By Joe Lubasa
The city’s biggest university event is set to return for its annual contest in which De Montfort University and the University of Leicester go head-to-head in a multitude of sporting events.
The Varsity series has been a long-standing tradition in Leicester involving students in their respective sports teams competing for silverware and bragging rights throughout the city.
And for many years, it has delivered some memorable moments between the two universities.
The series is set to take place between Wednesday, March 19, through to Sunday, March 23, over a five-day period across the city with a variety of sports being showcased to students as well as the public.
A huge benefit this gives is the ability for students who may have missed out on the opportunity to trial for a team to see the high standard of sport for themselves ahead of potentially wanting to play the sport or opening their eyes to a new sport they may not have had in mind to take up, whether it be competitively or as a hobby whilst balancing their studies.
But the event does not take place on its own, the teams over at DMUSport and UOLSport both go through intense planning to make sure that the events run as smoothly as possible.
Matthew Hobson, of DMUSport, has a long list of things to plan and execute as he approaches his first Varsity with the DMUSport team.
“I’m looking forward to all the sports but in particular some of the ones that don’t get a chance to be seen normally on Wednesdays, like equestrian and karting,” he said. “Those that don’t get as much exposure at Varsity.
“There is quite a lot that goes into planning in terms of venues, timings and days of fixtures which suit both DMU and UOL teams. And the other element is staffing, getting officials for all of those events as well.”
