UPSU has retained the Varsity title this year, beating Marjon 25-21.
The annual sporting event between the University of Plymouth and Marjon took place across March 2023 with a total of 23 matches from 13 different disciplines involving more than 500 students!
Varsity is the biggest sporting event of the year in the city, involving thousands of students, either taking part or supporting, with the final fixture of rugby taking place at Plymouth Albion.
Varsity originated as a challenge between the Men's Rugby teams to raise money for charity. Varsity itself is steeped in history with years of competitions taking place. Over the years, the competition has grown into a multiple-discipline sports competition, giving over 500 students the opportunity to showcase their skills in the sport they love.
For Badminton and Table Tennis, this was their first ever Varsity, and for Basketball it was their first time playing at the Plymouth Pavilions. It was great to have added these new sports to the timetable and be able to provide a great new space for the Basketball match to take place.
Each year, Varsity raises a large amount for charity through contributions from ticket sales as well as donations. This year, the chosen charities were Breast Cancer UK and The British Heart Foundation.
Varsity 2023 raised an incredible £11022.30 for charity!
Thank you to everyone who has got involved this year, whether it's watching, supporting, playing, coaching or organising, Varsity wouldn't be the same without you.
Below you can find quotes from your VP Activities, Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis and the full table of results.
Mitch Laughton
Varsity returned for another year, and what an incredible event it was. It was down to the wire with the result being decided in the final fixture of the competition, but we remained victorious and brought the Trophy back where it belongs for yet another year. I am extremely proud of all the Teams that took part, they have really outdone themselves with many going into fixtures as underdogs but leaving as champions, the tenacity and desire that was on display is truly what our clubs are about. They played with a hunger and desire to win.
Having said this, Varsity is much more than a sporting competition, who won and who lost. It's an opportunity for people to come together, support their friends, make new friends, and a chance for all of our students to raise a life changing amount of money for charities playing and supporting the sports they love. Varsity this year was a show of the real Team Plymouth. We are not a team because we play sport together, we are a team because we respect, trust and care for one another.
That's the real Team Plymouth.
Mitch Laughton (VP Activities 2022-23)
team.plymouth
Men's Rugby
Taking part in Varsity is just a surreal experience… it’s one night where you’re made to feel like a professional. Seeng all your friends, your family up in the stands. Knowing that the whole varsity result came down to our game…. There isn’t a feeling like it.
Playing infront of all those people. From the first minute you’ve got the buzz for it. When you’re warming up you couldn’t hear yourself think from all the support from the crowd. Knowing that everything is there to watch you and your team gives you a feel like no other. Yes there a lot of pressure in that however it is something that everyone embraced and used as fuel throughout the game.
Knowing that varsity came down to our result did not phase us. We had worked so hard all year, fully prepared put the long hard hours in to make sure whatever Marjon threw at us they never stood a chance. We were always confident that we were going to get the job done and do everyone proud.
Rugby (M) | Rugby (M)
uprfcinstagram | UPWRFC1
Basketball
I can talk for all my teammates that playing in Varsity on a big stage was not only nerve wrecking for all us players but also extremely exciting. The lead up to the game itself was rigorous and there was a lot of preparation taken at least on court to make sure we would succeed on the day. Unfortunately, as we all know we kept it close but we fell short however, this is needless to say of how proud as a captain I was of all the boys and the girl’s team that took part on the day! Playing in front of a big crowd is all any sportsperson dreams of and it was a privilege that we all were given the opportunity to do so and showcase our talents and skills that we had been working hard to perfect all season. (Jakob Weekes, 1st team Mens captain).
Basketball (M) | Basketball (W)
plymouthsharks | plymouthsharks_ladies
Badminton
Its the first ever Varsity for badminton, how does it feel taking part in it?
It was good fun to take part in it! We were not sure what to expect since we’ve never previously played marjon before, so it was nice to partake in varsity and get us points.
We are hopeful that this fixture will continue into the future as it would benefit all our players involved.
You had a good win over Marjon, did you do anything to prepare yourselves to help get this win?
We focused our training matches on shot consistency, to make sure there were as few points being thrown away as possible.
Badminton
plymouthunibadmintonclub
Table Tennis
It’s the first ever Varsity for table tennis, how does it feel taking part in it?
It feels amazing to be part of Varsity this year. We have had a strong team over the past few years, with a player placing second in the national BUCS plate last year. It is great that we have been able to get our players more game time and hopefully increase the popularity of the sport for the years to come!
You had a good win over Marjon, did you do anything to prepare yourselves to help get this win?
Some members of our squad are used to coaching. This has allowed us to incorporate different drills into the sessions helping players improve on their weaknesses, with added input from a professional coach. This year we encouraged our players to properly coach each other throughout matches, which helped deliver the impressive end result!
Table Tennis
plymunittc
Final Results
Congratulations to all students who took part in this year's Varsity, you have all done yourselves and Team Plymouth proud.
That's a wrap for Varsity 2023, until we battle it out again next year, we are the champions.