THE University of Worcester are out to retain the Varsity trophy for the third year in a row as preparations ramp up across the campus.
Teams from the University of Worcester will face teams from the University of Gloucestershire in 17 separate events.
This includes men’s and women’s football and rugby, to basketball, badminton, netball, volleyball and more.
Each win is worth a point and the university with the most points at the end of the competition wins the tournament and trophy.
This year’s Varsity competition takes place from Wednesday, April 2 to Wednesday, April 9
Varsity organiser and vice president of student activities at Worcester Students’ Union, Jack Lambert said: “It’s so competitive, because it’s Worcester vs Gloucestershire, and because so many students from both sides come out to watch and cheer their teams on there’s added pressure from that as well.
“There’ll be people holding up signs, cheering, and chanting for the whole duration of every match, but that pressure makes it even more brilliant, especially if you’re able to celebrate at the end of it.
“The competition creates a good atmosphere, and it’s a really nice occasion for students who might not be into the particular sport they’re watching, but they’re passionate about their university so they get to be involved too.”
The first Worcester versus Gloucestershire Varsity event took place in 2010 with the trophy making several trips up and down the M5 since the inaugural competition.
Gloucestershire held the trophy until 2015 before Worcester finally claimed the prize and has traded between the two universities ever since.
The two universities drew for the trophy in 2019 while no games took place in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lambert added: “We won the last two years, and last year we won by a good margin so we’re hoping for another win.”
“The games are held at venues across both cities in the first two weeks of April, with the final day being in Worcester, so hopefully we’ll have another trophy presentation at home.”
