Author: Claudia Hall

With an increasing number of LGBTQ+ role models within sports and the conversations being had and the advocacy of work being inclusive, these are just some of the British sports stars who are openly members of the community and work to promote equality. Gareth Thomas  As the first openly gay professional rugby union player when he came out in 2009, he has been a vocal supporter and activist for NSPCC, ChildLine and Stonewall. In an interview in 2009 he was quoted as saying, “I don’t know if my life is going to be easier because I’m out, but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it”. When in 2018 he was the subject of a homophobic attack, Welsh, French, English, New Zealand and USA rugby teams wore rainbow lac...

As I swapped out my pink astro laces for rainbow-coloured ones before a hockey match last year and had my cheek painted with a rainbow flag, I had little knowledge of the great work that this movement I was supporting did. Royal Holloway Hockey Ladies 2s have always been an inclusive team that has supported one another through every obstacle the club and University has thrown at its members. So, to walk on to that pitch with the whole team kitted up in support of a cause deeply personal to many of our team, was inspiring. It demonstrated the power of sport and the unity and support it can bring to many people.   The Rainbow Laces campaign launched by Paddy Power and Stonewall UK in 2013, set out to tackle homophobia in football by distributing rainbow-coloured football laces to ever...

...not to panic as it’s almost Christmas. Oh, god- I’ve still got presents to buy.  It’s that time of year once again. Somehow we have made it through two national lockdowns and arrived at the festive season. This of course brings its own challenges as we prepare to be ‘locked in’ with relatives with nothing on TV but endless repeats of the Snowman and the ticking time bomb that is the monopoly board.  his year my festive spirit is being bolstered by my advent calendar, a boozy little number from Brewdog. Some days it takes a lot of willpower not to open the door, retrieve the can nestled inside and sink the whole thing while my girlfriend looks on horrified. She’s just jealous because hers is only dairy milk. All jokes(?) aside, the holidays are a very stressful time for...

Claudia Hall With Christmas fast approaching and a growing need to shop more sustainably and ethically, here are five brands that are promoting environmental and conscious shopping decisions. Tala Any British Gen Z or late millennial that has an Instagram account has surely heard of this brand. The brand created by fitness influencer and businesswoman Grace Beverley needs little introduction to most. However, in case you missed it, Tala aims to make sustainable fashion affordable. Their garments use 92 percent upcycled materials, and all packaging and product labels are fully recyclable and can either be planted or composted. ​An average pair of leggings is £40, and I can attest that their items are incredibly comfortable and cute. Patagonia I was surprised to learn that th...

Claudia Hall Owen and I are both masters’ students who work five jobs between us, play hockey (myself being VP), write for the Orbital and somehow manage to maintain our social lives and a relationship. To say we’re constantly stressed would be a massive understatement.  Unsurprisingly I am prone to the odd breakdown, this usually involves lots of crying, refusing to eat and worrying my mum and Owen senseless. The last one was after working 30 out of 32 days. I was overworked, tired and in a very bad place mentally. After phoning my mum, I knew that I had to come up with better coping mechanisms. It was not healthy to disappear into myself or want to run away from everything. I realised that I had to learn to take time for myself before the point my mental health started to spi...

Owen Williams and Claudia Hall Lacrosse recently introduced a new committee position this year, a position that is very new or non-existent to most sports or societies clubs. So, Owen sat down with them to talk about the importance and reasoning behind this new role.   What is the role of social and wellbeing secretary? The social side of it is once a week online socials, that keeps the club morale up and interconnected in a physical way as we have so many teams. Then the wellbeing side is new, it is making sure that there is someone that people can talk to if they’re not doing so great, feel unwelcome or not enjoying the experience as much as they should.  What was the reasoning behind this new role? There were no serious wellbeing issues that brought forwar...

Claudia Hall In this month’s edition of ‘Editors Try’, we focused on what Royal Holloway had to offer outside of Sports and Societies. This was inspired by my love of fruit and houseplants; the latter not being particularly enamoured with me. In my defence, not that Owen would believe me, it was not solely my fault that the chilli plant bit the dust – these things are a team effort. Regardless, as editors we tried; Market Day, the Plant Sale, Virtual Yoga and the Outdoor Cinema. Although Campus has a lot on offer in terms of alcoholic events, we felt that as keen drinkers ourselves, that deserved its own edition.  So, lets kick things off with ‘Market Day’. For those of you that haven’t been, market day is held every Tuesday in the SU main hall with fresh fruit and veg stalls, a fre...