Christ Church has never been shy of sporting participation over the years and with the introduction to the new intramural Football league it shows no sign of stopping.

Football is without doubt one of, if not the biggest sports at Christ Church, with hundreds of hopefuls ever year attending trials with a keen eye of putting on that maroon shirt come the start of the season. In years gone by Christ Church has always been in plentiful supply of football teams with six Christ Church BUCs teams up and running last year, with another team based in Broadstairs and two teams set up to give other Christ Church sides friendly’s when possible.

However, at the start of this year it was only possible for four Christchurch BUCs teams to be entered in to competitive leagues, leaving even more hopefuls disappointed.

With still such a high interest in football at the university, the union decided to set up a new league based entirely at the university, Christ Church students’ verses Christ Church students. With the first term over and done with and the league well under way this league is shaping up to be as exciting as any.

The league’s top team at Christmas, the C4 Rejects, was set up by captain and centre midfielder, Paul Spinks, who had nothing but praise for the way the Students Union had set up the league, “considering we were cut down from six BUCs football teams to four, the league is a great idea. It allows a lot more students to play competitive football”. ’Spinks went on to commend the social’s, “In the SU on a Wednesday night provides a good start to the night with a lively atmosphere and plenty of banter”. The league’s top goal scorer, Tom Curnick of the C4 Rejects, backed up what his captain had mentioned, “the league’s great as it allows players to have competitive fun and be part of a good social”.

The Students’ Union have everything sorted for the eight teams that signed up for the league; fixtures, society nights, kits and a league table, and with more games than most of the University BUCs teams scheduled at a cut of the price, the Intramural league is proving to be fantastic value for money.

In many ways the league is so much more than just a group of boys running about, it’s a very healthy way of playing the game, Chris Flynn, left back for the C4 Rejects enjoys the environment more than anything, “It’s great to be able to play in a successful team in a fun and friendly environment without anyone taking it too seriously.” Flynn continued to say “the league has clearly been a success with the amount of people that come to watch all the teams every week”.

There are, however, question marks rising over the scheduling of the fixtures as the heavy down pour of rain that Canterbury saw in the weeks leading up to Christmas left Stodmarsh, the home of Christ Church football, in an awful state meaning all games in the league for three weeks running were called off. And with the recent avalanche of snow hitting all areas in the UK it seems that the grounds man at Stodmarsh will do well in ensuring any football is played in the coming weeks.

This league is a fine example of everything that is right in football. One of the top teams in the league, CCCU 4th team, was one of the BUCs teams last year for the university but fell brunt to the cut backs the Union had to make. Even though many of the team’s first choice players had been scouted to play for university teams this year, the team stayed together and has continued to play as a team. Center back for the CCCU 4th team, Aidan Ainsley, told Unified what the league means to his team “CCCU 4th Team were pretty cut up about being cut from the BUCS leagues, but the intramural league has provided a good alternative. The subsequent banter being produced between teams has been a delight to say the least. It is proving to be more competitive than champions elect CCCU 4th Team expected.”

With football having such a big impact on sport at Christ Church, something had to be done when the number of BUCS teams were whittled down this year and it is no over statement to say that the Union and Steph White (Sports Sabb) have done a wonderful job.

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