Welsh varsity

I don't really think there are words that can give this event justice. This last Wednesday was "Varsity," an annual university sporting event day in which all of the sports teams compete against all the of the sports teams from the other large Welsh university, our rival, Cardiff. (Boooooo....)

I have never been to an event that I can really compare to this. It sort of reminded me of weekend tournaments from when I was in middle school, but then add to it that there was every possible sport going on at the same time and all of the games were Swansea vs. Cardiff which really amped up the competition because people could walk from game to game and you were always cheering for your university. And I only mention it because it truly was a significant part of the day, (and Welsh culture in general) add a lot of alcohol.

It was a beautiful day out- perfect for watching the various football (soccer), lacrosse, or field hockey games. Plus there was netball, badmitton, squash and basketball going on indoors. Because this is a competition between the universities, the idea is that they keep track of how many teams from each side wins and the university with the most is the champion. The reality is that the finale of the day is the rugby match in the evening and the winner of that is the champion. I learned that Welsh Varsity has been in held in Cardiff for the last several years, so it was a pretty big deal that it was in Swansea...

Of course you want to know how my basketball team did... not so pretty. Cardiff women's basketball were some of the strongest, most fit girls I've ever played basketball against in my entire life. I am not, and have never been a girl that gets tossed around easily, and I felt like the Cardiff girls could have smashed me like a bug if they wanted to. Needless to say we lost by a margin that does not even need to be recorded. BUT we had fun. It was my last basketball game of the year and the girls on the team have become my best friends.

And now, the information you've all been dying to know, who won the rugby match-- Swansea!! It was so exciting! The crowd was loud the entire game, chanting back and forth between opposing fans, the game was close, and Swansea pulled it off! All of the students rushed the field, jumping around screaming "Swansea!!" The Varsity event concludes with the buses that take all of the students from the rugby stadium to the bars to celebrate... The rest is history.

Pictures to be posted once I get them uploaded. The whole essay writing thing has gotten in the way of keeping up on posting photos-- but I'll get to it soon!