On the 29 March, 30 of Royal Holloway’s sports teams gathered at Surrey Sports Park for their first ever Varsity Cup. They were joined by sports teams from the University of Surrey, and the intense competition between the Bears and the Stags was soon underway.
We had some truly deserving wins in many sports, including this year’s Team of the Year: Golf. We also had wins in Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Chess, Cheerleading, Men’s Fencing and a draw in Pole Fitness. Although we weren’t able to bring the trophy back to Egham, I think we can all agree that the sports teams performed so well and made our university proud. For many teams, it was an exciting and very successful end to the season. But it wasn’t just our wins that made the day so exciting; there was an amazing atmosphere around the sports park all day, thanks to all of the teams and the huge number of spectators who came to support us. There was a real feeling of unity and pride all day, as people from all teams and all departments came together to support the university. With
the help of the media outlets, anyone who wasn’t at Surrey was still able to keep updated with all of the scores and
watch livestreams of many events. As a result, the entire university was united in supporting our sports teams at their first ever Varsity.
The day ended with a thrilling finale, thanks to the Men’s Basketball team and the two Cheerleading teams. Cheer powered up the crowd with their exciting performances – ending their successful season – and the atmosphere was truly electric as Men’s Basketball took on the Stags in the last match of the day. With the help of Principal Paul Layzell and Co- President of Sports and Development, Steff Milne, Royal Holloway’s chants easily drowned out Surrey and showed what we were capable of. Colossus was on the sidelines for the whole game, joining in with our chants and supporting the players. The playful rivalry between the two mascots only added to the exciting competition between the universities, and the whole crowd was on its feet in the final minutes of the game. It was an
extremely exhilarating day and all of Royal Holloway’s sports teams and spectators left Surrey with an
immense feeling of pride.
This was our first ever Varsity, and we have proved that we’re a tough competitor in the world of university sports. Next year we’ll be welcoming Surrey onto our campus, as Varsity 2018 comes to Royal Holloway. We showed Surrey what we’re capable of this year and next year, we’ll be ready to take them on!
Get training, Bears