Over 2,500 students and 30 officials took part in twelve sports across our two sites to ensure that despite the weather the day was once again a great spectacle for College Sport at Durham University.
As usual the day started at nine o’clock with the preliminary rounds of the football, netball, rugby union, hockey and  basketball ensuring that the sports complex was buzzing despite the early start to the day.

Due to the re-development work taking place at Maiden Castle both table tennis and squash took place at the Racecourse and both got underway an hour later as the day gathered momentum and results started to poor into the administration desks.

As the morning progressed there was a hint of a bit of sun but unfortunately the promise was short lived as the weather began to get worse and the rain started to fall. Despite the conditions teams stayed on the sidelines to support, or more often than not, heckle their opposition, creating a memorable atmosphere that was a true credit to Durham students’ commitment to College Sport.

The early afternoon saw both rounders and volleyball get underway with record entries into both events. Unfortunately the various athletics competitions fell foul of the bad weather but mixed lacrosse got underway later in the afternoon despite the conditions getting worse by the minute.

Netball was the first to finish with Hild Bede ending the day victorious. The netball competition was overseen by the University Club and umpired by students who compete for the University, without their support and the commitment of many other club executives and additional volunteers the day could not have been possible.

Women’s Rugby was next to finish with St. Cuthberts winning the competition in style, winning every match they played during the day.

The individual squash competition, held at the Racecouse, went on longer than expected and the deserved winners were Sarah May (Mary’s) for the women’s event and Jamie Barwick (Hatfield) for the men.

Women’s Basketball was next to be completed and Grey just clinched the title, defeating Butler narrowly in the final.  The Table Tennis event also proved to be something of a showpiece with a series of tight matches seeing Hatfield end up victorious.
The Rounders competition was extremely well supported with another record entry and the competition was fierce with a number of closely fought but light hearted matches taking place.
Trevelyan were the eventual winners in what proved to be one of the most enjoyable competitions of the day.

Despite Men’s Rugby beginning early in the morning it was still one of the last to finish with Hild Bede taking home the College Festival crown.

It was also a long day for Men’s and Women’s Football. Hild Bede won the men’s competition whilst Josephine Butler took the women’s prize. The day ended with a very wet St. Johns side securing the Mixed Lacrosse title.

The event was once again a great way to end the College Sport season. The weather could have ensured an early end to the day but the commitment to continue playing was a credit to all involved and served as a great reminder as to why the College Sport programme is so successful at Durham.

After the A’s loss against Hatfield earlier in the week and the B’s earlier win, the B’s had high hopes of causing an upset.

Despite setting a relatively competitive total of 149-9, the B’s weakened attack was unable to contain the powerful top order of the A’s who took only 14 overs to complete a convincing victory.

The B’s started well by winning the toss, and elected to bat so as to post a defendable score.

Once the first over had been dispatched for 11 runs, the captain’s decision seemed to have been justified.

However, the game soon swung the way of the A’s when a comedy run out saw opener Johnstone removed, and tight bowling at the top of the innings saw them left at 29 for three after six overs, with captain James Clulow having also been dismissed.

It was debutante Guy Perkins who saved the innings game, compiling a chanceless 73 before finally departing in the 20th over.

The B’s were then able to scramble towards respectability, regaining face. The B’s score was never likely to be good enough, though, with a short boundary to one side of the wicket.

Only four of the B team’s batsmen reached double figures, too, which was perhaps the real problem behind the B’s failures.

The A’s were able to restrict the score with their bowling attack. Perkins’ bowling power, though, succeeded in holding back A team batters Mousley and Wells, as they conceded 21 and 22 respectively in one over.

Chasing 149, the A’s set off at a fast pace and maintained it to win comfortably, surging ahead after only 14 overs.

Openers Adam Winchester and Anth Brown put on 65 for the first wicket, with Brown reaching 56, not out by the end of the chase.

Charles Sindrey swiftly finished the game at number three and proceeded to score a rapid 53 off just 18 deliveries.

He managed to take 26 off just seven balls from Henry Ashman, who was unable to contain Sindrey’s hitting.

The A’s comfortably won the game, and had they gone on would have likely posted a score resembling that of last year’s semi-final. It became clear that the weaker attack from the B’s had been unable to create the pressure required to defend the modest total.

The result restored the A’s hopes of reaching yet another finals day despite their recent league defeat, which was their first in two years.

The B’s can take solace from the positive performance of Perkins and the promise of more to come from returning players who could help propel them toward a repeat appearance at finals day, perhaps a derby once again.

For now the bragging rights of Collingwood College Cricket Club remain with the successful A team, who won the game by eight wickets and proved the stronger team against their college rivals.
The B’s, though, remain strong enough to challenge many of the better teams in the league.

Aidan’s won the kick-off, but failed to keep possession in the opening stages of the game.

Hatfield made the first attack of the game, with Will Christiansen cutting in from the left flank and whistling a shot wide of the upright. The Aidan’s keeper berated his defence for their lacklustre performance.

Shaken, Aidan’s began to take control in the game, but much of their possession came from Hatfield errors. Forward Jamie Blackwell did particularly well at holding the ball and harrying the composed Hatfield back four.

Hatfield continued to play most successfully, though, with incisive runs down both wings creating havoc among the Aidan’s defenders.

Despite Aidan’s lack of possession, the sides were still locked goalless with nearly half an hour gone.

The biggest chance for a goal came from the throw-ins of Hatfield’s Will Nicholl, yet the throws generally fizzed in and around the edge of the six-yard box, with defenders unsure whether to attack or wait for the rebound to clear.

The stalemate was eventually broken with thirty five minutes on the clock. Hatfield drove in a low cross from the right hand side, and, the ball fell straight to the foot of Richard Offord, who obliged by turning the ball into the back of the net: 1-0 Hatfield.

This goal was Hatfield’s reward for some probing football, and now the tension among the Aidan’s players became apparent. The referee warned a few for petulant behaviour, no doubt a by-product of frustration over Hatfield’s consistent pressure.

Soon afterwards, Hatfield added a second goal, when the keeper was forced to punch another enormous Nicholl throw. Ross Guthrie then slammed home an important goal.

The Aidan’s side then dropped a couple of players into deeper positions to attempt to avoid a disastrous third goal.

Aidan’s made several promising attacks in the final few minutes of the half, but these were blunted by strong defending.

After half time, the first thirty minutes passed without much incident, as Aidan’s attacks were time and again thwarted by the Hatfield side, who were now content to sit back on their lead.
Still, Hatfield enjoyed most of the possession with centre-half Alun Morris and midfielder Freddy Steele picking promising passes.

However, Aidan’s captain Ben Riad scored a composed penalty with ten minutes left.

After this, the tone of the game slightly changed, with the largely untested Hatfield keeper Oli Durrell pulling off a fine save in the closing stages to prevent an equaliser.

As the final whistle blew, Hatfield were able to breathe a sigh of relief that they were able to come out on top, at 2-1, despite squandering some useful possession.
Hatfield succeeded in winning thanks to their successful defence, and will go on to compete in the final.

With an electric all-round performance, Van Mildert’s openside flanker Phil Mundy led a spirited victory over Collingwood.
Scoring a hat trick, Mundy was a thorn in the side of Collingwood throughout. His dynamic opportunism in attack set a sturdy platform for fly-half Chris Grant to play some great rugby.

Grant delivered three drop goals in an assured all-round display to delay Collingwood’s title celebrations.
Despite a nervy start from both sides, strewn with handling errors, it was Collingwood that opened the scoring with a moment of sheer quality.

Van Mildert made their task even more difficult. After outside-centre Paddy O’Driscoll was sent to the sin-bin for a brainless late challenge on Charlie Sindrey, Collingwood began to assert themselves.

Strong running around the fringes from the forwards began to take its toll. Although Van Mildert defended bravely, the numerical advantage eventually forced infringements.

Presented with two straightforward penalty opportunities, Magee stretched the lead to thirteen points with half an hour gone.

Van Mildert switched their attentions from desperate resistance to clawing their way back into the match.

A clever kick by Ollie Hammond, a constant threat from scrum half, wrested a territorial advantage and from the resulting line-out, Mundy opened his account to cut the gap to eight.

After an efficient catch and drive, Mundy needed no second invitation to peel away, bringing his side to within three points.

There was still time for more before the interval, and when the openside took advantage of some very average tackling to collect his third score, Van Mildert had snatched an unlikely lead as the referee blew for half-time.

Unfortunately for Collingwood, even a verbal thrashing from their coach could not break them out of a Mundy-induced shell shock and, five minutes after the restart, Van Mildert captain Mike Hazelton bypassed the flimsy guard defence to secure an unlikely bonus point for his side.

From this point, Grant took over admirably and directed proceedings with aplomb.

Cleverly maintaining territorial pressure with a sensible kicking game, he ensured that his opponents had to endure a barren second period whilst keeping the scoreboard ticking over consistently.

Amidst all of this, even the yellow card shown to Van Mildert prop David Evershed could not loosen his side’s grip on the match. Collingwood will have been extremely disappointed with the manner of this defeat, especially due to the fact that they played a quarter of the game against fourteen men.

Durham University Men’s Football Club and Castle College AFC combined to record a 4-1 victory over Linthorpe FC on an emotional and bitterly cold night at Maiden Castle last Wednesday.

Team Durham played the first half of this commemorative friendly match against Middlesbrough side Linthorpe FC, enjoying the upper hand in the early exchanges.

Durham were unlucky not to score in the first few minutes after creating several chances.

The first half quickly settled into a rhythm, with Durham dominating possession and Linthorpe counter-attacking when they could.

The home side looked threatening down the wings, and Jordan Williams kept constant pressure on the defence. Durham had a shot tipped over the bar after good play from Ash Vasey.

Durham took the lead in the fifteenth minute as Rob Pettican’s hard work on the left wing resulted in an own goal from

Linthorpe defender Steven Brown, who turned a low cross into his own net under pressure from Williams.

Durham continued to dominate proceedings and could have been further in front had it not been for some dogged defending and profligacy in front of goal.

Pettican was at the heart of Durham’s attacking threat and shone on the left, while Durham’s front six ran the Linthorpe defence ragged.

Linthorpe did gain a foothold in the game as the half progressed, with the impressive James Harland nearly catching the

Palatinates on the break on a couple of occasions, but they found clear chances hard to come by.

Durham remained on top, but the home side still lacked the cutting edge to double their lead, despite some promising play.

A second goal eventually came for Durham on the stroke of half time: another left wing cross was converted after clever attacking play out wide from Rob Pettican and Martin Jones.

Durham captain Martin Jones was clearly pleased with the tribute his team had paid to Jordan in the first half.

He said: “there was a lot of emotion in the game. As a club we wanted do a good job on his behalf.

“It was a difficult game motivation-wise as we didn’t know what attitude to take into the game, but we’ve done Jordan proud, and obviously we’re pleased”.

The second half saw Jordan Harker’s college team take to the field, following entertainment from Grey college cheerleaders during the interval.

The second half was a more evenly-matched affair, and end-to-end football ensued.

Castle were clearly frustrating their opponents, as Linthorpe striker Nathan Summersgill was the first player to receive a warning from the referee and the visitors were guilty of a string of niggling fouls.

Just as Linthorpe appeared to be gaining some control of the game, Castle scored the third goal of the evening. A long-range drive had evaded everybody in the box to find the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

A 68th minute left-wing cross was converted from close range after a mistake from Linthorpe goalie Matty Lickard, who was having a torrid evening.

Linthorpe didn’t let their heads drop and continued to attempt to break down their opposition, but Castle were content to sit back and contain their opponents for the remainder of the game, and defended well.

Madhu Krishnan in particular went about his defensive duties excellently.

Linthorpe scored a late consolation through Summersgill, who was the only bright spark in an attacking line that had failed to seriously threaten the Castle goal.

The University College AFC captain helped to explain the meaning of the game to all involved, saying: “Jordan was obviously massively popular around college.

“Tonight is an opportunity for the college and the University to do something he had a massive passion for.

“Out of a tragic event there’s potential to do something positive and light-hearted to honour his memory”.

Castle certainly did their best to stick to that, offering a cameo appearance to ‘Burgekamp’, who put in a stunning, if comical, performance at right back in the dying minutes of the game.

It was clear throughout the game that the performance and attitude of the players, as well as the result, served as a fitting tribute to Jordan.

First up were the women, and it was the Hill side who started with style and the determination that the occasion merited.

Strong tackling in the centre of the pitch resulted in Hill and Collingwood striker Hannah Sissons running through the heart of the Bailey defence before finishing confidently past the keeper.

The restart appeared to be the closest the Bailey were going to get to the Hill goal as their dominance continued, and a succession of short corners followed with Hobbs of St Aidan’s looking dangerous from the top of the D every time.

Two good saves from keeper Katie Ford, a lucky deflection over and a generously disallowed goal from the referee kept the Bailey side in the contest.

The second half saw the reinvigorated Bailey women get stuck in, and the game became scrappy, depriving the Hill midfield of the time or space to orchestrate proceedings in anything close to their peerless first half performance.

It was instead the Bailey who won a remarkable succession of short corners, refusing to allow the Hill defence out of their own D. The sixth corner brought an equaliser, the initial shot hitting the post and Hild Bede’s Milly Bacon ending the subsequent confusion emphatically from close range.

A penalty shoot-out was called and after both teams scored at their first attempts, it was Bailey and Hatfield keeper Katie Ford who was the heroine, saving three Hill flicks in a row to clinch victory.

The Men’s match started at a swift pace and it was the Bailey who took the lead early on with a sharp flick from Hild Bede’s James Caffyn. However, a fast break down the left saw Alex White equalise for the Hill, and they were in front soon when White’s goal-bound shot was cheekily claimed on the line by George Toms.

But once again the lead did not last as Calum Brazier brought the Bailey level, and they took a deserved lead ten minutes later when Charlie Chalky-Maber of St John’s finished off a smoothly worked break with a precise swivelling shot into the far corner.

It was a night when no team was destined to win outright, and soon after some lacklustre Bailey tackling allowed Hill a two on one, which Aidanite Alex White duly converted for his second of the match.

The spectators were again rewarded for their attendance with a penalty shoot-out. Five penalty takers held their nerve before Hatfielder Ollie O’Donnell pulled off a magnificent diving save to give the Bailey their second win of the night.

The match started with brilliant possession by Hatfield. But, after several carefully placed passes the ball was recaptured by Collingwood, who in a well worked team move pushed it up to the goal within seconds but were unable to get a shot at goal. Hatfield’s defense started strongly and continued well as the game progressed. Collingwood had several shots on goal, but due to a throng of Hatfield defenders around the strikers, the ball didn’t cross the line.Hatfield’s defence was even more spectacular as they had no substitutes, and managed to play to a high standard throughout the games with the same players who had started.

As good as Hatfield’s defence was, Collingwood’s attack was as strong. Rosie Wadham of Collingwood played excellently, and throughout the first half she weaved the ball in and around Hatfield’s ankles and gave chase to stray passes successfully.

The first half came to a close with both teams having plenty of possession in the middle of the pitch, but no real clear cut scoring opportunities.The second half started in much the same manner that the first had ended with both teams cancelling each other out. Hatfield lost several promising opportunities due to over hit passes. Collingwood continued to play well but lacked stick co-ordination in the D.

The 2009 rule change which dictates that a player is unable to pass directly from the 25 mark straight into the D, meant that there was more self-passing as free shots were awarded by the umpire. Collingwood were awarded more free passes in the first half, but aggressive play by Hatfield in the second half including wonderful defence, meant that these shots unluckily came to nothing. Alice Midmer, captain of Hatfield blocked and passed wonderfully, and it was arguably her interceptions that made the match so nailbiting.

The two teams remained remarkably equal throughout the match. Each time Hatfield took control of the ball, it was intercepted within seconds by Collingwood. Such equal matches often allow talented players to shine and it was arguably Alison Iddon of Hatfield and Rosie Wadham of Collingwood’s play that lit up the match. Both players contributed to their teams overall strength as the ball was chased furiously up and down the pitch. Fine passes from Hatfield’s Henman meant that Collingwood had to mark their players more effectively to ensure that Hatfield didn’t move too close to the goal.

Despite the excellent play by both teams there were only two very close shots at goal in the match. One of these was from Collingwood in the second quarter, but thanks to Hatfield’s ingenious ‘rush out of goal at the opposition’ tactics, the ball was removed from play.

Hatfield had a chance to win the game in the last 10 minutes but  Collingwood goal keeper Emma Rawley snuffed out the chance. Perhaps it was a result of the brilliant marking, stick skills or just plain determination on both sides, but the match ended 0-0.

Needless to say, Josephine Butler should be very happy with their badminton players as they dominated Trevs.

They got off to a good start, managing without too much difficulty to fend off the valiant efforts of the Trevs B team, Rachel Ford and Ollie Bartlett who made a good team but just could not get a break; all three Butler teams winning 21-10, 21-8, and 21-14 respectively in their matches.

In the fourth game, Trevs C proved to be a challenge to Butler’s winning streak but again, Butler proved that they had the upper hand.

Chris Wilkes and Emma Talbert kept calm under the attack from Trevs who did their best to try and turn the game around with some aggressive tactics but to no avail as Wilkes and Talbert managed to sneak another win past Trevelyan for Butler, winning 21-18.

Unfortunately for Trevelyan, Butler only continued to carry on the winning streak. It seemed no matter what they did, Butler were two steps ahead of them, perhaps helped by a mixture of having the home-turf advantage and, on the odd occasion, luck.

The fifth game in which Butler B, consisting of Aimee Butterfield and Bertie Miles against Trevs A, was frantic and it appeared that the two teams were equally matched as the rally continued until Trevelyan College’s Sarah Gill made an unlucky mistake and served too low, turning the tide for Butler’s favour, winning 21-15.

15 must be Trevs’ unlucky number though as they lost to Butler again by the same amount when the C teams took each other on. The battle of the A teams though was a definite highlight of the afternoon. Considering the strength of Trevelyan College in badminton over the last few years, Josephine Butler College definitely proved that there was a new kid in town as they slaughtered the Trevs A team 21-4 in the seventh game.

Wilkes and Talbert proved to be an unstoppable force, quickly and confidently overwhelming the attempts of Gill and Perry to try and claw back some points for Trevs. To be fair to Trevs A, Butler A had luck on their side but it is undeniable that they also had skill; a deadly combination when Trevs made some clumsy mistakes. Arguably, they were out of their depths – the score speaks for itself.

New life was breathed back into Trevs though after the resounding defeat of their A team, as their C team threw all they had into their last match admirably. It was a real shame that Trevs lost 21-19, as they probably played better than Butler B in their last game despite Butterfield’s ability to be everywhere at once, but again, Trevs made some mistakes that they couldn’t afford.

The final match though between Butler C and Trevs A was epic as each team fought tooth and nail in order to clinch victory. Everybody was on the edge of their seats as upon reaching 21 in a tie, neither team could muster the energy to score the extra 2 points necessary in order to win. It was like watching the Battle of the Titans as neither team seemed to lose focus.

In the end though, Trevelyan finally managed to prevail and win their only match due to an unfortunate mistake by Butler’s captain Hannah Willsher, spoiling what would have been a perfect record otherwise.

Despite this, Willsher should comfort herself, knowing that Butler are in an excellent position to win this year’s college badminton competition.

Durham, Oxford and Cambridge competing in sporting events during the day, but is better known for its evening entertainment.

Magdalen College JCR voted at a general meeting to fund students, passing the motion by only four votes. Some students are attempting to change the JCR constitution to overturn the decision.

Those proposing the motion had been declined funding from the college before they sought aid from JCR funds.

Students from Durham receive no funding from colleges for the trip, which costs £219, mainly due to the fact that Doxbridge is widely seen as an excuse to party.

“I found it absolutely ridiculous that a college at a university of Oxford’s calibre would subsidise what is basically a massive piss-up”, said Van Mildert Sports Officer Olivia Amos.

“Those who I know to have attended Doxbridge are completely honest about the fact you are there to get drunk every night”.

Talks took place at the beginning of Michaelmas term to decide if Doxbridge matches could contribute points to the college league tables. However, the event does not cover the range of college sports, so it was decided that to include points from matches in the league tables would be unfair.

It seems unlikely that Durham will follow Magdalen’s example. In most colleges, the Finance Committee must approve sports funding before it can be opened to vote. The ‘Sports Party’ branding of

Doxbridge makes it difficult to distinguish how much money would be spent on sports and how much in Dublin’s pubs. JCR treasurers tend to be very reluctant to provide funding, especially as it will not improve college ranking in league tables.

Opportunities for funding serious sporting trips would be welcomed by students but, with regard to Doxbridge, Amos sums up the sentiment of many: “If Van Mildert started funding this trip they might as well start funding summer holidays to Faliraki and Magaluf, under the unconvincing pretence of supporting ‘team bonding’”.

Butler’s Sophie Wilson and Collingwood’s Alison Smith started the afternoon well with Alison playing good shots into the back corners and Sophie matching these with lithe returns. Both played encouraging points, but Alison led Collingwood to victory with two sets, both 9-2.

The second match was closer with Collingwood’s Rubi Kuruvilla winning 9-6, 9-4. Ariane Camacho of Butler had an excellent serve and very good use of the full court but some of her more ambitious shots let her point tally slide slightly.

Rubi’s use of gentle hits off the front wall was distinctive and she played most of her shots a little safer than Ariane, which eventually won her both games. However, had Ariane had a slightly better day she would have undoubtedly been more successful.

Match three saw Butler’s Fiona Carlisle sustaining a nasty injury with a swollen ankle and bloody knee. She admirably continued with play, but lost to Collingwood’s Laura Bridgstock 1-9, 3-9.

Laura played extremely strong and intelligent squash with consistently hard to return serves. Fiona’s agility served her well and she made remarkable transitions from one side of the court to the other. It was, however, a clear win for Laura.

The 2nds played the fourth match of the afternoon with Collingwood’s captain Kat Moore playing Butler’s Alex Dockreay. Kat’s power, consistency and sharp play led her to a near effortless victory of 9-0, 9-1.
Alex played a good game nonetheless and hit some good drop shots to the front of the court, but was outmatched by Kat’s strength.

Finally the teams’ 1sts played the fifth match of the afternoon, which was exciting in its pace, vigour and tactic. Butler’s captain Victoria Jackson played with energy and used the court fully. However she was beaten 1-9, 4-9 by Emily Wilson of Collingwood. Both displayed some exceptional shot placement, but it was Emily who controlled the court for the majority of the game with outstanding power and use of space.
She, also, anticipated Victoria’s returns with great accuracy and this won her the match. Both players showed vivacity, speed and skill, creating a brilliant atmosphere to top off the afternoon.

Overall, Collingwood’s whitewash triumph has confirmed their position at the top of the squash league as they remain ahead of Van Mildert in second place. Butler, also, remain in their position at seventh but have shown clear potential to go further with a bit more training.