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44 FRIDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2010 felix
SPORT
Baseball: Not just
rounders played by
men... honest!
They were all so happy that they didn’t notice the cheeky chap on the right, nicking their trophy
Hugh McDowell
I would love to say that I am profi ling
the Imperial Baseball team as an oath
of allegiance to Boston Red Sox owner
John W. Henry, the not-so-evil American
who is replacing the most defi nitely evil
American former-owners of my beloved
Liverpool. How romantic it would have
been, after all, to celebrate Mr Henry’s
arrival on these grey shores by engrossing
myself in anything and everything to
with America.
We Liverpool fans love America, after
all. We’ve always loved it. I for one
certainly do not remember the hatred towards
Messrs. Gillette and Hicks spilling
over into anything untoward being
said about their homeland. Any fl ags to
the effect of ‘Yanks Out’ that you think
you may have seen at Anfi eld over the
last number of years were probably a
fi gment of your imagination.
However, rather than being the product
of a defi nitely-not-xenophobic
football fanatic, this article was born
through far more mundane circumstances.
Somewhere between studying
stochastic calculus and contemplating
the ramifi cations of my own withering
job prospects, I received a timely and
cheerful message from my editor/superior,
demanding I write something about
baseball. Being the obedient subordinate
that I am, I obliged.
Relatively speaking, the Imperial Falcons
are a young club. Founded in the
summer of 2009, the Falcons boast an
impressive record of success, and have
already won this year’s Fall Cup, which
features the top six university teams
in the country. The team remain undefeated
this season and hope to follow
on from the Fall Cup by defending their
Southern League title.
The team trains every Wednesday,
varying between Harlington, Hyde Park,
and Northwick Park batting cages. Work
on a baseball pitch at Harlington which
will allow Imperial to host matches
is nearing completion. The team is
coached by the club’s senior members,
several of whom are accredited coaches.
One Falcon, Kevin Ling, is keen to
stress the inclusive nature of the club:
“The club welcomes all, irrespective
of ability. A lot of returning members,
which had no experience with the sport
before joining, are now integral parts
of the Falcons and have earned starting
roles.
“The team embodies the philosophy of
camaraderie and team work. One of the
winning factors the Falcons have is the
encouragement that can be heard from
the fi eld and dugouts. We play because
we enjoy being in a competitive team
and have a collective interest in Baseball,
whether acquired or not.”
The club owes a debt of gratitude to
Sport Imperial, which it says have been
very supportive of the fl edgling Falcons.
It provided the club with an equipment
grant as well as helping to construct the
club’s fi rst pitch and mound at Harlington.
Ling also cites support received
from the Union and from the Harlington
Grant as instrumental in the club’s success.
Although the club is still considered
‘new’, Ling says that they have had little
diffi culty in recruiting; there were over
fi fty attendees at their fi rst ever training
session last year. He is keen to stress that
the club welcomes beginners. “No previous
experience is necessary; the basics
of the sport can be taught very quickly,
all you need to do is turn up to sessions.
Every single person on the team is learning
all the time.”
Sports Editors: Jovan Nedic
David Wilson
sport.felix@imperial.ac.uk
Ultimate Frisbee
qualify for Wolverhampton
nationals
This kind of move can get you to the nationals...in Wolverhampton
...Continued from back page
structed their zone defence. Recording
a 9-1 victory, Imperial took their biggest
win of the season so far. Despite
this rout, dD fi nished third in their pool,
losing on a head-to-head tiebreaker with
Brunel. The fi nal game of the day saw
dD play a crossover against the University
of Kent third team who, despite
at one point being 2-1 up, proved little
challenge for Imperial, who duly took
the victory.
Sunday was a very important day, with
each team that Imperial played knowing
that a loss could see them miss out on a
Nationals spot. The University of Reading
provided Imperial’s fi rst opponents
of the day and, with both teams evenly
matched, the game was gritty and tight.
Despite a tough performance dD came
out on top, grinding out a win on a sudden-death
point. Roehampton University,
fresh from their defeat of King’s College
London, gave Imperial their next
headache, giving nothing away cheaply
and forcing dD to play hard and smart.
Another close game saw Imperial win
by a single point.
The mysteries of scheduling meant
that dD knew their opponents for their
next match very well, having played
Brunel less than thirty-six hours ago.
Imperial were a very different team
from the one that played the day before
and competed with the confi dence that
developed over the tournament. Winning
by a solid margin, Imperial earned
a rematch against Portsmouth. With the
winner of the game qualifying for Division
1, and the losers Division 2, dD
knew it was all to play for. In front of a
capacity crowd, Imperial played coolly
and had the vast majority of possession,
but mistakes were forced and Sublime’s
transition from defence to offence was
fast and effective. Portsmouth took the
spot for Division 1, but in qualifying for
Division 2 Imperial have the opportunity
to defend the trophy they won last
year.
Imperial’s other teams gave good performances
and, despite having only a
handful of experienced players, matched
up to several quality sides. The second
team, dD2, started the tournament with
a resounding win over the University
of Surrey’s Mohawks 3, followed by
a tough game against Thrown 2, from
King’s College London. Even playing
teams ranked up to thirteen places above
them, dD2 showed cool heads to score
well-worked points but, owing to the
lack of tournament experience, could
manage only conciliatory scores in their
fi nal match against Kent 3. With an average
of less than a month’s experience
across the team, dD3 suffered a steep
learning curve but no loss of enthusiasm.
Overcoming the fi rst-tournament
nerves quickly, dD3 kept calm and
played smart. Their team spirit shone
through as they maintained the dream of
qualifying for Nationals until, and even
after, it was impossible.
Once again Imperial College Ultimate
qualifi ed for Nationals, to take
place later this month. Gelling as a team
and playing with confi dence and style,
dD displayed the qualities necessary to
perform at the highest level and go to
Wolverhampton to defend their Division
2 title. With both of the other Imperial
teams holding their own at such a competitive
tournament, the future bodes
well for this year’s infl ux of new players
who, this time next year, could be looking
forward to a place at Indoor Nationals
2011.