I 43
SHORINJI KEMPO 2012–13 has been a good year for the Oxford University Shorinji Kempo Club. Highlights included successful recruitment at Freshers’ Fair, member Steve Malton attaining the rank of third dan and strong club attendance at a number of national Shorinji Kempo seminars and gradings. The club put on an especially good showing at the south coast training seminar in October, with more than ten members attending the one-day event and five of those taking gradings and passing on the day. As well as gradings the seminar included classes by some of the highest ranking Shorinji Kempo teachers in the country, and provided a good opportunity for club members to meet and train with practitioners from other clubs. Seminars were also attended in January and March, the January seminar being in Peterborough and involving teaching from the head of the Swedish Shorinji Kempo Federation, Ander Petterson. The seminar in March saw long-term club member Steve Malton take and pass his third dan grading; all of the members of the club were pleased to see his dedication and hard training pay off. Of course all this occurred over the backdrop of solid regular training sessions at the Iffley road sports centre dojo under the expert gaze of sensei Chris and the resident black belts. We hope that 2013–14 will be as eventful and enjoyable.
SKI AND SNOWBOARD This year has been particularly prosperous for the Ski and Snowboard Club. We started with the annual indoor Cuppers event in the Milton Keynes snow dome, with good attendance from both Oxford and Cambridge
Ski and Snowboard societies. The next big event was the Varsity trip, this year seeing over 2,800 students from the two universities head out to Val Thorens. Oxford had a record number of skiers trialling for a spot in the Varsity races. Despite having better depth than Cambridge, Oxford unfortunately lost both the men’s and women’s Blues races. We did however have the fastest woman and overall individual winner (Kirsty Dixon, Keble) and fastest man (Jamie Reid, Oriel). The Varsity trip also saw the introduction of a team event for freestyle. Off the slopes OUSSC organised the first ever Ski Club Alumni Dinner, which was a huge success and was attended by alumni who matriculated as early as 1956. The alumni dinner will now run either annually or every other year. The dinner also saw the return of a trophy that had been lost to the attic of a certain member for 28 years! This year we have maintained our sponsorship deal with Excellian, a company that significantly helps us to support our members. Further deals have been arranged with Crevasse clothing and LazyPatch in order to supply gear for both the slopes and après-ski. BUSC provided another opportunity for the club to shine, with individual results placing Jamie Reid (Oriel) third in the skier-x and fourth in the individual slalom and giant slalom. Alex Chajecki came ninth overall.
SQUASH OUSRC has had an extremely successful year. The club has grown in membership and the squads have seen some very good new talent join them, bringing some refreshing,
new, ferocious blood to training and matches. Through hard work the club has also secured three new sponsorship deals that we hope to maintain in future years. The annual Varsity Match, held on 16 February at the RAC London and sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management, did not go Oxford’s way this year, despite excellent play and some nail-bitingly close games. Both the women’s and men’s Blues teams played extremely well-fought matches but unfortunately both lost, the women 0–5 and the men 3–2. Special mentions should go to Adele Tee and Madeleine Sava on the women’s side and David Phillips and Owen Riddall on the men’s. The second team’s Varsity Matches were held in Cambridge this year; without the support of the Oxford crowd both teams seemed to suffer. Although everyone played admirably, with determination and grit, both teams unfortunately lost, the men 1–4 and the women also 1–4. All teams have experienced success in their BUCS matches. The women’s Blues maintained their strong fourth position in the BUCS Premier Division South, beating Surrey University in a superb victory. The men’s third team are in the Midlands 1A division, with a good chance of promotion to the top eight premier league. The men’s Blues and second teams hold annual fixtures against the Jesters and Escorts squash clubs (societies with many members across the UK and worldwide, including many Oxbridge alumni). Oxford won both this year, in thrilling matches. The men’s and women’s Blues teams have carried on their bi-termly trips to Millfield school to receive elite coaching from Jonah
www.sport.ox.ac.uk