The Lion - December 2011

GARY HUMPAGE INTERVIEW 'To take Loughborough down.

That's the goal.'

Josh Hunt talks to the swimming coach

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MAPLE BANK CYCLE FOR CHARITY

SLALOM SUCCESS FOR BRUMSKI

Tim Barselotti's diary from Big Ben to Old Joe

Thomas Harvey speaks to Brumski's media secretary Rhoda Sell

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THE LION

REDBRICK SPORT

Issue 5 | December 2011

PER ARDUA AD ALTA

The Pride of University of Birmingham Sport

Polo

Ice Hockey

The novice first team take a tournament win, p3

Joshua Reynolds investigates the progress of the Eagles, p4

&

CAPTAIN'S CORNER CROSS COUNTRY SQUASH GYMNASTICS AND MUCH MORE

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redbrickpaper.co.uk

THE LION

Editorial Information Executive Editor Glen Moutrie

Deputy Editors

Editors in Chief

Victoria Bull James Phillips

Sam Price Joseph Audley

Front Page Photographs

Chief Photographers

Mille Guy Tom Flathers Rita Toth

Millie Guy & Freddie Herzog chiefphotographer@redbrickonline.co.uk

THE LION

December 2011

WELCOME TO THE LION

The Lion would like to thank: Tim Smith UBSport Jenna Hadley Adrian Scriven Published by Redbrick in association with Designed and typeset by Thomas Walters.

Copyright (C) Redbrick 2011 Redbrick strives to uphold the NUJ Code of Conduct. The views expressed in Redbrick do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Guild or the publishers. If you find an error of fact in our pages, please write to the Editor. Our policy is to correct mistakes promptly in print and to apologise where appropriate. We reserve the right to edit any article, letter or email submitted for publication.

To contact us: Redbrick Guild of Students Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2TU 0121 251 2462 editor@redbrickonline.co.uk www.redbrickonline.co.uk Redbrick is printed through www.quotemeprint.com: 08451 300667.

Advertising: Contact Aimee Fitzpatrick in Guild Marketing on 0121 251 2524 or a.fitzpatrick@guild.bham.ac.uk

Write for us To write for Redbrick Sport, just come to our section meeting, every Friday at 1.30pm in the Guild Common Room.

VPS Tim at the Bournbrook rugby pitch Welcome to the fifth edition of The Lion! Since its inception in 2009, The Lion has gone from strength to strength, and this edition sees eight pages of full colour focusing on some sports that perhaps haven't had as much coverage as others so far this year.

It has been a whirlwind four months since I took over as VicePresident (Sport), and I find it hard to believe that I am already a third of the way through my tenure. Our fantastic sports clubs have also had a frantic term. It all started with Sports Fair, where we saw huge numbers again and an increased number

of people joining our sports clubs.

Gymnastics and Trampolining were one of the clubs that did particularly well, recruiting fifty more members than usual.

Some clubs including Korfball and Athletics' Cool Runnings have had success in developing their club by expanding via UBSport's 'Try Sport' scheme, adding sessions for complete beginners. Others, such as Lifesaving have achieved remarkable results on the competitive scene.

They're not alone; our men's hockey victories versus Loughborough last week and our netball team's unbeaten start to the season added to many

Millie Guy other club achievements all suggest it is going to be a successful year in competitive sport. It gives me great pleasure to watch these developments happen, and pride when I see their successes reported by Burn FM and written in Redbrick.

One of the main themes that I have focused on in my work so far as VPS is attempting to engage people who would not otherwise be getting involved in sport. One of the ways we achieved this last weekend was through a massive dodgeball tournament, held on Saturday in the Munrow. In a joint effort between myself, Carnival RAG and the Dodgeball so-

ciety we had 20 teams compete on the day, which was 120 students taking part in a mass sports event whilst raising almost ÂŁ500 for charity.

Further to this, next semester we will kick off the year with the first ever 'Get Involved' Sports and Recreation Fair at the Munrow Sports Centre on Friday 13th January. Here, you will have the chance to sign up for different sports, classes and activities many of which are non-competitive and focus more on the social side of enjoying playing sport and/or doing physical activity.

Simultaneously, we have the exciting launch of the 'Be A Champion' Olympics and Paralympics inspired scheme. From January, watch out for some London 2012 activities happening on campus – more information will be published in Redbrick and on the Guild of Students' website in due course.

I would like to sign off by thanking the Redbrick Sport team for their hard work and dedication so far this year. Our University's print media sports coverage is unrivalled across the country, and it is down to a succession of talented and devoted writers and editors that every Wednesday, just hours after games finish write up match reports and prepare the paper to be sent to print that very same evening. Well done all.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas

Tim Smith

VP Sport vps@guild.bham.ac.uk

In This Issue

sports@redbrickonline.co.uk

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Hello everybody, Welcome to the fifth edition of The Lion, Redbrick Sport's biannual pullout. In this issue we have strived to provide an insight into the clubs whose fantastic achievements may sometimes slip under the radar. University sport at Birmingham is an intricate web of vastly different sports, a wealth of committed volunteers and some outstanding performers, and this is what we aim to capture in our coverage. With many new clubs developing and existing ones flourishing, the University of Birmingham is hard to beat when it comes to sport. We look forward to covering the progress of various clubs in the BUCS Championships in March. We hope you enjoy the issue and have a very happy Christmas.

Sam Price Joseph Audley

@redbricksports

Gymnastics p6

Martial Arts

p7 Brumski

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THE LION

redbrickpaper.co.uk

December 2011

Sky's the limit for Humpage's swimmers

Redbrick Sport writer Josh Hunt talked to the University of Birmingham swimming head coach Gary Humpage, who has overseen a meteoric rise in his 15 years at the helm...

Head swimming coach Gary Humpage took over Birmingham’s swimming teams 15 years ago with the team on the verge of relegation to division two. Still at the helm, Humpage has transformed the squad into one of the very best in the country in what he describes as probably ‘the highest level BUCS sport’. Last year Brum’s swimmers came second overall in BUCS, behind only Loughborough. Redbrick caught up with Humpage to talk about last year’s achievements, his hopes for the future and swimming in general at the University.

Can you say a little bit about the progression over the last 15 years?

Progression-wise we’ve gone from almost being relegated to Division Two to constantly being national team finalists and gaining medals at the long course and short course championships. We’ve got the best record in the North for making those championship finals, bar Loughborough, so it’s all really good news.

Tell us about last year’s second place finish in BUCS. It was an absolutely tremendous team performance. They worked the entire year. A new set of swimmers came in and performed in a really good team with the good 2nd and 3rd years we already had. They got on really well, there was really good team building, they gained confidence throughout the year and because of that they just went from strength to strength. They worked solidly for the whole year and the result was the end product of all that hard work.

How many swimmers do you have here?

About 25 to 30 in the top squads because we need to bring through three teams and in the more recreational tiers we have a whole development system from health

Polo Correspondent

The UniPolo Challenge Tournament marks the first competitive university match of the polo season, and with Birmingham entering five teams in this year’s competition they were set for a strong performance.

Polo is a game of speed, skill, tact, and aggression as players on horseback aim to score goals by hitting the ball with wooden mallets into their opponent’s goal.

There are two polo seasons in a year: the arena season running from September to April, played in a purpose built arena throughout the winter and the outdoor season played on grass pitches, which are three times the size of a football pitch. The UniPolo Challenge consisted of 29 teams from seven different universities and was held at Birmingham’s home club, Rugby.

Birmingham fielded one beginner team, getting us underway on Saturday morning. The beginner division comprised of players who had only started polo in September and the team, including a

Captain's Corner

and fitness participation to development for those guys aiming to get into one of those teams at one point.

How has this year started so far?

We started off in Italy with a really good training camp where we had three hours a day in a 50 metre pool, having all eight lanes to ourselves [which was] really nice. We took our health and conditioning coach out with us, which added to the team buoyancy. They really enjoyed it; we had a lot of fun. They worked really hard but it wasn’t tedious. We were doing technique type work and it was just a really good way to get everyone together and have everyone going in the same direction.

Is team spirit important to your squad?

Very. It enables them to take the focus off what time they get to swim, it gets them supporting one another and because of that confidence grows.

How do Birmingham’s facilities compare to those at other universities?

We’ve got a good 25 metre pool, we get really good time in it. What we have is what we work in; we don’t dwell on what it is or what it isn’t but we make the most of the time we have in there. It’s a very good training pool.

Have you noticed any effect from the upcoming Olympics?

Is there more passion for the sport?

The times at BUCS have really shown there are a lot of students going for the trials to swim at the London 2012 pool where the trials will be held. The level’s just gone up another notch this year as it does in every Olympic year. Everyone’s really excited about it, they can’t wait. Hopefully we’ll have

Name James Manfield Humpage (middle) celebrates with the team after BUCS one swimmer who might be going to the trials.

Where does last year’s BUCS success rank among your greatest achievements?

They’re all different, it’s usually how hard we’ve had to fight to do it. The easy ones we’ve sometimes come in with higher rankings and it was quite an easy meet. Those are the ones that get left to lie. You remember the tough battles.

Any in particular that you remember?

I remember when we first started there was a girl who would swim the 100 fly; her shoulders were dislocated and never once did she not want to do fly, never once did she back up. We came to the qualifiers and she put herself in every event she could and she got us the points and we stayed up that first year.

That’s the one that sticks in the mind because if she hadn’t done that we’d have been down.

What are your plans for your-

Tom Flathers

self personally and for the team?

Gain higher level coach qualifications and take down Loughborough. That’s the goal – to bring our programme here to the standard of what they’re doing there.

How best can you further develop the programme here?

Just let people understand what setup we have here at Birmingham.

We’ve got some really good pool time, some great staff and the infrastructure is absolutely excellent.

We work as psychologists, learning and conditioning coaches and as sports scientists. The team’s currently on a scholarship. It’s about letting other swimmers and teams know about what goes on here.

Anything else we should know?

At the last short course championships we broke 17 club records and 12 personal bests. The top 3 medallists ranked in the top 12 in the world so the standard is really high.

Polo teams impress in first fixture Kian Gheissari

3

player who had not even ridden prior to his first polo lesson, were unlucky to lose out 2-1 to fierce rivals, Nottingham, in their opening chukka. They quickly rectified this and went on to win all three of their remaining chukkas; their best performance was a resounding 3-0 win over Harper Adams. The team played with real enthusiasm and determination throughout and show strong signs of potential.

The Novice division was hotly contested with each of the four Birmingham teams vying to outperform each other. This accolade fell to our Novice One team consisting of President Charlotte Pitt, club captain Henry Outtridge, and treasurer Imogen Norton. The team progressed to the final with ease, notching up three victories including a 6-2 thrashing of Warwick which was particularly satisfying.

The final took place under floodlights on Sunday evening against Harper Adams’ first team who had narrowly beaten Birmingham 2 earlier in the weekend. To add extra spice to the affair the match pitted Henry up against his girlfriend, Harper’s captain.

Birmingham got off to a crack-

ing start and quickly moved in to a 2-0 lead with goals coming from Pitt and Outtridge. Harper Adams were not rattled by this however and fought back to regain a foothold in the game with two unanswered goals bringing the score to 2-2. The pressure and tension began to rise in the Birmingham camp as the game descended into a close couple of minutes, but after a Harper foul Norton restored the lead with a coolly taken penalty.

Harper Adams rushed the subsequent hit out enabling Outtridge to capitalise and seemingly put the game beyond Harper with just a minute or so remaining. Nevertheless Birmingham had to defend brilliantly to resist several waves of strong Harper attacks, and rightly ended up 4-2 winners.

The tournament also featured an intermediate division in which Birmingham’s Maimie Powell captained a team representing the Midlands. Powell played superbly throughout and led her team to a fine third place finish in a brutally challenging division which was eventually won by a very strong Loughborough team.

All in all it was a cracking

weekend of polo which puts Birmingham in fantastic stead for the upcoming the SUPA Arena Nationals in February. The Beginner team put in a thoroughly encouraging display and have shown real promise ahead of the Nationals. Despite playing well Birmingham’s other novice teams left empty handed this time, however two of the teams battled it out for 5th place which made for a ferocious spectator match. The Novice One team will be looking to build on their success here and will undoubtedly go into the national tournament as one of the hot favourites to win.

Club/position Rowing club captain If you could have dinner with two famous people of your choice, who would they be?

Steven Merchant and Karl Pilkington What film(s) makes you cry?

Gladiator What is your guilty pleasure?

Rooster House What is you favourite pre-match meal?

Chicken and Bacon Pasta bake If you won the Euromillions jackpot, how would you spend it?

Buy the club new facilities and equipment, buy some ridiculous cars, turn 6 houses next to each other in Selly Oak into a massive sports only party house, and make it rain.

Which sporting icon(s) inspired you to play sports, and why?

Lance Armstrong and Steve Redgrave. Armstrong for defeating cancer and coming back to dominate his sport and Redgrave for managing to achieve incredible Olympic success whilst having diabetes.

What’s the most random piece of music you’ve ever bought/ downloaded?

Freak me baby, Silk.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

Bacon followed by watching sport in the sun, followed by a BBQ and beers down by the river.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve done on a night out?

In my first year I dressed up in a gorilla suit, danced with Karl Kennedy when he came to RISA and passed out in the club from overheating.

Reece Lawrence

Brumski excel in Edinburgh 4

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THE LION

December 2011

Thomas Harvey Sport Reporter

‘Everyone has heard of Brumski’, explains Rhoda Sell, the society’s Media Secretary, as we discuss one of the University’s biggest and bestknown groups. ‘You’ve either been on a Brumski Holiday yourself, or you know someone who has’. This in itself truly is testament to the influence and popularity that Brumski has across campus. With over 650 paid members, and more than 1000 likes on its Facebook page, ‘Brumski is the club for anyone who wants to have fun on skis or a snowboard’. Truly all inclusive, the society caters for total beginners through to elite skiers and snowboarders across all disciplines.

Nationally renowned, Brumski is a big player on the university extreme sports scene, and allows a platform for budding snowsports enthusiasts to compete in regional and national competitions. The success Brumski has had this year is arguably their most impressive to date, yet it is clear the society has its sights already set on bigger and better things.

The old adage ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ is an ethos that is certainly embraced by Brumski, with hours of important slope training rewarded with a fantastic array of social events including the famed Brumski holidays. Arguably all the more impressive though, is the high level of competitiveness Brumski consistently displays in competitions across the UK, and even in Europe. For the more serious members of Brumski, this simply would not be possible without hours of hard work training on the slopes. Not famed for its vast, snow covered mountain ranges, the West-Midlands and the UK as

a whole do boast a number of dry and artificial snow covered slopes, allowing Brumski’s finest to perfect their technique. All this practice and preparation is for the big ski and snowboard competitions held throughout the year.

Competitive team selection works in the following way, as Sell explains – ‘We have five core teams consisting of five people in each team – one of these people has to be female. We then have two dedicated female teams, as well as two border teams, comprising of mixed genders.’ These are the teams that represent Brumski at British Universities Snowsports Council (BUSC) events, as well as Kings Ski Club meetings, where Brumski belongs to the Midlands division.

On 11th and 12th November though, Brumski took part in what they view as their ‘main competition of the year’. At Hill End Dry Slope in Edinburgh, every year over 2000 students from 70 universities take part in BUDS, the world’s biggest dry slope ski and snowboard event, run by the BUSC. BUDS is a two day, weekend event that sees Brumski’s finest teams of slalom and freestyle skiers and snowboarders pit their skills against hundreds of others from around the UK. A golden

Sarah Logsdail in the women's Board Slopestyle event (left) and a big jump on the slopes (right) Ross Henry chance to enhance reputation and reignite inter-university rivalries, BUDS is taken very seriously. ‘We are always confident going into any competition’, Sell says. ‘BUDS is a huge event for everyone involved and we always have high expectations, due to the talent we know we have in our teams’. Our skiers and snowboarders certainly didn’t disappoint, as Brumski posted impressive times and scores across many of the disciplines at the event.

Stand out performances belonged to brother and sister pair Andrew and Sarah Logsdail, who came first and second respectively in the men’s and women’s Giant

Slalom; an event considered by many to be the most technical Alpine Ski racing discipline. As the BUSC website explains ‘It is at the point where sheer speed and control of turn meet and is only mastered by the very best’. Andrew Du Plessis came fifth in both the men’s Slalom and Grand Slalom events, and Sarah Logsdail also came fifth in the women’s Board Slopestyle event – a freestyle snowboard course scored by judges, consisting of rails and jumps. Brumski came away from BUDS delighted to have placed fifth overall in the Points Standings, which pushes them up to third nationally in the BUCS standings. ‘We were all very happy

with how we performed’, Sell explains, ‘but we always strive to be the best and as always, next year we will go to win. Regarded as one of the main snowsports Universities, it’s obvious to say next time we want to be number one.’

So what’s next for Brumski?

‘We have more competitions coming up in Manchester and Milton Keynes, as well as the Kings finals in London. And the Christmas and Easter Brumski holiday of course!’ says Sell excitedly. Holidays aside, if Brumski’s sportsmen and women continue their rich vein of form into the remaining competitions of the year, the only direction this society will be going is upwards.

Birmingham Eagles keen to fly high Redbrick Sport's Joshua Reynolds spoke to the treasurer of the University of Birmingham Ice Hockey team Jamie Ryman-Tubb people coming to that who can’t skate but like the idea of giving it a go. The beginners also get a chance to play in Division Three, which is non-contact so you don’t have to worry so much about the physical presence of the opposition as you would in the higher division. It’s a really good way to get into the sport.

The Birmingham Eagles are a club going from strength to strength What do you think makes the Ice Hockey Club a good one to get involved with?

I started in my first year having not played ice hockey before and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think the club is a very friendly one that is open to people of all ability levels and while we of course want to win, we don’t take it too seriously; at the end of the day you’ve got to do it with a smile on your face.

One of the main things that ice hockey is known for is its physicality, is it a rough game at university level?

I think it can be. A lot of people perceive it as a very rough game but it really depends on who you are playing. We played London Imperial at the weekend which wasn’t too physical a contest, whereas a couple of weeks ago I sprained my shoulder playing against Cardiff as there was a Russian international player on their team who evidently didn’t like me! There are no massive fights or anything though.

To what extent can complete beginners get involved with the club?

We have a beginners’ session every Wednesday afternoon and we get

With ice hockey not being one of the mainstream sports, how much of a challenge has it been to generate interest in the club on campus?

It’s a very different sort of sport so it does appeal to quite a lot of people, not to mention the fact that the pace and physicality of the game makes it a great watch. Also, it’s really easy to follow; Americans play it so it’s obviously not that complicated!

Having dropped down into Division Two this year, have you noticed a difference in the quality of the teams you are now up against in the league?

You would have to say Division One is a much higher standard. It’s almost semi-pro level and when we were in that league we struggled to

get enough players together for our games, though we’ve certainly got a few players that would be capable of competing. It’s a lot faster and a lot more hard-hitting.

there and if we can do that we will continue to grow.

How are you currently faring in the league?

We’re currently organising what promises to be a fantastic event to be held just before Easter. It’s called Ice Aid and will involve the Birmingham Eagles playing a match, probably against Warwick, at Solihull Ice Rink. It should be a great occasion as we’re hoping to get the likes of Redbull and Dominoes involved to give out some freebies and hold some charity raffles. Tickets will include travel to Solihull and all are welcome to attend. There’ll be some cheap drinks at the bar too!

We’ve had a bit of a rough start to the season in Division Two, but we have played some tough teams. We got our first win on Saturday, beating London Imperial 5-2.

How would you say the club has come on in recent years and how can it continue to develop?

Last year we had a big increase in members, especially as far as beginners are concerned and this year we’ve continued that trend.

We need to keep that going really by getting more and more people involved because hiring the rink in Solihull is expensive, and we do struggle to cover the cost of it. At the moment we’re pressing for recognition as a sports club within the university, because strictly speaking we’re only a sports society, so hopefully that will help our cause if it comes off. The most important thing for us is getting our name out

Have you got any big events coming up?

For more information on the Ice Hockey Club, email the club’s President at: pbrooks9@btinternet.com

Routine success for gymnasts THE LION

redbrickpaper.co.uk

December 2011

6

Annabelle Collins

Gymnastics Correspondent

Just from watching the warm up it was clear that this gymnastic competition was going to display some serious talent. Organised by the Birmingham Gymnastic committee, the competition comprised of teams from all over the country; gymnasts from London, Loughborough, Leeds, Liverpool and UWIC were practicing their routines for the last time before the competition began.

The gymnasts were divided into eight groups, which rotated around the different apparatus.

The men could choose four from high bar, parallel bars, vault, floor, rings and pommel horse whereas the women could pick from floor, vault, bars and beam. There were also two different skill categories; beginner and advanced. Men's vault was one of the opening events, with Birmingham's Nathan Comber and Joe West performing particularly impressively, but we would have to wait for the results to see whether it would be enough for a medal.

Whilst this was happening, a large proportion of Birmingham women's team began their floor routines to music; Vicki Harris opened with a well choreographed routine which set the standard high. However London soon followed Birmingham and were to be stiff competition; there were no clear winners at this stage.

Following a short break for warming up, the group previously on the vault had moved on to the parallel bars. This truly captured the spectators attention as it was clear a high degree of difficulty was apparent in some of the routines.

Loughborough performed particularly well on this apparatus; however Birmingham's West, Comber and Rob Twentyman could equally match their skill.

Tom Flathers The women soon began their vault routines, with varying degrees of difficulty. Kaisey Griffith really shone here; the rest of the Birmingham team cheered as she flawlessly landed her technically challenging tucked tsukahara vault. However soon Loughborough were to steal the spectators' attention following the start of their floor routines as they were well choreographed and performed.

Now for men's high bar. All gymnasts performed slick routines and acknowledged their competitors triumphs; the atmosphere was undoubtedly relaxed throughout.

Whilst this was taking place in one part of the Gym, UWIC Women began their floor routines in another.

A number of the Birmingham women's team started their routines on the beam. Here Kaisey Griffith's performance stood out again, her routine featured a highly skilled tucked back somersault which undoubtedly wowed the judges. The rest of the Birmingham team were also strong on this apparatus.

One of the most outstanding events throughout the competition was men's floor. Here we were to experience powerful and dynamic routines, which really showcased the gymnasts' skill and agility.

London and Loughborough both provided stiff competition for Birmingham, yet Comber's routine particularly stood out – the presence of a number of difficult combinations, including a straight back with double twist, indicated his high degree of technical skill.

The judges finished tallying up their scores and we waited with anticipation for the results.

First men's were announced, in which Birmingham had excelled.

Comber and West took Advanced first and second overall, both winning further gold medals for floor and vault respectively. The UWIC men's beginners were particularly successful, taking first and third place overall. Birmingham's Griffith took gold overall and on beam, vault and floor, a well-deserved placement.

This event was a great chance for Gymnasts from around the country to showcase their skills and for many, experience their first proper competition. There was some great talent on display, and not just from the Birmingham team. Although it was great that Birmingham did so well, it was clear that these Gymnasts had above all enjoyed showing what they could do to the best of their ability.

Tom Flathers Joe West's floor routine (top left) and Steph Smith on the beam (above)

The autumn semester in photographs

Tom Flathers: Jitsu, Hockey, American Football

Meurig Gallagher: Rugby, Basketball

Mathis Baumert: Golf

Charlotte Wilson: Aussie Rules

THE LION

redbrickpaper.co.uk

December 2011

7

Golds galore for Martial Arts clubs Raphael Sheridan speaks to the University's Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu teams about recent success and the joys of Martial Arts

Kicking is a fundamental skill to Taekwondo (left, Ibrahim Ibrahim), while in Jiu Jitsu it is grappling and striking which are the key techniques (right, Tom Flathers)

T

he university's dojo is tucked behind an innocuous looking building in a corner of campus, yet its size and location belie the successes that martial arts has recently achieved at Birmingham.

'We've got around 25-30 students regularly training at the club,' said jiu-jitsu instructor James Owen, 'and Tom Van Dongen recently won gold at the national championships.'

The jitsu club captain and PhD student Ole Kock agrees, 'we had seven people making it through to the national finals. Of those, we got a gold (Van Dongen) and a bronze medal which made us the fourth best club in the UK.' Not bad for an art that largely goes unrecognised at the University. Yet jitsu isn't alone in its success. Next to the dojo is the Old Gym with its faded cream walls and varnished wooden flooring – as traditional a training area as it's possible to find. It's here that the taekwondo club ply their trade, and captain Peter Keeley was eager to highlight the successes of the club, 'last year Sohail Iqbal won his category in the British National Championships. We've also had gold medals in the British Masters this year and last year we won the Birmingham Open, which the club hosted.' The club is also very

strong, 'there are 40 students and six dan grades (black belts) here too.'

Whereas jitsu encompasses strikes, throws and close contact fighting, taekwondo is rather different, 'it's very dynamic and very fast. It's not as static as some other martial arts. It's characterised more by its kicking than anything else,' explained Keeley. The captain is correct, for Olympian taekwondo athletes are devastatingly quick, and exploit any weaknesses in their opponent's guard with a flurry of kicks.

Owen, however, has a subtly different view of martial arts, 'we tailor our attacks to the real world.

We do wrist-grabs, hair-grabs, basically things that would happen on Broad Street. We also train with weapons and do a lot of knife work from our second belt in.'

Despite this, both Owen and Keeley were at pains to stress the inclusiveness of their respective clubs, as the jitsu instructor explained, 'we build beginners up step by step. In the modern world you have to realise that martial arts for a lot of people isn't a way of life, so you have to treat every person differently. I like to be friendly and make it fun.' He is true to his word, for his Monday night classes are physically demanding but done in a spirit that everyone finds enjoy-

able. 'There's still an element of discipline, but I like to make them laugh if I can and I hope it permeates through the club, especially with the higher grades.'

A similar attitude runs through the taekwondo club, 'ours isn't as disciplinarian as other martial arts, so you can have some fun.

David Grey (the instructor) started at the university club as a white belt and he's now a third dan,' said Keeley. 'He knows exactly what it's like being a student and he's really good with everyone, like everyone's friend. It's a great example to follow.' Throughout the two clubs, there is a real sense of enjoyment, 'the sessions are good fun. You can have very technical sessions or very intense lessons where you go through everything' said Kock after a particularly grueling session on the dojo mats.

The social life around the club must therefore be good. 'Yes, it's a big family, it's a good atmosphere' he said. As for taekwondo, socials are organised regularly and several Birmingham alumni still train at the club, including the assistant coaches Ruth Merrifield and Ibby Ibrahim. The atmosphere that runs through both clubs does not stop the sessions from becoming diluted in their intensity. On the contrary, the jitsu students were pulling no punches on their Mon-

JIU-JITSU

TAEKWONDO

Originated: Mid 19th century Japan Original use: Japanese Samurai in the battlefield Main Techniques: Grappling and striking UoB training times: Monday 20.30-22.00; Thursday 20.00-22.00 Location: Dojo Instructor and Captain: James Owen and Ole Kock

Originated: 20th century South Korea Created by: Korean warriors Main Techniques: Kicking Olympic sport: Yes, since 2000 UoB training times: Wednesday 19.30-21.00; Sunday 18.30-20.00 Location: Old Gym Instructor and Captain: David Grey and Peter Keeley

day night session, ahead of a tough grading examination in two weeks.

'All you need is perseverance,' stressed Keeley when asked if it was possible to get to black belt.

'You have to just bear with the basics and the building blocks, then you can start doing the advanced stuff.'

Owen too laughed when asked, 'Yes, anyone can. Commitment is the only thing you need, but we don't force people into doing it. If people come only once a week, they just grade slower.' As for Owen himself, Kock says, 'I

started on the day James got his black belt, so I only knew him for five minutes as a brown belt.' That was two years ago, and the club is going from strength to strength.

Despite the intensity, prolific success and undeniable enjoyment, both clubs emerge after training into the night and quietly head back home. As national champions and black belts fade into the background, the innocuous building stands in the darkness, hiding within its walls a wealth of talent.

This is exactly how martial arts should be practised.

Unbeaten squash teams working up a sweat Joel Lamy

Online Sport Editor

To have one team who are still unbeaten going into December is impressive, but to have three teams in their respective leagues who have all won all their matches is remarkable. That is the situation facing Birmingham's male squash teams. The first team face Loughborough, Manchester and Nottingham at the weekend with the possibility of winning the Premier Division and being seeded first for the BUCS Championship next term, whilst the seconds (at the time of writing) have won six out of six in Midlands Division 1 A

and the thirds also have an 100 per cent in Midlands Division 2A after four matches.

The secret, according to second team captain Peter Fozard, is the determination and commitment within the team. Training sessions are conducted on Tuesday night and are very demanding: 'We have a strength and conditioning coach [Alex McGregor] come in,' Fozard says. 'He comes down and works the group. He's very professional about it and it's paying off. We do 45 minutes of fitness work then we actually go into training. It's a very, very hard work-out. We're all fantastic friends, but when we actually get on the court, you just want to

beat them. Friendship goes out the window.'

The rankings system is cruel to the seconds, with promotion to the Premier League not allowed despite having won their division for the past nine season, as well as winning the BUCS Trophy for three of the last four years. It is a situation coach Jon Tate believes acts as a 'glass ceiling' for the second team, removing the opportunity for them to compete at the highest level in BUCS competition (BUCS Premier League). However, this has had the effect of creating a very competitive internal club structure with players striving and working very hard to ultimately se-

cure a place in the first team.

'At the beginning of the season we have to give our rankings to BUCS. We stick by that, we have to play in that order. But then we can re-nominate after Christmas.

Somebody might go up or down one or two places,' Fozard said. 'Our one, two and three in this team are all capable of beating some of the guys in the first team. It's a real incentive. Lot's of us will train really, really hard and do extra-curricular stuff outside of training. They'll go on the track, they go to the gym and get training plans off the personal trainers.'

The Individual and Team Championships take place at the

Munrow courts in February and March next year, with members of all teams able to compete. Until then, Fozard wants to concentrate on winning the league once again, an achievement which never gets easier despite the number of successive years it has been achieved.

'The majority of the games are quite competitive, even if the games are 3-0 you have to work for it', he said.

The squash team are currently looking for sponsoring and many companies could do much worse than back a club with a 100% winning record and a strong desire to keep improving despite all their success.

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THE LION

December 2011

125 mile cycle raises £5000 for charity Two weeks ago, 15 University of Birmingham students representing Maple Bank cycled from London to Birmingham in a day, raising

£5,000 for children with cancer in the process. Their sport RA Tim Barsellotti gave Redbrick Sport a chronological account of the day...

3:30am As we awoke from a state of drowsiness with dreams of pink maple success quickly scattered, this feeling suddenly became a state of readiness as we remembered the challenge at hand.

The ride in Tweets @timbarsellotti #bigben2oldjoe

sat in London flat praying for Gods help tomorrow when its 15 boys against the elements cycling - maplebankforthewin!

4.30am As we took our first step out into the frosty morning on our way to Big Ben to congregate on the desolate Westminster Bridge, hearts were bursting with enthusiasm.

This was my last organised event as Sports Officer of Maple Bank – there were mixed emotions as I raced to meet the boys with a marvellous backdrop of the famous clock tower that defines our country’s capital city.

5.30am After getting support man Adam Paige lost (it is London after all) we end up at Big Ben 30 minutes late, with the knowledge that we are still waiting on Nick Sharpe and Charles Newman, who both got punctures on the way from UCL after only five minutes! Well into repairing Newman’s bike, a rogue tyre lever flew over the barricades of the bridge and into the murky River Thames.

6.30am We snaked our way out of Westminster like a pink rattlesnake (a jittery mudguard at the back the cause of this rattle) through the smooth terrain of Hyde Park where there was a mighty ‘Maple Bank what is your Profession?’ chant, that was instantly followed by a roar of 15 proud Maple Spartans ‘Aaoo! Aaoo! Aaoo!’ With high spirits we imitated the great Birmingham Critical Mass by occupying a whole lane of Edgware Road out of London towards Watford Junction. 15 lads cycling through 30 red lights at such an early hour was an exhilarating experience to say the least. We took the straight

3.30am. Things can only get better from here on in for the next 16hours! Head-to-Head with the beast 2 punctures enroute to big ben but still in high spirits albeit losing a missiling tyre lever to the river thames

The 15 Maple Bank boys cycled from Big Ben to Old Joe long road of the A5183 bombing towards St Albans, hitting some hefty speeds of 45mph.

12:00pm Hitting the five and a half hour mark after many setbacks (two punctures), the mile count strikes 50 – when nightmare struck. Another puncture was the least of our problems, as a back wheel quickrelease lever was hanging on by its bare thread on Nick Sharpe’s bike just before Leighton Buzzard.

Somehow securing it with the future plan of going to a bike shop to fix it, we moved onto Buckingham, although the group had split and were to rendezvous there.

4.30pm We stocked up on Relentless and mars bars to deal with the sugar lows and cramps, as it got tougher.

As the darkness crept in from the

wings, we cycled the 30 miles from Banbury to Warwick, stopping for 10 minutes in an eccentric place called Gaydon where the locals in the pub loved our jerseys! Singing Rolf Harris songs into Warwick, the boys were in good spirits.

7.00pm Embarking on the penultimate leg to Solihull, we were all oblivious to our final ETA with many twists and turns in the road ahead. A phone call shocks me as we hear of a bike pile-up in the further group involving four cyclists. Allan Stewart is the unlucky man of the moment as his derailer snapped, halting his last 10 miles as the support vehicle picked him up.

9.30pm As we met up with the team in the Brum suburbs ready for our final leg the group were exhausted yet

Sven Richardson

50 miles done...only 70 to go!

Cramp settling in but alls good.

Eta delayed due to bike problems. 8pm to 830pm

filled with adrenaline to complete the final six miles of the challenge.

We had news of friends with cakes and hot chocolate that had been waiting at Old Joe since 18:30.

entered banbury after cracking out 25miles in 2hrs, the maple boys are becoming stronger with each hill

10.00pm After 15.5 hours, 930 minutes, 55,800 seconds of cycling the boys finish with a final ‘Maple Bank what is your profession?!’ and a resounding, tired yet booming ‘Aaoo! Aaoo! Aaoo!’ as we race under the clock tower to applause and cheers.

a fatal crash..for a bike ends the hopes for one maple banker but doing over a 100miles is an equal achievement

Maple Bank history has been made. Never has a challenge been set upon with such vigour. The boys raised £5000 for CLIC (Cancer and Leukemia In Children) Sargent through the generosity of those around them, and thanks to the support given from everybody at the University.

WE'VE ARRIVED @OLD JOE @2200 AFTER 14HRS OF CYCLING. Thanks to everybody for all support on this challenge.

Europeans beckon as Walker and Hay steal show Joseph Townsend

Cross-Country Correspondent

On a clear but blustery day in Liverpool, two University of Birmingham students were particularly impressive in what were trial races for the European Cross Country Championships in Velenje, Slovenia in December. Special mention must go to second year student Hannah Walker who had arguably the best performance of her career to win the under-23 race whilst fresher Jonny Hay was the under20 men’s champion to continue his recent dominance of the age group. Subject to confirmation, Hay and Walker – who gained automatic selection – should be joined by Niall Fleming and Lauren Howarth who were awaiting calls from the UK Athletics (UKA) team managers having finished fifth and sixth in the under-20 men’s and under-23 women’s races respectively.

Hay, who was the first European finisher at the IAAF World Cross Country in Spain in April, will hope Slovenia proves to be a

case of ‘third time lucky’ as he prepares to compete as an IAAF under-20 for the final time. In the familiar surroundings of Sefton Park, Hay justified his billing of pre-race favourite with a trademark strong finish to pull away from Richard Goodman in the closing stages.

Fresh from four weeks of altitude training in the iconic foothills of Kenya, Hay may have been forgiven for suffering a little jetlag. As it turned out the result was rarely in question as a group of six athletes, including Niall Fleming, broke away in the early stages of the final lap and Hay bided his time before kicking for home in spectacular fashion. Fleming was not far behind, eking out every drop of effort to cling on to the lead group until the final kilometre. The second year student was delighted to come home in fifth place and in so doing surely securing his first international vest. It was just reward for an athlete whose first year at university was riddled with illness and injury before he began plotting an assault on the European Cross Country as far back as July. A brief reference also goes to

since touching down in Edgbaston this September.

In the following race of the day the commentator expressed his surprise at Hannah Walker’s continued presence at the fore of the senior women’s race (under-23s and seniors are part of the same field) but it was certainly no shock to her university training partners who have seen the slightly-built GB international in sparkling form for nigh-on 12 months. Only towards the end of the final lap did Walker begin to fall behind eventual winner Hatti Dean and second placed Gemma Steel. Ultimately, she was squeezed out of third place in the overall field by seasoned international Freya Murray but it in no way overshadowed her outstanding victory in the under-23s category. Similar to the aforementioned under-20 men’s race, the winning Birmingham student had a training partner behind her that Hay leading the under-20's race was clinging to qualification. Lauren Howarth took her sequence of first year Will Gray, coming home sixth place finishes in Liverpool to in 20th place, who will surely chal- three and will now sweat on the lenge at the sharp-end in a year’s decision of the selection committime given his impressive progress tee. It was an outstanding display

by Howarth given a long-running knee problem that has seen her build-up persistently disrupted.

A performance grounded in guts and determination should see her selected alongside the impressive Walker although the track-record of UKA in terms of implementing a consistent selection policy is far from inspiring.

Also worthy of recognition are first year Iona Lake who came home the seventh under-20 woman and final year student Daniel Clorley who was 10th in the under-23 men’s race. Both athletes, like Gray, will have a much greater chance of selection in 2012 as they remain in the same age category.

As 2011 draws to a close it has been a highly successful year for Birmingham University Cross Country; the undoubted highlight being the men’s team regaining the BUCS title after four years, alongside six other medals being won on that memorable day in February. It would be a fitting end for our Great Britain representatives to bring back some medals from Slovenia and really finish the calendar year in style.