As the first term of Lancaster University enters it’s sixth week, sports teams of all varieties are well under way in competitive fixtures. Bar sports in particular have been hotly contested since week 1 with both inter-college pool and darts leagues being in full swing. With carter shield points at stake as well as collegiate and team pride, here’s a round-up of the state of play so far.
Men’s Darts
A competitive start to the darts league has seen some eye-catching results alongside some high quality “arrows”. After three games in, it is the boys of Pendle topping the league table, one point ahead of second placed Lonsdale who remain hot on their heels. Both sides have had strong starts to the season, winning each of their opening three league fixtures. Leading the chasing pack is last year’s champions Fylde, who despite losing two of their first 3 games, lie in an ominous third. In contrast to this bottom of the table sees Grad rooted with two loses in their first two, with County and Cartmel also struggling above them after losing their first three. Still early in the competitive season, each team will be optimistic of high averages, good checkouts and most importantly, climbing up the league table. County in particular will be buoyed by their support from comedian Paul Foot, who after meeting a few of the team on a night out, regularly tweets his encouragement.
Women’s Darts
In the Women’s darts, a well supported Fylde side sit top after three matches, with a 7 point gap over nearest competitors Pendle and County. The defending champions have made a terrific start to the season, winning their first three matches to build the perfect platform for a title defence. The girls from Pendle will be eager to chase down the points of the rampant Fylde side after narrowly missing out on top honours last season by just 5 points. As the standard of women’s darts continues to grow alongside its popularity, new faces are spotted each week around the colleges participating in high quality matches. Behind Fylde, the rest of the league is incredibly tight, setting up an exciting season as the other team’s look to find their form. Incredibly, the 7 point gap from Fyde to Pendle is the same as Pendle to bottom placed Lonsdale, meaning any team who regularly hits their doubles will see themselves as the leading title challengers to Fylde.
Pool Men’s Firsts
From darts to pool now, as the men’s pool season is also well under way. Once again it is resident bar sport behemoths Fylde and Pendle who lead the table after three sets of matches. Both sides have 100% win records from their three games and are separated by just one point, setting up a mouth watering clash when the two colleges draw cues. Reigning champions Pendle won the league comfortably last season and will welcome the surprise challenge of Fylde, who were previously considered a mid-table outfit. Rooted to the bottom of the table is County, who’ve managed to pocket just 3 points from their first 3 games after heavy defeats. Grizedale are also adrift at the bottom on 5 points, but have a game in hand over most other teams and a much better score difference than County. All teams however will feel confident in moving up the league table once form is found, the mid-table teams in particular will see the 6 point gap from Furness in 3rd to Lonsdale in 7th as an opportunity to climb higher.
Pool Women’s
It seems to be a theme of this review to mention Pendle as title contenders but yet again the witches are found at the top of the bar sports table, this time in the women’s pool. Leading second placed Furness by an impressive 7 points, Pendle sit comfortably on top after being the only side so far to maintain an 100% record through four fixtures. Also unbeaten are Fylde, who unsurprisingly round out the top 3 as the only other side to break the 20 point barrier, (with a game in hand too) in what is shaping up as a three horse race for the title. Bowland have had a disappointing start to the season, losing 2 of their first three games after being victorious in the competition last season. County’s bar sports struggles continue as they hold up the rest of the table once again from three games.
The bar sport season is in full flow this term as the tables begin to shape after the first four rounds of fixtures. Teams at both the top and bottom will not haste to forget however, that with only a quarter of the season gone, there still remains plenty of opportunity for movement up or down the table.
