After months of preparation, and a few preliminary fixtures before the main weekend, Roses 2024 is finally here!!
Hosted by Lancaster University, there is a lot to fight for in this year’s Roses for the University of York. Last year, York suffered a shock home defeat. Home defeats are rare – York hadn’t lost at home in three decades – but it was the extent of Lancaster’s victory, 126-200, that was the biggest shock. To turn around such a deficit away from home is an almighty task; a bridge too far some might say. However, before Friday the mood was buoyant after solid results in rowing gave York a 10-20 lead.
On Friday, after arriving bright and early in the morning, and feeling like the Grand Old Duke of York with all the hills of Lancaster’s campus, Vision were ready to report on some sport. Vision were there to witness 14 fixtures, including a great win by the York Women’s Thirds over Lancaster in Football in the morning.
There were further notable successes, massive four-point wins in Cheer (featuring Vision’s own Anna Male) and Underwater Hockey (otherwise known as Octopush) meant that scores throughout the day remained tight. However, Friday also saw some disappointing results, such as in American Football where a disappointing second half saw the York Centurions lost a tight fixture to the Lancaster Bombers 37-26.
Friday evening also saw the opening ceremony, which preceded the Open Volleyball 1sts fixture, and was attended by Vision’s Anna Male, Charlotte Ambrose and Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb.
The opening night fixture – Men’s Volleyball – was an incredibly nerve racking game for York fans. The two teams were equal competitors and kept neck and neck score wise all through the sets. The deciding third set saw a brief lead for York fans, and a tied race to the very end before Lancaster snuck in to clinch the last point with an epic hit over the net. An electric start to a very exciting weekend of sport!
As of writing, the Roses scoring saw a tight 19 point lead by Lancaster at 64-45. However, it is difficult to read too heavily into Friday’s fixtures as they’re often a nip-and-tuck affair. Saturday, with its huge number of fixtures, is where Lancaster in the past have irretrievably drawn away from York.
Plenty of drama and action on Friday, there is plenty of sport to be done and match reports to be written. Bring it on!!