Sunday of Week 14 saw the return of Lancaster University’s intercollege sporting extravaganza, the Carter Shield. The sport of choice this time was badminton, with colleges battling out in two groups in an elimination style match up, before progressing to a knockout round to determine the final standings and the victorious college.
All colleges were present at the event, again with the exception of Graduate, and overall there was a turnout of about 60 players. Speaking to Bailrigg FM, VP Activities Jack Walker said that he was very pleased with the overall turnout, as often Carter Shield can be less popular than other intercollege sporting events that take place throughout the year. He put this down to the hard work that the Sports Officers for each college put in, adding that the Carter Shield is the perfect way for colleges to get prepared for their own events of Patriots, Legends and Founders.
Games were played with the students from each college competing in one-on-one matches to a single point; with the winner from each match staying on the courts, and the loser from each being eliminated. Lonsdale, Bowland, Fylde and Grizedale were victorious in the knockout stages, with Lonsdale scoring the most points in the first round winning three out of three of their games.
The Carter Shield is undoubtedly a place where old college rivalries are dragged up – and all on the same day, which doesn’t happen very often. The event is described as ‘an event where you can play and represent your college in some fun, friendly and alternative sporting events’, which meant that even for the teams that finished at the lower end of the final standings, there was still some joy to be found in their victories. None more so than for Furness, who beat their college rivals, Cartmel, twice in the competition, resigning Cartmel to the bottom of the table in the process.
Bailrigg FM’s Sports Correspondents Adam Bragan and Rachit Sadana were able to speak to Furness Sports Office Tom Davison following their victory in this pre-Patriots match-up. He said that whilst they had lost every other match, the fact that they had beaten Cartmel was all that rally mattered. This further enhances the rivalry for Patriots, as Cartmel will be looking to take their revenge!
The fact that Furness still had fun despite not finishing towards the bottom really does echo the spirit of the Carter Shield, in that it’s not the winning but the taking part that counts.
Furness and Cartmel was definitely not the only college rivalry to be put to the test at the event. This time the action took place at the top of the table, with the founding colleges and fierce rivals Bowland and Lonsdale. Bowland were narrowly defeated, thus crowning Lonsdale champions, adding to their previous win in the last Carter Shield event of dodgeball. Lonsdale are the side to beat at the minute, and having achieved a clean sweep of both events, they have said they will be back to ‘destroy and demolish’ at the next Carter Shield event, which is due to be held in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere in the competition Fylde got off to a solid start, winning their first two games, which they put down to concentrating on their own game, rather than working out their competition. This tactic obviously worked for them as they finished in a respectable 3rd place. Grizedale followed them in fourth, with County and Pendle taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
Speaking to Jack at the end of the event, it was clear to see that overall it was a great success. As mentioned before, the spirit of the Carter Shield is really what makes it, it’s a fun and accessible way to get involved with a new sport and to throw yourself in to college life. Keep an eye out for the announcement of the next event in the coming weeks, and it just might be a sport which takes your fancy!
