Constantine College recently hosted their annual College Sport Awards on Friday 10th of March at the Principal Hotel in York.
Despite being the geographically closest college to the York Sports Village on Campus East, Constantine College are not widely known as a sporting college compared to James, Derwent, or even their neighbour, Langwith. Known as one of the newer colleges (only completed in 2014), with its provision of three-quarter beds, Constantine is still informally known as the Posh college.
By having a Constantine Sports Awards, College President Timothy Woodford and his committee are trying to build a sporting image of their own, building on the work of the previous committee from last year. Jacob Bassford interviewed Tim about his sport aims for the college, including the recent announcement that, like James College, the men’s and women’s football teams are being merged into one club.
(Q) Why did you feel that Constantine should have a college sports awards?
Tim:
I believe ‘College Sport’ offers the perfect balance to satisfy a thirst for competition with a more recreational, social-focused experience – the two don’t exist in better harmony elsewhere at the university. It exists to provide an inclusive platform for students to enjoy socialising, while pursuing a sport they love.
I hoped that having a large-scale event celebrating our players, teams, and clubs would inspire the same appreciation and enthusiasm for sport at Constantine, and help motivate clubs to develop their sociability, inclusivity, and competitive performance for next year’s seasons.
I was also adamant that creating something to commemorate our squads that qualified for this year’s Varsity finals was massively important. Having a record of their achievement at the college will go on to inspire our future sportspeople, and start to build a legacy within ‘Constantine Sport’. Our signed shirt display, unveiled at this year’s awards’ is a perfect way to achieve this!
Lastly, we included a ‘Services to Sport’ award, presented to our former VP (Sport) Mr Dec Thomas, as a thanks in recognising his work in reviving sport at the college post-pandemic. I feel this award was amongst the most important, and hope it will influence members to lead the future development of sport at the college.
Were the ‘Sports Awards’ a success?
The event was a fantastic success! It is always so rewarding to hear guests having enjoyed themselves.
The feeling of anticipation was palpable as the awards were presented, and those not nominated were as excited as those shortlisted! That was awesome to see, and demonstrated there was real value and investment in these awards. That was the ultimate win.
Why don’t you think all colleges have such events?
I think it’s a matter of priority. ‘College Sport’ is the primary method of membership engagement, especially after the first year when the majority find alternative accommodation, but is still a relatively low proportion of the entire membership.
Investing in a sports event on this scale is costly, and, understandably, other colleges allocate these funds elsewhere. It is unfortunate that we all must make these trade-offs – we did not offer a trip, unlike other colleges – but, for us, this was worth the investment.
Constantine is the closest college to York Sports Village but the farthest college from the 22 pitches? Do you think that affects participation in any way?
Yes and no. I think colleges like James and Derwent have a reputation for being ‘sports colleges’ and historically outperform most others. I imagine their members are drawn to them as they are far closer to the facilities used by university and college sports teams. The Sports Village is only used for its 3G football pitches, everything else is on Campus West.
One of the key reasons I’m so determined to better establish the ‘Constantine Sport’ brand is so incoming students understand the value and competitiveness of our sports offering. I believe we are investing the most into sport out of any college at the moment, and I hope this reputation starts to stick.
There are a few Heslington East teams still in sports like tennis and rugby, any plans for Constantine to field their own teams in these sports in the near future?
‘Heslington East’ was introduced to provide the opportunity for students to play certain sports (rugby, tennis, and volleyball) that could not be supported by an individual college’s membership. We’re seeing this approach across other sports too, for example in field hockey Goodricke-Vanbrugh, David Kato-Anne Lister, and Alcuin-Halifax have all merged their squads to ensure this opportunity remains open.
We are always happy to support any incentive that brings opportunities to access and participate in sport.
How was the news that Constantine AFC is merging its men’s and women’s teams received by players, and the college as a whole?
Really positively! The club and wider college community have really welcomed the change, and are excited to see what’s in store for football moving forward. Our statement post on Instagram is currently the most popular in the page’s history, which really speaks for itself!
I can’t speak about the merger without thanking Will Bolton and Bethany Ferry, whose work as football Presidents has been invaluable, not just in this project, but throughout the last year. I will miss working with them, but am excited to welcome the incoming successors to continue our work.
Analysis:
By Jacob Bassford, Sports Editor
As someone who was in Constantine College accommodation last year, it’s really pleasing to see the College committee try and build a unique sporting brand. Tim is right, having a successful sporting brand will keep people closely linked to their college after moving out of halls, a problem most colleges face. It is also pleasing to see precedence given to Varsity as that not only helps build a sporting legacy and inspire future participation, but also helps make the idea of Varsity appealing university-wide at York. There seems to be frustration at having not enough access to the Sports Village, which is understandable given its proximity and their resources and equipment, but Constantine is not alone in sharing these frustrations.
And whilst these fancy award dos might not help jokes about Constantine’s ‘posh college’ image, I do think it gives a real sense of purpose and meaningfulness to Constantine College (and East Campus) sport for the future! And that can only be a good thing in forging an intrinsic identity for a college that people forget is not even a decade old.
This article has been updated on 02/04/2023 following new information that came to light after the interview.