Trinity Term Sports Preview

If the triumph that was the Dark Blue clean sweep on the Tideway wasn’t enough to sat­isfy your Oxford sporting needs through­out the Vac, fear not: Trinity Term has arrived. Whilst we all live in hope that the summer weather has not already been and gone over the last couple of weeks, there are a whole host of events that should well and truly heat up this term’s sporting calendar.

Lame puns aside, if you’re a fan of American sports, then you may have followed the NCAA ‘March Madness’ Basketball tournament dur­ing the vac. This is a high-stakes tournament that pits the best student ‘ballers’ in America against each other in a highly publicised and enthralling competition, which ultimately saw Duke University come out on top, defeat­ing Wisconsin in the final. Not one to be overlooked, Oxford’s answer to this event is strong, and comes early in Trinity Term: Croquet Cuppers, the sporting phenomenon once again set to take the university – and eventually the world – by storm. With over 2000 people participating in last year’s edition, it was the largest sporting event in University history, and with the incentive of prize money and alcohol for winners and top performers, similar numbers are anticipated. The sign-up window for this year’s event closes on Saturday of 0th Week (25th April).

With the warm weather season beginning, Trinity is an especially busy term for the Ath­letics Club, which has a number of marquee events packing out an exciting calendar. First, they will travel to Cambridge on 16th May for their varsity showdown, looking to make amends for the defeat suffered in the 2014 varsity.

However, by the end of term the two squads will have to let bygones be bygones in order to join forces for when they welcome the Athletics Clubs of Harvard and Yale to Iffley Road on 29th June for the 45th edition of this historic meet.

This transatlantic rivalry is laden with his­tory, with the first such event taking place in 1899, only a few years after the first Olympic Games of the modern era. After successive de­feats for Oxford and Cambridge at the hands of Harvard and Yale in 2011 and 2013, the Light and Dark Blues will be keen to return the trophy to this side of the pond in what should be a magnificent spectacle.

For many, the summer is synonymous with the sound of leather on willow at the near­est park or cricket ground. If you are one of these people, there will certainly be plenty for you to get excited about, as this term is packed full of tantalising fixtures. Both the men and women’s cricket sides will take on Cambridge in Twenty20 on 12th June and also in One Day matches at Lord’s on 27th June, as each University strives to establish absolute cricketing dominance over the other. The grand finale for the Blues cricketers will come in the form of the 170th varsity match at the Fenner’s Cricket Ground in Cambridge. The match will take place over four days, from 30th June to 3rd July, as the men’s team will seek a repeat of their 2013 victory.

For those among us who are especially keen on strawberries and cream, but can’t quite wait until the end of June for Wimble­don, look no further than the tennis varsity on 5th and 6th June. If total tennis immersion is your goal this summer, then cheering the men’s and women’s teams to victory in these matches would be the perfect warm up to the French Open finalson the same weekend.

Lastly, 5th Week of Trinity Term is a date rowers all over Oxford have had circled since the last bumps of Torpids, as the colleges will drain of students and the riverbanks will become lined with spectators for the carnage of Summer VIIIs. This event in particular doesn’t need a great deal of explanation, as your rower friends will no doubt be recruit­ing you for support. Regardless, grab as many friends as you can and head down to the river to support your college