Reasons to be cheerful as Team Surrey goes on Christmas Break

The 2011-2012 season has been a bit of a mixed bag for Team Surrey. They have won almost as many games as they have lost, the joy of victory and the despair of defeat having gone hand-in-hand on many occasions. As The Stag prepares to close its production factories, its beleaguered writers give their stinging typing fingers a well-earned rest and the readers prepare to weep in the absence of their favourite University of Surrey–based fortnightly paper, Team Surrey can approach the festive season in good spirits but with some lessons to be learnt.

For many, this year has been a baptism of fire, a first taste of the often overlooked world of competitive university sport, but for others they will simply want 2011 to go on and on. Surrey sits an encouraging 11th in the standings for the South-East region in the BUCS (British University and Colleges Sport) league, with the opportunity to climb higher in the coming weeks and in the New Year.

At time of writing, Surrey have five teams which remain unbeaten:

Rugby Union Men’s 1st - Six wins from six matches

Hockey Women’s 1st -  Four wins from five matches

Fencing Women’s 1st - Five wins from five matches

Badminton Women’s 1st - Two wins and two draws from four matches to top their league

Volleyball Men’s 1st - Three wins from three matches

As a result of this, these teams sit at or near the top of their respective divisions, and I wanted to find out why they have been so successful.  If you read my article in the last issue of The Stag (and why wouldn’t you?!), then you’ll know that Surrey’s women fencers had enjoyed a fine start to their debut season, winning all of their first three games. They have since stretched that record to five with victories over UCL and previous table-toppers Sussex. Captain Rebecca Smethurst continues to praise her hard–working team and the guidance of their coaches, but emphasises that they must be “ready to train hard for the next set of matches to stay top.”

Meanwhile, the Men’s Rugby Union first XV continue to go from strength to strength. It is a cliché that you can only beat what’s put in front of you, but Surrey have done this with such style that they have stormed clear in their division, often winning by handsome margins, including their 64–0 victory over Imperial College London Medics in mid-November. They attribute their success to their “professional attitude towards training and playing” and that is clearly coming through in their impressive results. They will be aiming for promotion in the New Year and on current form that is likely to be achieved sooner rather than later.

Continuing the success stories, the Women’s 1st XI Hockey have won their first five games, crushing nearly every team in their path. In their last three games, they have scored a staggering twenty-seven (yes, twenty-seven) goals, conceding just one in the process. They are another team for whom promotion is as obviously necessary as it is surely inevitable.

The club boasts a very good social scene, but the girls also take their hockey very seriously and it is this attitude which has seen them soar to the top. Although the Men’s 1st XI side are struggling in a very high division, hopefully the women can serve as inspiration to turn their season around.

In order to perform my duties for The Stag, my brilliant journalism skills need to be coupled with knowledge from the games I cover. Although I have often been to the Surrey Sports Park on miserable days, it is still a magnificent complex. I believe these facilities have contributed significantly to Team Surrey’s success so far, offering an abundance of football and hockey pitches, there are also netball and tennis courts, and much, much more inside. This, coupled with a newly-found professionalism in many of the university’s sports teams has led to a resurgence in fortunes. I can’t wait to go back next semester, hopefully to oversee Surrey continue to impress.

Wishing a happy holiday to Team Surrey and to you all!