Why the university’s biggest sporting event is a must for all Roehampton students
Varsity is a sporting fixture being played each year by University rivals, Buckinghamshire New University and the University of Roehampton.
One of the most highly anticipated events each year at the University of Roehampton is Varsity. Varsity is a sporting fixture being played each year by University rivals, Buckinghamshire New University and the University of Roehampton. In total 21 fixtures took place across 9 different sports.
A list of all the teams that take part are as follows:
Men’s Badminton 1st
Women’s Badminton 1st
Men’s Basketball 1st
Women’s Basketball 1st
Men’s Football 1st
Men’s Football 2nd
Men’s Football 3rd
Men’s Football (Froebel) — acting as our 4th team
Men’s Football (Southlands) — acting as our 5th team
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Women’s Football 1st
Men’s Futsal 1st
Men’s Hockey 1st
Women’s Hockey 1st
Women’s Netball 1st
Women’s Netball 2nd
Men’s Rugby 1st
Women’s Rugby 1st
Men’s Swimming
Women’s Swimming
Men’s Volleyball
Women’s Volleyball
After another big year for the university, we spoke to Student Sport Development Officer Chris Roberts about the event and why all Roehampton students should get involved with Varsity.
How many times have the university beat BNU overall?
The overall score is 4–1 to Roehampton with this year being the 5th annual competition. We lost in 2016 but retained the trophy this year.
Average attendance each year?
We have sold out every year and the average attendance is around 1,100. It varies depending on whether we are home or away and we are limited by the capacity of the after party with Bucks News being larger than ours.
Why is it important for people to attend, even if they do not like sports?
We have more spectator tickets on sale than competitor ones. We feel it is important to build a sense of community at Roehampton with students supporting others in their fixtures, this makes the event special for the competitors as they do not usually play in front of a crowd.
It is also important for non-sporty students to be inspired by fellow students in the hope that they will start to become more physically active. As a department, we understand that not everyone likes competitive sports but we believe that being physically active, in whatever guise, is beneficial to an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing.
The last reason is fun! University is about the student experience as well as obtaining a qualification, hopefully the students that attend has a good time socialising and competing with their friends and make some memories.
The event will continue again next year and Varsity 2018 will take place on Wednesday 21st March 2018 with Buckinghamshire New University hosting.
Written by Liam Bailey
