The university is experiencing some strange network issues, so this post is a day late, sorry about that! But you’ll see that it’s worth the wait as it contains interesting reports about two of our non-competing societies! I also went to watch another basketball match last weekend: Our Men’s Basketball team was promoted to the Premiership after their first round of games and had their first Premiership match on Saturday – which they won! Here a picture of the victorious team:
And now for the rest of this week’s results:
It was not the best week for Ustinov teams and I know for example that our table tennis defeat was very unfortunate. Nevertheless, we can still rely on pool and basketball to bring in some good news! Well done, everyone! These results also mean that our Pool A & B teams are currently on positions 1 & 2 on the Pool Premiership table!
And now it is time to introduce one of our three non-sports societies, the Hairstyles & Lifestyles Society. Their secretary Tianniu Zhang wrote the report below to explain the society to you all. All photos surrounding the report are posted as received with no further formatting.
The Ustinov College H&L (Hairstyles and Lifestyles) Society aims to promote an appreciation of different classic Asian hairstyle, fashion, and visual culture, and seeks to help its membership to create beautiful and/or stunning photography through unique styles and formal attire! Our society organises many different cultural tours for unique Asian backdrops and settings. The most recent events have included:
Castle Tour- mixing two different sets of cultural heritage ( Asian&European), we visited Durham Castle with our members dressed in Chinese traditional dresses- Qi Pao combined with the Chinese hairstyles of the seventies! This unique visual style resulted in even more Ustinovians interested in getting involved in our social community!
Traditional Costume Tour in the Oriental Museum- thanks to the support and advertise of the Durham University Oriental Museum, our members displayed traditional costumes of different Chinese dynasties across 5000 years history with attractive traditional hairstyles, building cultural bridges between Chinese students and Oriental Museum Durham University!
Cheer Group for the Ustinov Football Team- our next cultural events also helps the Chinese members enhancing the understanding of European culture. As we swapped sportswear with skirts featuring world famous paintings, lively hairstyles, and created slogans to cheer along our Ustinov College football club!
For increasing an awareness of fitness and healthy lifestyles, the H&L society also offer the social event like climbing which demonstrated the form and functionality of sportswear along with tips on sweat resistant make-up.
We are planning even more classic cultural events with modish hairstyles in the forthcoming term. In particular, the Durham University International Office has contacted our society regarding the upcoming Chinese New Year, which we look forward to help organise and be a part of. Our H&L Society is a stylish exploration of different ideas and concepts of attractiveness, showcasing unique hairstyles matched with costumes for different occasions/events. We create opportunities for interesting photoshoots and a supportive group encouraging experimentation and improvement. Most of all we are proud to represent the international spirit of an Ustinov College Society!
Thanks for the introduction, Tianniu!
And now it is time to introduce our newest society: Tang Soo Do! The society was just ratified two weeks ago and after we secured a slot in the Community Room for them, they had their first indoor training last week. President Tom Lennie explains what the society is about:
Ustinov Tang Soo Do Society – Press Release
Open to all every Thursday 7-8pm in the Community Room
Introducing the new Ustinov College Tang Soo Do class. Come have fun, meet new people, and try out this traditional Korean martial art. Run by qualified Second Dan Instructor Mr Lennie.
We promote personal development and mental health through physical fitness and self-discipline. With clubs all over the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world, there has never been a better time to start something new; especially with New Year’s resolutions just round the corner. We teach traditional forms, basic and advanced self-defence techniques, weapons training, free-sparing; while training for flexibility, strength, endurance, coordination, concentration and self-control to build a more confident you!
Though new to the college, the Tang Soo Do society has had a wonderful year. Competing at the International Martial Arts World Championships this year. The club brought home 3 gold medals, and 3 trophies. Followed by an extra special black belts training weekend in the beautifully rugged Irish hills of Monaghan.
The upcoming year will also see some wonderful events open to all our students here at Ustinov. Including;
- The European Championships in beautiful Malta
- Women’s self-defence Seminars
- Guest Instructors – Including 7th Dan Master S Nar (European coordinator)
- And some great socials to share with your new friends
An extra special mention goes out in this email to Ant-man (pictured above) who successfully passed his purple belt grading this weekend after a physically exhausting Saturday morning. The grading was followed by a wonderful evening of celebrations with other members of the association visiting from Ireland, London, and Malta.
Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to try something new and learn to defend yourself at the same time!
Thank you Lennie, this sounds like a really interesting society! We might have to find you a bigger room soon…
Are you still with me? Christmas is approaching but a few of our teams still have matches this week:
Pool matches take place at the colleges of the home team, as listed. The badminton and table tennis matches this week both take place at the Durham High School for Girls. All 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.
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 always wanted to watch some Ustinov matches, this week might be your last opportunity before Christmas! Just go along, the teams are always grateful for your support. If you take any photos there, 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 