Hockey Varsity: Exeter’s Sporting Premier Event

The annual Hockey Varsity takes place this Saturday at 6pm, a top-class sporting showcase in which Exeter host Birmingham University at the Sports Park.

Understandably, with the majority of sports boasting a Varsity of one form or another, and all of them billed as ‘Must-Watch-Matches,’ it is easy to overlook Hockey Varsity as just another fixture against a fellow University.

So, what does Hockey Varsity actually offer? Well, believe it or not, hockey has changed a fair bit in recent years.

Andrew ‘Rooster’ Ross prepares himself at a penalty corner.

Forget playing on grass with wooden sticks, it’s a fast paced, eye-widening sport that drew large crowds at the London 2012 Olympics.

With innovative rule changes, the game is end-to-end and, with unlimited substitutes, there’s no danger of the game petering out in the final stages.

Of course, wherever you go around the South West, you’ll never be too far away from a decent game of hockey. It would be understandable, then, if you gave Hockey Varsity a miss, right?

An ever-present force, Tom Samuel scores for EUMHC.

Well, no, not quite. Exeter and Birmingham compete in the second tier of English hockey so, if you want a footballing comparison, it’s like QPR and Reading pitching up at the MUGA on a Saturday evening.

Exeter have got some decent players, too. Ian Haley featured for South Africa at the London Olympics. (He’s even got a Wikipedia page.)

Nick Cooper, also, is the top goalscorer in the league, and he loves a little bit of flair. Oh, and Captain Ben Upton recently appeared on BBC Spotlight.

Ben Upton securing BNOC status with BBC Spotlight.

Don’t get me wrong, the other main Varsities are good. The first half of Football Varsity is always fun, but we all wake up with a) a sizeable hangover, b) a lack of dignity, and c) no idea what the final score was.

Rugby Varsity, despite being in the middle of nowhere, is invariably high-quality and fiercely contested. Still, the herding of hundreds of inebriated students into coaches back to Timepiece is never the most enjoyable experience.

As for the Lacrosse, do they even have a Varsity?

Upton and Ross, a lethal combination at penalty corners.

Besides sporting entertainment, Hockey Varsity boasts giveaways that include a TP Goldcard, a chance to win a life-long membership at Fitness First, and some Spotify giveaways.

As well as a variety of refreshment on offer, there may even some half-time performances, whilst the day itself raises money for the Devon Air Ambulance.

A premier standard of sport, a huge crowd, must-have giveaways and all proceeds going to charity. Not bad for a fiver, eh?

Selected images: http://www.pascoemorrissey.co.uk.