

Emma Perkins Newnham • 

Emma Rowley Pembroke • 

Lucy Spray Newnham • 

Amanda Scott St John’s • 

Jo Lister Pembroke • 

Rose Penfold Emmanuel • 

Christie Noble Emmanuel • 

Rosemary Pringle Downing • 

Rosamund Healey Pembroke • 

Meg Tyler Churchill • 


Badminton Club 


President 

Senior Treasurer 

Men’s Captain Peter Galloway Peterhouse 

Women’s Captain Laura 

Birkinshaw-Miller Newnham 

Secretary 



Peter Galloway Peterhouse • 

Robert Hird Trinity • 

James Li Robinson • 

Ben Watson Corpus Christi • 

Arjun Mehta Trinity • 

Qichao Zhao Fitzwilliam • 

Nicky Lai St Catharine’s • 

Kern Hird St Catharine’s • 

Catherine Murphy Robinson • 

Mary Wang Trinity • 

Laura 

Birkinshaw-Miller Newnham • 

Katy Scotter Girton • 

Emily James Robinson • 

Basketball Club 


President Stuart Lee Darwin 

Senior Treasurer Nebojsa Radic 

Men’s Captain Richard Martin Queen’s 

Secretary Alan Aralbayev St Edmund’s 



Milos Puzovic Jesus • 

Chris Haar Downing • 

Tobias Uth Girton • 

Jan-Felix Senge Pembroke • 

Milos Buhavac Girton • 

Torsten Geelan Darwin • 

Tumas Beinortas Homerton •

Women’s Basketball Club 


President Kim Lamza Jesus 

Senior Treasurer Nebosja Radic 

Women’s Captain Kathleen Beniuk Magdelene 

Secretary Stephanie Ko Clare 



Alexandra Zieritz St Catharine’s • 

Kim Lamza Jesus • 

Kathleen Beniuk Magdelene • 

Stephanie Ko Clare • 

Briony Jones Homerton • 

Stephanie 

Polderdijk Trinity • 

Paloma Navarro St John’s • 

Caroline Walerud St John’s • 

Hanna Hörnberg Murray 

Edwards • 

Tina Herringshaw Hughes Hall • 

Boat Club 


President Deaglan 

McEachern Hughes Hall 

Senior Treasurer Prof J Luzio St Edmund’s 

Secretary Dick Pryce-Jones St Edmund’s 



Rob Weitemeyer St Edmund’s • 

Geoff Roth St Edmund’s • 

George Nash St Catharine’s • 

Peter Mcclelland Pembroke • 

Deaglan 

McEachern Hughes Hall • 

Henry Pelly St Edmund’s • 

Derek Rasmussen Hughes Hall • 

Fred Gill Hughes Hall • 

Ted Randolph Peterhouse • 

Wanne Kromdijk Clare • 

George Lamb St John’s • 

Mike Thorp Homerton • 

Matt Whaley Gonville & 

Caius • 

Harry Cubasch St Edmund’s • 

Joel Jennings Clare • 

Moritz Schramm Fitzwilliam • 

Geoff Roth St Edmund’s • 

Liz Box Christ’s • 

Women’s Boat Club 


President Sarah Allen Peterhouse 

Senior Treasurer Simon Cope 

Secretary Derek O’Brien Magdalene 



Catherine Taylor Trinity Hall • 

Hermione Mackay St John’s • 

Sarah Allen Peterhouse • 

Anna Railton Pembroke • 

Beth Colman King’s • 

Penny Thuesen Christ’s • 

Carys Rowlands Sidney Sussex • 

Anya Jones Fitzwilliam • 

Constance 

Daggett Girton • 

Kate Richards Queens’ • 

Harriet 

Traylor-Clarke Newnham • 

Catherine Blake Lucy 

Cavendish • 

Edwina Surtees Christ’s • 

Lisa Meegan Sidney Sussex • 

Julia Robson Trinity • 

Hannah Sensecall Girton • 

Laura Bierer St Catharine’s • 

Nora Staack, Sidney Sussex • 

Matthew Bryan Peterhouse • 

Elizabeth Polgreen Downing • 

Rebecca Pound Trinity Hall • 

Anne Hempel Trinity • 

Claudia Catacchio Newnham • 

Julia Fischer Clare Hall • 

Rebecca Minnich Clare • 

Hannah Morgan Clare • 

Stacey Hickson Trinity Hall • 

Bowmen 


Senior Treasurer Prof Lindsay Greer Sidney Sussex 

Captain Sam Burnard Jesus 

Secretary Emma Pewsey Newnham 



Heather Reynolds Jesus • 

Carrie Oliver Queens’ • 

Caroline Sandford Girton • 

Tak Ho Fitzwilliam • 

115

Rohan Shekhar Pembroke • 

Maciej 

Hermanowicz Trinity • 

Tim Craig Robinson • 

Sam Burnand Jesus • 

Amateur Boxing Club 


President Benjamin Jason 

Thomas Hughes Hall 

Senior Treasurer Martin Rueht Trinity Hall 

Men’s Captain Chris Webb Queens 

Secretary Adrian Teare 



Faisal Nasim Jesus • 

Jason Blick Corpus Christi • 

Brett Shanley Girton • 

Fergal McCool Trinity Hall • 

Chris Webb Queens’ • 

Ed Chadwick Clare • 

Ssegawa-Ssekintu 

Kiwanuka Queens’ • 

Tom Burlton St Catharine’s • 

Barton Dear King’s • 

Helena Matthews • 

Sarah Burden St Catharine’s • 

James Phillips • 

Stilian Morrison St Edmunds • 

Rob Pepper Homerton • 

Rob Liu • 

Elliot Chambers • 

Rudi Batzell Clare • 

Canoe Club 


President Hannah Salter 

Senior Treasurer Sam Waller 

Captain Chris Booth Robinson 

Secretary Daniel Evans Corpus Christi 


Cricket Club 


President 

Senior Treasurer Prof Ken Siddle 

Captain Akbar Ansari Trinity Hall 

Joint Secretary Ed Pearson Robinson 

Joint Secretary Thomas Probert Peterhouse 



Akbar Ansari Trinity Hall • 

Anand Ashok Queens’ • 

Frankie Brown Jesus • 

Daniel Goodwin St John’s • 

James GreenwoodHughes Hall • 

Richard Hesketh Christ’s • 

Charlie Hopkins Jesus • 

Philip Hughes Downing • 

Gus Kennedy Corpus Christi • 

Fred Owen Sidney Sussex • 

Marc Rosenberg Hughes Hall • 

Michael Taylor Gonville & 

Caius • 

Richard Timms Gonville & 

Caius • 

Philip Ashton Queens’ • 

Thomas Askew Hughes Hall • 

Michael Carson Trinity Hall • 

Philip Hughes Downing • 

Gus Kennedy Corpus Christi • 

David Milodowski Churchill • 

Thomas Probert Peterhouse • 

George Reynolds Corpus Christi • 

Ananya Sen St Edmund’s • 

Geoff Wilmot Fitzwilliam • 

Women’s Cricket Club 


Senior Treasurer Prof Ken Siddle 

Captain Ellie Fielding St John’s 

Secretary Sophie Davies Darwin 



Victoria Clarkson Murray 

Edwards • 

Sophia Davies Darwin • 

Alys Donnelly Emmanuel • 

Vicky Evans St John’s • 

Ellie Fielding St John's • 

Charlotte Hornsby Selwyn •

Danielle Lavender Newnham • 

Susan Lowrey Homerton • 

Paris Seyed-Safi St John's • 

Anne Venner Murray 

Edwards • 

Cruising Club 


President Prof Ian Liddell 

Senior Treasurer Tom Ridgman 

Sail/Team Head Felix Danczak Homerton 

Yacht/Team Head Chris Hawkesford Sidney Sussex 

Senior Secretary Jim Downing 



Felix Danczak, Homerton • 

Sarah Martin Girton • 

Peter Bunch Pembroke • 

Greg Hall Gonville & 

Caius • 

David Marlow Jesus • 

Fiona Hampshire St Catharine’s • 

Max Darke St John’s • 

Peter Dannatt St John’s • 

Peter Wathen Jesus • 

Andrew Lewis St Catharine’s • 

Henry Maxfield Trinity Hall • 

Will Kalderon Emmanuel • 

Dawn Wilkinson Jesus • 

Clair Brunner Jesus • 

Anya de Jong Corpus Christi • 

Sofia Parkinson Gonville & 

Caius • 

Cycling Club 


President Rodney Knight 

President/SecretaryTom Morris Corpus Christi 

Senior Treasurer Dr Ken Platts Fitzwilliam 

Captain James Hawkins Downing 



Tom Morris 

(time trialling) Corpus Christi • 

James Hawkins 

(time trialling) Downing • 

Dan Ahearn 

(time trialling) Downing • 

Toby Parnell 

(mountain biking) St Johns • 

Phil Buckham-Bonnet 

(mountain biking) • 

Eton Fives Club 


Senior Treasurer Dr Peter Reynolds 

Captain Robert Desmond Corpus Christi 

Secretary Lauri Brock Girton 

Fencing Club 


President Richard Booth St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer Geoffrey Grimmet 

Men’s Captain Zach Eaton-Rosen Clare 

Women’s Captain Hannah 

Shackleton Kings 

Secretary Agnes Foeglein Wolfson 



Matt Gasperetti Darwin • 

Philip West Homerton • 

Felix Wood Downing • 

Spencer Bullent Jesus • 

Eleanor Wigham Selwyn • 

Sophie-Ann 

St Clair Jones Homerton • 

Richard Morris Trinity • 

Sebastian Barry Darwin • 

Jonny Tham Clare • 

Brad Dixon Trinity • 

Simon Whitaker Fitzwilliam • 

Evi Williamson Homerton • 

Fay Sandford Gonville & 

Caius • 

Jacqueline Scholl Trinity • 

Zoe Rutterford Darwin • 

117

Gliding Club 


Chairman Julia Robson Trinity 

Senior Treasurer Dr Peter O’Donald Emmanuel 

Captain Rebecca Ward Girton 

Secretary Julia Rigby Lucy Cavendish 



Philippa Roberts Queens' • 

Golf Club 


President Sir Roger Romkys 

Senior Treasurer Andrew 

Thompson Magdalene 

Captain John Valley 

Women’s Captain Louisa Tarn Jesus 

Secretary Andrew Dinsmore St John’s 



John M.Valley Gonville & 

Caius • 

Andrew Dinsmore St John’s • 

Ruaraidh Stewart Peterhouse • 

Charlie Dewhurst St John’s • 

David Duncan Jesus • 

Benoit Ramsay Girton • 

Sayyid Ahmed 

Said Trinity • 

Peter Selvay Jesus • 

Alexander Silver Jesus • 

James Whittington St John’s • 

Louisa Tarn Jesus • 

Michaela Bacon St John’s • 

Hilary Crowe Pembroke • 

Livia McBride St John’s • 

Leanne Mullen Newnham • 

Katie Taylor Queens • 

Edward Hult Homerton • 

Marc Rosenberg Hughes Hall • 

Harvey Bradley 

(Captain) Girton • 

Lawrence Burton Homerton • 

John Gregson Homerton • 

Tim Cannings Queens • 

Tim Bray Peterhouse • 

Michael Milstein Pembroke • 

Nick Patrick St John’s • 


Tommy Hodgson Jesus • 

Matthew 

Bennison Fitzwilliam • 

Olympic Gymnastics Club 


President Mike Andrew Corpus Christi 

Senior Treasurer Christopher Tout 

Men’s Captain Edgar Engel Trinity 

Women’s Captain Christy Lowe Newnham 

Secretary Sean Newham Homerton 



Richard Mochrie St John’s • 

Edgar Engel Trinity • 

Tom Bachmann Girton • 

Sebastien Barfoot St Catharine’s • 

Mike Andrew Corpus Christi • 

Steven Methven Gonville & 

Caius • 

Christy Lowe Newnham • 

Kate Bramall Gonville & 

Caius • 

Lucy Guile Christ’s • 

Hare and Hounds 


President Dr Joan Lasenby Trinity 

Senior Treasurer Dr Nel Mathur Churchill 

Men’s Captain Matt Grant Queens’ 

Women’s Captain Emma Figures Lucy Cavendish 

Secretary James Chettle Clare 



Naomi 

Taschimowitz Trinity • 

Amanda Scott Churchill • 

Lucy Gossage Downing • 

James Kelly Jesus • 

Aidan McGowan Girton • 

Robin Brown Jesus • 

Sören Lindner Darwin • 

Mairead Rocke Churchill • 

Rachel Heard, Fitzwilliam • 

Anna Anderson Girton • 

Lauren Barklie Magdalene • 

Chris Bannon Downing • 

Matt Grant Queens’ •

Will Mackay Robinson • 

Matt Clark Homerton • 

James Chettle Clare • 

Dom Biddick St John’s • 

Tom Stecher Downing • 

Hockey Club 


President Lucy Stapleford St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer Dr Dick McConnel St John’s 

Men’s Captain Stuart Jackson Girton 

Women’s Captain Charlotte Brearley Homerton 

Women’s Secretary Becca Langton Jesus 

Men’s Secretary Rob Mahen 

Ice Hockey Club 


President Richard Trueman St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer Prof Archie 

Campbell Christs 

Captain Luc St-Pierre St Catharine’s 

Secretary Owen Randlett 



Andrew Buddle Sidney Sussex • 

Taylor Burns St Edmund’s • 

Jake Harris Downing • 

Tomas Jurik St Catharine’s • 

Teale 

Phelps-Bondaroff Clare • 

Daniel Tavana Churchill • 

David Waterman Fitzwilliam • 

Thomas Whillier Queens’ • 

Women’s Ice Hockey Club 


Senior Treasurer Prof Archie 

Campbell Christs 

Captain Christina Yek Selwyn 

Judo Club 


President Catharina Casper Corpus Christi 

Senior Treasurer Malte Grosche Trinity 

Men’s Captain Kane Chandler Darwin 

Women’s Captain Lisa Kleiminger Fitzwilliam 

Secretary Rob Blackburn Emmanuel 



Catharina Caspar Corpus Christi • 

Anna Baxter Robinson • 

Lisa Kleiminger Fitzwilliam • 

Mason Edwards St Catharine's • 

Gary Chandler Emmanuel • 

Philipp 

Oberhumer Queens' • 

James 

Maheswaran Queens' • 

Jorg Klein Downing • 

Xiong Chang Trinity • 

Robin Irvine Corpus Christi • 

Marianne Butler Pembroke • 

Jessica Alsiö Clare • 

Torben 

Schuettfort King's • 

Peter Mann St Edmunds' • 

John Aldis Fitzwilliam • 

Tobias Schmidutz Pembroke • 

James Coghill Pembroke • 

Silas Davis Jesus • 

Robert Blackburn Emmanuel • 

Max Wood Queens' • 

Karate Club 


President Mingwei Tan Peterhouse 

Senior Treasurer 

2009 Dr Srdjan Vucetic Pembroke 

Senior Treasurer Dr Martin 

2010 Worthington St John’s 

Men’s Captain Laim Gabb Emmanuel 

Women’s Captain Gosia Stanislawek Jesus 

Secretary Tina Pajuste Queens’ 



Stephanie 

McTighe Pembroke • 

Malgorzata 

Stanislawek Jesus • 

119

Richard Oriji Clare Hall • 

Joseph Poore Downing • 

Nim Sukumar Sidney Sussex • 

Paul Smith Trinity • 

Roman Sztyler Kings • 

Mingwei Tan Peterhouse • 

Emma Nunn Kings • 

Madeleine Wood Emmanuel • 

Korfball Club 


President Laura Soul Newnham 

Senior Treasurer Nic Buttinger Swelwyn 

Captain Sophie Cuene- 

Grnadidier Jesus 

Secretary Saquib Sultan 



Sophie Cuene- 

Grandidier Jesus • 

Sophie Harley- 

Mckeown Magdalene • 

Laura Soul Murray 

Edwards • 

Ying-Mei Wong Queens’ • 

Alan Murray Hughes Hall • 

Elgon Corner Pembroke • 

Joe Bakes Emmanuel • 

Anthony Hitchin Downing • 

Nic Buttinger Selwyn • 

Lis Dryden Pembroke • 

Natasha Jocelyn Girton • 

Bethan Gudgeon Murray 

Edwards • 

Krystyna Gonville & 

Kosciuszko Caius • 

Iain Cheetham Robinson • 

Benny Chia Hughes Hall • 

Renn Ore Homerton • 

Amit Mulji Clare Hall • 

Saquib Sultan St Catharine's • 


Lacrosse Club 


President Chris Jones Jesus 

Senior Treasurer Rev. Ian M Thompson King’s 

Men’s Captain Sam Spurrell Clare 

Secretary Duncan Barrigan Jesus 



Duncan Barrigan Jesus • 

Rowan Jackson Darwin • 

Blair Lapres Darwin • 

Michael Lipton Trinity • 

Dan Montgomery Trinity Hall • 

Tom Hoad St Catharine’s • 

Joshua Findlay Robinson • 

Ian Ralby St John’s • 

Todd Nichols Pembroke • 

Phil Hall Trinity • 

Sam Spurrell Clare • 

Oscar Bennett Hughes Hall • 

Alex Walker Selwyn • 

Craig Murphy St John’s • 

Scott Murphy Emmanuel • 

Jeff Stark Fitzwilliam • 

Women’s Lacrosse Club 


President Adeline Drabble Gonville & Caius 

Senior Treasurer Moira Gardiner St Edmund’s 

Women’s Captain Ellie Walsh Robinson 



Rosalind Cowen Churchill • 

Gen Gotla Christ’s • 

Sarah Grant Jesus • 

Anna Harrison Trinity • 

Georgie Hurt Downing • 

Alana Livesey Churchill • 

Sam Murray 

Mandel-Dallal Edwards • 

Charly Marchant King’s • 

Laura Plant St John’s • 

Leah Schabas Selwyn • 

Jackie Vullinghs Magdalene • 

Ellie Walshe Robinson • 

Angharad West Girton • 

Jasmine Sawyer Jesus • 

Tamara Astor Homerton •

Lottie Boreham Gonville & 

Caius • 

Amelia 

Duncanson St Catharine’s • 

Adeline Drabble Gonville & 

Caius • 

Calista-Jane East Christ’s • 

Gemma Ellse Girton • 

Olivia Ferdi Emmanuel • 

Laura Goldberg Sidney Sussex • 

Jo Hall Homerton • 

Ellen Heddle Trinity Hall • 

Becky Hilbert Newnham • 

Fran Owen Sidney Sussex • 

Ellie Pithers Murray 

Edwards • 

Katie Salter Emmanuel • 

Lucy Stapleton St Catharine’s • 

Check Warner Corpus Christi • 

Charlotte Yonge Trinity Hall • 

Lauren York St John’s • 

Lawn Tennis Club 


President Sir Geoffrey Cass Clare Hall 

Senior Treasurer James Berry 

Men’s Captain Rob Blythe Emmanuel 

Women’s Captain Victoria Watson Jesus 

Men’s Secretary Nick Jenkins St John’s 

Women’s Secretary Laura Morrill Murray Edwards 



Rob Blythe Emmanuel • 

Rutger-Jan Lange King’s • 

John Western Selwyn • 

Cameron 

Johnston Christ’s • 

Kirill Zavodov Magdalene • 

Kenny Taubenslag Emmanuel • 

Laura Morrill Murray 

Edwards • 

Alex McGoodwin Lucy 

Cavendish • 

Victoria Watson Jesus • 

Silvia Guglielmi Homerton • 

Emma Kudzin Newnham • 

Corina Balaban Homerton • 

Jonas Tinius Churchill • 

Jaroslav Snajdr Sidney Sussex • 

Fred Floether Homerton • 

Marian Bocek Hughes Hall • 

Tom Flowerdew Clare • 

Michael Sharp Magdalene • 

Alex Moynihan Christ’s • 

Genevieve Gotla Christ’s • 

Georgina KilbournTrinity Hall • 

Mimi Hou Corpus Christi • 

Corina Balaban Homerton • 

Clara Mattei • 

Ellie Heald Emmanuel • 

Lightweight Rowing Club 


President Alistair Chappelle Pembroke 

Senior Treasurer Dr Bill Nolan Robinson 

Men’s Captain George Blessey Downing 

Hon. Secretary Christopher Kerr St Catharine’s 



Chris Kerr St Catharine's • 

Matt Lawes Fitzwilliam • 

Chris Bellamy Homerton • 

Iain Rist Trinity Hall • 

Charlie Pitt Ford Pembroke • 

Tom Coker Trinity • 

Al Chappelle Pembroke • 

John Hale Pembroke • 

Ruth Coverdale Jesus • 

Mark Beevor Girton • 

Isabel Dowbiggin Hughes Hall • 

Simon Hay Girton • 

Sam Hayes Girton • 

Tim Scholtes Sidney Sussex • 

Modern Pentathlon Club 


President Hannah Darcy St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer Alison Schwabe 

Men’s Captain Daniel Housely Pembroke 

Women’s Captain Zoe Rutterford Darwin 

Secretary Maedee 

Burge-Rogers Newnham 



Laura Plant St John's • 

Bradley Dixon Trinity • 

Catharine Wilson St Catharine's • 

Ayla Haddenhorst Murray 

Edwards • 

Zoe Rutterford Darwin • 

121

Hannah Darcy St Catharine's • 

Nick England St Catharine's • 

Daniel Housley Pembroke • 

Netball Club 


President Jessica MacKenzie St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer David Bainbridge St Catharine’s 

Women’s Captain Emma Darke New Hall 

Secretary Jessica McGeorge New Hall 



Emma Darke Murray 

Edwards • 

Jessica McGeorge Murray 

Edwards • 

Elizabeth Wheater Hughes Hall • 

Victoria Colgate Magdalene • 

Amelia Garnett Newnham • 

Bethany Tyrie Girton • 

Antonia Akoto Peterhouse • 

Jessica MacKenzie St Catharine’s • 

Katie Marshall Downing • 

Sophia Anderson Newnham • 

Anna Fries Churchill • 

Sarah Gill Jesus • 

Hannah Pennicott Newnham • 

Charlotte Penney Jesus • 

Emily Lester Murray 

Edwards • 

Kat Bath Homerton • 

Elizabeth Railton Downing • 

Charlotte Wood Jesus • 

Sophie Polisena Jesus • 

Olivia Robinson Clare • 

Stef Jones Jesus • 

Becca Brake Downing • 

Caroline Carter Sidney • 


Orienteering Club 


Senior Treasurer Mike Bickle King’s 

Captain Adam Bennett St John’s 

Secretary Victoria Stevens Jesus 



Ben Stevens • 

Adam Bennett • 

Ben Windsor • 

Matthew Halliday • 

Mairead Rocke • 

Victoria Stevens Jesus • 

Polo Club 


President HRH Prince Charles 

Senior Treasurer Mark Johnston 

Captain Alex Hallett Emmanuel 

Secretary Emily Lunn 



Jamie Hepburn Gonville & 

Caius • 

Tobi Edun • 

Liam Gamble Robinson • 

Alex Hallett Emmanuel • 

Powerlifting Club 


President Alex Blessing King’s 

Senior Treasurer Nigel Spivey Emmanuel 

Secretary Louis Cox-Brusseau Homerton 



Jerrell Whithead King’s • 

Alexander 

Blessing King’s •

Real Tennis Club 


President George Pearson 

Senior Treasurer Dr Jeremy Fairbrother Trinity 

Men’s Captain Edward Pearson Robinson 

Women’s Captain Lucie Browning Fitzwilliam 



Karen Hird St Catharine’s • 

Robert Hird Trinity • 

Ali Hakimi Darwin • 

James Watson Trinity Hall • 

Edward Pearson Robinson • 

Alexandra Bryant Christ’s • 

Lucie Browing Fitzwilliam • 

Pippa Tregear Trinity • 

Revolver and Pistol Club 


President James Mallows 

Senior Treasurer John Williams 

Men’s Captain James Bullock Clare 

Women’s Captain Wenjun Qu Downing 

Secretary Chris Clemente 



James Bullock Clare • 

Vin Shen Ban Christ’s • 

Clark Barrett Sydney Sussex • 

Wenjun Qu Downing • 

Jase Taylor Trinity • 

Sophie Reed Murray 

Edwards • 

Jess Touschek Gonville & 

Caius • 

Dominique Iste Homerton • 

Emma Kirby Sydney Sussex • 

Pradipta Biswas Trinity • 

James Blackstone Clare • 

Sean Ng Trinity Hall • 

Riding Club 


President Venetia Brown Jesus 

Senior Treasurer Dr John Gibson 

Captain Georgina 

Messenger Clare 

Secretary Naomi Wakefield Lucy Cavendish 



Georgie 

Messenger Clare • 

Izzy Edmunson Newnham • 

Tom March Fitzwilliam • 

Simon Bewsey 

Dyke St Edmund’s • 

Rifle Association 


President Simon Gray 

Senior Treasurer Dr Marian Holness Trinity 

Captain Edward Dickson Trinity Hall 

Secretary James Bryson Selwyn 



John Lindsay Downing • 

Ashley Abrahams Peterhouse • 

Edward Dickson Trinity Hall • 

Holly Foster Churchill • 

Tom French St John’s • 

Jo Harris Magdelene • 

Simon Jones Churchill • 

Mike Judge Trinity • 

John Lindsay Downing • 

Ashley Abrahams Peterhouse • 

Lara Bogie Christ’s • 

George Gonville & 

Greenbury Caius) • 

Kay Sharpington Homerton • 

123

Rugby Fives Club 


President Robert Dolby 

Senior Treasurer Dr Peter Reynolds Magdalene 

Captain Alqahir Ladaq Christ’s 

Secretary Charles Compton St John’s 



Elliot Malone Churchill 

Alqahir Ladak Christ’s 

Luke Rowland, Fitzwilliam 

Charles Compton St John’s 

Rugby Union Football Club 


President Prof Brian Johnson 

Chairperson Prof R.J.A. Hooley Fitzwilliam 

General Manager Ian Minto 

Captain D.J.Vickerman Hughes Hall 

Secretary D.J. Rowe Hughes Hall 

Women’s Rugby Union Football Club 


President Rici Marshall Sidney Sussex 

Senior Treasurer Anne Venner Murray Edwards 

Captain Talia Gershon Clare 



Talia Gershon Clare • 

Rici Marshall Sidney Sussex • 

Skylar Neil Magdalene • 

Jo Bradley Homerton • 

Lucy Chumas Downing • 

Andrea Turner Queens’ • 

Nat Cordon Emmanuel • 

Lucy Hartwell Downing • 

Sammy Graham Jesus • 

Anne Venner Murray 

Edwards • 

Sarah Binning Gonville & 

Caius • 

Lauren Iredale Girton • 

Laura Britton Jesus • 

Rachel Thompson Murray 

Edwards • 


Kate Robson Girton • 

Katie Pearcey Murray 

Edwards • 

Tess Walker Selwyn • 

Helen Newsome Trinity Hall • 

Hannah Wells St John’s • 

Julie Valade Christ’s • 

Keno Omu Selwyn • 

Jenny McArdle Queens’ • 

Naiara Bazin King’s • 

Helen Bellfield Homerton • 

Kellie Preston Girton • 

Viki McEvoy St John’s • 

Jessica Tayenjam Sidney Sussex • 

Jo Harries Magdalene • 

Tanya Omolo Jesus • 

Polly Robinson Hughes • 

Alison Kinghorn Gonville & 

Caius • 

Sorrel Wood Homerton • 

Rachel Nixon Girton • 

Sarah Terry Murray 

Edwards • 

Anna Soler Magdalene • 

Kate Brown Downing • 

Sophie Clarke Selwyn • 

Amateur Rugby League Football Club 


Senior Treasurer Dr R McConnel St John’s 

Captain George Sykes Sidney Sussex 

Secretary Scott Wildgoose Emmanuel 

Ski & Snowboard Club 


President Jamie Gilbert St Edmund’s 

Senior Treasurer Dr S. Kusukawa Trinity 

Race Captain Catherine Pelton Murray Edwards 

Freestyle Captain Ed Freeman Homerton 

Secretary Ros Walduck Jesus

Small Bore Club 


Men’s Captain James Diviney Gonville & Caius 

Secretary Aaron Croucher Emmanuel 



I. Craigie Hughes Hall • 

J. Diviney Gonville & 

Caius • 

J. Lindsay Downing • 

E. Dickson Trinity Hall • 

J. Harris Magdalene • 

S. Jones Churchill • 

G. Greenbury Gonville & 

Caius • 

A. Abrahams Peterhouse • 

Squash Rackets Club 


President Geoff Moggridge King’s 

Senior Treasurer Nicky Dee 

Captain Alexandra Bryant Christ’s 

Secretary Tim Helme Churchill 



Harry Leitch Fitzwilliam • 

Nicholas Sutcliffe St John's • 

David Allman St John's • 

Michael MacKay St John's • 

Jack Styles Girton • 

Ann Babtie Gonville & 

Caius • 

Rebecca Palmer Emmanuel • 

Alexandra Bryant Christ's • 

Kate Mason Peterhouse • 

Karen Hird St Catharine’s • 

Craig Winthrop Girton • 

Andrea Kuesters St John's • 

James Pearson Christ's • 

Tim Helme Churchill • 

Alex Prior Gonville & 

Caius • 

Jake Maughan Emmanuel • 

Ciaran Rogers St John's • 

Swimming & Waterpolo Club 


President Chloe Grover Robinson 

Senior Treasurer James Scott 

Men’s Captain 

(Swimming) Tom Rootsey Jesus 

Women’s Captain 

(Swimming) Emily Bottle Trinity Hall 

Men’s Captain 

(Water Polo) Riccardo Di Pietro 

Women’s Captain 

(Water Polo) Josie Faulkner Clare 

Secretary 

(Swimming) Josh Little Corpus Christi 

Secretary 

(Water Polo) Chris Booth Robinson 

Table Tennis Club 


President Doug Speed St Catharine’s 

Senior Treasurer Simon Maddrell Gonville & Caius 

Men’s Captain Shaun Hall Churchill 

Women’s Captain Nga (Ky) Nguyen Trinity 

Secretary David Staines Queens’ 



Joshua Bleakley St Catharine's • 

Shaun Hall Churchill • 

Jan Natolski Hughes Hall • 

Hamish Yeung St Catharine's • 

Vanda Ho Murray 

Edwards • 

Nga Nguyen Trinity • 

Yudan Ren Robinson • 

Sasha Tsai Lucy 

Cavendish • 

Raphael Assier Sidney Sussex • 

Teeradej 

Kittipassorn Trinity • 

Doug Speed St Catharine's • 

Christian Staudt Hughes Hall • 

Justin Drake Girton • 

Rick Chen • 

125

Trampoline Club 


President Brittany Gee Jesus 

Senior Treasurer Prof J Woodhouse Clare 

Secretary Alan Mcreanor St John’s 



Asha Bayliss Downing • 

Kate Bramall Caius • 

Dave Chapman Robinson • 

Suzanne Tobin Girton • 

Brioney Gee Jesus • 

Helen Smith Jesus • 

Sarah Pearcey New Hall • 

Katie Bertrand Sidney Sussex 

Kate Davies Selwyn 

Stephen Flexer Selwyn 

Katharina Kohler Lucy Cavendish 

Alan McCreanor St John's 

Lottie Pocock Homerton 

Christine Schmaus Robinson 

Gareth Tear Fitzwilliam 

Triathlon Club 


President Aiden Reilly 

Secretary Andrew Collier 


Volleyball Club 


President Dr Jon Clarke Wolfson 

Senior Treasurer Jim McElwaine 

Men’s Captain Michael Hannon 

Women’s Captain Petra Schwalie 



Helena Blechova Hughes Hall • 

Barbora Došlíková Clare Hall • 

Sarah Greasley Magdalene • 

Ariane Hanssum Lucy 

Cavendish • 

Alex Rinnert St John’s • 

Petra Schwalie Newnham • 

Tina Schwamb Girton • 

Maddie Sowash Pembroke • 

Bettina Studer Darwin •

Produced by the Department of Physical Education in association with Communications 

Services, University of Cambridge 

Design by Cameron Design & Marketing Ltd 

Front cover photograph: Matt Bright 

© University of Cambridge 

www.sport.cam.ac.uk 

www.cam.ac.uk

SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

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