Athletic Union look forward to a bright future for Varsity
York has a proud if not particularly distinguished sporting history. Since the early years, sportsmen and women have lined up on either side of the Lancashire/Yorkshire border in a battle for the War of the Roses. The event brings mass popularity and has been hugely successful since its early years.
In 2004, the then AU President Stuart Leslie founded a new concept where instead of the war being between two historical opponents, it would be between two sides of the city; the University of York and York St John. The event was named Varsity, and was intended to become winter version of Roses. However, similar to how the Winter Olympics lives in the shadow of its Summer counter-part, Varsity has so far suffered from poor attendance and a lack of enthusiasm from the student body.
So what does Varsity mean to the Athletic Union and its sport clubs? To some it represents one of the most exciting days of the sporting calender, while for others it is either a chance to practice for the more important BUSA matches in future weeks or, even worse, seen as a pointless hindrance.
According to Hockey club chair, Andy Hook. the event offers “another set of competitive matches that can be of benefit to the teams who compete in games in BUSA and the Yorkshire league, providing excellent preparation for these fiercely contested matches”. The words “fiercely” and “contested” seem to be in question in some sports though, backed up by relatively comfortable victories for York in both years of the competition so far. This is particularly the case for the Volleyball club who are said to have found the competition relatively easy so far.
UYVC President Ben Brown said “For the volleyball club the games in past year’s haven’t been too worthwhile due to a big difference in standards. Overall the event does give the whole of sport at the University something to work towards, but I feel it will never be taken as seriously as Roses. If Varsity didn’t exist I don’t believe it would be detrimental to York either.”
There are distinct differences in opinion though, as men’s football president Simon Oatridge thinks that Varsity is a worthwhile event which gives his players a chance to prepare for Roses later in the year. Although he did add: “It provides a welcome change from fixtures and boosts the second term . The cancellation of Varsity would be a loss to York’s growing sporting climate and the all round feel of the sporting calendar.”
AU President Tom Moore was optimistic about the eventual progression towards Varsity, finding an increased support from the student body. He said: “As the event grows in age and stature the interest will naturally increase - it is worth noting that Roses began with a sole boat race organised by the Vice-Chancellors.
Although we are a much larger institution, recent results has shown that many of the fixtures are competitive. The reason that the event isn’t as big as Roses is that the two institutions have to agree on a level of competition that will be there before adding it to the days timetable.”
Varsity 2007 is to be held on Wednesday 14 February at the University of York sports centre.
