The new Olympic-level hockey pitch at the Iffley Road sports facilities hosted its inaugural game on Sunday 1st November, one thousand days before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The special promotional match featured two separate teams of alumni, pre- and post-2005, with the older alumni team narrowly beating their younger opponents 5 – 4. The match represented the culmination of a fund-raising campaign supported by both the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and Oxford alumni.
Andrew Thomas, Head of Development for Sport at Oxford, said that the University is well-prepared to market the pitch as an Olympic training ground in the run up to 2012, and is working alongside managers of other sports facilities in the local area as part of their efforts.
