President’s view

With the Varsity match rapidly approaching, it’s easy to forget everything that CUAC have been up to since the last time I wrote to you. We’ve braved storms to travel to indoor BUCS, faced O*ford in the first Varsity Field Events And Relays event in two years, navigated COVID-19 to jet out to Fuerteventura on Warm Weather Training, and put in a lot of hard work in between; on the track, on the grass, and in the gym. In the latest newsletter, you can find a summary of our successful trip to Sheffield for BUCS Indoors and Indoor Varsity for the men’s and women’s teams, as written by our wonderful Men’s and Women’s Captains respectively. Also find a summary of our sunny trip out to the Canary Islands (featuring superior weather, and I’m sure, superior training to O*ford). I hope you enjoy giving it a read, and feel as proud of the club this year as I feel doing so! Turning to that all-consuming Varsity Match, preparations are well underway, and we’d be delighted to see you there on the new date of Sunday 8th May at Iffley Road. Apologies for the late change of date, this was due to a low availability of officials on the 14th, but please do come if you can make it as Alumni are always welcome to come back and see the club in action- especially to lighten up the dark blue territory in Oxford! We’d love to show off our fantastic athletes, and the wonderful team atmosphere that continues to thrive at CUAC, making it a very special club to be part of indeed. SUPPORT CUAC Athletics remains one of the most accessible sports at the University, and we are proud to maintain low membership fees, whilst still providing fantastic opportunities for our members. As we move into the competition season, athletes are benefitting from subsidised competition entry fees and transport costs, as well as the background of training from the winter months. Recently, we have set aside funding to continue to grow our presence at BUCS competitions by paying for athlete’s costs to attend; making a name for ourselves not just in a Varsity context, but within the wider world of British University Athletics. The club is determined to continue to provide these training and competition opportunities to all of our members, in spite of increasing track fees and all the usual costs of running an athletics club. None of this would be possible without the ongoing support of our fantastic network of alumni. Please consider supporting CUAC financially if you are able; every donation goes towards creating a special university experience which our members will hold onto for a long time. The giving portal supports gifts (recurring or one-off) via direct debit. If you would like to support the long-term success of CUAC, please do consider leaving a gift in your Will. Legacy gifts to CUAC are exempt from inheritance tax and will help to support students from all backgrounds to reach their athletic potential. To support CUAC with a gift in your Will, please get in touch with Alana Bradford darlegacies@alumni.cam.ac.uk who would be delighted to discuss this with you in more detail. Thank you again for your generous support.