Sport
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Mansfield Town FC
Fluidity, flamboyance, flair… No, I’m not talking about Manchester United or Arsenal, I’m talking about Mansfield Town. Although perhaps it was the lack of these 3 F’s that has led the club into the darkness of the Blue Square Premier for the first time since 1931.
While attractions to non-league football are numerous – the cheap ticket prices, the opportunity to build a rapport with the players, a replica shirt for just £7.99 – it is clearly a position that no one at any club wants to be in. But support at Mansfield has not diminished with early attendances averaging 2,500, as fans show their intent on willing their side back into the football league despite the fact that the players for whom they chant are the very same people that will deliver their post the following morning. Indeed there is no aura surrounding such players as Mark Stallard or Michael Blackwood – the Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo of Mansfield Town – whilst their best deliveries are often off the field rather than on it.
Early victories against Histon, Kidderminster and Eastbourne left ‘The Stags’ living the Blue Square Premier dream, sitting pretty at the top of the table. However, any early hopes of returning to the Football League at the first time of asking seem to be ebbing away with the team sitting forlornly near the foot of the table after a sombre run of 4 straight defeats against such giants as Woking, Stevenage Borough, Burton Albion and Wrexham.
Predictably, this has not roused the spirits of the fans, who voiced their disapproval by booing the side off the pitch at the final whistle in the home defeat by Wrexham. If the winning drought continues, the club could be drawn into a relegation dogfight raising the possibility of plunging deeper into the depths of non-league football – furthermore, once a four-point deduction for fielding ineligible players is enforced, Mansfield Town are just two places and one point above the drop zone.
Max McLaren
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Blowing The Whistle, Part-Time
So you love watching football, or you adore playing rugby, but you didn’t make it through club trials or manage to get a team together in time for the intra-mural leagues. Well, there is another way you can be a part of the sport that you love - by becoming a qualified referee.
Every year the intra-mural football and rugby leagues have had problems securing referees for the league games so the Athletic Union is putting together referee qualification sessions open for all students to participate in. This could be your opportunity to play a part in University sport whilst gaining an extra skill to put on your CV.
The Rugby refereeing course runs over three evenings of two hour sessions and upon completion you will be awarded a level two refereeing qualification. The football course is named ‘Laws of the Game’ and runs over two evenings of two hour sessions. Once you pass the course you will be able to begin refereeing for the football and rugby intra-mural leagues, which take place on Wednesday, Saturdays and Sundays. This qualification also enables you to referee for clubs and leagues outside the University depending upon the level at which they play.
You can earn from £16 a match so it is a great little earner and you might find that by becoming a referee you may gain a new perspective on the sport and could lead to an improvement of your personal game.
Will Gilgrass, the Intra-Mural Chair, is enthusiastic to get more students involved in University sports, “It’s a great opportunity to not only learn a valuable new skill but have fun at the same time”. Will and the IMS team are hoping to run more refereeing training sessions in the coming month so make sure you don’t miss out!
Who said sport was just for the players? Your AU needs you so get in touch and get involved by emailing Mike Round, the football IMS officer on pmyamjr@nottingham.ac.uk; or Luke Foy, the rugby IMS officer on eayalef@nottingham.ac.uk, for information about the refereeing training courses.
Hanna Flint
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University Netball 2008/09
The feeling surrounding Nottingham University netball at the start of this year was clear - things can only get better. A disappointing year last year culminated in the embarrassment of being awarded the wooden spoon at the AU Ball after both the 1st and 2nd teams were relegated from their leagues, as well as losing the Varsity match to a Nottingham Trent side from a lower division.
But far from sitting back and hoping things will improve by themselves, the Netball Committee has been busy putting the changes into motion that they are hoping will make all the difference. Extra training sessions as well as a dedicated weekly fitness session have already seen benefits reaped with four out of the five teams victorious in the opening round of BUCS matches this season. The 5th team have been awarded team of the week after an impressive victory over Birmingham City 2nd team 72-11, while the 3rd team were also notable winners, beating University College Birmingham 3rd team 96-3.
“The general standard of the club is much stronger than last year,” says 3rd, 4th and 5th team Coach Lorna Taylor. “The strength in depth is amazing with both the 3rd and 5th teams unbeaten up to now”.
As well as competing in the BUCS competitions, links have been made with Nottingham High School for Girls for a number of friendly matches to be played throughout the year, an arrangement that will hopefully be equally beneficial to both parties.
Off the pitch, the club has gone from strength to strength after winning Event of the Year at the AU Ball for last year’s netball auction, an event that they are looking to hold again next March. The club is also increasing its philanthropic element, partnering with Breast Cancer Care to raise money for the charity and raise awareness in the community through events reaching out into the local area. An annual fun tournament and a pink tournament are planned as fundraising ideas while a calendar is in the pipeline.
A tour to Calella at the end of the season and the thought of reclaiming the Varsity crown off Trent mean its all systems go on and off the pitch for the netball club.
Ben Bloom and Hanna Flint
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Statue Of Brian Clough Unveiled
On Thursday November 6th at 1pm the long awaited unveiling of the Brian Clough statue in Nottingham city centre took place. More than 4,000 Nottingham residents piled into the Old Market Square to salute their hero, including former players such as Kenny Burns, Archie Gemmill and Garry Birtles The city centre location was chosen in recognition of the unprecedented worldwide acclaim that Clough brought to the city by winning the European Cup with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980.
Sculptor Les Johnson designed an 8 foot (2.4m) bronze statue of Clough standing with his hands clasped above his head, capturing one of the most enduring and iconic images of the former Forest manager. The event was the culmination of an 18 month long fund-raising campaign by volunteers who raised £70,000 to complete the project. The tribute to old big ‘ead, as he was affectionately known, followed a similar homage in Clough’s home town of Middlesbrough, where a seven foot (2.13m) statue was unveiled last year.
The unveiling itself proved to be a rousing success with Clough’s favourite song, Frank Sinatra’s You make me feel so Young was played before the statue was revealed after fans had arrived at 10am to watch videos on a big screen of Forest’s achievements under Clough. Councillor Jon Collins, leader of Nottingham City Council observed that ‘Nottingham is known for two people, Robin Hood and Brian Clough’.
Clough’s widow Barbara was greatly humbled by the occasion and commented that ‘It’s overwhelming, it’s wonderful’. The only blemish on the occasion was the faux pas of Gary Newbon, the presenter of the unveiling, who asked the crowd, ‘what does the unveiling mean to the city of Birmingham?’.
The timing of the statue’s erection is even more pertinent in light of Nottingham Forest’s current form. The club currently sit one place off the bottom of the championship with a paltry eleven points from sixteen games. How the club and its supporters must long for the inspiration, determination and genius of which Clough’s statue will serve as a permanent reminder..
Charlie Eccleshare
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Getting To Know… Ultimate Frisbee With Matthew Benyohai
Name – Matthew Benyohai
Position – President and Captain
Hometown – London
Course – Chemistry & Molecular PhysicsFirstly Matt, could you briefly sum up just what Ultimate Frisbee actually is?
The game is described as a crossed between football, American football and netball. Two teams of seven compete on a rectangular pitch with two ‘N zones’ at either end, trying to catch the frisbee in their ‘N zone’ to score points.Ok, so just what is it that makes the game ‘Ultimate’?
Well, the games creators thought that it was the ultimate sport, being both faster and more tactical than football. It’s also the fastest growing sport in the world at the moment.Aside from being 7ft tall what makes a good Ultimate Frisbee player?
Ha, well, the best players are tall, fast, and fit. But you don’t have to have any of those attributes to get involved. The sport is open to everyone as there are three teams, male, female and mixed.Have you ever seen any horrific injuries or violence take place at a tournament?
Quite frequently people get strains and sprains but nothing more than that. As for violence there isn’t a referee which means the players call the fouls, it’s called spirit of the game and generally leads to all parties agreeing with the decisions.Jack Brenman
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All Change As New Rugby Rules Introduced
You’ve been playing rugby since the age of 6. The odd advancement boggled the mind slightly - going from tag rugby to full contact; changing from 5 men to 8 men in the scrum; lifting in the lineout; and finally reaching the Promised Land. A 15-aside game!
However, when rugby players arrived at pre-season this year they were faced with not only brutal fitness tests but also a new set of rules, introduced by the International Rugby Board – the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs). As the name hints, these new measures are on trial and have been since the beginning of 2008 in the Super 14 competition in the Southern Hemisphere – where fast and flowing rugby is almost a pre-requisite – and are designed to make the game more open and exciting for the neutral through placing emphasis on keeping the ball alive.
Changes include:
Distance from scrums: Backlines must stay at least five metres behind the back of the scrum. Previously, they had to be level with the back foot of the scrum. This will help players to break the gain-line, thus making defending more difficult.
Collapsing Mauls: Previously unable to collapse a maul, teams are now able to pull another player to the floor between the shoulder and the hips. If they ground it by grabbing their opposition outside this area, it is still an offence.
Passing back into the 22 to kick for territory: If the ball is passed back inside 22-metre area from a team-mate outside the 22-metre area in order to kick the ball directly into touch, there will no longer be any ground gained, with the ensuing lineout taking place from where the kick was taken.
Line Outs: Each team only requires at least 2 players in the line-out. Furthermore, the scrum-half and hooker, when defending the lineout must both be 2 meters away from the line-out. Finally, when taking ‘quick line-outs’, a player will no longer be required to throw the ball in straight, as it can now go backwards.
But what do all these new rule changes mean for the players and the game of rugby? Initially trialed in the Super 14s, the ELVs are not such a progressive measure down-under where expansive rugby has been pioneered for decades. However, enforcing these laws on the British game, where more emphasis is placed on forward play and set-pieces, will bring a whole new dimension. Sides with a more dominant forward style will undoubtedly be inhibited as strong packs could well suffer from the opposition’s ability to collapse mauls.
Impact Sport asked the opinion of Stuart Lakin, University of Nottingham’s Rugby Club 2nd XV captain. “The rules have opened up the game a lot more,” he commented. “Our side has benefited with both a fast set of backs and a skilled back row, so we can now keep the game alive. But, the key is adapting to the rules quicker than your opposition”.
It is at grassroots level however where the ELVs could become especially problematic. If a team has been playing a forwards based game, dominating rolling mauls and line-outs, the ELVs are going to force these teams to change their tactics, whether they like it or not. Does the International Rugby Board have the right to decide what tactics a team uses? I always thought that was the coach’s decision…
Jean-Luc Bragard and Max McLaren
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New Season, New Rules, New Game??!!
You’ve been playing rugby since the age of 6. The odd advancement boggled the mind slightly - going from tag rugby to full contact; changing from 5 men to 8 men in the scrum; lifting in the lineout; and finally reaching the Promised Land. A 15-aside game!
However, when rugby players arrived at pre-season this year they were faced with not only brutal fitness tests but also a new set of rules, introduced by the International Rugby Board – the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs). As the name hints, these new measures are on trial and have been since the beginning of 2008 in the Super 14 competition in the Southern Hemisphere – where fast and flowing rugby is almost a pre-requisite – and are designed to make the game more open and exciting for the neutral through placing emphasis on keeping the ball alive.
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Become a Referee
So you love watching football, you adore playing rugby but you didn’t make it through club trials or manage to get a team together in time for the intra-mural leagues. Well, there is another way you can be a part of the sport that you love by becoming a qualified referee.
Every year the intra-mural football and rugby leagues have had problems securing referees for the league games so the Athletic Union is putting together referee qualification sessions open for all students to participate in. This could be your opportunity to play a part in University sport whilst gaining an extra skill to put on your CV.
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Nottingham Uni Netball
The feeling surrounding Nottingham University netball at the start of this year was simple - Things can only get better. A disappointing year last year culminated in the embarrassment of being awarded the wooden spoon at the AU Ball after both the 1st and 2nd teams were relegated from their leagues, as well as losing the Varsity match to a Nottingham Trent side from a lower division.
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Mansfield Town’s Non-league Woe
Fluidity, flamboyance, flair… No I’m not talking about Manchester United or Arsenal, I’m talking about Mansfield Town. Although perhaps it was the lack of these 3 F’s that has led the club into the darkness of the Blue Square Premier for the first time since 1931.