Wednesday 8th October was set to be an eventful day with Women’s Football hosting the return of their annual Charity Tournament in aid of Cancer Research UK; yet no one could have anticipated quite the turnout. With such excitement having built rapidly across the likes of Facebook and Twitter, the club were overwhelmed when met with 90 girls eager to make the most of the weather and test out the new facilities. Holloway’s five teams were joined on the 3G by the likes of Queen Mary’s, RUMS, and Reading Universities, as well as members of Royal Holloway’s Women’s Rugby, who were keen to support such a great cause.
The day kicked off with fast paced action across the three seven-a-side pitches, including a hat-trick for Holloway striker Effy Hameed, and some impressive saves from Women’s Rugby President, Letizia Monteleone. Queen Mary’s team wasted no time in taking some successful shots from the half way line, whilst First and Second Team Captains Annabel Giles and Anna Blanchette got stuck in with both the organising of fixtures, and of course some game time themselves.
Despite two of Holloway’s teams making it to the semi-finals, it was Queen Mary’s who claimed the win, triumphing 3-0 on penalties against Reading after such a tense final! An end of tournament awards ceremony also saw Captains each present an award to a player of their choice, with the five Holloway girls being Fern Colepio, Dany Zanichelli, Ludovica De Santis, Katy Waters and Julia Jones.
Women’s Football raised an impressive £465 in just 3 short hours for their club charity, whilst making friends with other universities in the process, who will certainly be back to play in the Summer tournament. This is undoubtedly a promising start to what looks to be one of Women’s Football’s most successful seasons.
Special thanks to Women’s Football President, Cissy Radford for organising such a fantastic day!