This year’s inter college sport has provided a lot to write home about and any doubts regarding a decline in collegiate spirit have been dispersed. Week in, week out, there have been football games and netball games, darts, pool and hard fought dominoes matches as well as the fiercely competed Carter Shield events that have cemented college pride, through the highs and lows that come with sporting competition.
Dom Keely and the hard work of his Lonsdale As football team saw them win their first league title in five years, as they triumphed by four points over County by the time the season wrapped up. The B team league saw Bowland, led by David Geere build upon the hard work of last year by creating a team which secured convincing wins and never looked like they would let the league title out of their sights until it was within their grasps.
The netball league got off to a shaky start with a few issues regarding the relaying of the netball courts causing issues with playing times. Despite this, the netball teams admirably ploughed on and made the best of an unfortunate situation to make sure the league ran as smoothly as possible. Despite concerns about fixtures being played, the league finished with time to spare – and in a fantastic fashion, showcasing the talent we have on campus.
The Netball A’s league finished with Fylde and Furness on equal points with Fylde edging the league win on score difference. This year also saw the Netball B team league go from strength to strength, with County stealing Bowland’s mantle as league champions.
This year’s George Wyatt saw one of the closest ever competitions in the history of the league with Bowland beating Lonsdale to the title by a margin of just two points. Both Bowland and Lonsdale only won one league each but the consistency of their teams across the board created a two-horse race with the end of the season being indescribably tense.
In Men’s A’s pool Lonsdale – pegged as favourites at the beginning of the season – lived up to the prediction and secured the league with a 13-point margin between them and second placed team Graduate, with Cartmel coming in third.
The Men’s B league went down to the final night of the season with Fylde and Lonsdale competing for the title. A Fylde loss and a Lonsdale win would have created upset at the top but Fylde played it cool and secured a 5 – 4 over Grizedale to tie up their league win.
Women’s pool saw Bowland retain their league title but it was no easy feat. Lonsdale were not about the rest on their laurels and let Bowland win easily forcing the league to go right down to the wire with only 2-points in it as the league wrapped up. However, the threat of Cartmel was not to be scoffed at and next year’s Women’s Pool league will be the one to watch.
The Men’s Darts league saw a convincing season display from Graduate, despite a few almost stumbles near the finish line, Grad’s consistency throughout the year paid off and saw them snatch the league away from the closest contenders – Lonsdale, Bowland and Pendle. The last game of the season saw Lonsdale needing a 9 – 0 win to tie the league and force a play-off, their valiant effort ended in disappointment with an 8 – 1 win allowing Grad to take the title with just only a one point margin.
After the closeness of last year’s league, Women’s Darts was always going to be an entertaining affair this season. Bowland’s early season losses were severely punished by the astonishing consistency from Clare Walker’s Pendle side with the league realistically out of Bowland’s grasp with a few games to spare.
Dominoes – the bar sport which quite possibly evokes the most passion and dedication from its players and supporters saw an electrifying conclusion to its season. Bowland needed to beat Cartmel to secure the title, with Grizedale securing a 3 – 0 win over Fylde and Pendle’s win meant there was no room for error. However, Cartmel secured their fourth win of the season causing Bowland’s league winning aspiration to be shattered, as Pendle ultimately triumphed in a play-off versus Grizedale.
This year’s Carter Shield saw the most open competition I have seen during my three years at Lancaster University. Fylde’s victory in the competition was no easy feat with all colleges putting up a great challenge across all sports, however, Fylde held strong and in the end, ensured a healthy 15-point margin between themselves and second placed Grizedale.
The Carter Shield is a brilliant competition which witnesses the unfailingly popularity of Dodgeball, the ever- entertaining Volleyball, the pure exhaustion and elation caused by numerous games of Aeroball, the surprisingly high scores of Kwik Cricket and is quite possibly the only competition on Earth which turns Rounders into the most controversial sport in existence.
Notable mentions should go to Cartmel for their reliability in not only getting teams down, but also getting support down, to Furness for their fancy dress endeavours in first term which were highly entertaining and to all colleges who this year, played with integrity and unfailing sportsmanship, making Dean and I’s job, as inter-college sports co-ordinators, a lot easier. Here’s looking forward to another fantastic year of Inter College Sport next year.
