Alumni vs. Students Sports Day 2014 Round-up
After months of training, build-up and verbal sparring between the students and alumni, the second annual Alumni vs. Students Sports Day took place this weekend and welcomed over 100 hundred alumni, students, staff and guests. This year’s event had been expanded to include American Football, Table Tennis and Badminton as well as the traditional Netball, Basketball, Football and Rugby.
American Football
Score: 26-12
Winners: Alumni
The Sports Day kicked off with an early start and saw the American Football teams do battle in Burgess Park. The LSBU graduates used their experience to outwit the students to give the first share of bragging rights to Team Alumni.
Rugby
Score: 48-14
Winners: Students
Last year’s game was decided by some extra-time dramatics in a closely contested match. This year, however, the lion share of the points was reserved for a fiercely competitive student team lead by proud captains Prince John Hasstrup and Dominic Birch.
Table Tennis
Winner: Olajide Adenrele (alumni)
Score: played 6, won 6 games
LSBU alumnus Olajide had already won a table tennis tournament hours before arriving at the Alumni Sports Day. The winning mentality clearly served him well as he blew the competition away to claim another comprehensive victory for Team Alumni.
Badminton
Winner: Benjamin Oladunjoye (student)
Benjamin, a first-year Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure Management student, was the first player to arrive at the LSBU Sports Centre ready for action. His spirited performance levelled the overall score between students and alumni to set up a dramatic finish for the second half of the games.
Football
Score: 9-6
Winners: Students
Special mention goes to team captain Michael Kalu who led by example to inspire his team mates and eventually seal their victory in style.
Basketball
Score: 73-46
Winners: Students
Hungry for revenge after last year’s comprehensive defeat to Team Alumni, the students came out and stuck valiantly to their tactics. Captain Rajhiv Walden, a member of the losing team last year, made sure that there would be no repeat failings.
Netball
Score: 24-14
Winners: Alumni
The all-alumni team were led by netball veterans Jordan Clarke and Rhiannon Llewellyn and preserved their 100% record of two victories since the launch of the Alumni vs. Students Sports Day last year. Rhiannon spoke to us following the game and offered thoughts on the day: “I’m happy with the way we played. These alumni events are a great opportunity to spend some time with old friends and the atmosphere is always fun and relaxed. I will definitely be making an appearance at the next one because I have enjoyed it more and more each year!”
When all the games were done, the players and spectators headed to The Venue Bar in the Student Centre for the Dinner and Prize Giving Ceremony. Players were able to relax and unwind over food and drinks. Following the dinner, each of the winning team captains were presented with their trophies as the students celebrated their overall victory and alumni were left to start planning for next year.
The photos below were taken by Karen Hatch (indoor sports and awards dinner) and LSBU alumna Aiko Dayap (outdoor sports).