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inQuire Last gasp Kent survive the drop KENT 1st’s
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ESSEX 1st’s
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Vanessa J Richards
Rory White
Half way through the relay and it is neck and neck between the two squads
UoK draw first blood in the pool Vanessa J. Richards Regardless of the depressing weather forecasts, 2009’s Varsity kicked off on Saturday 7th February, with a smashing victory for University of Kent’s Swimming Team, beating Christchurch 81 – 47, and thereby hauling in the first point in the big event. In the last Varsity competition, Christchurch’s Squad C4 managed to scrounge a victory, winning by just one point. This year, the Swimming Club came well prepared with a seventeenheaded squad, the biggest team “It was a great day, our men’s freestyle relay B-Team actually beat the A-Team in that race” - Ollie Houghton the club has ever put together and as a result they managed to avenge their loss from the previous year in emphatic style.
The first race saw the girls shoot off across the water in the 50m Freestyle with Fliss Hawkins easing home in pole with the Women’s Team Captain Rachel Merron following home in second. The men soon followed suit, securing 12 points after the first event. Next up was Back Crawl, arguably UoK’s best stroke, as the
of wins from the opposing C4 squad, succeeding in an incredibly close head-to-head race in the 50m men’s Breast Stroke, 50m men’s Butterfly and the 4x 25m Individual Medley. However, with every point now so crucial to the balance of the match, the UoK squad upped their game during the two final events of
“We weren’t really bothered about our times, it was more important to secure points, it was a great team effort, we are very proud” - Hawkins team finished first in both the men’s and women’s races, gaining another whopping 12 points over Christchurch. In the 4 x 50m men’s Medley Relay Team Captain Aleksei Lukashkin quickly took the lead, gaining half a course length advantage for his team, pushing another triumph. At half-time UoK were already in the lead with 47 to 23 (C4) points, and spirits were high. The winning streak was broken momentarily by a series
the competition with both men’s and women’s teams registering a further eleven points upon the scoreboard after the Freestyle Relay. The excitement of the fast-paced mixed Cannon Relay comprised of eight swimmers on each team – drove the crowd into a frenzy. Glancing over his shoulder, Matt Duncan glided casually through the last leg of the relay, cheered along by euphoric team comrades and supporters alike. The overall score highlights
UoK’s vast improvement on last year’s showing with the score“Given the lack of training facilities, they are doing really well” - Former training coach Ruth Newman board displaying 81 points to 47. Samm Astbury, team captain and president of the rivalling C4 club comments: “We did well considering many of our squad were too ill to compete. We don’t do any other University galas, so in a sense this is the Uni’s highlight of the year”. The squad is now focussing on their next big event; the Sheffield Long Course, which will take place in the frame of the BUCS national Universities competitions this coming weekend, 13th - 15th of February. For further details on this year’s Varsity please contact Sports Sabbatical Cai Robbins on c.s.robbins@kent.ac.uk.
The Oasthouse pitch was prepared; lined with frost, frozen by a brutally cold wind. The setting for what was to be an extremely important game for Kent football. With the need for a win against Essex and for St. Marys to be defeated on the same day, Kent were tantalisingly close to being relegated – despite a season’s effort that deserved anything but. A crowd turned out to watch a brilliant display by the university’s finest footballers, producing a result that proved Kent’s position in the league to be unwarranted. Kent exploded into their attacking play straight from the whistle, knocking in three goals in the first fifteen minutes. Impressive midfield link up play by Kent saw Drew Walsh put one past the keeper after just two minutes, a goal that opened up the Essex defence to continued pressure. Seven minutes in, the crowd were kept warm with another excellent passage of play, leading to a wonderfully taken goal by David Stubbs. The Kent team came together on the pitch after this to reaffirm a rejection of complacency, fully aware of the situation being played out on a football pitch elsewhere. This had the desired effect, with Joe Cheeseman capitalising on a weakened Essex back line to take Kent three goals up after just quarter of an hour. Any warmth generated by copious celebration on the sideline was quickly overcome by the freezing conditions after the third goal. The game fell into a closely fought battle, with both sides having good chances to take a goal off the opposition. Kent’s defence showed great courage in fending off an ever increasing Essex attack. A burst down the right wing by an Essex winger continued on page 22
interview with double olympian mel clewlow - page 21
Free - please take a copy
February 11th 2009
Kent Union AGM
Page 3
Every year students propose and vote on motions that could ultimately shape Kent Union’s policy. We report back from the meeting and speak to students about some of the controversial topics raised this year. UoK forgets returning Recently revamped venue not attracting enough customers students
Rutherford fail to raise the bar
Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Gloda.net
SPORT Varsity opens up with a highly contested 81-47 win
e of th e c r lism sou The journa nts of best e stude y of it h for t Univers the Kent.
The stylish layout of Rutherford bar is not attracting students
Caroline Apichella and Romana Roske Rutherford bar has a stylish and modern layout but it is not pulling in enough students. Unlike the University’s other student bars: Woody’s, Mungo’s, Origins, and K-Bar, who have a constant intake of students and visitors, Rutherford bar is often empty at peak times. And despite
the change to a sophisticated venue offering a new improved menu and events, Rutherford Bar is still making only half the profit of other campus bars. In an interview with Rutherford’s Food and Management team, they openly discussed the problems, although did not want to be specifically named. The team said on average Rutherford bar bring in 40-50%
less than Woody’s, Mungo’s and Origins. The difference in profit levels was put down to Rutherford’s awkward location and the lack of students walking around the area, but also its past reputation as a ‘bar to be avoided’. Pip Marchant, a student in her final year, said “before Rutherford was renovated it was called The Atom. It wasn’t the nicest place to go, as it was like a com-
mon room. I got the impression it was only really for people who lived in Rutherford who went and didn’t mind it. Whenever we did a bar crawl around campus we always avoided it. Now that Rutherford has been done up it is fairly high on my list just under Mungo’s.” However, the Kent student said “It isn’t a ‘studentish’ sort of bar and students want
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The university has decided not to offer campus accommodation to returning placement and year-abroad students. Students and Accommodation officers have clashed over the move which leaves some signing contracts on houses they have not seen. The affected students feel that the university has reneged on its promises, and the withdrawal has been sudden and without due notice. Accommodation officer, Derek Goss, said that the outcry was understandable but the decision had been necessitated by difficult circumstances. The students argue that the whole basis of the provision of campus accommodation is that they don’t have to return to Canterbury to seek housing for their final year, and also that they are closer to the library, where they will spend most of their time. Goss said “In response to Government policy of growing numbers of students going to University, there has always been an over-riding commitment to offer campus accommodation to new students first, but certainly no intention to cause any year abroad or placement students excessive difficulties,” he explained. One student had a different view “It is quite obvious that the University is only concerned with getting more and more new students to enroll so they can make
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