I 21 www.sport.ox.ac.ukThe Club maintained its popularity at the Oxford college balls, with several members of the Club performing a routine at Mansfield College's 'Circus of the Macabre' ball in Michaelmas 2009. Hilary term, however, was dominated by preparation for our Varsity competition, held in February, which we had the task of organising this year. The extra training sessions paid off, particularly in the case of the Women's A-team, who took the first five positions in their competition against Cambridge. In addition to this, we had several individual medallists.Our gregarious nature was also evidenced in the Club's crossover with several other sports: the Gymnastics Club's President and Secretary both competed in the Trampoling Club's Varsity, while many of the members also experimented with pole-vaulting in the hectic Trinity term, at the Athletics Club's behest.Overall, the Club's year was a varied and exciting one, though not without its challenges. Hopefully the coming year will prove just as interesting and positive!HANDBALLThis season has been one of the worst seasons for the Club since it was founded nine years ago. Unable to stay in the First Division due to the lack of committed players (and especially, the lack of a goalie in the first term for the Men's Team) meant that both Club teams had to play in the development league, struggling many times to get enough players, and having to cancel several games. The Club did not qualify for the British Cup, nor has it qualified to go back up to the First Division next season.At the University Championships, a tournament traditionally won by Oxford (three times in the past four years), neither team could pass the quarter-finals. We were lucky to have a professional coach this year, but his programme could not do much to improve a team where many players hardly came to training sessions and many would not come to play games. The team itself lacked cohesion, especially as many veteran players left last year, without the possibility of forming a new team during Michaelmas 2009.There has been a good outreach programme, and several members of the Club are involved in the promotion of handball in Oxfordshire. There is also an increased collaboration with other university teams in Southern England, such as Warwick and Southampton, which has resulted in several friendly games.HOCKEYOUHC has always been a good club to be part of: six teams offer a range of standards for both men and women.The Men's Blues started their first season in the top flight of the BUCS leagues, after climbing their way up from the bottom league, which they entered five years ago. Whilst the standard was high, the Blues showed that they were very capable of competing at the top level, finishing third in the league behind the very strong Exeter and Bath teams. In the knockouts they impressively managed to overcome Birmingham 5-3 in the quarter-finals, before losing to the eventual winners Exeter in the semi-finals. In South Premier their form was fairly mixed, however, showing much promise but often failing to put the goals away. With a strong finish to the season they ended in a respectable mid-table position.Varsity was much more convincing, with a 3-1 win thanks to an Ed Perry hat-trick of drag-flicks. With this result and an impressive BUCS campaign, it meant that overall it was an impressive season, ably captained by the well-organised and inspirational Richard Bond.The Women's Blues consolidated their position in BUCS Premier, despite an umpiring fiasco where UWIC were awarded a crucial goal that was scored after the final whistle had gone. However, this led to a tough first-round match against Bristol whom they were unable to overcome. With another safe mid-table finish in their Saturday league, Varsity was the big decider. Captain Iona Turnbull managed to rally her troops and lead the team to a nail-biting 3-2 win, capping off a successful Blues Varsity Day.The Men's 2s (Occasionals) started their first ever season in the BUCS league. The team had to start at the bottom, easily winning their league and scoring an incredible 110 goals in just eight matches, winning a promotion to the league above for 2010-11. Their Cup run was also strong, disappointingly losing to Coventry 1st in the semi-finals. The Occasionals also played in the strong London Hockey League. Varsity was once again a very competitive affair, culminating in a 1-1 draw thanks to an equaliser from old head and top scorer for the season Benji Portwin.The Women's 2s (Monkeys) were once again a strong outfit. Competing in tough leagues on both Saturdays and a Wednesday they acquitted themselves well, with a mid-table and third-place finish respectively. Varsity however was a very convincing 4-1 win, with the final goal being scored by Captain Suzie Chamberlain, who was probably the most excited girl in the world for the rest of the day.The Men's 3s (Infrequents) had a much improved season after several disappointing years, largely thanks to the strong captaincy of Ben White. In their Saturday league they finished third, despite amassing a points total that would have won the league in the previous year. The team managed to overcome a disappointing start, eventually amassing 43 points from their 20 games. In Varsity they unfortunately went down 3-1, despite a battling display from many.The Women's 3s (Hos), had the most successful season they have ever had. Emily Sayer ably led the girls to promotions in both Saturday and

22 I OXFORD UNIVERSITY I SPORTS REVIEW 2010