‘Our team travels to a lot of competitions throughout the year, so it was different to compete at our home club. The atmosphere felt very friendly and didn’t have the typical tension felt before a competition. I almost felt like I was on the same side as the people I was competing against due to the relaxed atmosphere, and I ended up performing better as I didn’t feel pressured- which ultimately resulted in a win.
It feels amazing to the Christie Cup champions. A lot of hard work practising went into the preparation for Christie Cup, and it felt good to get the outcome I wanted.’ -Hugh (he/him)
‘Christie Cup was a really positive experience and the atmosphere during the day felt incredible. A lot of effort went into organising and hosting the event and I am proud of how well it went. It felt amazing to win. Our win was closer than in previous years, so we didn’t know what the result was going to be until the last minute. I must admit, winning was the most memorable moment of the day, for me. It felt special to have everyone from different sports teams cheering for each other at the Awards Ceremony and it was fun to celebrate our win at the Afterparty.’ -Izzy (she/her)
‘Playing in the Christie Cup was an amazing experience. I always tell people about Christie Cup and how we are the second-oldest Varsity in the country. People always think it is cool. In terms of the competition, we were at a similar level to the Liverpool and Manchester teams, so we didn’t know what the outcome was going to be. Initially, we drew with Manchester, then Manchester beat Liverpool 4:2. We knew we had to beat Manchester 5:1, or better, to win. The stakes were very high, so it felt incredible when we did win. My favourite part of the day was celebrating our win with the rest of my team. Since we are a mixed-gender society, we often have men and women playing in different places. It felt wonderful to have a combined celebration at the end of the day.’ -Harry (he/him)
‘Competing in Christie Cup was such a fun day. Our team out face paint on and put glitter and ribbons in our hair. It was such a wholesome day and it felt really good to have a win. We were confident we would beat Manchester and Liverpool though, since we compete at a higher level than them, but a win never gets old. It also feels amazing to know that we are the Champions of the North.
Since we normally play competitively, it is unusual to have everyone out on the court at once, so that was a highlight. My favourite moment from the entire day though, was getting ready together as a team. We don’t usually dress up for a competition, so it felt really good to get ready together and have a stress-free game day. It felt like an end-of-term celebration.’ -Gemma (she/her)
‘The Christie Cup was a massively positive experience overall. There is a lot of preparation and work that goes into it behind the scenes, but we have an amazing team here at Leeds Sport- whether that’s within our team at LUU or with our colleagues from SPA (Sports and Physical Activity, University of Leeds). It is amazing to see students having such an amazing day, getting to exercise their passions and compete at the highest level. I also loved seeing the celebratory atmosphere at the Awards Ceremony and After Party.’ -Matty (he/him)
Thank you to Aldi for sponsoring Christie Cup.
This article has been edited for clarity before being published.
