For BUCS Sake!

It’s that time of the year again, and with a place in the BUCS Trophy South finals on the line, UCL Water Polo journeyed to Cardiff International Swimming Pool last weekend to participate in a series of games to determine who would advance to the prestigious BUCS Water Polo Trophy Finals.

Reaching the semi-finals has not been an easy task for UCL: they had to defeat both Aston and Warwick earlier in the year, with a solid 7-3 win against Aston being the highlight.

We were able to speak to captain Joshua Chew before the competition in Cardiff for a quick word on the sport and the current state of the team.

A few people may not know what Water Polo is… could you give us a brief lowdown?

Water Polo resembles handball except in the water. It’s an explosive sport that requires a high level of fitness, athleticism and physicality as well as a great deal of strategy. There are 7 players on each team, including the goalkeeper, and the game is played in four 7-minute quarters.

Seems like a lot of work! How many university teams are competing in today’s competition?

Four: Imperial, Cardiff, Bath and UCL

What’s the format of this particular competition?

Today we’re in a points competition. The four team will each play 3 games against each other and the top two will advance to the finals.

So have you played any of the teams from today’s competition before?

We have played Imperial countless times. They’re one of our main rivals. UCL and Imperial have been considered the top two London Universities in Water Polo for a long time now.

How were the last few results between UCL and Imperial? You usually win, right?
 

They were all very intense games with both teams winning on different occasions, but unfortunately Imperial have been a bit more successful so far this year.

Sadly, UCL fell short as they lost their 3 games and were eliminated along with Imperial College as they both watched Cardiff University and the University of Bath proceed to the BUCS Finals.

As a consolation, the matches were all of extreme high intensity with UCL showing great spirit. Both of the London Universities were required to play back-to-back games which unfortunately proved too much for them in the end.

They still proved to be excellent competition for both Bath and Cardiff and as they say, there’s always next year!