When it comes to Derby Day, it is not a topic that is taken lightly amongst the sport teams of UEA, even more so when the traditional Derby Day points system had been changed this year in favour of the University of Essex. For UEA, the goal was simple: prove that even at a scoring disadvantage we could still take home a glorious win for the tenth year in a row. With 39 sport teams competing this year, all was to play for. With Essex in their most competitive form in years, it would be a close call on the sporting front. The result? A 2728 victory to UEA.

9:00AM

On a day that gave us wind, rain and shine, it was baseball that headed to the pitches of Essex first, batting for glory. In a pre-match interview with Team Captain, Louis Wibberley training and preparations for Derby Day were happening only “a few days ago” after their nationals’ tournament. Wibberley stated: “We got to play Essex there and see what we were up against… but obviously, the whole year we’ve been going pretty hard [in training].” Wibberley and Co were confident going into the match with a competitive but fun edge. With the team eager to win, they are all aware of their love for the sport, not just the winning. “I think we’re going to win,” Louis tells me. More importantly? “We’re just going to have fun today.”

Across Essex’s campus, Women’s Dodgeball were in the midst of their first half when Ryan, a member of the 2’s Men team explained that both teams have “been training for quite a while”. With the pressure on, the team member stated that the teams were “really hoping not to let the uni down since this will be the tenth year in a row.” Although Ryan sits on the sidelines for this year, “There’s no pressure.” He proudly adds: “I love supporting my team and friends.” At half time, Falcons player Izzy Laws provided an update. “It’s going really well so far and we’re up a set to Essex, so it’s a really tough game but we’ve got this.” Laws felt confident going into the second half after garnering a sense of how the competition played, “we know how they play now so we can just calm it out. We know which players who are difficult and the ones we need to pick out.” How long does it take the team to acquire this information?

“Within the first two sets… it’s about halfway through the sets and you can kind of then decide and just work against them.” The Falcon’s tactics and dodgeball knowledge proved to pay off after both teams dodged to Derby Day glory.

12:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 1.5-1 TO ESSEX

It was over to the pitches for the large (and slightly tipsy) crowds of Men’s Football. With anticipations high for one of UEA and Britain’s most loved sports, spectators from UEA were rather confident in this year’s team. “UEA is going to win obviously,” says one spectator “I reckon we’re going to thrash them. We could good 5-2.” 3’s team squad member, George Boswell was confident in the team’s abilities, stating: “I think it’s going to go quite well; they’ve really put some effort into the preparation because of the last few years. They’ve really put some work in and this year they’re really determined to get the win.” What has training been like? “They’ve been putting a lot of hours into training, and they’ve really focused on Derby Day because they all know how big of a day it is and how much it means to everyone that is part of the uni, not just the football club. I think they’ve put that into their work and have worked really hard.” Speaking to players Shareef Ali and Sultan Dousa, during training the team had been “focusing on ourselves and not too much about the opponent. We kind of narrowed it down to the fine details and we’re just going to go out there and really enjoy and express ourselves.” says Ali. Predictions for the match? Whilst both players have faith in the team, they’re realistic: “It’s going to be a tough game,” Dousa states, “but we’re here for the win whatever way we get it.” After a 2-2 score by full-time, it was down to UEA to score a win in penalties with the help of Jack Stringer’s incredible goalkeeping and Lewis Oakes’s sensational winning penalty goal. After a spectacular win, striker, Jack Bowring spoke to Concrete’s News Senior Writer, Jamie Bryson. “It’s honestly one of the best days of my life- it’s a great feeling. We were composed as usual at the end there, which was really important, and we smashed it.”

13:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 6-6.5 TO UEA

Into the afternoon, all was still to play for as scores were close between UEA and Essex. It was an hour to forget for Squash and Men’s Volleyball, however there was still hope for Pole Fitness. Whilst the scores were being counted, I spoke with team members Charlotte, Abby and Ellie to discuss the competition. “Everyone did absolutely amazing,” Ellie tells me, “I’m so proud of them all!” With sports like pole fitness, training can be out of the ordinary but more importantly, gruelling. “We’ve been practicing 5-6 nights a week for the last couple of months.” Charlotte adds, “It’s exhausting.There were blisters, there were cuts, there were falls, but everyone pulled through and really smashed it today.” When it came to choreographing routines, Abby said “It’s quite hard to come up with a routine. You kind of doubt yourself, you want to think what’s best- what do the judges want? But overall, you’ve just got to do what’s best for you, and it always comes out good.” As results were released Pole Fitness celebrated in 2-1 victory. However, after the scores had not been ratified, Pole Fitness’ win was sadly and undeservingly short-lived. But with the immense dedication and passion the team has, there is no doubt that next year, they’ll go for gold on UEA turf.

14:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 8.5-10 TO UEA

Tensions were high over at the sports arena for Netball, which had the crowds of UEA screaming at deafening decibels. With signs for motivation and swarms of yellow and blue, it was epitome of UEA’s support when it comes to their beloved Netball team. As the end of the match was near, roars and cheers from the crowds only got louder as members of the team scored point after point in what can only be described as a netball masterclass. Scoring a thrashing victory against Essex, Team Captain, Mia Pepperdine described how she was “just so, so happy.” She continued, “we all put in so much work throughout the whole season, but that work rate out there was incredible. I don’t think we’ve ever put that much work into a game. [Essex] really brought it, but we got it over the line at the end of the day!” For Vice Captain, Abbie Richardson it was an emotional win, “I can’t stop crying!” When it came to training, the team didn’t hold back, having a “whole week of a Derby Day camp”, Pepperdine tells me. “Everyone was giving it their all and also just training throughout the whole season… we’ve always got this in the back of our minds.” Whilst the girls played an incredible match, it’s the coaching team that suffer on the sidelines during the nail-biting matches. Netball Coach, Sophie Thomas stated “This was a really tough battle… we’ve had a couple of battles throughout the box season, so we knew it was going to be well contested. We came away with quite a big win against them last year, so we knew [Essex] would want to try and take us.” What does she have to say about her team? “I’m really, really proud of every single one of them… Also, the support from the sidelines was just as incredible.”

15:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 13-13 ALL

Heading further into the day, the cricket team arrived in Essex preparing to hit and run for another UEA win. Speaking with player, Lewis O’Donoghue his new position of fielder for the day was a contrast from his usual bowler role, but did he feel the pressure? “No, I’ve fielded before for pretty much every game… Obviously, it’s a big day, so it should be quite fun.” With lots of preparation going on, the team had “trained all off-season, so from September pretty much straight through to March… we’ve recently gone outdoors, so I’ve done a bit off batting… I’ve also done a lot of catching so my hands are a bit bruised, but I’m still ready to go.” With the likelihood of batting for the team would O’Donoghue stay cool, calm and collected? “I’ll be bricking it, but apart from that I’m quite calm. I know I can hit a ball when I need to so it’s just about staying levelheaded.” Calm must have plagued every player on the team considering their smashing victory, leaving no doubt at all on these players abilities, or as O’Donoghue puts it: “there’s no question about it.”

16:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 17.5-19 TO UEA

It was time to go back onto court for Men’s hockey. In a pre-match interview, I spoke with Callum Conlon who was preparing to play his first match against Essex. In preparation the lads “had a two hour session with our head coach and it was quite intense,” he tells me “we’re all a bit sore but we’re going to translate our skills we’ve learned from that into our game today.” After a fantastic match last year, which saw UEA beat Essex 14-0, Conlon felt confident going into the match given the intense circumstances. Confidence clearly didn’t falter amongst the team given their 8-0 success but definitely showed the Essex were more up to the challenge this year, giving more fight. Speaking with Jamie Bryson, midfielder and captain, Ned Clarke said: “It was a harder game than expected, but we came through; we committed through to the end. Everyone played well even with the weather affecting us a little bit.” Although the team were not as rich in their scoring this year, Clarke is evidently proud of the team, “allaround, good performance from everyone!”

Back on UEA soil, the water polo teams were battling it our for gold in the Sportspark. For Men’s Water Polo it was a bittersweet end to Derby Day after a close battle from Essex which resulted in a 14-11 loss to UEA. Getting off to a slow start, the team managed to pick themselves up further into the match as they attempted to close the gap between themselves and Essex. Features Editor, Eleanor Radford spoke with driver Patrick Shimmin, who, despite a loss was “very proud of the boys.” He continues, “we came back from a really negative position, and saw some grit and determination, which at the end of the day is what Derby Day’s all about. I’m proud of all of us.”

All eyes were on Men’s Rugby, who played a strong match throughout, despite Essex showing strength at points. Resulting in a 17-20 victory, it was a close call but the Rugby teams victory was one to be celebrated by all. In a post-match interview with the team, Captain Tom Coker, was evidently proud of his team stating: “we trained really hard, I was never in doubt; all the way through I thought we’ve got it at the end, so well done boys.”

At Women’s hockey, UEA supporters were getting ready to watch a fan favourite. In the meantime, I spoke with centre-forward Molly Brown. As a striker, there is evident pressure for someone in Molly’s shoes. What does she think? “I’m going to try my best… I’m nervous, I’m excited but I obviously feel that the pressure is on when you’re trying to score all the goals for the team.” With Molly’s predictions of a 2-1 victory, by fulltime the score was 1-1, which saw the pressure on more than ever for the girls as they went into penalty flicks. Discussing the tense moment post-match with Brown said “it was so fun in the end, it was very, very tense but I’m so glad we won.”

Kate Bastow was “still shaken” from her stint during the penalties, whilst Niamh Lenihan was “watching from the halfway line” happily cheering away the team in the teams usual supportive mode. Brown, who was third to shoot for penalties revealed how she was “so scared… I had just watched one of the girls score before me and I just knew I needed to score.” After their superb win, the girls are collectively proud by they don’t forget to shoutout their goalkeeper, Katie McDonnell for what Bastow calls “her fabulous saves!”

17:00PM OVERALL SCORE: 19-21.5 TO UEA

To the final event of the day, it was Dance that was part of Derby Day’s final act. With UEA offering a range of dances from Ballet to Hip-Hop, it was a highly anticipated ending to the day. The pressure was on for ballet choreographer, Alice Pritchard, who, like many other members of the team, was dancing in several numbers. Did it phase her? “I’m really excited. I mean we’ve done a few competitions before so this one is a bit of fun and I don’t mind what the result is.” Alice and her ballet team won over the crowds with a new interpretation of classical ballet, inspired by the musical ‘A Chorus Line’. Discussing the routine, Pritchard stated: “I took a risk, but it seems to have paid off in the competitions, so hopefully the judges will like it.”

Much like the ballet, UEA’s HipHop routine was a crowd pleaser. However, for Ethan Coke that didn’t stop some pre-dance jitters. “I’m feeling a bit nervous, I can’t lie. But we’ve had some good experiences withe my whole dance team so hopefully we can bring it again.” Coke, who has only been doing hip-hop for three years shares his experience of joining the group as “a second home… it’s just a good experience and one of the best uni experiences”. Following an array of different dance genres, Essex put up a fight against UEA, leading to a draw amongst the judges. A dance-off was inevitable, but also a fantastic opportunity to experience the array of talent within the room.

19:30PM OVERALL WINNING SCORE: 27-28 TO UEA

After a day of close scoring, tackling, batting and winning; for UEA it was another year of success. However, this years results, more than ever mean the world to everyone across campus as we celebrate 10 consecutive years of Derby Day victories. As an integral part of UEA life, Derby Day is a constant that displays the hard work and dedication every sports person contributes to UEA. So, from Concrete to our sports readers, sports fans and sports players, congratulations and here is to another year of Derby Day celebrations.

DERBY DAY SCORES

• WOMEN’S DODGEBALL: 14-8 WIN
• BASEBALL: 12-8 WIN

• WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: 3-0 LOST

• CHEER DANCE: 1-0 WIN

• CHEER STUNT: 0-1 LOST

• DODGEBALL MEN: WIN

• WOMEN’S RUGBY: 72-7 WIN

• MEN’S FOOTBALL: 2-2 WIN (PENALTIES)

• MEN’S SQUASH: 4-1 LOST

• POLE FITNESS: 2-1 LOST

• MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: 3-1 LOST

• MEN’S BADMINTON: 6-2 WIN

• WOMEN’S BADMINTON: 6-2 WIN

• NETBALL: 45-40 WIN

• WOMEN’S TENNIS: 5-1 LOST

• AMERICAN FOOTBALL: 28-8 LOST

• POOL:37-25 LOST

• JUDO: DRAW

• ATHLETICS: 77-135 WIN

• MEN’S HOCKEY: 1-8 WIN

• WOMEN’S HOCKEY: 1-1 WIN (PENALTIES)

• MEN’S BASKETBALL: 95-82 LOST

• WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: 82-52 LOST

• MEN’S RUGBY:17-20 WIN

• CRICKET: 53 ALL OT- 54-1 WIN

• MEN’S WATERPOLO: 14-11

• WATERPOLO WOMEN: 7-19 WIN

• WOMEN’S LACROSSE: 4-13 WIN
• MEN’S LACROSSE: 4-8 WIN
• WOMEN’S TABLE TENNIS: 0-5 WIN

• MEN’S TABLE TENNIS: 8-9 WIN

• MEN’S FENCING: 128-94 LOST

• ARCHERY: 1583-1656 WIN

• GOLF: 3-3 LOST (PENALTIES)

• E-SPORTS: 1-3 WIN

• MEN’S TENNIS: 3-3 WIN (PENALTIES)

You can find more Derby Day highlights from Livewire1350 here!

Image: Maggie Read