Friday, February 7Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Sports & Socs

‘When Issy met Sophie’, the Orbital in discussion with Sophie Christiansen CBE
Sports & Socs

‘When Issy met Sophie’, the Orbital in discussion with Sophie Christiansen CBE

On the 12th of December 2024, decorated Royal Holloway Alumni Sophie Christiansen CBE returned to the University for a visit. Reflecting on her time as a student at the University, she toured campus and met up with members of the current Royal Holloway Riding Club before our interview.    It was clear returning to the Royal Holloway Campus was a greatly nostalgic experience for Christiansen; when asked how it felt to return to her former university she explained, ‘It’s amazing! Every time I come back, I think, when we're here we take this gorgeous building for granted, but every time I come, I comment “wow, did I really come here?”’  When talking about what she was able to take away from her time at Royal Holloway in addition to her MSc Mathematics, she discussed...
BUCS SHOWCASE: Women’s Football 1st Team
Sports & Socs

BUCS SHOWCASE: Women’s Football 1st Team

In their final game this side of the Christmas break, the Women’s Football 1st Team claimed a strong 3-1 victory over Reading’s 1st Team on the 4th of December.  Multiple players made the scoresheet as the team claimed their second victory over Reading, including a particularly impressive header scored by first team player and social sec Tabby Brown.  Following the match’s conclusion, I spoke to some of the players and their coach about the victory. First team player and Women’s Football Social Media Sec, Megan Regan, discussed the team’s success saying that ‘the second half was a lot better than the first, as we struggled to get into our flow and play our game in the first half and then the second half we figured out how each other wanted to play for the ...
BUCS SHOWCASE: Women’s Football 1st Team
Sports & Socs

BUCS SHOWCASE: Women’s Football 1st Team

The Women's Football 1st Team are no strangers to winning. Taking home 'Team of the Year' at Colours Ball in 2023 after winning both their LUSL and BUCS leagues and winning the LUSL Cup at the end of the 2024. This year, they set their ambitions high, aiming for two cup and two league wins. Their current standings are promising, placing second in their BUCS league and top of their LUSL League. This week, we look ahead to their fixture against Reading Women's 1s. Having won 80% of their league fixtures so far, the team is in a strong position ahead of their clash with Reading this Wednesday. As a club with a large membership and support group, the match is certain to attract a strong home crowd to support in the final BUCS match ahead of the Christmas holiday. For anyone inspired by...
BUCS SHOWCASE: WOMEN’S RUGBY
Sports & Socs

BUCS SHOWCASE: WOMEN’S RUGBY

By Issy Trapnell Hoyle- Senior Sports Editor Ahead of the first BUCS Showcase Wednesday of the season, we caught up with Women’s Rugby to learn a little more about their upcoming season, their club and what their sport means to them.  Welcoming all three media outlets to their Friday afternoon training, the club allowed us to follow their training session and observe their preparation prior to the start of the new season. Seeing the way the team was focused and working together, it is clear the club is getting ready to face the new season with a positive attitude and strong team.  At the end of their training, we had the privilege of interviewing multiple members of the club including President Millie and Treasurer Charlotte. Millie explained to us that she's feeling po...
Trading Lanzarote for Lyon; An Endorsement of Travelling for Sport. 
Sports & Socs, Travel

Trading Lanzarote for Lyon; An Endorsement of Travelling for Sport. 

Issy Trapnell Hoyle – Senior Sports Editor  ‘Okay, this is going to sound crazy but I have £20 tickets to the Women’s Football Semi-Final in my basket, do you want to go to the Olympics?’.  I imagine my friend and former flatmate has been woken up on a Sunday morning to many more rational questions. Nevertheless, within a week of this conversation we had flights, tickets and a suspiciously cheap hostel in Lyon booked in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  The average student holiday is regularly stereotyped as being a bar crawl and club filled extravaganza. So, it’s understandable that in the months leading up to our Olympic outing we were faced with many confused faces when explaining that yes, we are going to Lyon just for a football game, and no, we d...
A Closer Look at Alex Scott’s Inspirational Memoir, ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’
Culture & Literature, Literature, Sports & Socs

A Closer Look at Alex Scott’s Inspirational Memoir, ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’

By Beth McCowen *Content Warning - discussion of domestic abuse* Now a highly-respected pundit, and ambassador for the domestic abuse charity Refuge, Alex Scott MBE became the best right-back of her time during an illustrious career as a high-level football player. The former Arsenal and England captain’s memoir was published in 2022.  ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’ details not only Scott’s football journey, but also the story of her life so far. She may have gone from strength to strength as a player, and then as a broadcaster, but that is not to say it was easy. Scott describes some of the difficulties that came with growing up with a father who was an alcoholic, and became abusive. One part of the book which really struck a chord with me, was when Scott explains that her decis...
The Rise of Formula 1
Sports & Socs

The Rise of Formula 1

Photo by Formula 1 By Beth McCowen Formula 1 has been a popular mainstream sport since long before many of our readers were born. The internationally renowned competition is ever-changing, and remains at the heart of multi-faceted discussions of its core elements, along with their wider implications. Here is a brief overview of how the top flight of motorsport has dominated the world of sports media, and some of the problems that have arisen along the way. The 2022/23 season came to an end on Sunday 26th November, with Dutch superstar Max Verstappen and Christian Horner’s Red Bull continuing to dominate both the driver and constructor’s championships.  Over the last few years, there has been a drastic increase in the number of young people who follow the sport. This i...
Luton Town Football Club Face £120,000 Fine for Homophobic Chants
News, Sports & Socs

Luton Town Football Club Face £120,000 Fine for Homophobic Chants

Image by Sky Sports By Beth McCowen Luton Town Football Club  has been hit with a £120,000 fine and a two year action plan by the FA.  The club has accepted the charge, which is a consequence of an incident that took place during the Town’s first game of the 2023/24 season on August 12th in Brighton, where a portion of the away side’s fans took part homophobic chanting.  The action taken by the FA in this instance sends a strong message to both clubs and their supporters regarding the importance of stamping out all forms of discrimination.  Luton were promoted to the Premier League, the top tier of football in England, after the 2022/23 season came to an end. Prior to this breakthrough, they had not been a part of the country’s top flight in footbal...
Motherhood, the Sporting World and Its Impact?
Sports & Socs

Motherhood, the Sporting World and Its Impact?

Photo by Jeffrey F. Lin via Unsplash By Liberty Simons It’s common for male athletes to have children during their careers. They don’t have to experience the 9 months of pregnancy, plus the recovery time after that. Their almost always female partners, do that. But the picture looks different if you are a female athlete. Whether they are in a same sex couple, or a heterosexual one, female athletes are affected by pregnancy and the expectations of motherhood much more than their male counterpart. It is only now we are reaching a point where motherhood is being treated with respect and dignity in women’s sports and mothers and their children are being treated well by big organisations, but this is not always the case. (I will not be including children’s names in this piece out of ...
An Interview with Kellie Cheung 
Features, Sports & Socs

An Interview with Kellie Cheung 

Photo by Liberty Simons By Beth McCowen In light of lacrosse being named as an Olympic sport for Los Angeles 2028, The Orbital sat down with player Kellie Cheung to talk about her personal journey with the sport, what this news means for the lacrosse community, as well as her time competing with Royal Holloway. Photo by Sharks Lacrosse HK Can you tell us a bit about your personal journey with lacrosse? “I came to the UK when I was 12 and attended boarding school, and that's where I started to play lacrosse. I actually started as a goalie in high school, then at university I was midfield attack. After my year abroad, I joined Hong Kong Lacrosse, so I would play with Hong Kong during the summers. I would coach beginner’s adult and children’s lacrosse. Also, during my year abr...