With Europe's largest varsity fast approaching, York Sport president Grace Clarke has all the answers…
What impact do you think the success of Varsity will have on Roses?
"In regards to Varsity I think its safe to say we probably weren’t expecting to win so thats really exciting going forward, I think a lot of the teams have got a little bit more confidence, training is going really well for a lot of teams, and I think the fact that we can beat a university like Durham that have such strong established college sport system really puts us into really good stead for smashing Lancaster.”
Do you think we’ll be at a disadvantage competing away from York this year?
“I think there is always that stigma that when you’re away that we don’t necessarily win but I’ve got huge confidence that we can do it when we’re away in Lancaster. So we’re trying to promote Roses this year as not just for players but also for spectators as I think this is what makes the key difference, I remember playing in a match a couple of years ago when I was playing for netball and it does make a massive difference having that York crowd there. I wouldn’t necessarily say a disadvantage, I’d actually say it’s an advantage as we’ll hopefully have all the crowds behind us coming down from York.”
What got you into sport?
"I’ve got a family who are extremely sporty and so I’ve always grown up with sport. The Premier League was on every single weekend on Saturday without a doubt, match of the day always on Saturday and Sunday morning, my dad driving me around to all my sporting events. I was very lucky to have a family who love sport and its always surrounded me."
What is your must see Roses event?
“I’d obviously say women’s football, so if you want to see us really beat Lancaster then that’s definitely one to watch. Also, go and watch some of the newer sports that you might not have watched before such as FragSoc, darts on a Saturday night is always fantastic and so, so fun.”
Following on from that, do you have a favourite fringe sport at Roses?
“Fencing is such an exciting one to watch, and again like I said darts. Try and get down to the pool because water polo is always so exciting. If you fancy something different chess is competing this year. But darts on the Saturday night has got to be my favourite.”
What was it like organising the largest Varsity in Europe?
“Its been really exciting, one of the main benefits is that I get on really well with my equivalent in Lancaster, we’ve had about 6/7 meetings, including some on Skype some over the phone, you get to meet all the different sports clubs that are involved everyone is so passionate about Roses. There’s a lot more to think about than you originally thought, its not just one tournament of sport we’re trying to get all the social events – we have a social hub this year in one of the bars in Lancaster which is going to be a York only hub, we’ve got to make sure everyone gets the transport to Lancaster okay we have to get the design of the t-shirts right so theres massive amounts of organisation. It isn’t just me, there’s tournament secretaries such as Annie upstairs, so its a huge team effort but its really fun.”
How far in advance do you have to start the planning for Roses?
“At the start of last Summer we’d already be thinking about Roses and then we had our first meeting in October with Lancaster so it goes all through the year and at this stage its mainly all last minute things that need sorting out, most of the main things had already been confirmed before Christmas.”
Now that we’ve found the body of Richard III the last Yorkist King of England, how do you think this will help the pride of the competing students from York?
“This is a good one, being a History student I should be able to give a good answer, I think the history of the whole competition is so important and its also really exciting that we’ve got this inter-Varsity tournament that a lot of other universities don’t have so it gives us a huge benefit, I think York is definitely going to reign victorious throughout. I was reading about the history of it and I don’t think we actually won the original battle of the Roses but I think we can bring that back this year and I’m hugely confident that our bit of history is really going to help push us over the line for the win.”
How has the theme of women in sport for Roses been manifested?
“I think a big push for women in sport is so important. I was reading quite a lot over the weekend because I was on a panel on Friday about women in sport and the barriers that women face and I hadn’t really realised the difference with women sport on TV and the statistics that back it up, you kind of think a lot has changed but there is still a long way to go and I think having women’s football as the opening ceremony and having Saturday as a female only sport day is just a fantastic showcase of women in sport. I think it can only manifest into what we’re going to do next year with a bigger push, I’m working really closely with the women’s officers on various different projects such as transgender swim gear hopefully in York sport and different discussions on maybe women’s only swim sessions, hopefully this will pave the way for the future.”
Where do you see university sport heading in the future?
“The statistics are huge for how many university students actually make up the GB team, its a great way to showcase people playing sport at that elite level against other universities. Sport gives you endless skills which are great for careers such as teamwork and leadership and university is a perfect place to start, university is one of those places unlike the real world where everyone should have equal opportunities and it should be inclusive to everyone and thats how we should be progressing forward making sure everyone has the opportunity to compete in different sports at all levels.”