Sports Clubs

2021-2022 Reports

Amazons

The women ’ s sports society at Jesus College, The Amazons, has celebrated huge success across the board in terms of University sport, College sport and even in May Bumps (pictured below)! This year ’ s achievements include Blues in hockey, netball, rowing, football, skiing and sailing, and many other members competing to University colours level and across multiple College sports.

Amazons have led College teams to impressive victories, with women ’ s football taking both league and Cuppers victory, and ladies netball and mixed hockey both winning their Cuppers. In January, we held the Amazons and Rhadegunds Dinner to celebrate the sporting achievements of both societies, which was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other across the years in a way that wasn ’t possible during the pandemic.

A particular highlight came at the end of the year with an Amazons boat being entered into May Bumps. After completing the minimum number of training sessions required amid hectic exam and revision schedules, the Amazons took to the Cam in the newly repaired Muriel and achieved the following results: bumped, row-over, bump, double bump.

After a very impressive, yet tiring, post-Hawks-event double bump on the final day, the Amazons finished a successful Bumps campaign two positions up and were promoted to Division 4. This capped a very fun year for the Amazons and we can ’t wait to hold even more events (including for alumnae!) next year. Millie Quayle

Athletics

Jesus is a college full of athletic talent, and this year was no exception. We ’ ve had a good number of members train with either Cambridge University Athletics Club (CUAC) or Cambridge and Coleridge AC, in addition to representing the University in the 147th Annual Varsity Match in which we won the Men ’ s Blues match and drew the Women ’ s Blues match. Athletes who competed in the Varsity match this year included: Chizute Ogbedeh (100m and 200m) and Jamie Edgerton (3000SC) in the Men ’ s Blues match, Kefeshe Bernard (100m) in the Women ’ s Blues match, Tim Andrew (100m), Matt Sutcliffe (800m) and Ilya Carey (Pole Vault) in the Alverstones ’ match and Charlotte Ellis (Long Jump and Triple Jump) in the Alligators ’ match.

We hope that next year we can add to the existing pool of talented athletes to maintain dominance over Oxford.

Chizute Ogbedeh

Badminton

This year has been spectacular for College badminton. Despite the challenges of fewer players and a loss in momentum following the pandemic, I am proud of the quality of teams we were able to present to both league and Cuppers. A special thank you to Harrison Mitchell for helping me run the club this year.

Our teams have had a great season in the College league. This year it has been particularly difficult to get matches organised and played, so I am extremely grateful to the Captains for all their effort – a massive thank you to Michael, Simon, Harrison, Molly, Anisha and Min Xuan. Jesus 1s had an impressive performance in Division 1 in Michaelmas, only dropping one match. However, a struggle to pull together enough players in a rather rushed Lent league meant forfeiting several matches to finish seventh. Jesus 2s have had phenomenal success being undefeated in Michaelmas to be promoted and fighting hard in Division 2 in Lent to finish third. Jesus 3s have had some terrific matches with many players enjoying the thrill of playing competitively for the first time. The women ’ s team had an impressive run in division 1 in Michaelmas, with strong victories against Caius, Murray Edwards, Homerton and Hughes-Lucy!

We had an exciting time at Cuppers finals day this year, bringing both our open and mixed teams. The mixed team performed especially well with an amazing semi-final against Hughes-Lucy, leading to a difficult final against Churchill, when they finished second. Congratulations to Thomas, Anisha, Michael, Hannah, Rohit and Min Xuan for this impressive performance. The open team also played some incredible games but faced a tough battle in the semi-final against Churchill, who were the eventual winners. We thoroughly enjoyed playing in Oxford for the Jesus-Jesus Varsity Match and had great success in both singles and doubles, overall defeating Jesus Oxford 10-7.

It has been a pleasure to run club nights this year which have had a friendly and social atmosphere, and it has been amazing to see new players find their love for badminton.

It is sad to see several of our wonderful and committed players leave this year –thank you to Harrison, Rohit, Thomas, Shikhar, Anisha, Molly and Fred for everything you have contributed to the club over the years. I am hopeful for a strong cohort of new players for another fantastic season next year. Nikith Thummalapenta

Boat Club

Like much of the world, JCBC was rebuilding from the disruption caused by the pandemic. Our focus was maximising development, including recruitment and small boats. Highlights were the Fairbairn Cup, Jesus-run and the largest College-run sporting event, and the annual training camp in Peterborough (the pandemic preventing travel further afield); unusually, we were the only Cambridge College to hold a training camp outside Cambridge before Lent Term. Thank you to the Trust and its supporters for enabling this to be affordable without requiring JCSU or College money. We finish the year in a much stronger position to build for the future.

At the beginning of the year, the women ’ s squad was predominantly made up of athletes with just one term ’ s rowing experience. Starting second in both the Lent and May races, it was clear that W1 would have a hard year ahead. However, they were determined: taking 20 seconds off their 2k time in Michaelmas alongside very strong novice recruitment. Despite a disappointing performance in the Fairbairn Cup, this provided a strong base going into the Lent Term. Another term of committed training, amongst the disruptions of coronavirus and injury, was rewarded in the Lent Races with W1 finishing third on the river. W2’ s high starting position meant they were unable to avoid spoons. W3 unfortunately did not get on, although they did win the Talbott Cup at the end of the term.

The crews then got into a good training rhythm in Easter Term, joined by a W4 consisting of members of the Amazon sports society. W1 fought hard on the final day of the May races, after suffering a bump on each of the previous days, rowing over convincingly in front of Lucy Murray Edwards BC to stay 5th. W2 achieved their best performance in many years (down two); W3 were in a tough position with many second boats around, finishing down three. W4 bumped twice on the last day (rowing as sandwich boat) to leave them up two.

The men began the year in a stronger position, having retained many of the previous year ’ s M1 rowers. This, combined with consistent training through Michaelmas Term, led to some early successes: winning Uni IVs and the Fairbairn Cup, the latter for the first

time in a decade. M2 showed promise here, defeating several other College ’ s M1 crews. Many novices were recruited, going on to bolster M2 and form M3. The momentum continued into the Peterborough training camp but was disrupted on our return to Cambridge. Nevertheless, the crews persevered with M1 going up three in the Lent Races, M2 level, and M3 narrowly missing out on getting on.

Consistent training continued into Easter Term whenever exams allowed, with an M4 made up of members of the Rhadegund sports society starting-up and some Easter Term novices joining with some of the women to form a mixed-sex crew racing as M5. M1 started well in the May Races, bumping on each of the first two days before being bumped by Queens ’ on the final day to leave them up one on the week. M2 gradually improved over the week, being bumped on the first three days before rowing over as sandwich boat at the top of the third division. M3 got their first taste of Bumps, unfortunately being bumped each day. M4 had an eventful week, being bumped twice but also overbumping to leave them net up 1. M5 put in an extremely strong time in the getting-on race given the crew ’ s lack of experience but missed out on qualifying.

In the University squads Casey Shepheard and Freya Sutcliffe competed in the Women ’ s Lightweight Blue Boat, with Olivia Alliot as a spare; they beat Oxford by a record-breaking 15 lengths. Seb Benzecry, Elena von Mueller, and Jenna Armstrong were all selected for the reserve boats, with Blondie beating their Oxford counterparts. Joshua Blake

Boat Club Trust

Last year I began by congratulating the JCBC on their irrepressibility, and the Club leadership on keeping things going in the most difficult circumstances, a year of very little rowing and, accordingly very few learning to row. Recovery from events over the last two years brings its own challenges: we returned this year to a full rowing programme but felt the impact of the previous two years on the number of Club members available to row. My congratulations again, to this year ’ s leadership: Josh Blake, President and Coxing Captain; Arianna Cox, Women ’ s Captain; Rhys Williams, Men ’ s Captain; the other officers, and Jonathan Conder – JCBC Head Coach and Boatman – for bringing about that recovery so that Jesus crews took an active and competitive part in all College, and in other, events.

Results on the river suggest that JCBC recovered more quickly than other Colleges, with striking successes in the Michaelmas Term, not least the men winning the University Fours and M1 recording its first win in the Fairbairn Cup in fifteen years. Both W1 and M1 did well in the Lents, and particular credit goes to W1 as they started the year with hardly any returning rowers, but in general the effect of the pandemic came into sharper relief as the year went on and, of course, a reduced number of experienced athletes creates opportunities for newcomers. Recovery was helped by a training camp in January involving 32 rowers, five coxes and four coaches, and this year prudently held in Peterborough rather than Spain. As usual, this was part-funded by the Trust, and by the support in the first part of the year of a novice, Learn to Row (L2R) coach, Isabella Mahoney. JCBC also made a significant contribution to CUBC crews: Casey Shepheard was President of the Women ’ s Lightweight Blue Boat and was joined by Freya Sutcliffe and Olivia Alliot in their defeat of Oxford; Elena von Mueller and Jenna Armstrong rowed in the victorious Blondie and Seb Benzecry in Goldie…less so.

The Trust continues its investment strategy of ‘inflation + 4’ as our only rolling 12-month benchmark for capital growth and income. Over the medium term, we have significantly exceeded this target in capital growth, but in income growth – the more

JCBC alumni before the Dinner on the final day of the May Bumps

important of the two – we have been running at about I+3½ %. With inflation currently at over 10% in the UK, we have not achieved (and are not likely to achieve) the target this year in either measure. However, we have built up a significant capital buffer over past years and have a sensible investment policy, which means we do not believe changes are needed. With income growth currently below inflation, we do have the facility to divert some capital to fund the JCBC should that become necessary.

Our investments are managed solely by CCLA for the time being. They performed well up to the end of 2021, where a new record for capital under management of over £1.64m was reached, a combination of good fund performance and further generous donations and bequests: our huge thanks to all our donors. Over the first six months of 2022, returns have been limited to 10% negative, due to a well-diversified and defensive portfolio. Our plan is still to switch some capital into Infrastructure to pick up yield and better match our liability profile when that becomes possible. CCLA have continued to pay out steadily rising cash dividends at an acceptable yield; that is the source of our funding for the JCBC.

We continue to meet our core commitment to provide a new VIII every three years. We acquired a new Men ’ s VIII this year, funded entirely by a bequest from the late Michael Waring, former Emeritus Professor and Trustee. We continued to fund other equipment needs and to support training camps. In 2021 we experimented by contributing to the College ’ s funding of a coach for novices. This was largely successful, so after a healthy discussion the Trustees agreed to support the College ’ s funding of a novice coach for a second year, and Callum Bland joins us from University of East Anglia in this capacity in September.

The JCBC community lost a true friend in February 2022, when Lieutenant Colonel Peter Blaker died aged 85. He had been a supporter and inspiration to crews and alumni alike for many years. We gathered in January this year to celebrate the enduring contribution of another rowing alumnus, Joe Fraser, who died in 2019.

We are very grateful to those alumni who have, in increasing numbers, coached JCBC crews. We continue to need more alumni to help. To volunteer, please contact Jonathan Conder on boatman@jesus.cam.ac.uk, or Trustees Sheena Cassidy Hope on sheena.cassidythope@mishcon.com or Matt Jones on mattjones@cantab.net

We also encourage all supporters to contribute to the JCBC by joining the Friends of the JCBC. Further information about the Trust can be found on www.jcbc.jesus.cam.ac.uk/trust; about the Friends on www.jcbc.jesus.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/JCBCFriendsSO+GA and, for younger supporters, our graduate donor scheme: www.jcbc.jesus.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/JCBCTrust _ GraduateDonation.pdf In any event David Reid would be very pleased to hear from you on judgedreid@sky.com

The Trustees and their responsibilities are: Chairman

Treasurer Danny White Investments Secretary College Links The Friends: David Wootton Ewan Pearson Louise Couch James Crockford Richard Tett David Reid Helen Boldon Women ’ s Club/London Link Sheena Cassidy Hope Training/Coaching/ Quality of Rowing Matt Jones

Boat Club Strategy/ Boat Club Strategy/ Boatman/Boathouse Jon Hutton dhwootton@gmail.com danny.c.white@hotmail.com e.pearson@gpb.eu louisecouch@gmail.com j.crockford@jesus.cam.ac.uk richard.tett@freshfields.com judgedreid@sky.com helenboldon@gmail.com sheena.cassidyhope@mishcon.com

mattjones@cantab.net

jon _ hutton@hotmail.co.uk Finally, we wish the incoming leadership – Dominic Hey, Men ’ s Captain and President; Phoebe Penfold, Women ’ s Captain; and Rachel Gould, Coxing Captain – all success, with our full support, as they take the JCBC forward. David Wootton, Chair of Trustees

JCBC Bicentenary 2027

Following the reset of COVID-19, a productive meeting between the Trust, the College and the Club renewed consideration of the broad aims and strategy of the JCBC's Bicentenary. Further meetings aim to produce a structured working group that will develop important aspects of the project over the coming years. In due course, the input and assistance of the club’ s community, past and present, will be gratefully received to help take this forward.

If you would like to remain in touch with the club and its recent endeavours, a termly rowing report is emailed to the club’ s mailing list. If you are not receiving these and would like to, you can sign up at the following link: https://www.jesusboatclub.co.uk/mailing-list This will also be the mailing list used by the bicentenary ’ s working group to publish information and details of any events. Nick Tubbs (2014)

Climbing

Climbing has seen a boom in popularity both at Jesus and across the University, thanks to the sport enjoying its Olympic debut, and to people searching for new sports coming out of lockdown. At College level, we have had the much-anticipated return of

social climbing attracting new people to the sport, and we have seen the start of large swaps with the other climbing clubs across Cambridge – all seem to have doubled in size since 2019! At University level, the termly Cuppers competition has returned in person after two years of creative online challenges, which the Jesus team managed very well. Varsity, BUCS and regional-level events have returned, allowing the top climbers a stage on which to perform.

The huge pool of talent at Cambridge has led to a far more competitive Cuppers. Gone are the days when a couple of Colleges vied for the trophy; now over a dozen Colleges put in quality climbers. With top individual scores from Ilya Carey and Ria Bacharach in the men ’ s and women ’ s competitions, Jesus kept up well, finishing 8th and 6th in Michaelmas and Lent Term Cuppers. It has been great to see Jesuans who have been around for a couple of years continue to score and improve since pre-pandemic times. Several of our members have also competed for the University at top levels, at the London University Bouldering Events, Varsity and even BUCS where they scored amongst the top few University competitors.

The new Cuppers scoring system is weighted for large participation as well as high individual scores. This will benefit Jesus next year, because although we will lose some experienced members, we have gained lots of new ones. Those leaving include the rest of this year ’ s Committee – Ilya, Ismaeel, Rafi and Hugo – who have all been significant in the running of the club during their time here, so a huge thanks to them! They leave the club in a strong position, with an enthusiastic membership that looks set to continue as we grow and thrive. Adam Jenkins

Cricket

Following on from our position as Cupper ’ s runner-up in 2021, Jesus College Cricket Club (JCCC) were hungry for a win. We recruited four new Jesuans to the team at the start of the year, and our chances looked good.

After destroying the group stages and quarter finals, we were into finals day with no discernible trouble so far. Our first match on finals day was against the tournament favourites, Downing. With some class batting, amazing fielding and tight bowling we managed to beat Downing by 10 runs. The finals versus Fitzwilliam was a very tight match throughout, with the JCCC managing to pull through victorious, winning by one run, meaning the JCCC were Cuppers champions for the first time in over eight years! There were many factors which helped our win, but the support of the College members and dedication of the players were certainly a large part, and I am extremely thankful.

Other highlights of the season included the Jester ’ s match and Old Boys ’ match, which were both very entertaining games of a good standard. Unfortunately, we have several long-serving Jesuans who are leaving this year, and I’d like to thank them for their service to the JCCC over the past three or four years – especially Matthew Griffiths, Dougie Dolleymore and Alex Forster, though many others have lent a hand.

The captaincy and vice-captaincy will now pass on from myself and Raunak Khanduja to freshers Krish Nanavati and Billy Hughes respectively, both of whom have an immense love for cricket and I’ m sure will lead the team to many more JCCC wins in the future. Karan Salvi

Football

This season was exceptional for JCFC’ s 1st team. With a strong, experienced core and a world class fresher intake, the whole squad was eyeing up trophies and glory. A famous treble of the league, Cuppers and Jesus-Jesus Varsity promised on the horizon.

The league season started with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Trinity, with a debut goal from Alex McDonald and a double from Alex Landell-Mills. However, we subsequently drew to Girton and Emmanuel and suffered a 4-3 defeat against King ’ s. Sitting on 5 points after 4 games, promotion looked unlikely. However, after 3 wins on the trot in Lent we faced Trinity Hall on a wet windy morning, where promotion beckoned. A horrible game which dearly lacked quality was only saved by a moment of pure magic from Angus Harron where, some delicate footwork to beat 4 defenders and a lovely finish from the edge of the box gave us the lead. We held on through a desperate second half where we were penned in our own box; 3 points secured; promotion guaranteed, the title still to be decided?

Our Cuppers run started magnificently. We saw Trinity off in a 6-0 win, where we netted 4 before the 20-minute mark. Next came Lucy Cavendish who crumbled on the Jesus turf as Will Zeng netted a marvellous hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing. Then came a 9-3 demolition of King ’ s, where Fortina Oshasha and Cai La-Trobe Roberts both added 3 each to their tallies. As the end of Lent Term approached, we faced Fitzwilliam in the semi-final. It was a thrilling encounter against a side that had won Cuppers 5 years on the trot. However, with 5 minutes to go, Fitz ’ s strength showed, and they scored a vital third to win 3-1.

The Varsity match against Jesus Oxford saw us take an early 2-0 lead against a side packed with University players. Both goals coming from Cai, the ‘Welsh Wizard’ , showing that a hilly Oxford pitch was no match for a man raised in the Brecon Beacons. However, our opponents drew one back before half time and netted another after the break. At 2-2, trouble stirred; Alex McDonald went down in a nasty clash of heads, leaving just two fit defenders. Our determination however led to an unlikely counterattack, with a third goal from Cai restoring our lead. However in the last minute, we conceded a penalty that was duly converted and was swiftly followed by the full-time whistle. We went straight to penalties, and our hero James Hardy, fresh from an incredible fingertip save sixty minutes prior, made the deciding save to give us our first taste of silverware.

In Easter Term we played our 13th game of the season, against Long Road College for the division 2 title. We fought hard in a gutsy 2-1 victory; league secured, and division 1 status reinstated. Being a JCFC captain was an absolute honour and it’ s with a heavy heart that I pass on to Alex McDonald. I never thought College football could take a man ’ s heart, but this season proved me wrong. May the next prove others wrong . . . Jamie Newnham

Hockey

The year got off to a rough start; plagued with COVID related absences, we saw our position in the first league slipping away. Having only played around half of our matches this came as no surprise yet still left a bitter taste. We started the second term strong with several victories and a draw, however absences forced us to forfeit a couple games leaving us in a comfortable 3rd place. Promotion secured.

Moving on to the question of Cuppers. Due to COVID-19, last year ’ s tournament had been a much smaller affair, but not so this year. Cuppers had returned and so had the defending champions.

From 0-1 down we would come back to beat the Johns 2nd team 5-1 in the first round. The second round was a much tighter contest. We faced off against a combined team of Clare, Queens ’ , St Edmund’ s, Wolfson, and Sidney Sussex which could have very well been the greatest 7-side team to play in a Cuppers tournament. On paper; because after a very tight game, it would be the Jesus team who would take the match 8-7, having never been behind.

Onto finals day, we would be facing the John ’ s 1st team in the semi-final. At this point some may have described us as the favourite to win the tournament, but John ’ s provided a great challenge, pushing us all the way, with the final score being a 4-3 victory for

Jesus.

In the other semi-final, the team of Christ’ s and Pembroke would narrowly beat the Catz team in a penalty shoot-out to take the other space in the final, and a thrilling final it would be. Jesus would take the early lead 1-0, however would appear to relax in the second half allowing Chembroke to fight back to take a 2-1 lead with around 5 to play. With attacking urgency restored, Jesus would come back at them scoring quickly after to level the game. With mere seconds to play, Jesus would launch one final attack and off the final touch of the match the ball would find itself in the Chembroke goal. 3-2 Jesus. Cuppers successfully defended. Ryan Lynch

Mixed Lacrosse

The Jesus College Mixed Lacrosse team initially found themselves in a tough situation at the start of the year. It was the first season back since the pandemic, so teams remained in their divisions from the last played season. This meant that Jesus faced some tough teams in competition, many of whom would later be promoted to the top division. A valiant effort across the seven matches left Jesus in a respectable 6th place in the division at the end of Michaelmas, in prime position to strike during Lent.

Lent Term saw more success for the team. The combination of a more intense training regime, a more accurately spread division, and the return of some of our more experienced members, made us a force to be reckoned with. A series of closely fought victories left Jesus at an improved 4th place in the division.

Cuppers supplied the final opportunity of the year for the squad. After a strong recruitment drive, Jesus was able to enter two teams made up of a range of abilities and although both found themselves within touching distance of progressing through to the playoffs, sadly this was not to be. On behalf of Charlotte and myself, I would like to say a big thank you to all of those who helped with Jesus Mixed Lacrosse this year, from the players to the supporters on the side-line. We would also like to wish the incoming captains, Georgia King and Nadia Chadirchi, the best of luck for next year! Dan Gilbey

Netball

The past year has been excellent for Jesus College Netball Club. After a highly successful Freshers Fair, we found ourselves with so many new players that we set up Jesus College Netball Mixed 2 team which started in Division 4 as a new team. We also founded the Instagram account @jesuscollegenetball2022 where we keep our followers up to date with match results and our favourite action shots from the week. But our favourite thing that we introduced this year was a physical scoreboard to bring to matches so everyone could see the score and it featured heavily on our Instagram!

Having lost only to Hughes Hall in Michaelmas Term, Jesus Mixed 2 were quickly promoted to Division 3 in Lent. The Jesus Mixed 1 team also had a successful season and placed first in division 1 after an unbeaten season and the Jesus Ladies came 3rd in division 1. In Michaelmas, we were also fortunate enough to bring a mixed netball team to Oxford to compete against Jesus College Oxford. Armed with our scoreboard and face paint we were able to beat the other place on their own courts!

After such a promising season we were very excited for netball Cuppers. Mixed 2 put on an impressive performance, even beating a division 1 team but unfortunately did not make it past the group stages. Mixed 1 were able to win their group and played their way to the final where they narrowly lost to Pembroke by only 1 goal. Jesus Ladies also won their group and after beating Queens ’ and Fitzwilliam, we found ourselves in the final against St John ’ s. After a close and tough match, Jesus Ladies beat John ’ s 8-7 to win the Ladies Netball Cuppers for the first time in over 10 years.

I am so proud of everything the Club has achieved this year and we are so excited to hand over captaincy and the @jesuscollegenetball2022 l Instagram to Liv Fitzpatrick, Harry Marsh and Lucy Thompson and to see what the Club can do next year! Lucy Wang

Rugby

After over a year without playing any proper rugby, many of the boys were very excited to finally get back to the pitch. There was a huge amount of talent in the squad and the season looked very promising, however JCRUFC were consistently faced with a lack of players. A combination of an increasing number of Blues squad players (who can ’t play College league games), a small fresher intake and falling numbers due to pandemic-related absences made it impossible to put a team together.

After being unable to field a team for the first two games of the season, Jesus combined with Queens ’ to form ‘Quesus ’ for the remainder of the league season. Captaincy was handed over from Bo Beynon to Tom Hardman and Quesus went on to go unbeaten in division 2 for the rest of Michaelmas.

The last week of Michaelmas saw the beginning of the Cuppers campaign, with Jesus playing as a stand-alone team. The first two rounds were played as a double header; two 40-minute games played back-to-back. In gruelling conditions, Jesus cruised past Trinity-Christ’ s and went on to play Fitz-Sidney, who got a bye through the first round. Jesus was at a disadvantage after already playing 40 minutes of rugby and failed to produce anything in a scrappy first half that ended 0-0. Fitz had the wind in their favour in the second half and eventually capitalised to go one try up. A second try from Fitz put them out of reach and ended Jesus ’ s hopes of Cuppers glory, putting them into the Plate competition.

At the beginning of Lent, the league structure was reformed and Quesus were part of the 4 teams in division 2. After a 48-0 win against Catz and a forfeit from Churchill, Quesus went into the final game of the league cycle in a battle for promotion with Trinity-Christ’ s; the winning team would be promoted to division one. Due to illness with COVID-19, Quesus only managed to produce a team of 12 players, while Trinity-Christ’ s turned up with a full 23 (15 and 8 subs) and decided in a very unsportsmanlike fashion

g N D i k b y o o t P h

that they would not lend Quesus any players. After 30 minutes, Quesus were inevitably 17-0 down and it seemed promotion was out of reach. However, a dominating and entertaining second half display saw Quesus win 25-22 in the last minute, and promotion was secured. A notable mention goes to LXs (University second team) player Charles Kantolinna who put in an inspiring performance and seemed to make up for the three-man deficit at the breakdown almost entirely himself. A gritty 7-0 win against Fitz followed by a 52-7 win against a weakened John ’ s side meant that Quesus went into the final week of Lent with the chance to win division one. A hard fought 19-7 win against Pirton with huge performances from Sam Brookes and Tom Xu sealed the division one title.

The first two weeks of Easter Term saw the final two rounds of Cuppers played. After four Jesuans (Max Loveridge, Tim Andrew, James Wright and David Holdroyd) played in the Varsity match over Easter, it was clear that there was a huge amount of talent in the squad and silverware was on the cards. Jesus breezed past CCK (Corpus Clare King ’ s) 56-7 in the Plate semi-final, with Max Loveridge and David Holdroyd dominating the midfield. The game finished with an outstanding solo try from last minute call-up Olly Doggett, who posed a threat every time he got the ball. Jesus began the Plate final against Caius with a furious intensity and after four tries were 26-0 up at the break. Caius came out all guns blazing in the second half, however Jesus fought well to hold them off for a 26-5 win.

Overall, it was a highly successful season, winning division one of the leagues and the Cuppers Plate. JCRUFC hope to go one better next year with Cuppers in their sights. Tom Hardman

Squash

Despite organisational problems at the University level, College squash this year was very successful for Jesus. An Inter-College League ran intermittently through Michaelmas and Lent, with no Cuppers this year, but Jesus was able to field three teams of varying ability and was highly successful with each of them. It was particularly enjoyable to see so many new players getting involved in the sport, and the traditional Jesus sporting ability came through in full, ensuring that many new players were formidable on court.

Our first team performed well across its matches and was able to move up two league divisions across the year (though whether this was because of our sporting prowess rather than a reorganisation of the league structure is something best left unanswered). The second team, captained by Bruno Truben, also performed excellently with a crushing victory in Michaelmas that saw them end with 57 points and promotion to the fifth division, comfortably ahead of second-placed Christ’ s on 39 points. This was followed by a similar victory in the Lent league. The third team, captained by Nikith Thummalapenta rounded off a thumping season for Jesus. The 3rds came top of their division in both Michaelmas and Lent league, despite consisting mostly of new players.

Many members of the first team will depart next year, but the performance of Jesus in this year ’ s squash suggests the College is in good stead to do well in Cuppers and the League next year. Special thanks to Bruno and Nikith for their tireless organisational efforts, overcoming the difficulty of navigating recalcitrant opponents and general administrative reshuffles.

Matthew Levine

Ultimate Frisbee

This year has been a fantastic one for Jesus Ultimate Frisbee. After more than a year of disruption due to COVID-19, we were pleased to see the College League beginning again in Michaelmas. Despite having a small team this year, we persevered and went on to win many of our matches. In one memorable game against Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), we were two players down and had no subs, but still went on to win 7-6, battling rain, hail, sunshine and a lot of wind.

Training also returned to a new normal and – with the slight addition of hand sanitiser and wiping down each frisbee a few times during the sessions – our discs have never been cleaner! In preparation for Indoor Cuppers in Michaelmas we had one indoor training session, and we enjoyed it so much that we are hoping to make indoor training a more regular occurrence (especially for those cold, rainy winter afternoons).

During Summer Cuppers, we had to contend with another weather extreme: 30°C blazing heat. After a strong 6-2 win against ARU, we went on to lose to the Oxford team ‘Bod Squad’ and Downing College, but despite this we all enjoyed our day. We were proud to come in joint 3rd place for spirit (scores that rate how knowledgeable teams are of the rules, as well as their respectfulness, good manners and lack of contact) with 4/5 – just 0.5 point between us and 1st place!

Thanks to all our brilliant members. We look forward to welcoming Edwin Jarratt Barnham, Peter Ondus, Miles Alfrey, James Legrand, Aldric Goh, Andrew Te Water Naude, Jay Wardropper, Nikith Thummalapenta and Tim De Goede back next year, along with many new faces. And, to our players who have graduated this summer –Phoebe McDonnell, Emma Perfettini, Max Tkocz – thank you for your incredible commitment and we wish you all the best. You are always welcome to come back and play with us next time you ’ re in Cambridge. Imogen Perkins and Reza Sair

Waterpolo

This season has been a great success for Jesus College Waterpolo, coming out on top at College League in Lent Term. College League took place at Parkside Pools, with the University players dispersing to their own Colleges. This year, Jesus was the only one to put up a single College team, with a core of five University players fresh from Varsity, five Jesuans new to the sport, and returning alumna, Lara Tritton.

Our first match was against the Addenbrookes team, the first match of the day. We started defending the shallow end, and gained an early lead before half time, enabled by strong swims from Yuval Weiss. Strong defending in the second half led to a 5-3 win in this match.

Our second match was against a team from Trinity Hall, Peterhouse and Queens ’ ; one similar in composition to Jesus with half the players being with the University squad. New PhD student Alex Norcliffe held the team together in the first half, giving us an impressive 4-0 lead, but this was brought back to 4-4 by a determined fightback from Trinity Hall-Peterhouse-Queens ’ following his self-imposed retirement to the bench. Following a penalty shootout, we made it through to the final, against alumni from the university team.

The final match was the tightest match of the day, with time constraints reducing the playtime and both teams tired from the afternoon of matches. With goals from Alex Norcliffe, assisted by Alastair Horn, and Angus McIntosh (new to the sport), we won this close match 2-1.

Looking ahead to next year, we look forward to bringing much the same squad to College League and continuing the undefeated streak, under new captain Dan Gilbey. We hope to run a taster session in Freshers ’ Week. Andrew te Water Naude n

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