Welsh Varsity: Medics gear up for Cardiff and Swansea universities' sports day
- Published
Emergency services are gearing up for one of the biggest days in Wales' student sporting calendar.
Welsh Varsity sees Cardiff University and Swansea University go head-to-head in a day of sport - culminating in a rugby match at the Millennium Stadium.
The Welsh Ambulance Service has put in place extra services and a mobile treatment centre in the city.
An alcohol treatment centre at Ebenezer Chapel, Charles Street, will also open for the first time.
Around 30,000 students are expected at the stadium on Wednesday evening.
The event, in its 16th year, saw about 1,000 students compete in 20 events around the city, such as football, golf, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and hockey.
Bob Tooby, the Welsh Ambulance Service's Head of Service for Cardiff and the Vale, said: "There can be a tendency for some students to overindulge in alcohol and become unwell and although we don't want to be killjoys, we do ask students to act responsibly and look after their friends and colleagues."
Extra staff will be on duty to deal with an anticipated increase in emergency calls.
The service's mobile treatment centre on St Mary's Street, run by St John Wales volunteers, will be open to treat walk-in patients and minor injuries.
Cardiff's Alcohol Treatment Centre at Ebenezer Chapel will act as a triage point where students can be assessed.
The triage point cost £85,000 but the ambulance service said it will ease pressure in accident and emergency at the University Hospital of Wales.
Swansea has won the Welsh Varsity 10 times and Cardiff has triumphed five times over the last 15 years.
However, Cardiff beat its rival team last year and Swansea now has a point to prove, according to Imogen Stanley, sports officer from Swansea's students' union.
But she said she did not expect problems after the rugby match.
"Students will always be students and they do like to have a good time," she told BBC Radio Wales.
"I think they know their limits - they practise quite a lot - so I think they will take the advice on board and be safe when they get home to their cities."