Guy Flint (OE 2014–2021) was a star of water polo at QE. He retains fond memories of early-morning training with a mist still on the Martin Pool, of away tournaments, and of the sense of kinship he enjoyed with his dedicated teammates. In this OE Spotlight, we catch up with his sporting life since he arrived at Cambridge.
During his first year at university, Guy played water polo with the Cambridge University Swimming and Water Polo Club. “At the top of my highlight list is certainly the week-long holiday – ahem, training camp – in Malta at the end of the Christmas break. A rigorous and rewarding regime…dotted with social activities and great food that I’ll never forget.
“Another key event was the varsity match against Oxford – a day of cheering on my comrades and giving it my all; I certainly had lost my voice the following day.”
“Training late into the evening twice or more per week can be exhausting, and difficult to fit into what is already a very busy schedule, but worth it for the post-match celebrations, or the exhilaration of a last-minute goal. Playing sports at university is a large yet incredibly fulfilling undertaking,” says Guy. In 2022, he returned to QE for a friendly involving both OEs and pupils.
As his studies ramped up in his second year, he decided no longer to play water polo, but made sure to stay active nonetheless, and has kept up his hobby of bouldering as well as learning lacrosse.
“I was even president of Queens’ College Climbing Club in my third year, a job title that perhaps overstates its role. It was fantastic to encourage more and more people to climb and join what we claim is Cambridge’s largest college climbing club.”
SPORT AS A STUDENT GUY’S TOP TIPS
1 Take time to find the balance of studying, playing sports, music, socialising etc. that works for you – this won’t be the same for everyone.
2 Be open to trying new sports. I’ve unexpectedly picked up lacrosse by playing with the Queens’ mixed team: it has been a blast.
3 Play, train and celebrate wholeheartedly – you’ll get the most out of the game and the out of the people you play with.
4 Respect the need for good sleep and solid recovery.
The best in the west Still...
After last year’s successful tour, QE’s Year 10 cricketers once more headed to the West Country – and again came away with a brace of victories.
Their opponents were two historic state grammar schools – Pate’s Grammar and Sir Thomas Rich’s. Together, the three schools share 1,259 years of history. During the season, the QE team had been heavily reliant on Aadi Saini with both bat and ball, reported Director of Sport, Jonathan Hart. So, when Aadi was given out early in the first game, against Cheltenham school Pate’s, the team “feared the worst”.
Those fears proved to be misplaced. “His dismissal gave opportunity for others to step up – and their timing was impeccable, with Yashwant Reddy Sunkara and Yuvraj Patel taking control, eventually seeing the boys over the line with a couple of balls to spare.”
The second game, against Gloucester’s ‘Tommies’, was tougher, with QE set 149 to win. “For them to achieve this, they would have to score their biggest total of the season,” said Mr Hart.
“Fortunately, Aadi was in good touch, top-scoring with 90 runs and – well supported by Kartikey Sarin – seeing them to victory with an over to spare.”
The boys found time to take in a T20 match at New Road, Worcester. All in all, it was, said Mr Hart, “a very enjoyable trip, which provided a valuable opportunity to play a slightly longer version of the game”. Plans are already afoot to extend the tour by a day next year and include a fixture against The King’s School, Worcester.
This was the first time I had been away on tour, and I loved every minute of it. It was exciting to see what professional cricket looks like live at Worcester.
Aryaan
Arora, Year 10 tourist
TECH ON TRIAL
As reported in previous issues of Sports Bulletin, technology is offering new exciting opportunities to support QE’s sportsmen.
One example is Fulltrack AI – a package which holds out the promise of professional -level video analysis of cricket practice or matches.
Fulltrack AI allows a smartphone to be set up on a tripod so that it automatically records ball-by-ball videos and then generates 3D ball tracks, pitch-maps and other analytics. Using AI technology developed by Harvard and MIT Computer Science graduates, it provides real-time
bowling data, with personalised reports sent to registered users’ phones.
Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said: “Fulltrack AI is another fascinating example of the possibilities of combining AI and smartphone apps with quite simple equipment to generate very sophisticated data presented in a user-friendly way. It should give us much greater analysis of deliveries that we can use within coaching and development.
“We have negotiated a trial and will be evaluating its impact to decide whether to go ahead with it in the future, should we be able to raise the necessary funds.”
OVER TO FULLTRACK
Six ways the app can help:
1. Automated delivery of batting highlights by line and length.
2. Analysis of bowlers’ speed, swing and spin.
3. Display of pitch-maps.
4. Providing Decision Review System (DRS) for LBW appeals.
5. One-click sharing of data between teachers and boys.
6. Auto-clipping of play, ball-by-ball.
Sri Lanka’s back! Announcing the 2025 tour
QE’s Senior Rugby & Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our sportsmen.
The PE & Games department is therefore delighted to announce that plans are now under way for the next one, taking place in summer 2025. Because of the pandemic and subsequent political and economic issues in Sri Lanka, this will be the first such tour in seven years.
Fundraising is important for this tour, enabling as many pupils as possible to go. Click below to visit our dedicated JustGiving page, with all donations contributing directly to the tour and to training kits for the boys. There are also kit sponsorship opportunities.
With England preparing to lumber their way through the Euros group stages, it was time for the QE staff to show how it should be done!
The staff soccer game was strictly for fun – even if there was a serious purpose behind it, namely raising money for Noah’s Ark Hospice: this was the Leicester and Pearce House charity event.
With enthusiastic backing from the boys, the blues took on the yellow bibs, the latter achieving a comfortable 3-1 victory. Economics teacher Abdoulaye Diallo put in a Player-of-the-Match performance with a hat-trick. His reward? To be sent off for being too good! With no VAR on hand, referee Jonathan Hart awarded a sympathy penalty to the other team in added-on time, which Finance Manager Alan Munro duly converted.
It all goes to show that sport can just be recreational – in terms of the benefits, anything counts if you just get moving.
Mr Hart, Director of Sport
SWIMMING
WINNING
Year 7’s Alexander Fields-Bicar took gold in the 50m breaststroke at the London regional championships, having qualified for no fewer than four different finals.
Alex swam a personal best time in the breaststroke and is now ranked as the seventh-fastest boy in his age group in the country.
In addition to breaststroke, he reached the finals of the 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle and 100m breaststroke.
To achieve all this, Alex trains seven times a week, whether that’s in the pool or in the gym, supplementing these sessions with an extra session of yoga on a Friday evening to help with flexibility.
His motto:
Never give up – the gold is within your reach.
Alex flying high
Seven trains seven times a week
Four qualified for the finals in four different events
Seven now ranked seventh-fastest nationally
Best in the borough!
A
string of successful performances by QE athletes during the term saw 17 boys selected to represent Barnet in the Middlesex championships.
The School’s athletes were also prominent at this month’s Barnet championships held at the Stone X Stadium, with first places for individuals in each of the first four year groups, as well as a team win in the Year 10 4x100m relay.
Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said:
“Our pupils had been getting noticed with their performances at local and regional meets throughout the season, and it was this that led to QE boys turning out for the borough across so many disciplines at the county championships.
“Locally, they also performed very strongly in the past few days at the Barnet championships at the Stone X Stadium – a very good day to cap a strong season!”
It’s great to go and test yourself against a higher standard of athlete: it makes all of the training worth it!
Triple jumper Faaiz Adil
Our stars of track and field
* = represented Barnet at the county championships Boys who won their event have this listed in brackets after their name.
