After two unbeaten seasons and a £500 charity drive, several members of The Queen’s College Rugby team have pledged to get themselves waxed, shaved and, in the case of their team captain, even tattooed, in order to raise money for charity.
Team Christian Walters explained “The idea came from a 4th year, Tom Sneddon, who suggested that seeing as we were looking particularly strong this year, and in a low division, an unbeaten season was a possibility. I agreed with the idea, adding the £500 for charity clause, as it would give players an extra incentive to play each week, which, seeing as we had struggled for numbers last year, could only have been a good thing. The tattoo idea was Sneddon’s, I’m not entirely sure why I’m afraid, but the tattoo will be the Queen’s crest on my right buttock.”
He added, “£250 will go to Wooden Spoon, a charity that raises money predominantly through rugby to help disabled and disadvantaged children, and the remaining £250 will go to the Divog Stars FC, a football team in a small village in Ghana that I helped to set up last summer,.”
The rest of the team is similarly committed. One member, Hugh Handy, commented, “I’ve shaved my head for £50 and if we raise another £50 we are going to wax the other social secretary’s [Tom Pollard] particularly hairy chest without his permission.” Pollard, however, seems to have upped his price and said that it would take £100 before he would consent to being waxed.
Handy continued, “[We are also] considering doing a ‘slave for a day’ event where you bid for one of the players and if you win, he’s basically your bitch for a day. The rest of the players have been good at raising awareness for it, and have made up most of the donations, mainly at rugby drinks.”
The Queen’s JCR President, Jane Cahill, said, “A lot of charity drives these days seem to involve men and hair…Queen’s JCR and others did Movember competitions, and now the rugby team are getting waxed. It must get exhausting for them.”
One Queen’s college student said, “I think it’s great what they’re doing. And no one can say it’s not attention grabbing. Although, they might want to keep out of the scrum for a little while after the tattoo itself.”
