It was a bright and early start. 5:30am to be exact – when myself, Dan, Alice, Luci and Toby got the 7am bus from York to Lancaster, where we were due to meet the rest of the sleep-deprived Vision team. As the entered the rolling hills of Lancashire, there was already plenty of commotion as Indoor Hockey, Badminton, Powerlifting and Indoor Ultimate Frisbee were all going on in the Sports Centre in York.
The weather was pretty miserable, which meant some TV and Radio streams were unable to go ahead, but that didn’t stop our Vision reporters as we were able to cover 18 sports over a multitude of fixtures inside and outside from everything from Pole Dance to E-Sports to Football.
Some highlights of the day included the Women’s Firsts Basketball fixture, featuring Vision’s news editor Hannah Willey and Sports Union President Tanisha Jain. It was an end-to-end fixture full of drama, great atmosphere from both the home and away supporters. York were right in it up until the death, unfortunately losing a crucial four-pointer 49-44 to the elation of a rowdy home support.
The Men’s First Basketball was equally electric, featuring a dramatic midpoint equallizer, before York fell short in the final half, leaving Lancaster to win the match 71-55.
York did catch some needed wins throughout the day too! In the Men’s Football 1sts York overcame a drizzly wet pitch and an unruly home crowd to cruise to a 3-0 victory. And in the Women’s Doubles of Badmitton, York scored a lucky 18-21 victory when Lancaster hit the shuttle out in the final moments of the match.
Unfortunately a York streak did not emerge from these wins, and for the third year in a row Lancaster passed the 172.5 point threshhold on Saturday evening, winning Roses 2024 on their home turf. This official win occured after a final streak of Lancaster successes, with wins in Volleyball Women’s 1st and Netball Women’s 1st, before a midnight win in Darts secured the final point needed to take Lancaster to victory.
But the action doesn’t end there. York and Lancaster teams are back on Sunday to continue competing in a slew of other exciting fixtures, including Rugby, Archery, Dance, Lacrosse, Debaing, Netball and Canoe Polo. So it’s yet to be seen if York can catch up and narrow the divide in this year’s loss. As of 10am Sunday morning York is 70 points away from closing the gap, so be sure to keep up with all the action!
In other non-sports related highlights of the weekend. Dan was treated to a doughnut from The Donut Man, would defo recommend that to check out that food van if you are still about on Sunday! And don’t forget the dramatic closing ceremony at 6pm, where Lancaster will officially claim their trophey once again.
During Saturday’s Women’s Basketball game Vision spoke with YUSU Community and Wellbeing Officer Hannah Nimmo and Academic Officer Meely Doherty who were in attendance supporting their colleague TJ from the sidelines:
Hannah: “[Roses] has still been really good, I think York’s spirits are still really high even though we’re, like, quite far behind on points. Everyone’s spirits are still high and that’s the main thing, everyone still seems to be enjoying it and that’s exactly what we want. So, as long as our spirits stay high, it’s not over till it’s over some just need to keep our spirits high.”
Meely: “[It’s testament to] the York Community [here in Lancaster]. It’s really good, everyone’s so into it and even though… there are less of us than Lancaster, we’re definitely making ourselves heard!”
A long day, lots of sport, unfortunately lots of heartbreak for York, but ultimately lots to proud of as the action continues here, on socials and on https://roseslive.co.uk/live.