On Wednesday (21 March) Royal Holloway Sport welcomes the Surrey Stags to campus for the biggest sporting event of the year!
We caught up with Katie Taylor, Active Lifestyle and Sport Communications Intern, to see how she's feeling ahead of Wednesday, and what she's looking forward to most from the day.
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What are you currently studying?
I'm currently studying for a MA in Cultural Geography after graduating with a Film and Television Degree last Summer. I also work as a Communications Intern within the Active Lifestyle and Sport team, as well as a Women's Hockey player for Royal Holloway.
2. How long have you been playing hockey? Did you start playing for Royal Holloway in your first year?
I first started playing hockey when I was 11, I was pretty rubbish actually, but it quickly became my favourite sport. I didn’t start Hockey in my first year because of the money, which is one of my biggest regrets but the sport and more importantly the club has been a massive part of my last three years.
3. As you took part in last year’s Varsity, what are you most looking forward to about this year’s event which will see us welcoming the Surrey Stags to campus?
This year I think we’ll bring more to the table. Having played out of term time last year, I think all the teams suffered from the absence of a lot of their key players. Having had an insight into the preparation and creation of this year’s Varsity, I think this year the whole event will have more of an atmosphere and a bigger crowd presence. I think that will make the whole day so much more memorable for everyone.
4. How often do you practice as a team, and has this increased ahead of Varsity?
Our first teams train twice a week and play twice a week. The women’s 1st team have had a lot of important fixtures over the past couple of weeks including Conference Cup fixtures in which they smashed the opposition to win the title. I think these highly competitive fixtures have allowed the team to really mentally and physically prepare for what is sure to be a close game on Wednesday.
5. Why do you think other students who are not competing on the day should register for a ticket and come along to the event?
Every team at Varsity needs and deserves all the support they can get. Familiar faces of friends, course mates, flatmates or any Royal Holloway students can make all the difference to an individual player’s or team’s performance and I think it’s really important for everyone to come out in full force, even if they’re not members of any of the clubs or not competing on the day.
6. Aside from hockey, do you have any other hobbies or interests?
Outside of playing hockey I spend a lot of my time with the Hockey club socially. I love putting on events for the club and specifically charity events which I think, as a whole club, we have smashed this year. Doing my Masters, working and playing sport doesn’t leave me an awful lot of time to have any other hobbies but I’ve always been attracted to the arts and try to incorporate that interest into my uni, work and Hockey commitments.
7. What do you enjoy most about being a student at Royal Holloway?
My favourite thing about Holloway is knowing no matter where you go you’re bound to bump into someone you know. For me it’s the people that make the place and not the other way round. Now that is potentially the corniest thing I have ever said but honestly I think going to a uni as big as somewhere like Leeds is so overwhelming; you’re just another face in a sea of people.
8. You may have seen our latest recruitment campaign, ‘Find your why’. We are interested to find out what Royal Holloway has helped you to discover about yourself…
Good question. I think Royal Holloway has helped me back myself a lot. I’ve never felt as though I don’t fit in. I think everyone here has a place and I think it's so important for people to recognise themselves as an individual. So I don’t think Royal Holloway has helped me discover anything new about myself but it certainly has put into perspective the importance, or rather lack of, of ‘fitting in’.
If you would like to attend this year's Varsity event, get your ticket now, wear your colours and do your part in returning the cup to its rightful home.