Winning, winning, won! UEA victorious in 12th consecutive Derby Day

After a day fuelled by £2.50 Snakebites, Britpop anthems on Livewire1350 and hundreds of supporting students – some in Tweed suits and VERY colourful underwear (don’t ask us how we know) – UEA has reigned supreme for a 12th consecutive Derby Day.

As committed bystandes and team members set sale from the SportsPark at 8AM this morning, dozens more huddled like peguins in the square, edging towards spots of sunlight as the day progressed.

Following weeks of planning, days of messaging and hours of livestreaming, UEASU Media Collective broadcast the annual event to a crowd of over 500 viewers, achieving a first between the three societies.

Electric atmosphere continues into the evening

The atmosphere today has been incredible and students from UEA have been out all day celebrating all the wins.

The score is currently 15-14 to UEA, the only sports left to play are women’s football and netball. 

The livestream is now wrapping up, but netball will be playing in the SU bar from 6:30PM. It is guaranteed the atmosphere will remain energetic no matter what the score.

Derby Day delirium: students dazed out on the green

Image credits: Kelly Wu and Pia Subong

From ball to ballroom: UEA vs Essex Dance 

Essex’s Show Court saw a dramatic transformation from Women’s and Men’s Basketball in the morning to Dance this afternoon. 

Showcasing a wide range of dance styles, from Street & Hip Hop, to Tap, to Contemporary, the competition demonstrated the wide range of talent that both UEA and Essex hold.  

The grandstands were full of energy for the entirety of the performances, of which many dancers commented were a highlight. When speaking to UEA Ballroom and Latin, they noted that “it was great to see how supportive the crowd was.”   

To close the competitive performances, Essex’s contemporary team performed an emotive and powerful dance to Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens. 

In the interlude before the results were announced, Essex performed an energetic K-Pop routine, which was a crowd favourite.  

Following that, members from both UEA and Essex were invited up to take part in a cypher. This is an entirely improvised event, where dancers stand in a circle and take turns coming into the centre, as different songs are played. 

The first dancer was from UEA, who ended Stateside by Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress with a death drop. The cypher heard the crowd get unbelievably loud.

Ending with KATSEYE’s Gnarly, it saw all dancers joining in together, a representation of the great sportsmanship from both sides, as well as their overwhelming passion for dance. 

After this came the announcement of the results, with Essex winning Commercial, Wildcard Ballroom and Latin and Street & Hip Hop, while UEA won Ballet, Wildcard Lyrical and Jazz. The decider came in the form of Contemporary, with Essex taking the win and coming out on top with a 4-3 win. 

Image credit: Maddie Reader

Students stay optimistic in the sun

The atmosphere in the square radiates with joy despite UEA currently losing to essex 10-14. 

People are dancing to Livewire’s music and there are snakebites everywhere you look. Crowds are multiplying by the minute, everyone full of grand expectations after UEA winning derby day consistently over the past 12 years. 

The sun is keeping everyone’s spirits high and shows no signs of disappearing, according to the weather forecast.  

“It’s a bit disappointing but we can’t give up now, go UEA!” said Autumn Gowers, the deputy station manager of Livewire. 

Anna Johnson, Deputy Editor of Concrete said, “I’m feeling sad for UEA but there’s plenty of time to bring it back.”  

Will the students remain stoic if UEA do not bring the score back up soon?  

Image credit: Pia Subong

I can’t swim, but UEA sure can

As someone without any swimming knowledge, I headed down to the Sportspark to report on the swimming matches from 13:30 to 15:30. 

From start to end, the duration of my spectatorship was laced with confusion. 

The crowd had already built up as everyone was practising, we were a tad confused as we thought it was supposed to start right at 13:30 but instead it started at 14:00.

Yet the confusion didn’t end there, the scoreboard wasn’t on and it wasn’t clear what matches were occurring. Luckily there was the schedule on UEA Swopo’s Instagram to help, but even with this; it was unclear who was winning the races.  

In spite of this, the crowd was immaculate and cheered on without a falter every race.  

Meg (Concrete online team) joined me and Mia (Concrete social media team), and I can easily say they both knew more about swimming than me. Even with this, we were still perplexed.  

Overall, UEA’s swimming team has secured a dominating win with a final score of 65-21.  

Essex shoots and scores for Men’s football

Essex Men beat UEA 3-0, becoming the winners over UEA in a blustery but sunny Colchester.  

Essex’s first goal came within the first ten minutes. A corner was whipped in from the right which met the head of Essex’s number 15, who headed the ball home past the UEA ‘keeper. 

Essex kept dominating the first half, with UEA getting their first shot on goal around 40 minutes. But the Blades went into half time with a 1-0 lead. 

UEA kicked off the second half more brighter, with the Essex ‘keeper being forced into an impressive save following some good play from UEA. 

UEA did have the ball in the back of the net around the 65^th minute, but this was disallowed following a foul on the Essex ‘keeper in the box.

The game grew in feistiness and the atmosphere too. Both sides were  supported excellently, with UEA being backed by an impressive numbers. 

Essex did get a second goal soon after this, after some good passing from Essex they moved the ball down the right before slotting home past the UEA ‘keerper. 

Essex got their third of the match close to the end of play. A ball down the left found Essex’s number 15, who did some fancy feet before striking the ball just and arrowing a shot past the UEA ‘keeper into the top right corner. 

UEA did push for a consolation goal, but were unable beat the string Essex defensive unit. 

In conversation with UEA pole fitness

12pm saw the start of the Pole Fitness competition at The University of Essex’s Sub Zero SU Bar.

With the beginner division up first, both universities gave strong performances, with spirited support from each side.

The first of UEA’s competition team to perform was Apollo, UEA Pole Fitness’ First Year Representative, who started pole fitness at the beginning of their second year. 

UEA’s Pole Fitness First Year Rep spoke about their experience competing at Derby Day 2026. 

“I remember being like, ‘I want to join a sport,’ so I joined rugby and pole fitness,” she said.

“I went to Pole Fitness, and I just found it so welcoming, friendly… just really engaging as well. The community was just incredible.”

It was this sense of community that led Apollo to run for committee so fast after joining. “All of my time is dedicated to pole fitness at this point, it made sense.”

Apollo joined pole fitness six months ago, with Derby Day 2026 being her fourth competition yet. Reflecting on her recent results, she added: “This is actually my second time competing my routine, Killer Queen. Previously, I competed in the Southwest Regionals. I didn’t place, but that’s fine. 

“I also competed at Chrome Royale in Derby and came 3rd place, and came 2nd place at Sirens in Portsmouth.”

Though the results are yet to come in at Derby Day, Apollo confirmed it had “the best vibes out of all the competitions”.

“So many people have come to watch, and it’s such a supportive atmosphere. It’s been nice to see some of my friends from Essex, too!”

When asked how they think their chances are for a win, Apollo only shrugged in response. “There are some really strong routines. I know Amber from Essex is just incredible. 

“But it’s not about winning for me, it’s about having fun. If UEA wins, that’d be cool. But I’ve had the best time ever.”

Despite being a performance sport, Apollo emphasised pole fitness is an intense way to keep fit. “It requires a lot more strength than people imagine,” she said. 

“Initially, it’s hard to even get yourself off the ground. You build up so much arm and ab strength. It’s crazy, especially when you see the more advanced routines, but I’d encourage anyone to join pole fitness.”

Men’s UEA fencing swashbuckles to victory

With Derby Day 2026 underway in Essex, UEA’s men’s fencing team claimed overall victory in a closely fought fixture at the Ivor Crewe Centre.

The event began at 9:30am, opening with the men’s sabre, where UEA edged a narrow 45-43 win.

The match concluded with a late comeback from UEA Fencing Club’s Health and Safety Officer Léo Petite-Stork, sealing a UEA victory in the final moments.

In contrast, the women’s sabre saw a 45–32 win for the Essex Blades. Essex continued their strong performance across the women’s events, also defeating UEA in both épée and foil.

Despite the losses, UEA fencer Calla Tabin, who competed in foil in her first competition today, believed even the opportunity to compete in a women’s team was significant for UEA. 

She said: “It’s [UEA’s] first time having a women’s team in a while, and [Essex’] women’s team is just exceptional. But it was really good fun nonetheless.”

UEA regained momentum in the men’s épée, securing a decisive 45–25 win. Essex attempted a late tactical shift by substituting in Treasurer Logan McConochie, but he was ultimately defeated by UEA’s Jay Pettingale.

The final men’s match, sparred in foil, went to Essex with a 45–38 result. However, UEA had already secured overall victory, in part to Theo Woodcock’s standout performance earlier in the fixture, in which he scored 23 points in the opening bout.

Callum McKay, Vice President of Essex Blades, reflected on the competition: “Playing UEA has been a challenge. I’ve been able to see my strengths and my weaknesses, and I’ve had a lot of fun.”

It’s high noon at Derby Day 2026

UEA has started the morning off leading Derby Day, with 2 points to Essex with 0.

Already at midday, we’ve had archery, baseball, women’s badminton, men’s volleyball, and women’s basketball.

It’s been a tense morning, with both sides offering tough competition!

Archery ended 1569 – 1439 and Baseball Diamond 9-10. 

Women’s Badminton was a close game at 1111 – 1111, and went to rubbers for the decider. 

Women’s basketball ended 44-97.

As individual sports updates continue to come in, the official UEA vs Essex score will be updated and announced on the hour. 

It’s all to still play for, with plenty more sports to come.

For Derby Day updates – we’ve got you covered!

You can catch up here on Concrete’s live page, over at UEA TV’s livestream, or tune into Livewire.

To get more information from the UEA SU website, click here!

The (bee)Hive of creatives

The UEA media collective is a force to be reckoned with, it’s a combination of Livewire, UEA TV and Concrete. 

For once, the Hive is literally full of busy bees occupied with filming, editing and typing away. But fortunately for me, I’ve managed to sneak them away from their work.  

The first of which was Autumn who has a socials-focused role, they’ve been creating feed posts and stories on what’s happening both home and away. Autumn’s prediction is that UEA will remain “unbeaten” as they “believe in us”. 

Like every year, the day is fuelled by the energy of the students regardless of if participating, reporting, studying or maybe even having a lay-in. Special mention goes to everyone from the media collective for the energetic atmosphere and their great work alongside each other so far. 

Sylvia (UEA TV and Livewire) and Theo (UEA TV) are busy with working for the VT video tapes team and helping where needed. Shout-out and lots of love to Milli from Women’s Rugby, as well as the “spectacular” VT team and the DJ for keeping the vibes and everyone going.  

Daisy from Concrete is feeling simultaneously tired but excited, there’s no better prediction than “UEA all the way”. Daisy broadcasts their love to Hannah for doing so much waterwork. 

Lastly a message from me, don’t forget to give yourselves well deserved breaks and stay hydrated.  

Essex dribble past UEA in basketball

One of the hotly contested events on the Derby Day calendar is the men’s basketball, played at the Essex Sports Arena.  

Essex Rebels were hoping to do the double on the UEA Panthers, after the women’s side winning 99-47 earlier this morning.  

The first quarter was electric with three pointers being scored left right and centre. A great defensive performance from UEA only led them trailing behind by a point (23-24), with the Panthers scoring two late three pointers with seconds to spare.  

The end to end action kept on coming as the game entered its second quarter. With both sides being supported greatly on the sidelines by supporters. 

UEA kept pushing and pushing to go ahead in the match – and did so with a well worked two pointer. Essex responded with their next play and scored a three pointer to go ahead and regain their lead. 

Three pointers were scored by both sides in a matter of seconds, by half time the score was 49-38 in favour of the Rebels. 

Sun’s out, snakebites out!

Image credits: Mia Lutchman

Let the battle commence: Derby Day 2026 kicks off with a blast

The day has finally come for UEA and University of Essex to battle it out and find the victor of our interschool tradition.

For those unsure of what Derby Day is; it’s basically a spirit-filled yearly competition dedicated to the sporty bunch of UEA. 

There’s nothing better than some friendly rivalry to keep students playing and those at home going. Every year the location rotates between the campuses of UEA and University of Essex. This year’s 24^th edition is hosted by our Essex counterparts. 

It’s a bright and early morning for those travelling to Colchester, some are left out of the equation and feeling major fomo.

Overall, there are 27 sports clubs playing out of the 56 UEA has to offer and 39 fixtures throughout the day, starting from 9am and the last being Netball which ends at 8pm. 

Some fixtures are being held elsewhere, swimming and athletics are at the Sports Park and Golf is at Lexden Woods Golf Club (Colchester).  

Here’s a list of sports participating:  

 High morales are all around as the UEA media collective comprising of Concrete, UEA TV and livewire are all blood sweat and tears from reporting non-stop.  

Throughout the day, there are medal presentations at the Square so make sure to harness your high hopes and show your support from afar. Fingers crossed that this year will be our 12^th consecutive win.  

We’ll be back in the morning with live reports across a range of different sports.

Tune in from 10AM to read the latest updates or watch live on UEATV.