Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Sports & Socs

Cheering to Victory
Sports & Socs

Cheering to Victory

2017 was an amazing year for Royal Holloway Cheerleading. After bouncing back from a difficult season in 2016, the Bears went on to win Grand Champions at the University Nationals in Birmingham last February. This year, they were aiming to continue their winning streak from a truly memorable season. On Sunday 4 February, the club gathered at Guildford Spectrum Leisure Complex for their first competition of the season. As it was a relatively small competition, ICC Southerns allowed the teams to perform their routines for the first time in front of a judge’s panel. Also, there are a huge number of first years on the team this year – the Seconds Team is made up almost entirely of freshers. Southerns was an excellent introduction to the world of competitive cheerleading and was a good oppor...
The Atlantic Discovery
Sports & Socs

The Atlantic Discovery

Royal Holloway Alumni Benjamin Ajayi-Obe, Issac Kenyon and Jack Hopkins achieved their goal to set the world record for continuous rowing on an indoor rowing machine, also called an ergo. This took place in Founders Square from Friday Jan 12 until Sunday Jan 14, where they beat the previous record of 30 hours and rowed continuously for 33 hours. This world record attempt was dedicated to raise as much money as possible for the Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Mind Charity. These charities were chosen by the team members both for personal reasons as well as for the great work these charities do. They created a JustGiving page for donations and, as of writing, they have raised over £2000, half of their goal of £4000. Each and “every person who donates via...
Spring Term Preview
Sports & Socs

Spring Term Preview

Whilst 2017 was an exciting year for RHUL’s sports clubs and societies, 2018 could prove to be even more thrilling. As the spring term usually ends with elections and final events, the next three months will be the busiest time for many clubs. Also, the new year brings new opportunities, as students start trying out new sports. The ‘Give It a Go’ sessions took place at the start of term, ranging from swimming sessions to feminist society meetings. Also taking place in January was the 11th annual Alumni Sports Day, which involved ex-students coming back to compete against current students in a huge variety of sports. As well as the massive range of GIAG sessions at the start of term, many taster sessions will be taking place throughout February and March. For example, Chess are hosting t...
The Hockey Club: An Insight
Sports & Socs

The Hockey Club: An Insight

Lizzy Blackett is the President of the highly esteemed mixed sports club here at Royal Holloway, Hockey. She agreed to speak to Orbital Magazine about her role as President and the intricacies surrounding running a mixed sports club rather than a single-sex one, as so many others are. When asked what her favourite thing about Hockey is, she tells us that “it’s just so fun” while laughing. She worries that her answer is “ridiculous” or too “obvious” but hearing her talk about the sport and how much she “love[s]” it, it doesn’t seem ridiculous at all. Her love for the sport itself fuels her passion towards the club, its members and her presidency as a whole. Blackett “started playing Hockey” when she was just six years old, and both her parents “are Hockey players” as well. The club “p...
5 Benefits of Martial Arts for Health and Wellbeing
Sports & Socs

5 Benefits of Martial Arts for Health and Wellbeing

Martial arts tend to be grouped together as tough, even manly sports however, this is not the case. There are so many diverse styles and they will all teach you to defend yourself. Whilst this may seem daunting, in reality, all clubs will be friendly and willing to teach a complete beginner. One of the secrets of martial arts is that no one cares how good you are, you will always be welcome at any club so long as you want to learn. Not only are they great physical exercise but they also benefit your mental health and wellbeing: Increased Mobility & Co-ordination Physically, through a combination of slow, controlled movements and fast reaction based sparring you can increase mobility and bodily co-ordination. Both traditional and modern martial arts require stretching in class, ...
UNIcoin Unveiled
Sports & Socs

UNIcoin Unveiled

“Don’t you have those moments where you are just so lazy, and think, if only someone could deliver me a nice cup of coffee plus dinner to my dorm room?” –Lavena, Co-founder of UNIcoin. If so then these Royal Holloway students may have saved your life. UNIcoin is an original app which is currently being created by Royal Holloway’s app society. The app will allow you to advertise or obtain a service in exchange for money. Whether you want to offer a tutoring service, dance lessons, sell your old text books or simply hire someone to deliver a coffee to your room- this app can help you do it all. The idea was first born two years ago by Lavena Xu, a 3rd year Management student and James Johnson, a 3rd year Computer Science student. Lavena told me it started with one simple phone call to Ja...
The Twelve Days of Dancemas
Sports & Socs

The Twelve Days of Dancemas

Dance Society held their Christmas Showcase on Sunday 3 December, and it celebrated everything they’ve achieved this term with a festive twist. All of the society’s classes had the opportunity to perform at the showcase – ranging from ballet to tap to lyrical, there were plenty of Christmas-themed routines to get the audience into the festive spirit. One particularly exciting number was the 1st year dance, which was a mix of different dances with a Christmas soundtrack (and a wonderful Mean Girls reference!). The huge variety of classes with different levels of difficulty meant that even complete beginners were able to join in. I was lucky enough to take part this year, despite having not done dance for nearly 15 years. Whether you were a seasoned dancer or had never danced before, there w...
Celebrating The Comedy Society
Sports & Socs

Celebrating The Comedy Society

RHUL Comedy Society performed yet another show on Friday December 1 to high praise from the audience, judging by their laughter. It was their third show of the term and was marginally centred around the theme of Christmas and the holiday season. The show was called ‘Celebrating the Birth of Christ’, with the Facebook event espousing that there is “no better way to kick off your advent calendar”, accompanied by a charming poster that has host Archie Brooks-Watson’s face on the body of a baby. We can only assume the baby is meant to be Baby Jesus, bringing this Christmas-themed show full circle. The show itself consisted of 12 performers, including the host, of mixed age, degrees, gender and ethnicity, bringing different perspectives to their humour and to the whole evening. Ewan B...
Mental Health and Sport
Sports & Socs

Mental Health and Sport

One way to help improve your mental health is to get involved with a sports club or society. By getting involved with new things, such as a sport that you’ve never tried before, you will be able to meet new people and make unforgettable memories. Also, if deadlines, homesickness or just university life in general is taking a toll on your mental health, then doing exercise or doing society activities is a good way to put those worries at the back of your mind. Whether you’re at a training session or just at the gym on your own, sport can improve your self-esteem, reduce your stress levels and lower your risk of depression and anxiety – especially if you’re doing a sport that you enjoy. Royal Holloway’s sports clubs have done several events and campaigns in the past surrounding mental hea...
Delving into Diwali
Sports & Socs

Delving into Diwali

The Hindu society celebrated one of the biggest festivals of the year on Thursday 19th October. Diwali is the Hindu festival of light- the festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. It is a time typically celebrated with friends and family which of course isn’t always simple when you’re miles away from home at university. The Hindu society hosted a huge celebration at Medicine to bring everyone who wanted to rejoice together. When I asked one girl if she missed her family during such a festive occasion she replied, ‘this is my second family,’ which was really humbling to hear. There was clearly a great sense of belonging for everyone in the room and a huge sense of welcoming to anyone who didn’t typically practice the religion. T...