As 2019 fast approaches, the club we all know and love has yet again evolved under the new exec in the pursuit of the Club of the Year double. Some of the changes have been less than desirable (the absence of the vodka boat race after club meal and the Circle Police becoming increasingly harsher in particular), however, there have been many fantastic developments which I am excited to share with you – not merely the return of Thursday Mupdates – thanks Owen. I thought that in true Randall style, the Term 1 President’s Report should be at least a little bit late in an attempt to balance out Owen’s eagerness so here goes…

The term started with a flurry of elections and applications for exec positions new and old, with the inception of the Welfare Sec in an attempt to further strengthen relations not only within the club but also with the SU. Big Tick. Preparation began for the new cohort of UWMCC freshers as nerves spread among the club and a number of questions needed answering:

Who could possibly fill the big shoes of Little Choppy Lawson?
Will the club still be able to run without Mihir?
Has Rooty left uni yet?

With such a big year graduating and the new third year totalling about 6, it was important that Freshers Fair was large. Among the promises of free pints and BUCS squads spaces for the masses, over 200 lads were successfully signed up and meet and greet was like a Merriman Powerplay. Absolute Carnage. This has been the generic theme throughout Owen’s circles this term, with attempts to get through every game ever invented and to make as many men reach double figures as possible. Cov indoor is no more, although don’t tell the SU that we don’t send 30 cricketers to the other side of Coventry on a Wednesday evening, or we might lose our 2019 CR2 spot. D. Lewis still throws chairs and Merriman still can’t work out Black Black White, I guess some things will never change.

One thing that did change was Ryan Sidebottom not cancelling this year, and as a result, over 80 clubmen, past and present, enjoyed a fantastic Cricket Ball filled with stories and table wine. So much so that Ferdi stole Sidebottom’s phone and called half the England team on the eve of the 2nd test match in Sri Lanka. Even the Women’s Club managed to snag a table this year as they go from strength to strength with Amelia, Hetty et al., really building on what Sophia started last year. With rumours of an early Old Boys Skl Dayz circle next term, the social calendar promises to deliver again in Term 2. Wack.

Akuma are still shit.

Rav has really embraced the Tour Sec role and has successfully negotiated a deal with just about everybody in order to get us to Sri Lanka come the end of Term 2. With promises of no sudden payments and a final tour itinerary being banded around already doors, the ghost of the Roach has well and truly been banished. For now.

SJ has already embarked on the huge hobbit like quest once walked by Ferdi and Choppy, and yet again we have smashed Movember raising over £2,000 for such a great cause. Congrats to all the boys who took part this year, especially those who managed to actually grow some facial hair. Following our national Mo success last year, the University as a whole managed to raise over £10,000 in 2018 which is quite impressive. In a bid to right the wrongs of last year’s CMD slip up, SJ and Timmo rallied the boys and unfortunately disaster struck. Not only did we finish 3rd, Men’s Hockey won, and they weren’t shy about letting us know at circle. Queue the ‘we won club of the year’ counter and watch them sit back down. Training for next year’s CMD has already begun with past winners from the glory days being drafted in as consultants. Only Kraus can save us now. With the ‘Coaching in Schools’ programme given the green light for Term 2 and 24-hour charity related activities planning well underway, Jono is making every effort to keeping up the club’s recent tradition of basically being UNICEF, so a massive thanks must go out to everyone who has taken part or donated so far this year, keep it up! With Birdy running the London Marathon in 2019 and many of the lads supporting him by running the Stratford Half, it would be brilliant to see the donations keep on coming in over the next term!

Oh yeah, we play cricket too.

Week 0 saw the official ‘pre-season’ period for all performance sports, and Kai (our S&C coach) did not disappoint. After narrowly missing out on promotion to the North Prem last year, the performance squad embarked on a gruelling fitness regime headed by Sash and Krish and among the 7am starts on a Monday and the most ridiculous number of dead bugs known to man, I think it’s fair to say that all of our seamers are easily 60mph now with the exception of Pru who sometimes pushes 62. Spiro, Milno and Jamo still head the coaching front and are incredibly positive about the season ahead, targeting promotions left, right and centre with the help of the special one, Stilo, as assistant coach. The BUCS indoor team were yet again agonisingly close to advancing through the tough Midlands section of the draw, winning 6/8 games and losing off the last ball to eventual group winners Worcester in what was essentially a knock out game. The lads took plenty of positives out of the experience and the squad will be largely the same next year and the experience is invaluable. One shout out must go to Rhino who played an emotional final indoor game after 4 years of BUCS indoor cricket.

This year, the ever-growing friendlies side of the club underwent a re-branding courtesy of outgoing Tab Captain of the Year, Mez and newly appointed Development Squad Captain Jack Mallows. Numbers have swelled to over 60 as the demand for cricket continues to increase year on year. The new £50m sports hall can’t come soon enough for the lads, with Desso #2 promising to provide at least knee-high bounce off a length.

With a cricket house back in action, many a game of one hand one bounce has been played already in the back garden, with neighbours hanging out of their windows cheering on Mez as he trundles in or simply yelling at Krish to shut the fuck up.

I’m sure you’ll agree that 2019 promises to be a fantastic year and with a great bunch of freshers and a strong exec to lead, we bid a very fond farewell to a very fruitful 2018 (and hopefully Rooty).

Cheers,
Joe
(Beyoncé’s Right Hand Gal, Aspiring Backward Point, CEO of the CR2 Corner)