Varsity 2019: Descendants of 1919 uni sports stars sought
- Published
Descendants of the first students to take part in inter-university games are being sought as the annual Welsh Varsity is held 100 years on.
Cardiff University was one of 10 founding members of the Inter-Varsity Board of England and Wales, which first competed in 1919.
An expected 20,000 spectators will watch 900 athletes contest 46 events across Cardiff on Wednesday.
Thousands of Swansea and Cardiff students will take part.
Ranging from the traditional football, cricket and rowing, to the slightly more unusual canoe polo and ultimate frisbee, varsity also raises tens of thousands of pounds for charity.
Cardiff University's 1925 hockey team followed on from the successes of the 1919 first inter-university games
The day culminates with the flagship women's and then men's rugby matches at the Principality Stadium.
It's all a far cry from the first Welsh Varsity 1997 competition, where the only sport on offer was rugby, watched by a modest crowd of just 974 at Cardiff Arms Park.
However, head of sport at Cardiff University, Stuart Vanstone, explained sporting rivalries between Welsh universities went back much further than 1997.
"For Cardiff, this year's varsity marks 100 years since we first competed in inter-university sport.
"Then called University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, we were one of 10 founding members of the Inter-Varsity Athletics Board of England and Wales - which also included Bangor and Aberystwyth - and we took part in their inaugural games in Manchester in May 1919.
"We'd be delighted if we could track down the descendants of anyone who took part in those games."
Cardiff University's current women's football team
Events included athletics, netball, tennis, as well as tug-of-war, and took place in front of a crowd of 2,000.
The Manchester Guardian reported that BC Watson of Cardiff competed in the high jump and had "by far the prettier style, but he appeared to tire at the critical moment and was placed third".
Hardly surprising he was tired as BC Watson had had a busy day; also coming third in the final of the 100 yards race.
Swansea missed out on that event as they were not formed until the following year, but by the late 1920s they too were strong members of the Inter-Varsity Athletics Board, making their mark with a 2-0 hockey win over Bangor in 1924, and going on to excel in cricket, rugby and tennis in particular.
Inter-university sport is now organised by BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport), who oversee 4,800 teams across 170 UK colleges and universities.
The university had teams predating the inter-varsity board, such as this men's polo team from 1912.....
.... and this tennis club from 1899.
However, for Katie Davies - who has a foot in both camps, the Cardiff/Swansea rivalry eclipses all others.
Final-year archaeology student Katie will be the lone striker for Cardiff in her third women's football varsity match, but plays her club football for Swansea City in the Welsh Women's Premier League.
"I've played for the Swans in the Champions' League, Welsh Cup finals and league deciders, but I can honestly say I never get more nervous than before a varsity match," she said.
"Everyone gets swept up in the whole derby day thing, the two city rivals coming together, and the atmosphere is incredible.
"I'll definitely be feeling the pressure as it's my final game and we've drawn the last two so I finally want to get one over on them, plus with having a foot in both camps, if we don't win I'll really get some ribbing off the Swansea girls."
The destination of the overall Varsity Shield is determined by points awarded for all 46 events, but none is more keenly contested than the two blue-ribbon Varsity Cups, awarded for the men's and women's rugby matches.
Cardiff's men look for their third win in a row against an injury-weakened Swansea side.
Meanwhile Swansea's women are strong favourites, as they now compete in the BUCS Premier League, a division above Cardiff.
- Published25 April 2013
- Published16 March 2018
