The Roses success of last year gives hope to many University of York sports teams for another successful Roses campaign. The University of York’s 225.5 points to Lancaster’s 139.5 highlighted a definitive victory for York, extending a 30 year winning home streak.
Last year’s event was a home Roses and a brilliantly successful event, with many spectators coming to support their universities or to enjoy the various cultural events occurring across campus. The opening night last year was a sold out Fight Night event in Central Hall. In addition to this there was an interview with Roy Hodgson after the event which encouraged many spectators to attend and support the university.
Some of the major successes were in Rugby and Rowing with the Women’s Rugby team achieving a Roses whitewash with three wins out of three in Rugby 7s. In each game York was untroubled by Lancaster, showing their superior quality to pull away and claim a comfortable victory in Rugby 7s, securing four valuable roses points. The University of York Boat Club will be looking for similar achievements this year to follow up their domination over Lancaster last year. The senior and novice squads achieved victories in both 8s and 4s competitions. Although there has been a lot of change in personnel for both squads, the high quality performance in the BUCS Head shows positive signs for the Boat Club ahead of this weekend. Rugby and Rowing are two of the must-see sports at Roses.
The UYAFC Men’s 1st will looking to develop on their 0-0 draw in last year’s opening match. Despite a brilliant performance by the men’s 1sts they were unable to achieve what would have been a well-deserved victory. However, they will be able to build on the experience gained from playing last year and have the added benefit of Lancaster 1sts having a poor season losing 5 out of 10 matches.
The UYHC performed extremely well in last year’s competition with wins and draws across both indoor and outdoor fixtures, the highlight being the 12-0 victory of the UYHC Mens 2nds who dominated their match with excellent passing and movement. The Lancaster University Hockey Club was clearly not up to standards and were always set for a thumping. Many hope that this trend will be maintained and gives UYHC motivation to go for a Roses whitewash.
Women’s University of York Lacrosse will be confident ahead of Roses 2016 after their thumping of Lancaster in 2015. York won by 17-2 in a sport which has been a regular source of points for the White Rose in the past few years.
York won both the men’s and women’s swimming event at last year’s Roses, with respective scores of 77-61 and 78-62. It was a dominant performance from the White Rose, with new club records being set for the 50m Backstroke, 50m Breaststroke and 4x50m Freestyle Race. It was an impressive display from the White Rose, with both teams looking in imperious form throughout. In truth, the victory was never in doubt.
York Centurions will be hoping for a successful campaign at Roses after losing last year to Lancaster Bombers. However, the American football team have had a winning season whereas their Lancaster counterpart have had a difficult year since Roses 2015. They will be looking to get every player to their peak to dominate in their fixture against Lancaster.
In addition to these field sports, many fringe events will also be taking place over this coming Roses weekend. These include events such as eSports which will be contested for points for the first time at this year’s Roses competitin.
Although eSports has featured in previous Roses events, it has never been contested for points. This is a major success following the anger of many competitors and spectators that the sport was not weighted last year.
On the whole there are high expectations going into this year’s Roses tournament after the great success of last year. Good luck to all those who are competing and may York be victorious once again, as after all – Roses are white!