Jo Carter - Week 6

AU President Jo Carter

Last years award ceremony, held at Toffs, was not seen as a success as "York St John did not want to be in Toffs at 8 in the evening and we didn’t want to be in Toffs on a Wednesday", so a change of venue was very much welcomed.

This move is aiming to increase the profile of the event and "get more people involved." Carter explains that by having a campus award ceremony and by "issuing a programme, press releases and posters should create a buzz around campus."

An optimistic Carter will also "contact BBC Radio Yorkshire and the BBC North Yorkshire website" in an attempt to make the local community more aware.

One of the more popular events next week could be a potential staff 5-a-side football match. With no confirmed players, it could well be worth a watch to see if your lecturer is a secret Stevie Gerrard.

One negative about Varsity is that, through the success of many teams in BUSA competition, some matches clash with BUSA knock out rounds. One team affected is the Badminton first team who "in an attempt to make Varsity more competitive" will play their second team as the firsts, and form a third team to represent the seconds.

The Football first team are also in this predicament but "hope to play before Wednesday." Carter says that "ideally, all matches will be played by Wednesday evening."

Carter exerts her confidence by stating that she "would be very upset if York did not win Varsity."

"I would be very upset if York did not win Varsity."
Jo Carter

Something that has made many people very upset, is the lack of college rugby at the University, however Carter has "been working closely with the University of York Rugby Football Club President, Chris Carrington and first team captain, Paul Goodall" in order to get college rugby off the ground.

A stumbling block has been the matter of insurance, but apparently that is now "all sorted." Most college sports are "insured through BUSA insurance, which is an AU policy, however, due to the nature of rugby, the club has been told to ensure through the AU and the Rugby Football Union."

While the legal requirements are being sorted, on the playing fields, "there has certainly been interest" and Carter describes the prospects as "promising" and thinks it should be a big success."

She adds: "smaller colleges will have a disadvantage due to numbers". Asked whether college rugby was on course to start next year, Carter admitted she was "unsure about a regular league next year" and that she had "left it to the UYRFC."

This may well be bad news for would-be rugby players who missed out on University rugby, or University sport for that matter.

Is enough done for those who missed out on University sport in their first term or first year of University? Perhaps freshers week had left a promising sports player in bed, feeling like a mess when sports trial were on.

Obviously it can be argued if you were serious about sport then this wouldn’t have happened but players can be injured or uninterested at an early stage of their University life.

Could more be done for sportsmen who thought they had missed the boat? Carter says that "a couple of years ago there was a refreshers week, in order to help new players get involved, but the AU haven’t been able to budget for one since and haven’t had the finances to support one." Though she does admit that it is a "good idea, as many students make New Years resolutions which causes a revived interest in playing University sport."

Even when some players do get involved, a sense of the players who have been there since the start being in something of a clique can put off some new starters. When asked about this, Carter admitted that the sports team do have "close bonds" and that sometimes it is "difficult to differentiate between good team spirit and the presence of a clique."

She ended her interview with The Yorker by saying that "its what sports teams are all about" and that it would be "harsh" to say that a negative atmosphere is created by cliques.

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