Page 16 - The Light Blue Volunteer Journal 2022

Queen’s
Challenge
Cup
Having not taken place for two years owing to COVID, it was great to be back competing at the QCC against 12 other OTCs in football, rugby, netball, hockey, the tug of war, and the old college dash. Overall, the day was a great success
– Cambridge showed a lot of passion and resilience which leaves a great foundation to build upon for next year’s cup. The captains have taken time to provide a brief summary on each of the individual sports.
Rugby
The determination and courage displayed by the CUOTC Rugby team was unmatched. Faced with larger and more experienced teams, we entered the competition as the underdogs however we soon made it clear was that we were going to put up a fight. Many crunching tackles made by the forwards and
the blistering pace of the backs made for some unbelievably creative plays. Despite being heavily outgunned heads
were not lowered and the teams esprit de corps only grew in strength as the minutes passed. The future is bright for CUOTCRFC.
Netball
If we were completely honest, the netball team were undeniably the underdogs coming into the competition- facing strong opponents in the group stages and lacking any substitutes. Despite these setbacks, we gave a great display of netball- clean passing, strong defence, and great movement within and around the circle edge. This clearly unnerved other teams and resulted in some very close matches- the vast majority of our scores only having 1 or 2 nets in it. Every player brought fight and determination
to each and every game- from Whyte (PoM) and Wooliscroft as our star shooters, through our rapid centre court players Rawlings and Tarbuck, to our strong defenders Farrelly and Duffin. The team is looking forward to taking the next qcc by storm.
Hockey
CUOTC’s hockey team continued its magisterial melding of experts and apprentices, rapidly forming a highly
successful team. For placing sixth of twelve, despite emergency drop outs amongst the veterans, every player surely deserves congratulation. Not even the entire nation of Wales(‘s OTC) could withstand Cantab skill.
Yet in addition to demonstrating
their athletic prowess, our hockeying Hannibals also learned Sun Tzu’s lesson: “He who does not seek out allies and helpers, he shall be isolated and weak”. First defeating Oxford with the aid of
a Leedsian auxillary, Cambridge then masterfully extracted a tribute of one Oxonian per game and used them to help win three of their five bouts.
Football
The Queen’s Challenge Cup was an excellent event and a pleasure to be a part of. The football tournament was run well and was enjoyed by all from Cambridge who took part. There was plenty of opportunity to socialise with teams from other OTC’s and there was certainly a sense of togetherness. The sportsmanship shown by all teams and players throughout the tournament was a pleasant change from other football tournaments that myself and other players have been a part of in the past.
The team exceeded expectations and the boys put in an immense performance to get to the final with what was a
limited number of players. Everyone did themselves proud and gave their all. Well done for coming 2nd overall.
JUO Ballard
16 THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER