Wilberforce Road was the venue for the rather chilly 65^th anniversary of the Freshers’ Varsity athletics match on Sunday. The Freshers’ Varsity match traditionally has been a very difficult match to predict with neither side knowing what to expect from their opponents. The light blues began the day well with Lizzie Thompson of Trinity Hall and Christian Roberts of St John’s taking wins in the women’s and men’s 400m Hurdles races respectively.

Thompson certainly proved her talent in winning four individual events throughout the day; the 200m, high jump and 100m hurdles to add to her impressive 400m hurdles victory. She will be one to watch come the Blues Varsity match in May. Rosamund Healey of Pembroke took a fantastic double in the hammer and the shot, despite only taking up the hammer a couple of weeks prior to the match. Kathryn Hesketh, a former Oxford blue, has finally seen the ‘light’ this year and showed her former club that there’s no going back by taking victory in the long jump. Cambridge dominated the women’s jumps with one-twos in the high jump and triple jump, Helen Stewart of Newnham the victor in the latter. The CUAC women showed their strength in depth in the 400m and middle distance races; Katie Sandford ran a great race in the 400m winning by more than 3 seconds to confirm the light blue one-two, whilst in the 800m Rose Penfold and Sophie Dundovic eased their way to another impressive one-two. Sandford, Penfold and Thompson were joined by Taj Tomouk in annihilating a dismal Oxford 4×400m relay team, with the Cambridge women winning by more than 200m. Nikki Moss demonstrated her sprinting ability in style with an inspiring win in the 100m and a very strong 2^nd leg in the 4×100m relay. By the time Thompson took the baton on the final leg of the relay, Cambridge were already clearly in front and they made light work of securing the win.

The Cambridge men were equally impressive in destroying their Oxford rivals, with ten different athletes taking event wins. Alex Jackson of Queens showed that he could be a very useful athlete for CUAC in the future, winning the long and high jumps respectively and taking second in the triple jump behind team-mate Ismael Akram of Emmanuel. The Cambridge men’s throws squad is certainly one of the club’s greatest assets this year with no less than eight men competing at the match. John Garrity, who also plays rugby league, won the hammer and placed second in the shot behind Toby Haseler of Corpus Christi. Tom Elton deserves a particular mention for his performance in the discus. Elton, under immense pressure, came from behind in the final round to clinch the victory for Cambridge at a pivotal moment in the match. From then on, it was no longer a question of whether Cambridge would win, but rather by how much. Americans Nate Sharpe and Ross Elliot won the pole vault and 110m hurdles respectively in their light blue debut. Whilst in the longer distances, the Cambridge men proved they were a force not to be messed with producing one-twos in both the 1500m and 3000m from Tom Nutt and Alex Young in the former, and Dan Sellman and Sam Ashcroft in the longer distance. This all bodes extremely well for the Varsity cross country match in a few weeks time.

Cambridge showed time and again that they were the exceptional team, and Oxford failed to even put up any real fight. The CUAC captains Sam Dobin and Kate Laidlow should be congratulated for their efforts in leading their young teams to success in their debut match in light blue vests. It already seems that the year ahead is boasting an exciting future for Cambridge athletics.

The annual inter-college Cuppers competition was hosted over just one day this year, and this only seemed to increase numbers and interest in the event.  There were some great performances from old and new athletes alike.  Kings’ Men and Catz Women took home the Cuppers titles.

This was the last chance for those new to athletics in Cambridge to prove they have what it takes to take on the Dark Side in the first of three clashes in the 2009/10 season.  Those lucky enough to be selected will hear in due course and hopefully this great opportunity to sample a little bit of Varsity Magic will only enourage those involved to train harder and get keener for the year ahead, culminating in the big one in May.

Full results of the Cuppers competiton will appear in due course.

Calling all freshers! CUAC needs you!

If you’re heading to Cambridge this year and are interested in continuing or picking up track and field, please get in touch with the President or Captains.  They’d love to hear from any interested prospective athletes and will give you all the information you need about the club and events we’re putting on during freshers’ week, Michaelmas and the entire year.

Remember: CUAC is not just for elite athletes, the club caters for all abilities and welcomes complete novices interested in taking up athletics for the first time.  Just get in touch and get involved.

Here are some important dates to put into your Michaelmas term diary:

6th/7th October: Freshers’ Fair - you will get information about the freshers’ fair, where all the University societies have representatives to tell you all about their club/society and you can sign up to e-mail lists and receive more information.  CUAC will have a stand at this event so make sure you come along, meet the committee and sign up (no commitment necessary).

9th October: CUAC Freshers’ cocktails - an informal gathering of other people interested in possibly joining the club, and the committee to tell you everything you need to know.  Of course, a few cocktails will be served in the spirit of Freshers’ Week.  A good way to find out whether you’d like to join our wonderful club!

10th October: CUAC Introductory training session (at Wilberforce Road Athletics Track) - particularly useful for less experienced athletes, this taster session will show you roughly how training will work, explain the squad structure, and let you have a bit of fun on the track/in the pit etc.  Don’t worry about hangovers and the like, it’s a very informal taster session - nothing too strenuous!

18 October: Inter-College Athletics Cuppers (at Wilberforce Road) - You should have been approached by the captain of your college team to see if you’re interested in competing for your college against other athletes from other colleges.  This is a great way to get to know other athletes, other people from your college, and people from other colleges.  A first opportunity to compete, it’s a fun event that caters for all abilities.  Come along, get involved, represent your college!

8 November: Freshers’ Varsity (In Cambridge this year!) - A great opportunity for new Cambridge athletes to get a taster of competing against Oxford.  In addition to the main Varsity Match against Oxford in May, and the Indoor match against them in February, this is a 3rd Varsity Match, especially for those who have not competed against Oxford before - this is not just for first years, it’s for any CUAC Fresher (ie, you haven’t been doing athletics at Cambridge before).  If you’ve been to the taster session, competed well at the Cuppers competition, and been to training and shown promise, you will be selected to compete against the dark side.

The new CUAC Committee for 2009-2010 has been chosen and and begin their journey to the 136th Varsity Sports in Oxford.

President - Lucy Spray

Men’s Blues Captain - Sam Dobin

Women’s Blues Captain - Kate Laidlow

Alverstones Captains - Mark Dyble and Amin Ahmadnia

Alligators Captain - Rosemary Pringle

Honorary Secretary - Laura Duke

Junior Treasurer - Andrew Lomas

Congratulations to the newly elected Committee and good luck in taking CUAC into the future and onto even more success.