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Roses |
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The best weekend of your life
The Roses tournament is an annual varsity competition between Lancaster University and the University of York. For those not up to scratch on their history, Lancaster represents the 'Red Rose', Lancashire, whilst York represents the 'White Rose', Yorkshire. Since the War of the Roses (1455-1485), when the Red Rose of Henry VII triumphed over the White Rose of Richard III, the two counties have been sworn enemies. This has carried over into the academic world.
The competition falls on the weekend preceding Mayday Bank Holiday (i.e. the last weekend in April). Hosting changes each year; in 2019 the competition was in York so in 2020 it will be back in Lancaster (RIP Roses 2020) and in 2021 who knows. The two universities compete in almost every sport imaginable, and points are added up based on results to decide the winner. The rivalry is fierce, and it is the biggest varsity competition in Europe (in terms of scope, participants and spectators).
The atmosphere of a Roses weekend is one like no other. Whilst a lot of hyperbole goes into selling university sport, Roses weekend is one of the things that does deserve such adjectives as 'unforgettable, electric and amazing'. It is something that needs to be experienced to be believed; 400-500 people vehemently cheering their side on, doing anything they can to put off the opposition. You can gain a small insight into what it's like by looking at our general Roses Archive.
Roses 2019 was won by Lancaster in a very close series of games: both indoor games ended in draws (2s: 3-3, 1s: 4-4) , with the outdoor matches ending in a draw for the 3s (0-0), a defeat for the 2s (4-1) and a win for the 1s (3-2). As you probably guessed Roses 2020 didn't happen :'(
The competition falls on the weekend preceding Mayday Bank Holiday (i.e. the last weekend in April). Hosting changes each year; in 2019 the competition was in York so in 2020 it will be back in Lancaster (RIP Roses 2020) and in 2021 who knows. The two universities compete in almost every sport imaginable, and points are added up based on results to decide the winner. The rivalry is fierce, and it is the biggest varsity competition in Europe (in terms of scope, participants and spectators).
The atmosphere of a Roses weekend is one like no other. Whilst a lot of hyperbole goes into selling university sport, Roses weekend is one of the things that does deserve such adjectives as 'unforgettable, electric and amazing'. It is something that needs to be experienced to be believed; 400-500 people vehemently cheering their side on, doing anything they can to put off the opposition. You can gain a small insight into what it's like by looking at our general Roses Archive.
Roses 2019 was won by Lancaster in a very close series of games: both indoor games ended in draws (2s: 3-3, 1s: 4-4) , with the outdoor matches ending in a draw for the 3s (0-0), a defeat for the 2s (4-1) and a win for the 1s (3-2). As you probably guessed Roses 2020 didn't happen :'(
