AS Michaelmas term hits its stride, swathes of fresh-looking university sports teams are taking shape. Every year clubs face the daunting task of trialling, selecting, cohering and competing in a far shorter period of time than at any other university.
One wonders sometimes how Oxford’s legions of competitors do as well, nationally, as they do. Balancing the multiple commitments of work and life and compressing the experiences of their peers into eight week terms, our captains and coaches somehow continue to produce teams that take on the best that student sport in this country has to offer – and win.
As the Sports Federation collates nominees for its prestigious awards ceremony, it’s now that the teams and individuals that have set their sporting scene alight get the recognition they deserve. The most high-profile amongst these are the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year gong; draped in BUSA gold medals, international honours, Varsity winning credentials and receiving the approbation of their nominating club committees, this section of our sporting demographic is special indeed.
The question of who is to succeed Jonathan Blackledge as Sportsman of the Year is a pressing one. Blackledge sets a daunting precedent, having won the award for two years running. This athlete and cross-country runner won BUSA and non-student national competitions over the same distance and won the domestic Premier League with his club. Such a plethora of individual and team achievements was necessary for him to edge the other nominees to the prize for two consecutive years.
This year, the cycling and fencing clubs have provided the bulk of the nominees and again the field is strong, but it’s among the women that the competition looks fiercest. Last year’s victor, sprinter Martine Bomb, is again nominated after another sensational season on the domestic and international circuit and her club-mate Frances Smithson (06/07 Athletics Blues captain and competitor in high jump/triple jump/100m relay events) also looks a strong contender.
Smithson’s individual prowess at BUSA, Varsity and in the AAAs matches speaks for itself but her club recognises in her a personal fortitude and captain’s zeal. As the closest ever Varsity victory was sealed this year, the team nominated her for this award as testament to the gamut of achievements, individual and motivational, which can combine to make a potential Sportswoman of the Year.
Elsewhere in this category, the nominations have thrown up another interesting pairing as former housemates Beth Wild and Hannah Bowe also vie for recognition. They played alongside one another for the women’s hockey Blues and were both key players in this squad, nominated for “Team of the Year”. Bowe has managed to rack up a succession of senior international caps for Ireland in a string of high-profile games. As well as being selected among the best of the Irish best, she helped mastermind the girls’ BUSA Premier League victory and the subsequent run that saw Oxford placed in the top 4 of students nationally, scored in Varsity and even flew home to Ireland play for her local Gaelic football side in their national final! Bowe described her senior call-up after a gruelling trialling period as “a welcome relief – in hindsight what I did as regards training, travel and two or three tutes a week while still insisting on having a social life was probably a bit absurd but I was lucky enough to reap the benefits.” Beth Wild was among the top scorers during the same campaign and is also feted for her achievements in cricket – she has been part of the England squad for a number of years and is known for her prodigious batting on the Oxford women’s side. She is also the first female member of the Oxford UCCE setup but relishes being in a minority, saying “the setup in Oxford has been brilliant, very supportive, and challenging, since I constantly have to test my skills against the boys – this can ultimately only be a benefit for my game.”
The juxtaposition of the Athletics club’s internationally-acclaimed starlet and its inspiring captain, plus that of two friends who formed the most devastating Oxford hockey partnership in years, makes for an exciting contest. Rachel Hughes of the cycling club (multiple BUSA-medallist, record-holder and last year’s runner up to Bomb), Rebecca Bayliss of judo (1st Dan black belt, British Judo and BUSA silver medallist, reformist club President) and Justine Aw of fencing (top 8 BUSA, winner of national senior Slough Open) make up a scintillating panel of nominees. Nearly 300 guests at this year’s Sports Federation Ball will be privy to the identity of the winner on 22nd November, which will surely be tough to decide, given the relative merits of all the contenders.
Oxford’s women take centre stage
