Hallam 34.5 : 36.5 Uni

For the first time in ten years, thousands of the University of Sheffield students celebrated this week when they took home the Varsity 2013 trophy as winners of the annual competition against Sheffield Hallam University.

The final match in the festival of sport took place between the football men's 1st teams, at Hillsborough stadium on Wednesday 10th April.

An excess of 3200 spectators attended the final, which finished with a score of 36.5 to 34.5 to the University of Sheffield.

The final also helped raise money for the chosen charity Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. £1 from the football tickets sales plus collections at the match helped raise a total over £3000 for the Hospice which is raising funds to open a new end of life suite.

Varsity 2013 was the 17th annual sporting tournament between the two rival Universities and is the biggest sporting event of the Universities year. The competition consisted of 40 sports, with over 60 fixtures played in 23 venues across the city. The football match was won by Sheffield Hallam with a score of 1-0 but the University of Sheffield had already secured the title before the game began. The victory means that the University of Sheffield have ended a 10 year wait to take the trophy from Sheffield Hallam University.

The competition is organised by elected student Sports Officers from each University. University of Sheffield Students' Union Sports Officer, Luke MacWilliam, said:

"We’ve been waiting a long time to bring the Varsity trophy back to the University of Sheffield and after 10 years of trying we’ve finally done it! I'm immensely proud of all our competitors and supporters, the commitment they’ve shown to the cause is astounding and long may it continue. It’s been a privilege working with Sheffield Hallam University on the events and my commiserations go out to them."

Josh Saydraouten, Sports Officer at Sheffield Hallam Students' Union, said:

"As I'm sure you can imagine I am gutted to lose Varsity 2013; and I know how devastated Team Sheffield Hallam will be. However I don't want any of the athletes to feel at all disheartened as the commitment and dedication they have shown throughout the competition is something I am so proud of and won't be forgotten. Unfortunately 2013 wasn't our year, but this will only make us more determined to come back fighting even harder ready for Varsity 2014. My congratulations must go to the University of Sheffield for their win and for helping organise a great competition."

Luke MacWilliam and Sport Sheffield's Andy Cox life the Varsity Trophy (video courtesy of Forge Media):

Many of the final day Varsity fixtures due to be played 13th March 2013, have been postponed as the adverse weather conditions cause havoc with the sporting schedule. As South Yorkshire gets set for more icy weather and freezing temperatures throughout this evening and tomorrow, the organisers of Varsity have been left with no option but to postpone various events.

Football is the hardest hit sport with fixtures having to be rearranged due to a frozen pitch at Hillsborough, home of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. In a statement from SWFC, John Rutherford, Stadium Operations Manager said:

"We're really disappointed we have had to take the decision to cancel the Varsity final at Hillsborough. It's a fantastic event which we are committed to however the adverse weather that we are currently experiencing leaves us with no other decision than to postpone tomorrow's fixtures. The pitch is currently frozen and our main priority is the safety and welfare of all the players and officials which is the main reason for coming to this decision. I'd like to thank Luke, Josh and Rick for their understanding and we will continue to work very closely with them to make sure the rearranged final is a huge success."

In addition to the Men's and Women's 1st XI Football, other outdoor fixtures have been pulled from the last day of the annual sporting competition including Golf at Hillsborough Golf Club and Men's and Women's Football and Ruby League at Norton. Downhill cycling has been moved to 7th April and BMX and Time Trial will join the new Finals Day. Men's Hockey 1s at Abbeydale Sports Club is still scheduled to go ahead, weather permitting. All other scheduled Varsity fixtures will go ahead as planned.

Luke MacWilliam, Sports Officer at University of Sheffield said: "I'm devastated by this decision but I am also committed to making the best out of a nightmare situation. I'm still really looking forward to supporting the rest of our teams who will be competing today and tomorrow and the rearranged finals days on April 10th. I'll continue to work very closely with Josh and the rest of the Varsity planning team to make the Finals day a great event."

Josh Saydraouten, Sports Officer at Sheffield Hallam University said: "I'm absolutely gutted by this decision however it allows all teams and players concerned to train more and be even better prepared for their Varsity fixtures. We're now even more determined to make the Hillsborough final the biggest it's ever been and I will continue to work with Luke and our Varsity planning colleagues to ensure this happens."

All postponed fixtures will be re-arranged for April 10th. Tickets already purchased for the Football final will remain valid for the rearranged event. Ticket refunds will be available if anyone cannot attend the new date. Please visit www.varsitysheffield.com for updates.

What a Winter Varsity competition that was. From the thrills and spills at the Arena, Hallam's dominant display on the Ice only to be pegged back by the "never quit" attitude of Sheffield Uni, to the flips and tricks at Swadlincote amid a flurry of snow, Winter Varsity 2013 delivered on so many levels.

It was a difficult year from an organising point of view, with the loss of the Ski Village, but in Swadlincote we have a venue which can provide great, close racing, and enough variations and obstacles for an entertaining freestyle. The snow that fell as the evening went on added to the fairytale night for Sheffield Uni, yet you can't fault the Hallam support which was vocal all night.

I'd personally like to thank all the competitors, the Ice Hockey match will go down in history as the most thrilling finish ever, and the 4-0 whitewash for Uni on the slope ensured the Winter Varsity trophy stays where it belongs, cheers guys and girls!

Where do we go from here? Well, very quickly on to the rest of the main varsity competition!! Feel the Steel Boxing in the Octagon on the 28th Feb sailing at the weekend and then the main week of Varsity kicking of on Wednesday the 6th at Abbydale!! In two weeks it will all be over, so let’s make the most of it while it's here!!

BLACK AND GOLD!

Luke MacWilliam

Sheffield University Students’ Union Sports Officer

It’s finally here!

This weekend we kicked off Varsity 2013 in true American style. We started off with the annual Steelbowl taking place at Goodwin Sports Centre like it never has before. We had flares, cheerleaders, live commentary and more importantly a sold out event with 600 spectators!

On Sunday, in keeping with the American theme we saw Ice Hockey 2s take to ICE Sheffield to battle it out for a point. Personally I was so impressed with the amount of females who were representing the Hallam second team, so a HUGE well done to you ladies!

Massive congratulations to everyone who played in Varsity this weekend! Let’s keep up the spirit ready for the next event as it's shaping up to be another great competition.

For full match scores, photos and updates from each event follow @SHUlifesport or check out the Hallam Union Facebook page.

Don’t forget you can get your Ice Hockey tickets (16^th Feb) and Official Varsity 2013 T-shirts from Pod 4 in The HUBS NOW!

#HallamVarsity

Josh Saydraouten
Sheffield Hallam University Sports Officer

A chilly Saturday evening at the Goodwin Arena turned into a firestorm of Black and Gold as the Sheffield Sabres brought home the first point of Varsity 2013 to Sheffield Uni. The build up to this fixture was intense; we’d not beaten Hallam in 5 years,  they beat us by just 1 point last year, we’d won silverware at the end of last season, we’d recruited an ex Hallam Warrior in the form of David Saul (5 touchdowns in the game, thanks mate!).

Hallam came out to a fiery reception, red flares and an excited crowd, Uni soon followed under a cloud of gold smoke, kick off was moments away.

The game was a testament to the competition. It was played with skill, speed, ambition and respect, capturing the spirit of the new Varsity Oath (see below) perfectly. it was a tight 1^st half where the lead changed hands a few times. What happened next sent shivers down my spine. The Sabres came out in the second half on a mission to seize what they have yearned for for so long. Touchdowns in quick succession soon put us in the driving seat and try as they might, Hallam could not bridge the gap, the Sabres ended as 40-20 winners. The way the game changed in such a short time, from being a nail biting affair to one of jubilation for Uni players and fans alike was incredible. To feel that as Sports Officer, having worked hard with the Sabres to put this event on gives me drive and desire to feel it again.

Hard work pays off, the Sabres showed that on Saturday, now it’s up to the rest of our teams to commit to the cause in the exact same way, if we do that, this will be our year.

Luke MacWilliam

Sports Officer – Sheffield University Students’ Union

Hey, I'm Josh and if you don't already know I'm the Sports Officer at Hallam!

This year sees the launch of the Varsity Oath and I'm sure many of you will have seen the video already. If not check it out by clicking on the Oath tab above!

As Sports Officer I am an ambassador for the Varsity competition and also Hallam Uni, and by introducing the Oath we hope it will embed a culture of respect, fair play and sportsmanship in the competitors and spectators who participate in Varsity 2013.

We aren't asking you all to memorise the Oath off by heart, but when visiting the different venues and facilities around the city, we hope you will remember the three key words…RESPECT, FAIR PLAY and SPORTSMANSHIP. By doing this we hope the event will be carried out competitively, fairly and with respect for our opposition. The Oath also sets out a commitment to respect and value your peers competing and encourages us all to be considerate to the communities and facilities in which the competition takes place.

Most of all we want all students to have fun and enjoy the competition as it's shaping up to be the the biggest Varsity yet!

#HallamVarsity

Josh Saydraouten
Sheffield Hallam University Sports Officer

@HallamSports

Hello! Welcome to Varsity 2013! Planning for the events has been going on since last summer and now we are just 19 days away from the first event, American Football’s Steel Bowl on February 2^nd at Goodwin Sports Centre.

We always aim to make Varsity bigger and better and this year sees a couple of changes and new additions, whilst maintaining the history and tradition of Varsity and hopefully creating a real buzz around both Universities.

To kick us off we have the first Varsity Steel Bowl and over the following 6 weeks we will see 67 fixtures across 40 sports and 23 venues culminating in the final event, Football at Hillsborough on the 13^th March.

It feels like ages ago since we first started planning and both of us are excited to see how it turns out, we hope you are too. Over the course of the competition we will be updating the blog individually with our own thoughts on Varsity.

If you have any comments or chat, remember to use the varsity hashtags, #suvarsity #hallamvarsity

Varsity 2013…unlucky for who?

Luke MacWilliam (Sheffield Uni Students' Union Sports Officer)

and Josh Saydraouten (Sheffield Hallam Students' Union Sports Officer)

Now that the website is live, here both the Hallam and University Sports Officers will be posting continually updates of the Varsity events. Stay tuned!