It was cheers and celebrations all round as Lancaster University played host to the 46th Battle of Roses and where were crowned victorious after defeating their York rivals by a staggering margin of 52 points.
The past three years have seen the Carter James Trophy taken away from its rightful home but this year the cup was brought back to where it belongs after an intense weekend of intervarsity sporting competitions. The Roses Hub, assembled next to the football pitches, was at the centre of all the action, surrounded by an array of food and drink for everyone to enjoy. The Pancake Man, The Smart Coffee Company and Shirley’s Homemade Pies each had their own stall serving food throughout the day along with the German Society who were selling a traditional German favourite, the bratwurst. Of course, alcohol was in abundance with the bar becoming the centrepiece of the Roses Hub, allowing students to raise a glass to their success as well as keeping the spectators very well hydrated throughout. The Score Centre, which was positioned in the middle of the Roses Hub, kept a check on Lancaster’s progress and gradual climb to victory. Bailrigg FM were also in attendance streaming live music and sporting commentary throughout the weekend, keeping everyone updated on the sporting events which were taking place.
The opening ceremony began at 1pm on Saturday when members from both Lancaster and York’s brass bands performed two songs which included the ‘118 118 jingle’ and ‘Match of the Day’ theme tune.
On Sunday, students were able compete in It’s a Knock Out which was raising money for the charity, Cancer Care. With a variety of different assault courses, competitors hit campus Lancaster style, with students challenging each other for prizes and of course the title of It’s a Knock Out champion. The games included bouncy basket ball, Nelly the elephant and the mangle, each testing student’s strength, courage and lack of embarrassment as they ran, jumped and slid around the course. The winners were awarded for their efforts with certificates and medals and trophies were handed out to the glorious winners. A fun run also took place around campus with students running one of three distances, 10k, 5k or 1.5k with money also going towards Cancer Care. With around 60 runners competing in the fun run and over 300 challenging themselves in It’s a Knock Out, James Perin, LUVU Projects and Placement Coordinator and organiser for the charity events, commented:
“ I am hoping to raise a few thousand pounds for Cancer Care. A huge amount of organisation has gone into It’s a Knock Out as we have been planning this and Roses events for about four months now.”
The closing ceremony was held in the Roses Hub on the Sunday at 4pm and was hosted by Student Media Board Chair, Katie Jamieson, who said that “we would now like to commemorate the many successful achievements of the last three days by presenting the Roses 2010 trophies”. The backdrop to the ceremony was a live stream of twitter updates which included tweets such as “Next year we will kick York’s arse again” and “Lancaster won Roses, Lancaster won Roses lalala.” A montage, which had been created from footage from LUTube.tv and YSTV, allowed students to witness a visual overview of the success of the Roses weekend. The crowd were then entertained by the energetic Lancaster cheerleading squad who took to the stage combining a mixture of stunts, dancing and fireworks.
This was followed by the presentation of various awards and trophies which were handed out to the sporting clubs and societies who had achieved a Roses victory. LUSU Vice President (Sport), Sue Wynes and her York counterpart Emily Scott were there to congratulate each winning team on the Roses stage.
Scott, despite York’s defeat and a strained voice due to a weekend of shouting and cheering, was still in high spirits about the event.
“I want to say a massive thank you to all the competitors and the competition has been fantastic with the sport of a high quality. Congratulations to Lancaster!”
Wynes then took to the podium to comment on the Roses Weekend.
“I went down to watch the cricket which was the first event and even though it didn’t go our way it was a brilliant competition and the closest cricket match I’ve ever seen. It really set the precedent for the weekend ahead”. Wynes then went on to chant what has fast become the Lancaster Roses anthem “there is one thing I want to finish off with…Lancaster lalala Lancaster lalala” causing an uproar of cheering and singing from the crowd of spectators.
The ceremony was topped off with a performance from Lancaster dance society who treated the crowd to a dancing extravaganza combining a mixture of different disciplines of dance from jazz to ballet to point.
It was then time for the finale, the presentation of the Carter James Trophy when Jamieson announced that we had reached the final result. “The white and red rose met on the battlefield many centuries ago and still to this day York and Lancaster continue to battle for dominance. There can only be one winner. Ladies and Gentlemen the winner of Roses 2010 is…Lancaster!” With the official announcement of the winner of the battle of Roses, the crowd erupted in a mass of cheering, screaming and chanting followed by the explosion of the confetti cannons. The noise level was turned up several knotches when Wynes raised the Carter James Trophy into the air signalling the return of the cup to Lancaster University.
After the event, Wynes said:
“It has been absolutely brilliant. We started off well on Friday which was absolutely fantastic as we got a good lead then but obviously nothing is guaranteed. The teams pulled out all the stops and I am so proud of every single one of them. When we finally got those extra points from the canoe slalom to ensure victory that was the highlight for me.”
Although sport will always be at the heart of the Roses tradition, this year Lancaster was able to involve a diverse range of students from across campus allowing budding journalists, TV and radio presenters to get a taste of the media industry and in particular its fast paced nature. Students participated in the Roses media coverage which involved anything from live blogging to photography. Michael Payne, LUSU President, commented
“I think the broadcasting which showed the talent of the students, the twitter technology, the live feed and the blogging which the Vice Chancellor commented as he was following it yesterday evening, was absolutely brilliant”.
Jamieson, who in addition to hosting the closing ceremony has been presenting on LUTube during Roses said
“I think the media coverage went very well, we saw each of the media: LUTube.TV, BFM and SCAN, working very well together and independently too and as the Media Board Chair I was very proud of everyone involved for that. I think it was a really important part of Roses because the competition shouldn’t be forgotten if people can’t make it there, I’m glad a lot of time and effort was dedicated to the media coverage”.
Behind the scenes, countless hours are put into the organisation of Roses to ensure its success. Oliver Trumble, creative director for the closing ceremony, commented:
“I am really glad we won after so many people put lots of effort into the closing ceremony, it would have been a little embarrassing if we hadn’t of won. The closing ceremony and final product have been worth all the hard work”.
Alisdair Denholme, LUSU Activities Developer, who has been involved with the organisation of Roses from the start, said:
“The support throughout the event has been fantastic so everyone has been in high spirits which is what it’s all about. It’s about getting the whole university, not just those playing, but getting all students together and everybody fighting together to win the competition”.
Overall, the event allowed nearly 1,500 students to showcase their sporting talents in one of the biggest intervarsity competitions in Europe as well as creating numerous opportunities for students to sample the media industry with Lancaster’s very own media outlets.
Roses 2010: The Sports Overview
Friday: Day 1
The first day saw Lancaster storm into the lead with the equestrian, pool and swimming teams all bringing home the points to ensure that we got off to a great start. All the teams throughout the day showed will and determination creating a lead of 62.5 points for Lancaster in comparison to York with 25.5 points
Saturday: Day 2
Despite a strong lead, there was no guarantee that Lancaster would be victorious and the game was still on for Lancaster sporting teams to bring home the points. With a huge array of sporting events taking place, the day could have gone either way with the weather in true Lancaster style proving predictable in its unpredictability. However, Lancaster proved their sporting prowess by widening the gap making it 126.5 to Lancaster with York becoming a distant second place with 76.5 points. Andrew Johnston, VP (Finance, Events, Democracy & Societies), said: “Sporting wise it has been a massive success and it has shown that the university has put a lot into the sporting side and the competition, has so far proved that we are better than York”.
Sunday: Day 3
The final day of Roses was party to a morning of nerves and tension with Lancaster almost within reaching distance of the Carter James Trophy. It was the Canoe Slalom that brought the cup home after beating York by 0.29. Amy Fowler, competitions captain for the canoe slalom, commented “It felt absolutely amazing. I didn’t actually know that we needed the canoe clubs points to get the win but Sue Wynes started screaming down the phone to me and I screamed back. It was amazing to think that our club had done it. This is my fifth roses and this year has been amazing and the canoe club have had a brilliant weekend.” Lancaster wins the Roses title by an impressive 157.5 to York’s 105.5.
