SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

Chairman’s Review
I am delighted with the breadth and depth of
commitment to University sport demonstrated in this
Annual Review. Enthusiasm for and participation in
sport contributes greatly to the richness of academic
life in Cambridge. It is not just that, as all the evidence
shows, a brain works much better and for longer if it
lives in a fit and healthy body. From college-level
Bumps and Cuppers competitions to the Varsity Match
and the Boat Race, watching and participating in sport
binds the community together and helps it reach out
to the world.While college-level sport allows students
(and the occasional enthusiastic post-doc or Fellow) to
relax and make friends, serious participants in
University-level sport acquire time- and projectmanagement
skills which enhance their academic
achievements and are much sought after in the
increasingly competitive graduate jobs market. Even
for those who go down four places in the Bumps and
2 Sports Yearbook 2011
end up at the foot of their division, the memories of
winter sunrises over the river and the camaraderie of
the crew will remain a joy for life. For those who are
awarded Blues for representing the University, the
honour and recognition will last forever.
I am also delighted that the University's Planning and
Resources Committee has now approved the business
plan for the long-awaited Sports Centre on the West
Cambridge site.The project seems to have had an
unusually long gestation period even by Cambridge
standards. According to Dr. John Marks, Life Fellow of
Girton College and devotee of University sport, it was
already being discussed when he was first in
Cambridge in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Interest in and support for the project has grown in
the intervening years, and it is now recognised that
the need for a Sports Centre has become pressing.The
new Centre will be built on the West Cambridge site, a
short cycle ride from the existing athletics and hockey
facilities at Wilberforce Road.We hope to have Phase 1
open in time for the start of the 2013/14 academic
year, with Phases 2 and 3 following when funds allow.
This can only help to generate even greater
enthusiasm for and participation in sport at all levels
across the University.
This Review is a record and a celebration of a year of
impressive sporting achievement and I congratulate
all those whose names appear here and hope that
many others will be inspired to take part and compete
in the future.