Road to tenth annual Student Sports Competition gets underway

Sports hopefuls from Glasgow’s three universities and biggest college today (September 11) got the ball rolling in anticipation of the tenth annual Freshers’ Sports Day which gets underway onWednesday 26 September.

Stepping onto the field for the first time will be teams from the City of Glasgow College, attempting to spout their sporting finesse against the three universities.

The sporting bout is the first freshers’ competition to be sponsored by Glasgow Taxis Ltd, which six months ago announced a three year deal for the contest’s sister event, The Glasgow Taxis Cup.

More than 300 first yearstudents will compete in a variety of sports including football, hockey and basketball, with each institution hoping to be crowned overall city champions as they go head to head across fivevenues throughout the city.

Speaking about the event, Iain M. Stewart, sports development coordinator at University of Strathclyde, said: “Not only is this a chance for teams to enjoy a bit of good old-fashioned rivalry but, more importantly, it is an opportunity for freshers’ to get involved with sporting associations as soon as they enrol.”

“The competition is fierce, but this contest cements students’ relationships with their sports departments, as well as fostering intervarsity friendships that will last a lifetime.

“That the tournament is now in its tenth year shows its ever-increasing popularity, and we are confident that this event will be as busy as ever, another reason why we’re extremely grateful for the continued backing of Glasgow Taxis Ltd.”

Stephen Flynn, vice chairman of Glasgow Taxis Ltd, said: “It’s great to be involved with an event specifically catered towards new students in the city.

“It builds upon our work to engage with first years in all of the city’s places of education, sharing the message of safety in and around Glasgow.

“We regularly liaise with halls of residences and university staff to ensure young people know how to get home safely after a night out, especially those who are new to the city.

“Our advice for young revellers is to always use a licensed taxi, whether they order it in advance, use our mobile app or look out for one of the marshalled nite-zones which are dotted around the town centre.

“It’s a big honour to be involved with a sporting competition which possesses such a history and we wish every competitor the best of luck.”

Points will be allocated to the winner of individual events in order to decide the overall winner on the day.