INTRODUCTION
Quiet period has seen a cloud of relative calm settle over Lancaster University for the last few weeks. Exam stress, revision, and final deadlines has seen the majority of the student body cooped up indoors, trying to cram those final ounces of knowledge into their heads. For some, it has been the final stretch of a three year journey. It is a cloud of misery. A cloud of depression. A cloud of final anxiety as the ticking of the clock echoes around the exam halls.
That cloud is about to burst.
The 10th Founders series sees the return of the most heated intercollege sports tournament on campus, as rival colleges Lonsdale and Bowland face off once more in what is expected to be a truly mouth-watering weekend of sport, partying, and passion.
The Founders series enters its 10th year, and the score currently stands at a rather impressive 7-2 to Bowland College. Supporters of the Lonsdale Lion however might have more to cheer about than that scoreline suggests however, as they stormed to victory in last year’s series (which saw them clench every single point available across Saturday, a thoroughly impressive feat). This year, Bowland will be looking to respond to last year’s comprehensive defeat, and their Presient, Patrick Somervell seems confident in his warriors in red. Likewise, Amy Harvey, last year’s Vice-President of Lonsdale, is clearly backing the Lions to retain the trophy, telling SCAN; “Founders is amazing because it brings the whole college together. It is looked forward to all year and it never disappoints; it gives everyone a chance to get involved, and some sports that are sometimes overlooked (such as dodge ball) get a chance to be showcased.”
In terms of the college leagues, the two colleges seem to neck and neck across various sports. Lonsdale were ahead of Bowland in the Dominoes, the Football A, Men’s Darts, and the Men’s Pool A and B leagues. Meanwhile Bowland finished ahead in both A and B Netball leagues, as well as the Women’s Darts and Pool, and the Football B league. Lonsdale will be looking confident, as their victories in the College competitions have been in some of the most important (and therefore worth more points) events. But form is fickle thing, and Bowland will not be complacent, as they seek to gain back the Founders Trophy once again.
JCR COMMENTS
BOWLAND PRESIDENT – Patrick Somervell
We are the founders of this great University. We were the first.
There are many traditions in Bowland College: our ‘Lady in Red’ song, our ‘Big Red Barcrawls’ and our competitiveness in sport. But nothing quite compares to the Founders Weekend, held every year during Week 8 of the Summer Term.
Tradition is so important to our collegiate system; they are the way in which we gain pride, respect, and a feeling of belonging. The Founders weekend is vital to Bowland, bringing back different generations of Alumni and involving all Bowland students, even those who have forgotten the community feel of Freshers Week and the ardent patriotism for the Bowland Lady. It’s a time for everyone to unite and share tales of mischief and victory over the Lonsdale enemies.
It is the baptism of fire for our first years, and the rekindling of our fierce rivalry with Lonsdale. There is no competition however; the numbers speak for themselves. 7-2 is the score so far, and I will be expecting it to be 8-2 in less than a month’s time.
Lonsdale are average in most sports but deadly in others. Their Darts and Netball teams are not to be underestimated, but this year the tables will undoubtedly turn. We have started earlier and trained harder than ever before, and the Bowland and Lonsdale Sports Reps have made the 10th year of the Founders Series the biggest yet. It will be a spectacle for all to see.
Lonsdale will lose. Bowland will be victorious. And the founding College will have its trophy back where it belongs.
The weeks building up to Week 8 will be tense, and the weekend itself will be incomparable to anything you have ever seen before. Chanting, sweating and enjoyment for everyone. No matter what college you are in, I welcome you into mine if you want Lonsdale to lose.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
LONSDALE VICE-PRESIDENT – Sam Gregory
Two Colleges. History .Memories. Tears. Celebration. FOUNDERS. The defining moment of the year is not Fresher’s. It’s not Extrav. Hell it’s not even Exams! Founder’s weekend is not just the greatest sporting event; it is life or death as two colleges stake their reputation in a battle of blood, sweat and tears. Personal friendships are put aside; victory is all that counts.
The feeling when Lonsdale won last year was greater than seeing Frodo cast the ring into Mount Doom. Greater than when Ali won his first boxing fight. Even bigger than when LUSU first met the cow. Founders is back, and on its 10th Anniversary, bigger and better than ever.
Born in 1964, ruined in 2012, soon to be destroyed in 2013. Bowland College haven’t had the best time in life. Yes, they may be winning the Founders series overall, but still failing at everything else. From the moment fresher’s get rejected from their first choice (Lonsdale), and are left to crawl their way to the Bowland accommodation, their University life is set. Having to wake up each day and use the sink as a toilet is not exactly doing well in life.
Last year the trophy came home, and Lonsdale is throwing out all the stops as we get ready to once again teach our rivals what it means to be a real college, and leave them once again drinking out of ‘The Trough’. The highlight for me, aside from our victory parade on the Sunday, will be when Lonsdale marches up to Bowland on Friday night, chanting, singing “All the things you do to me, I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough”, before we proceed to outdrink, conquer and extinguish yet again Bowland’s dream of being able to handle a drink.
LONSDALE SPORT REP – Pete McArthy
For almost the entirety of Lonsdale College, Founders has become the foremost event on not only the sporting, but also the social calendar each year. It is an opportunity for all members of the college, old and new, to come together in support and celebration of Lonsdale, and equally importantly abuse and torment of Bowland. It is this unity and togetherness created around Founders within one’s college that I believe makes it such a special event. Once you have stood shoulder to shoulder with your fellow Lonsdalian and felt the passion and need for victory that only Founders can bring, you are bound for life as brothers or sisters of Lonsdale. Although we spend the entire year branded as ‘Lonsdale’ or ‘Bowland’ it is Founders that truly creates our collegiate identity and binds us together as not only a unit, but a family.
As I pondered this article and what to label as the key events and sports I believe Lonsdale will excel at, I genuinely found it impossible to name just one. Whether we look at the netball teams consistent performances each year, or the Pool teams’ dominance in the leagues throughout the year, Lonsdale has created a sporting legacy which I believe has both the strength and confidence to keep our Founders’ trophy where it belongs. I believe that Founders is the greatest event Lancaster has to offer, and Lonsdale is the greatest college. Come the weekend beginning the 14th of June, Founders fever will hit Lancaster, and Lonsdale will be ready to claim the victory we deserve.
FOUNDERS… SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Gabrielle Aspinall – Lonsdale Sports Rep, invites everyone to observe the competition…
When Lonsdale or Bowland speak of Founders as the biggest weekend of the year, it may seem somewhat like an exaggeration. But, for a member of these colleges, it is exactly that; it is an event that does not just show off people’s talents but literally exposes every emotion in every person. For anyone reading this who is not in Lonsdale or Bowland, this article will probably something to flick past or at the most, skim read. However, despite being a Lonsdalian myself, I feel Founders has the potential to touch someone from ANY college. My first experience of Founders was visiting my brother two years back. As a little sixth form student coming to see the big university experience for the first time, the chants, the passion, the competitiveness, the rivalry and the raw emotion that was put into every single sport, whether participant or supporter was the deciding factor for me that I HAD to come to Lancaster University and above all, to be in Lonsdale College. Having lost for 7 years in a row, I was torn with emotions when we won it last year, between the happiness of winning and the torture of putting up with my brother Jake’s (last years sports rep) inflated ego. Of course, this made me even more determined to keep Founders where it belongs this year and having the pleasure of experiencing first-hand the quality of the talent from Lonnie this year; from the football, netball, pool, darts and – most importantly – the dominoes, I believe we can bring an even bigger fight than we did last year.
Regardless of whether you are a part of Lonnie or Bowland, and regardless of whether you are a sporting obsessive or just want to get absolutely bladdered, Founders will instil something inside you that will make you come back year after year and this year Lonsdale will prove exactly why the shield is where it already is… as if it isn’t already obvious.
