Meet this year’s Brookes sports captains

They’re literally always in the sports bar


Snakebites, Fuzzy Ducks t-shirts and rowdy footballers can only mean one thing: the sports teams are back. We spoke to the sports team captains about their results, plans for this year and recruiting freshers.

American Football: Ollie Lashley and Ian Whitehead

American football seemed pretty pleased they’d had 102 sign ups in an hour: “Last year was a good learning year for us. We made some mistakes but we’ve come back with a strong finish. We finished the season on a positive with a win against the Reading Knights during Varsity.”

They’re determined to hit the playoffs this year with “their new team, new league and new attitude.”

 

Taekwondo: Tabitha Gates and Kevin Simmons

Whilst Kevin was busy punching boards with potential new senseis’, we spoke to President Tabitha about this alternative martial art. She said: “We got two golds and a silver medal at Imperial and six medals at the Nationals. People try it out for the first time and then they really get into it.

“When we train, we really get in the zone and focus on what we’re doing.”

They had a full demonstration going on in the middle of the hall. They asked us to sign up, but we politely declined.

 

Lacrosse: Keiran Pegrum- Milner 

I <3 LAX

Repping their tour vests and ‘I <3 Lax’ stickers, captain Keiran said he “just fucking loves lacrosse”. Lacrosse had a great year winning their league and drinking lots. He said: “It’s a niche sport, and it’s interesting because so many people have never played that they’re always shy at first. Then they get into it. We’ve had loads of sign ups.”

He also wanted us to write down that “American Football can’t play American football.”

 

Netball: Imogen Jones 

Imogen (left)

Netball got promoted last year and they finished second in the league. First team captain, Imogen, talked about their big plans for this year whilst we almost got hit on the head with a netball several times. She said “Our aim for this year is to get all three of our teams promoted. We’ve had almost 200 sign ups already.

“We’ve got charity events planned that everyone is welcome to, like a UV netball tournament in December.”

 

Volleyball: Urska Vidoni 

Volleyball captain Urska was happy that their team finished third in the division last year. She told us: “It’s good fun and we have great players. We help beginners, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve never played before.”

They want to have an even better year now with all their new recruits.

 

Basketball: Lorenzo Monticelli and Matteo Famtuzzi 

Basketball said they have the absolute best team and that they definitely want to hit fuzz more this year, commenting: “Our plans for this year is to have more socials, that was something we didn’t do a lot.” They had a great year last year and want that to continue.

They also said they want to get the cheerleaders on board to come to their games and cheer them on.

 

Women’s Rugby: Yasmin Matthews 

she just loves rugby

Captain Yasmin spoke to us about their great year, she said: “We lost lots of our team last year, so recruitment is key for us now. We’ve had loads of sign ups and we want to do better this year. Oh and we want to smash the League”

 

Shooting: Ed Mullins

It has been a big year for the Shooting club taking the crown of best in the country. The shooting club are prolific in the sense of how they represent an arguably controversial sport, but the boys were keen to make known that they don’t shoot as frequently as other clubs, with George, the club’s Treasurer, explaining how it “takes the special feeling away if you shoot too often.”

The club were also insistent that pillar box red trousers are not always worn, and are not necessary for you to be considered for club membership.  After a brilliant year for the club, they reportedly have big plans regarding sponsorship, so that they can expand their horizons and take on more new recruits. So far, one hundred plus young hopefuls have already shown an interest in signing up, which the team hopes will ensure they can over take the top dog, Harper Adams.

Football: Ali Kissock

After a warm greeting from the Brookes’ football team, we got down to the nitty gritty: Varsity in November. One boy was very keen for us to remember this date, but stated that he “wanted no affiliation with The Tab.” Noted. Ali mentioned that last year they did incredibly well, securing promotion for 2’s, with 3’s just missing out on their promotion. This year, the plan is to press on, in the hope that all teams will get promoted. Excitingly, the team have organised a major collaboration with the uni, with further information to surface in the months to come. Emphasis this year is on higher levels of recruitment, and making the team more accessible for all levels.

 

Tennis: Lucy Salter

The tennis club weren’t short of Murray-wannabes, with aspirational Djokovic’s putting their names down for tennis try outs. Lucy said that after their astounding win of Club of the Year, people are keen to try their hand at the game.

 

Rowing: Rory Copus

Assistant coach Rory is ready for the busy year ahead, after a deafening win for both the men and women teams at the BUCS last year. The team came out on top at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta, meaning their reputation as one of the best rowing teams in the country remains untouched. As for this year? Rory says they will do it all again, and do it better. Interest has soared after last year’s wins, and with over 350 sign ups within the hour, the rowing team has enough to choose from to ensure their place at the top remains unshakable.

 

Swimming and Water Polo: Rich Jefferies and Jamie Hopper

Breaking 36 records last year is no mean feat, but swimming did it and are likely to do it all again this year. Last year’s promotion holds the team in high regard nationwide, with two swim team members making it to the BUCS individual finals as well. If that wasn’t enough, the team also received three nominations for sports awards .

Only starting a year ago, the Water Polo team left their mark by coming third in their division, with Rich saying: “We’ve had lots of sign ups for both swimming and water polo, so it should be a good year.”

 

Cheerleading: Hollie McDonald and Kate Rough

Nationals last year saw the girls come in third place, out of the 20 teams who made it through, and this year they want the National Champions title, like back in 2014. However, the team are appealing for more boys to come forward, as they would be a valuable part of the team when it comes to breaking down the ‘pom-pom stereotype.’  Fortunately for the team, there has been an influx of boys signing up, who should look out for an invite to future cheer socials.

 

Rugby Union: Michael White

Michael made it clear that League is strictly Northern, (which is coincidentally why he plays Union) and he appeared less than impressed when we had to ask the difference between the two types. His response? “There are few similarities.”

The team didn’t do as well as they had hoped last year, but their love of the sport has carried them through into the new season with an unwavering rowdiness and appetite for more matches in which Michael says “we will play much better.”

 

Women’s Football: Ellen Surtees and Eliz Ibrahim

“We got relegated. It was a bad year.”

On the plus side though, the girls are going to Croatia on tour.