Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s Update

Hilary term 2015

xford’s tradition of academic excellence goes hand ’s achievements in the sporting arena are matched O in hand with a reputation for sporting excellence. by the range and volume of activity that takes place across the collegiate University. We offer the largest variety We have a proud Olympic heritage dating back to the of sports of any university in the world, with over 85 Games of the I Olympiad in 1896, with a tally of 158 University clubs and 200 college clubs catering for all tastes Olympic medals won by our students and alumni on and levels, from the interested beginner to the international behalf of many nations across the globe, including three athlete. And each year over 140 Varsity matches take place golds and two bronzes at London in 2012. World records across 70-plus sports, with new disciplines added regularly. have been set by our students, including Charles Burgess Fry, who equalled the long jump world record in 1893 (the This issue of the newsletter focuses on sport at Oxford same year in which he took a first-class degree in Classics), and the ways in which External Affairs works to support and Roger Bannister, who on 6 May 1954 became the first and promote it. The stories we highlight include the £60m person to run a mile in under four minutes. redevelopment of the Iffley Road sports complex, and the – one of the most popular fixtures in the British sporting making of sporting history on 11 April when the BNY calendar, which attracts television audiences of over 15 Mellon Boat Race is joined on the Tideway for the first million – features oarsmen and women of international time by the Newton Women’s Boat Race. standing. The Oxford Blue – an accolade that stems from I hope you will join me in cheering on the Dark Blues – the first Boat Race in 1829, when Cambridge tied light both men and women – whether it’s from the banks of the blue ribbons to their boat and Oxford adopted Christ Thames, at a Boat Race dinner or in the comfort of your Church’s dark blue – is widely recognised as a symbol own living room. of sporting excellence. With all good wishes for the Easter break, Nick Rawlins

1 Hilary term 2015 Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s Update

Members of the Women’s Blue Boat with the Vice-Chancellor after their victory in the 2014 Newton Boat Race.

Women’s Boat Race moves to the Tideway 2015 marks an important milestone for the Boat Race The Boat Race dates back to 1829 and was the result of a as it is the first year that the women’s and men’s races will challenge between two school friends: Charles Wordsworth be held on the same day and on the same 4.5 mile course (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth) of Christ from Putney to Mortlake. Saturday 11 April will see the Church, Oxford, and Charles Merrivale of St John’s, first Newton Women’s Boat Race on the Tideway take place Cambridge. The first women’s race took place in 1927 at 4.50pm, followed by Isis v Goldie at 5.20pm and then on , where according to The Times, the teams were the 161st Oxford v Cambridge BNY Mellon Boat Race marked on ‘steadiness, finish, rhythm and other matters at 5.50pm. The move has been made possible through of style’; it was not until 1964 that the race became an a five-year sponsorship deal with BNY Mellon and its annual event. The current score stands at 40 to Cambridge, UK-based subsidiary Newton, which began in 2013. 29 to Oxford, in the women’s race; and 81 to Cambridge, 78 to Oxford, in the men’s race. The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor will be hosting a cocktail reception for alumni and donors aboard the Erasmus, which is moored alongside the start line at Putney Bridge. One of the aims of the event is to showcase the breadth of student talent at Oxford and raise the profile of sport at the University, particularly women in sport. The Alumni Office will also be hosting a stand on the Riverside Terrace during the afternoon so that alumni can find out more about the benefits and offers

available to them. University Judges Images / Rob Oxford

2 Hilary term 2015 Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s Update

Above left: The planned Acer Nethercott Sports Hall. Right: Acer Nethercott winning an Olympic silver medal in 2008.

Sports hall named in honour of Sporting awards ‘model scholar-athlete’ Talented sportsmen and women at Oxford are being The first phase of the University’s new sports centre at invited to apply for sporting awards offered by the Iffley Road is to be named in memory of Dr Acer Nethercott, University’s Alumni Association. Four awards of £250 who died two years ago aged 35. A ‘model scholar-athlete’, will be made in Trinity term to undergraduate and in the words of the Vice-Chancellor, Acer coxed three crews graduate students to help them excel in their chosen to victory in the Boat Race (the women’s crew in 2000 and sport and contribute to the success of sport at Oxford. the men’s boat in 2003 and 2005) and won an Olympic silver The deadline for applications is Monday 1 June. Details medal and two World Championship bronze medals as a cox are at www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/sporting-awards. for Great Britain. He also excelled in his studies at Oxford, gaining a first and a doctorate in the philosophy of language. Sporting offers The Acer Nethercott Sports Hall will be the first building Discounted sporting facilities are just some of the offers of the redevelopment of the Iffley Road sports complex, a available to alumni through the Oxford Alumni Card. £60 million project that will increase the available space for Card holders are entitled to discounted membership of University sports clubs and members of the local community. the gym and swimming pool at Iffley Road as well as The new building will contain a four-court sports hall for membership of the University Club on Mansfield Road. 30 indoor sports and a multi-purpose activity room for Other benefits include educational tours, opportunities exercise classes and community use. The facility will feature for lifelong learning, and the online Oxford Alumni the latest technology including, potentially, an LED backlit Community – a professional networking platform designed glass floor – the first of its kind in the UK. Subsequent to help alumni connect with each other all over the world. phases of the sports complex will include an indoor tennis Members can post and search for jobs and mentors, view centre, a combined rugby and training centre, events and search the directory for other alumni members. and a new grandstand incorporating a cricket school. Find out more at the new-look alumni website at Fundraising is in full swing for the £8m needed to enable www.alumni.ox.ac.uk. construction to begin, with around £6m having already been secured. Sir Roger Bannister is Patron of the Appeal, and a letter that was recently sent in his name to alumni has resulted in nearly 200 donations totalling £80,000, demonstrating the depth and breadth of support for this initiative. Oxford University Images / Oxford Smolonski Greg

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