It’s all kicking off again

For the majority the start of October signals a few things: the unfortunate end of freshers, the realisation that your student loan won’t stretch as far as you first thought and that your master plan to get fit at uni isn’t as easy as you hoped it’d be, after lose your breath 5 minutes into your first run.

For some however the beginning of October signals the start of the new sporting year. A time when the super-fit and über-talented can improve on last year and show that there’s more to pre-season training than seeing who can leg it from at taxi at 4am the quickest.

So without further ado here’s The Tab’s top three picks of which sports to keep an eye on at the start of this year.

Lacrosse

Last year’s ‘Club of the Year’ has a lot to live up to this season. Both the men and women’s teams topped their respective leagues, with the men’s team achieving further success by adding the cup to their unbeaten league record.

It’ll certainly be a tough act to follow this year. The men’s team open their campaign away to Sheffield Hallam, while the women’s teams go to Leeds and Bangor respectively (all fixtures are to played on the 16th October).

Boxing

The uni’s boxing team will be looking to carry on the success that they achieved at the end of last year in their inaugural invitational. The event drew in a large crowd who were treated to a packed card with fighters travelling from Durham and Manchester to compete.

Although there is no official confirmation as to the date of the next event the quality of the last one means that it will certainly be worth a watch when the date is announced.

Volleyball

In spite of the women’s 3rd place league finish, The Tab’s personal highlight of last years volleyball season was the men’s ‘performance’ at the Christie Cup. A squad of novices was brought together with only 24 hours noticed and, having been given a crash course by the triumphant women’s team, performed admirably.

This underdog story unfortunately didn’t have a happy ending as the lads were beaten by both Manchester and Leeds.

The women’s first game is at home to Sheffield on the 16th, whereas the men begin their season away at Bangor on the 27th.

And an honourable mention has to go the the men’s football team who seem to be taking preparation for the new season very seriously.

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