Chris Statter speaks to top pentathlete Aly Rowett, about her Dark Blue ScholarshipAly Rowell is the first Dark Blue Scholar. An exceptionally talented pentathlete and lacrosse player, the University College student enjoys all the benefits of a scholarship which includes complementary membership of the Pulse Gym and new Rosenblatt Swimming Pool, a £500 grant towards the purchasing of sporting equipment and even a free car parking space at the Sports Complex on Iffley Road. This prestigious scholarship, made possible by royalty payments from the Dark Blue clothing worn by many University teams, is intended to support athletes who demonstrate high achievement or have the potential for high achievement in their chosen sport. It is available to any student who fulfils the criteria necessary to compete in a first team Varsity match, although at the moment there can only be one fortunate recipient. Rowell is certainly a fine selection. She took part in her first modern pentathlon when she was fifteen. It was the Nationals and she won. This year she surpassed the Oxford record of Olympian Stephanie Cook. In her second sport, lacrosse, she has represented Wales at U19 level, travelling to Baltimore for the recent World Championships at which the team finished a respectable seventh. There is no doubting her commitment to sport. Modern pentathlon is an all-consuming affair, both with regard to time and resources. She possesses her own fencing kit, air pistol and horse. The significant entrance fees, transport costs and lack of prize money make the sport an exclusive pastime. Training is hectic, divided into two sections, one of which is skills-related, the other physical. Riding in Oxford can be problematic, so Rowell heads home to Monmouthshire at weekends for some extra groundwork. If there is a weakness to be found, it is in the shooting discipline. “I am very erratic,” she says. “Sometimes I shoot brilliantly, other times terribly. It is a very tough sport, because the slightest bit of nerves can ruin the performance, which is hard to control when adrenaline is so important for the other four events.” That Rowell is a remarkable sportswoman is undeniable. She can hit the x-ring from ten metres with a 4.5mm pistol, swim the 200m freestyle in 2 minutes 16 seconds and run the 3000m in just over eleven minutes. Add to that a level of horsemanship and fencing expertise that has seen her compete for Wales in the individual events and it is possible to comprehend exactly why Rowell is on course for major sporting achievement at an international level. Beijing 2008 is the target. Rowell, in her second year of a Physiology course, intends to leave Oxford in 2005 to join the group of top pentathletes already assembled at Bath University. Should she have gone to Bath? Rowell does not think so. It would have been too much pressure. The Dark Blue Scholar is a promising athlete with time on her side.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Training with the boxing team was a leisurely affair. I watched them run and sprint, then attempt twenty press-ups, twenty sit-ups and then twenty of some kind of hybrid of the squat thrust and the star jump. Then they did it all over again. University boxing is serious business. The group of fifty or so was split into the novices and the experts. The experts honed their skills with a combination of punchbag work and extreme skipping, while the novices divided into two further groups to look over the basics of the sport. First rule of boxing? “Defend yourself at all times,” coach Jim Frew explained. After that, it got pretty intense. The session is only a couple of hours, but they really do know how to cram in the information: “left hand forward”, “twist on the balls of the feet”, “head low”, “twist, bang, it’s two movements but it’s one”. The captain himself certainly has the credentials for the part. St Anne’s historian James Glancy possesses the only Royal Marines Cadetship in the country and holds the rank of Second Lieutenant. He speaks with genuine enthusiasm about the sport he has come to love: “Boxing is one of the toughest types of fitness there is. You need self-discipline, skill and individual motivation. But if you are fairly athletic and looking for a challenge, you should come along and give it a try.” A comprehensive list of training times is available on the club website at www.ouabc.co.uk.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Sports OutreachThe Combined Universities of Oxford Sports Outreach Scheme (known as CommUniSports) was designed to try to improve existing sports provision in the local community providing members of university sports clubs as enthusiastic volunteers. The scheme gives clubs the opportunity to take their sport into the community and earn some vital extra development money. There are plenty of ways for individuals to get stuck in as well and even gain recognised coaching qualifications in their chosen sport. There is also the opportunity to invent new schemes to add to the existing programme. Outreach is an excellent method of helping out the community, having a fantastic time in the process. Check out the Outreach website at www.sport.ox.ac.uk/outreach for more details.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Amateur Football Association put Oxford to the sword in pre-season friendly BLUES FOOTBALL Oxford 0 Amateur Football Association 4 An experimental Blues side, missing several key players, was well beaten by a fit and combative AFA side in the traditional curtain raiser to the new football season. New captain Arran Yentob saw his charges respond positively to a first-minute goal before spending the last hour on the rack, thanking goalkeeper Alexander Hill for a series of outstanding saves to keep the scoreline down. Ahead of the big BUSA kick-off against East Anglia, this was a useful workout for a team that comprised several players who will be looking to establish themselves in the OUFC setup. The match had barely kicked off when AFA striker Neil Hurst ran from what appeared to be an offside position to drill home the opener from eighteen yards. The Blues responded with some bright and confident approach play, and were almost rewarded when Dan Walbole burst clear, only to be denied by an excellent one-handed save. Both midfields closed space down well as the game tightened up, but the visitors were to change the course of proceedings in the twenty-seventh minute when Colin Hawkins beat Hill to the ball and finished from close range. The hosts’ confidence visibly drained, with the AFA’s Jack Costello starting to pull the strings for the London-based representative side, and the Hurst-Hawkins axis repeatedly causing havoc in a makeshift Oxford defence. The latter miscued a lob over Hill when well placed, and the Blues’ shot-stopper thwarted him with two point-blank saves in the space of fifteen seconds as half-time loomed. Hopes that the home side might effect a comeback were dashed by another early blow, as Hurst nodded home a right-wing corner only forty seconds after the restart. Hill then had to recover smartly to collect his own fumble from a Concannon drive, as his team-mates saw themselves repeatedly forced back by opponents whose extra fitness levels were becoming increasingly evident. Controversy again reared its head in the 57th minute as Hawkins’ looped header over Hill appeared to cross the line after bouncing down from the crossbar, but the referee’s assistant was well-placed to wave play on. The visitors’ striker was to claim his second ten minutes later, though, stabbing home after a corner was hooked back into the six-yard box. Osman Akkaya whipped a shot into the side netting for the Blues, but at the other end Costello saw a thirty-five yard effort narrowly miss the target and a driven free-kick fisted over by Hill. The home custodian completed his afternoon’s work with an acrobatic parry from Steve Hair’s hooked shot, and fine low saves from Gillard and Sonne.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003

MOUNTAINEERING Over the summer, members of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club travelled to Chamonix, in the French Alps. We practised ropework on a glacier, before climbing to the dining-table sized summit of the Aiguille Des Petit Charmoz (2867m) and Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248m), where we could watch the sunrise from the summit. Several group members then moved to Saas Grund in Switzerland, where we climbed the Lagginhorn (4010m) and the Weissmies (4017m). Meanwhile, others moved to the Petit Aiguille Verte (3512m), and the Table de Roc spur of the Aiguille du Tour (3544m), followed by the Aiguille de Belvedere (2966m), the highest peak in the Aiguilles Rouges with great views of Mont Blanc. Alison Parker summed up the team’s enthusiastic reception of the trip, “The first thing that struck me about the Alps is that it is such a different scale to anywhere I’ve climbed before – but I have certainly gained a lot of experience this summer and I’m starting to plan next years expedition!”ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

BLUES BASKETBALL With four consecutive appearances in the BUSA final and a record fourteen straight Varsity match wins, there is a lot of pressure on the Men’s Blues going into the 2003-2004 season. This impressive record has made the Blues Oxford’s most successful team and, as a result, the annual Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar. In addition, the Women’s Blues won the BUSA Shield, recording only one loss during the regular season. The Men’s Seconds likewise had an extremely successful 2002-2003 season. Highlights included winning the BUSA Trophy competition and an emphatic Varsity match win despite Cambridge having home court advantage. With the departure of many key players, notably Sexton and Henderson, the Blues will be relying on a lot of new faces this season. Nevertheless, Blues Captain Graham Ewen is confident that, with players like Gomes, Card and ex-Shropshire Warriors star Dan Woodbridge, the Blues will have another successful year. They will be taking on old adversaries in the BUSA Premier League but by far their toughest test will come against reigning champions St Mark and St John. The rivalry between these two teams is as strong as ever, having met in the final for the last two seasons. Their first encounter of the new campaign will be on 29 October when the Blues travel down to Plymouth to face the Marjons once again. This is a big year for me and OUBBC. Judging by the talent on display at the trials, a fifteenth Varsity win and a place in the final eight appear once again to be imminent.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

RUGBY WORLD CUP Wales 41 Canada 10 Blues prop Kevin Tkachuk scored a seventy-first minute try as his native Canada collapsed to a 41-10 defeat at the hands of Wales in their opening fixture. The Canucks had been completely outplayed by their opposition when Tkachuk’s success offered a flicker of hope in an otherwise disappointing display. Things had looked decidedly promising when Bob Ross kicked a drop goal to give Canada the early lead. Yet Wales recovered and, despite the loss of Colin Charvis to the sin-bin, it was the Welsh, clad in their changed white strip, who took command through tries from Sonny Parker and Gareth Cooper before the interval. Further tries followed, with Iestyn Harris impeccable with the boot for all five of his conversions. Yet, from the Oxford perspective, it was Tkachuk who stole the show. Introduced in place of injured captain Al Charron on sixty minutes, the twenty-seven year old made the most of his opportunity on the global stage, flinging himself over the line after some good work by the Canadian forwards. Tkachuk was delighted on a personal level, but disappointed with the result as a whole. “The try was quite an exciting moment of my life but I must admit at the time it did not matter much as it was much too little too late,” he told Cherwell “More than anything I believe the result displays the unfortunate truth about how much the gap has widened between the amateur and professional countries at the World Cup. It does not get any easier with this Friday night’s match against the All Blacks so we must continue to persevere, work hard and probably most importantly enjoy every moment of it.” Meanwhile, Charron, whose problem is a reoccurrence of a serious knee injury, is doubtful for the forthcoming match: “I’d like to play against New Zealand but we have got to do what is best for the team,” said Charron. Should the Canadian skipper be ruled out, Tkachuk may be in line for a starting place. Elsewhere, former Blue Simon Danielli scored a seventy-ninth minute try as Scotland stuttered to an unconvincing 32-11 victory over Japan.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

BLUES RUGBY Worcester Warriors 26 Oxford 26 The Blues bid to regain their Varsity title looked decidedly promising on Monday night, as they forced an away draw with the Worcester Warriors at Sixways. Worcester, currently lying top of the first division, fielded a relatively strong side which included nine senior players as well as members of their development squad, while a series of minor injuries as well as World Cup commitments meant several key players were missing for the visiting team. Oxford were very quickly behind, as a combination of good passing by the Warriors and bad defence by the Blues led to two quick tries. Worcester winger Birchall’s pace exploited the narrowness of the Oxford back line, and after the first of several missed penalties for Oxford, Worcester fullback Hylton made it 14-0 in fourteen minutes. Far from beaten however, the Blues kept the pressure on, and their patience was rewarded when captain John Allen finished off a well-executed backs move with a powerful try. Having stopped the rot, Oxford’s defence seemed less shaky, and Adam Slade made an excellent tackle in the fortieth minute to prevent a third Worcester try. Fly half Jon Fennel’s last minute penalty ensured a creditable half-time score of 14-8. The Blues started the second half in style, with a quick try after a superb forward drive by winger John Bradshaw. A successful conversion would have handed Oxford the lead, but the score remained 14-13 as pressure on the Warriors’ defence increased. Another penalty took Oxford in front, before an excellent wide move in the sixtieth minute led to John Allen’s second try of the match, converted comfortably by Fennel. With the score now 14-23 to the visitors, the home side stepped up a gear, and a textbook dummy by Worcester winger Garrard gave Neil Mason an easy try. The conversion put the Warriors within two points of the Blues, when poor tackling by the Oxford defence gave Worcester captain David Officer another five points. Now three points ahead, the Warriors conceded another penalty, and Fennel’s conversion levelled the scores at 26-26. After a chaotic last few minutes, Worcester kicked for touch to take the draw. Far from being complacent, OURFC Chairman Martin Jackson was already focussed on progress and potential in the lead-up to Varsity: “We are testing the team at quite a high level, especially since a lot of players are new to the Blues squad. Our next match against Leicester will be vital, as they are also shortly playing Cambridge, so we’ll know where we are and what we want to do. A few silly mistakes cost us the game today.” However, with two consecutive draws against First Division teams, and an unprecedented sponsorship deal with Aggregate Industries, the atmosphere is optimistic.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003