Scott and Alan Speak Out

At the start of the year we bombarded the college notice boards with posters letting people know when and where football practice was being held. Over twenty people turned up and wanted to play for the team which was great but the only problem is that we don't get to play many matches. The reason we don't play as many games as we would like is this: 95% of university's and colleges across England have Wednesday afternoon's free from lectures to encourage sport and leisure activities. They all have the same afternoon off so if you want to join University sports league, be it football, hockey or netball, you can play other teams because they are free on that day.

For some unknown reason CCAD does not give all there student's Wednesday afternoon off, so it's impossible to join a league, the only matches we can play are friendly's we organise with nearby teams. We have to play nearby teams as it is next to impossible to get the college or the student union to pay for transport for us. In the past two years we have had one away match and it took some organising. No-one seemed to want us to get a minibus. We eventually got one but it wasn't easy. The college should want us to play away from home, playing under the CCAD banner, it's publicity for the college.

In November 2000, we were sent a University football brochure inviting the team to a football tournament in Holland. We were determined to get the team into this tournament. We put alot of hard work into organising it. We asked the organisers in Holland for more time after the deadline as we had to come up with the money. Team entry was £700, and accommodation and flight would have cost just over £100 per person. Each of the team members agreed that they would pay for accommodation and flight if the college would pay the entry fee. We bargained with the college and they almost paid but at the last minute pulled out as they didn't believe that the team would pay their costs. We put alot of work into getting that trip off the ground and the college didn't seem to care. To make things worse, Northumbria University our local rivals whom we hate had the whole trip paid form them by their Uni, entry fee, accommodation, flight, EVERYTHING.

You may wonder with all the hassle running the team brings why do we bother? Well we bother because of the great times we have when the teams together. Football's the biggest sport in the world and it's just great to play it, We have such a good laugh training and at matches. It helps keep you fit and healthy and you get to become good friends with people in the college whom you may never have otherwise spoke to. Most of my best friends at college I've met through the football team. There's no greater way to make friends and bond than after beating Northumbria. Everyone's on a high, you go out after the match and have a few drinks to celebrate, it's what life's all about, enjoying yourself as the above pictures show.

We recently won Barclays bank intercollege tournament, Beating St Mary's College, Carlisle College, and Nothrumbria University. The college found out that we won and demanded they be given the trophy to get it engraved and put on display in college. They won't help us much but they were very quick to claim the glory for our win. The top brass at college wouldn't know one player who plays in the team.