Women’s Rugby win Club of the Year as Lacrosse and Women’s Cricket also take two awards each
Friday night saw hundreds of students celebrating a year of sporting achievements in Birmingham’s Hilton Metropole for Warwick’s annual Sports Ball.
After an afternoon of socialising on the campus piazza and a meal, students flocked to hear Louis Gosling, the outgoing VP Sports. He praised the high calibre of Team Warwick before commencing the awards ceremony.
The first award of the night went to Lacrosse, who won the Volunteering Award. Also shortlisted for the award were Women’s Hockey. In the end, the award went to Lacrosse, who were shortlisted for six awards in total.
The club shared with The Boar that “we owe our success to the incredible dedication of all of our members, putting so much time into our volunteering opportunities such as teaching lacrosse in schools across the local area, and various community and charity projects, such as our work helping to build community gardens in Leamington.”
It’s fantastic to see our contributions towards our local area and our projects helping to introduce the sport we love into accessible and fun environments have such a positive impact this year
Warwick Lacrosse
Second, Gosling announced the Exec of the Year, which was between Lacrosse, Women’s Cricket, and Women’s Rugby Union. The award went to a very excited Women’s Cricket.
UWWCC President, Leo Ives, said this year had been a year of “firsts” for the club and the exec, as they ran their “first international tour, a record number of friendlies, first time running 8am fielding sessions throughout the winter, first alumni match, first local league,” and the first run of a three-week-long Traitors game inside the club as well.
It’s easy to take for granted the consistent energy and team the consistent energy and hard work of this exec team on a daily basis, but as Pres I cannot express how incredibly dedicated every member is, and what an absolute joy this team has been to work with
Leo Ives, UWWCC
Next, the Reshaping Sport Award went to Fencing. Lacrosse and Rohit Ravichandran from Archery were also shortlisted. The award asks for engagement “with SU-led (or other) liberation and welfare campaigns to make sport at Warwick as accessible and inclusive as possible for people of all abilities and identities.”
The outgoing co-President of Fencing, Matteo O’Donoghue, told The Boar that “we were delighted to receive the Reshaping Sport Award this year for our para-fencing project, especially after such an important year for disability sport at Warwick. Para-fencing has been about making sports clubs genuinely accessible, not just by providing adapted kit and coaching, but by fully integrating para-fencers into training, socials, and the club exec.”
We’re proud that this project has already engaged students who had never previously taken part in university sport. With the project continuing next year, we look forward to seeing where our para-fencers go next!
Matteo O’Donoghue, Warwick Fencing
The award for Community and Fundraising went, with little shock, to Classical and Modern Dance (CMD), whose annual fundraiser is one of the most highly anticipated and attended events of the year. In a statement to The Boar, CMD shared that they were “incredibly honoured to receive this award”.
“CMD has always been about using something we love to make a positive impact on the world around us. Whether that is through supporting local charities or community initiatives, it is so rewarding to see how our shared passion for dancing can create meaningful change,” the club shared.
This recognition means a great deal to both our members and our exec team because it motivates us to continue making a difference wherever we can
CMD
The club awarded Most Improved Team was the Women’s Cross Country team, who are part of Warwick’s Athletics and Cross Country club (WUAXC). Their current Women’s Officer, Charlotte Ratley, collected the award on the evening and said that “women’s cross country has come so far this year, both in terms of participation and individual performances. We love the motivating community of girls within WUAXC Women, who consistently support and push each other to perform at their best, both on and off the track.”
We had a record number of women competing at the BUCS National Cross Country Championships this year, and WUAXC’s women’s team won their cross country league for the first time ever, securing a well-deserved promotion to Division One. This is a testament to the competitive environment that we, as a club, have fostered
Charlotte Ratley, WUAXC
BUCS team of the year went to Lacrosse, specifically their Men’s 1st team.
After already winning an award earlier in the evening, the club shared that “we are immensely grateful for the recognition of the fantastic season that the men’s 1s have had this year, topping the league with an unbeaten season and earning ourselves a promotion to the Northern Premier. We are incredibly pleased to receive this award, celebrating the passion and resilience of all captains and players on the Men’s 1s.”
Non-BUCS team of the year went to the Ice Hockey team, from the Ice Skating and Ice Hockey club. Kristyna, the ice hockey club captain, was thankful for the recognition and told The Boar that “the Panthers Ice Hockey Club is deeply honoured to receive this award. Ever since Covid, the club has been developing and rebuilding to its previous size. Next season, we are hoping to be performing at the top level for the first time ever, on top of organising exciting events such as the Battle of the Midlands at an even larger scale.”
This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the daily support and dedication from all of our members
Kristyna, Ice Hockey Captain, WUAXC
Gosling went on to discuss the Sports Officer award, which goes to the “club, team or individual who the Sports Officer believes to have made an outstanding contribution to sport at Warwick.” He awarded it to Maddy Smith from Women’s Rugby.
The Most Improved Club was announced afterwards, awarded to Lifesaving. Also nominated were Mixed Hockey and Lacrosse.
A representative from Lifesaving shared with The Boar, “Lifesaving is incredibly grateful that our hard work over the past year has been recognised. We are immensely proud of our members’ achievements and would like to take this opportunity to thank the 24/25 executive committee, without whom this success would not have been possible.”
Lifesaving has also excelled in its competitive season. “Not only did we retain podium places across all three BULSCA (British Universities Life Saving Competition Association) leagues, but we also secured a 2nd-place finish in the B-league for the first time in over a decade,” The Boar was told. Lifesaving also broke ten club records this year.
“Beyond competitions, the club has greatly extended its outreach, increasing our presence on campus and raising vital awareness for first aid. In addition to delivering an NPLQ course, we provided first aid talks to other societies, sports clubs, and local youth groups.”
Looking ahead, we are excited to build on this momentum, continuing our competitive success, and expanding our impact in the wider community
Warwick Lifesaving
Sports Personality of the Year went to Orla Goodall, Women’s Cricket’s Club Captain. She shared with The Boar, “I’m definitely happy with [the award], the moment was special, I didn’t expect it. It was made even more so to see the reactions and support from friends”. Women’s Cricket subsequently won both of their shortlisted categories.
Goodall told The Boar: “I understood SPOTY to be about commitment and enthusiasm to sport. I think it goes beyond my own personal performances […] I love seeing people enjoy their sport. It’s a big reason I volunteer my time at events. So I suppose it’s because I do just get involved, and that attitude of just wanting people to enjoy their sport, both evidently within my own club and elsewhere. That’s probably the essence of what Team Warwick values.”
Sportsperson of the Year went to Trevor Lau from Volleyball. After a recorded speech from Nazrana Meghji, next year’s VP for Sports, Gosling went on to announce the final award, Club of the Year. Nominated clubs were Climbing, Lacrosse, Volleyball, and Women’s Rugby.
The award went to Women’s Rugby: the current president of the club, Imogen A, has said that “we are thrilled to have won Club of the Year; our exec have worked tirelessly, and this award truly celebrates that. This year, we have been trying to increase our outreach with other clubs and the wider Warwick community, along with big events such as FNL. It’s been quite a busy year, but we are so proud of all we have achieved.
It means so much to be recognised, and we all had such a wonderful experience at Sports Ball. I personally cannot wait to see what we can achieve next year!
Imogen A, WWRFC
With the final award bestowed, Gosling handed over to the incoming Sports VP, Nazrana Meghji, and a live band rounded the evening and academic year off in style.
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