Hello Ustinovians, I hope you found some time to enjoy the sun this weekend! Who knows how many more sunny hours we’re going to have…?
This week’s clubs & societies update features photos from the Ultimate Frisbee match (taken by Kristine Bagdasarian) and from the Basketball match (taken by Kimberley Liu), as well as match reports from the Ultimate Frisbee and Men’s Hockey matches this weekend. But let’s first take a look at all the results:
It was not the best week for the Ustinov teams – ten matches and only two victories. But I’m sure all teams fought hard! And there are many matches yet to come… A big well done to our basketball men and our incredible pool A team, the latter of which has been dominating the college league for years!
This week, I asked the captains of our Ultimate Frisbee and Men’s Hockey team to submit match reports. Let’s first travel back to Saturday morning, 10am, with a report by Tom Pitts:
Ustinov Spin Doctors’ first premiership match
Ustinov’s Ultimate Frisbee team the Spin Doctors kicked off their season on Sunday the 20th of October in beautiful sunshine and more importantly not a hint of wind, the perfect frisbee playing conditions.
This game was the first for Ustinov to play since being promoted to the premiership and despite several last minute changes to fixture times we managed to arrive with a full team of 7 plus two substitutes: Tom Pitts, Yan Birch, Jack Pike, Alastair Stewart, Arnau Quera, Tom Lennie, Ryan Moodie, Vera Bieber, and Kat Berg.
Trevs opened by scoring a quick point to take the lead, however the Spin Doctors settled down and scored a well worked point in return with Ryan catching the first point of the season for Ustinov!
The teams then traded points with scores for the Spin Doctors coming from Tom L, Jack, Tom P, Alastair and Kat. Unfortunately for Ustinov, as the game went on Trevs managed to pull out a several point lead and the game ended 9-6 to Trevs. Despite the loss this is a good start for the team after having been promoted last year we are playing in the premiership for the first time. The team worked hard and worked well together and over the next few weeks will hopefully show the premiership that Ustinov are a solid team deserving to remain in the top league. I would especially like to praise the effort of the women on the team as Ultimate Frisbee is a mixed sport with at least 2 women on the pitch: this meant that Kat and Vera had to play the full match with no respite; despite this they kept up the pressure and were a real threat for the whole game.
Ustinov’s next game will be against Grey A on the 28th of October at 13:00, spectators are always welcome and if you would like to get involved get in contact with tom.pitts@durham.ac.uk and come along to our training sessions, even if you have never played before we are happy to show you the basics!
As you can see, I played in that game myself and it was probably one of the most exhausting matches I have ever played. Ultimate Frisbee involves a lot of sprinting up and down the field, so it is usually ideal if you can be subbed out regularly to catch a break. Tough times when you’re only two girls and can just quickly grab a sip of water while the team is setting up for the next point! Here’s to hoping that we will have more players in future matches.
The next report comes from Miles Hudson, the hockey captain:
Men’s hockey served by Butler
As the full(ish) moon rose last night, darkness descended on Ustinov’s men’s hockey team. Despite a strong team and some excellent play, Josephine Butler beat us for the second time in two weeks, consigning UCHC men to the bottom of the league table early in the season.
The brighter aspects for Ustinov included some excellent passing play all the way from the back right into the JoBo goal circle. Unfortunately we just didn’t have that clinical final shot to actually score. Ten-player Butler were very strong and had just as much pressure on our goal. In the end, a nice finish gave them the slim 1-0 margin that remained until the final whistle.
Most pleasing of all at this early stage was the seamless integration of new recruits into the team. Galen Lau, Nathan Hopwood and Reece Moore have all thrown themselves in with great success. And there are a few more newbies in the wings who should make their UCHC debuts in the next couple of weeks.
Another tough match-up against Collingwood is at noon on Sunday 28th on the new purple pitch. Come along and support Ustinov HC – your cheers from the stand could lift us to the first win for this season!
Butler HC Men 1 – 0 Ustinov HC Men
Thanks to Miles for this very enjoyable read, despite the defeat! Maybe the hockey team just needs a few more supporters to come along and cheer for them…?
Speaking of supporters – if you would like to go and watch any Ustinov matches this week, take a look at this schedule!
Pool matches take place at the colleges of the home team, as listed. Most other matches are carried out at Maiden Castle. Find out how to reach Maiden Castle and the precise locations of pitches here: https://ustinovgcr.com/sports-facilities/#mc. Interested in watching Ultimate Frisbee? HERE are instructions on how to reach Whinney Hill! The Women’s Football match on Wednesday is part of the Women’s Football Floodlit Cup. Trevs have created a facebook event for the match, so they might get quite a few supporters coming to watch. It would be great if some Ustinovians can make their way down too!
Disclaimer: If you plan to visit a match, it is always a good idea to double-check the fixture on the Team Durham website: https://www.teamdurham.com/collegesport/sport/. Matches can occasionally be rescheduled, though usually no more than 48 hours before they are supposed to start.
If you have taken pictures at any Ustinov matches, please don’t hesitate to email them to cs.ustinovgcr(at)durham.ac.uk for a chance to be featured in these weekly updates!
~ Vera, Clubs & Socs Officer
GRADUATE COMMON ROOM 