Sport at uni – make or break time

After watching the gutsy, gallant and ultimately victorious efforts of Fred Gill, a fellow Old Salopian, in Saturday’s 156^th Boat Race, I felt compelled to consider the benefits of sport at university.

The reason Fred made me ponder this is because he took up rowing seriously not at the prestigious rowing school that we attended on the river Severn, but on the choppy tides that make up the Tyne whilst he attended Newcastle University.

It made me think that university can really make a sportsman as well as break them. How many talented guys and gals go to uni saying they will continue to play as much sport as they did at school, four or five days a week, before falling foul of the temptation that drinking brings? Too many.

Cambridge power to victory in the 156th Boat Race

But, that is not to say that a huge number of people do not make the most of the often impressive facilities at their disposal. Fred Gill is only one of these. Continuing to play sport at uni is a fantastic opportunity to not only take advantage of some of the last times you will be able to play in a team made up of almost entirely your own mates, but also a chance to make the most of whatever talent you have. 

The only organised sport I played at Newcastle Uni was intra-mural football. I played twice a week for three years and had some of my best footballing experiences while doing so. I like to think I improved a little as a player while gracing the often questionable pitches of Newcastle but most importantly for me, I was able to continue to feed my competitive instinct while playing alongside my mates.

However, I take my hat off to those who go that one step further and dedicate a huge amount of their time to pushing themselves to the limit in trying to become as good and successful at their chosen sport as they possibly can.

I especially feel this after watching this year’s Boat Race, arguably the pinnacle of university sport, having played only a handful of football and tennis matches since moving down to the Big Smoke post-graduation.

For a keen sportsman, playing at school is a given, playing at uni is a choice and playing while working is a treat, a treat that should be treasured. The way to treasure this to the max is to play as much and to as high a standard as possible while at school and uni because you can have the luxury of looking back with no regrets.

The rowers of the Oxbridge boats (Isis and Goldie as well as the Blue boats) are clearly among the minority of people who can walk away from university safe in the knowledge that they could not have done much more to make the most of their enviable talents save sleep on their ergo machines.

They wake up early to pump iron before lectures, hone their technique on the river during Happy Hour and sacrifice barbeques for regattas in the summer.

Granted, this may sound like a living hell to many of you who might say that university is not all about academia or sport but about the people you meet.

True, but it is possible to combine all three of these things and those that have the ability to do so deserve praise for their positive attitude, especially if it culminates in taking part in one of the oldest, most traditional and physically demanding races known in sport.

Cambridge receive the Boat Race trophy from Sir Steve Redgrave

 http://www.theboatrace.org/gallery/590/image.jpg