Magdalene-Magdalen Sports Day

The Magdalene-Magdalen Sports Day is a cherished tradition, marked by spirited sports competitions and vibrant social gatherings.

According to legend (i.e. a comment from Matt Tighe (2006) on Magdalene’s Instagram), Matt organised the first Magdalene-Magdalen rugby match in Lent 2008. Since then, the event has expanded to encompass all the sports both sides can manage to put a team out for.

This year, we had the pleasure of hosting our Oxf*rd counterparts and golly, what an immeasurable pleasure it was. Over 300 students, alumni, and lovers of all things Magdalene, including the Master, Sir Christopher Greenwood and the Chaplain, The Reverend Sarah Atkins (2002), made their merry way to the impenetrable fortress / Colosseum that is John’s pitches.

The build-up in the week was rather tumultuous. I became rather well acquainted with Keith, John’s groundsman, as more and more sports were cancelled due to our common enemy – slightly above average amounts of rain. That morning, all in attendance thought we were not playing on grass at all. However, by some Magdalene-Magdalen miracle, the sun was shining on the hallowed day and Keith gave us the go-ahead to play on grass. It was a rather scary sight to see over 50 Oxf*rd students descending into town to buy boots from Sports Direct on their College’s budget.

The women’s football started the day off strong with a 2-1 win showing some classy finishes and bone-crunching defending. At the same time, mixed netball unfortunately suffered our only defeat of the day. I am told that a mixture of match fixing, cheating and general conspiracy led to this injustice. I’m proud that men’s football was able to put out two teams for the first time in a long while. The men’s first team cruised to a 7-1 win, emulating Germany’s triumphant thrashing of Brazil in 2014. The men’s second team showed the depth of the footballing talent at Magdalene by squeaking past Oxf*rd 1-0. Meanwhile, ladies’ netball revenged their mixed counterparts by calmly cruising to a 26-9 victory. Magdalene had a clean sweep in the racquet sports as well, winning the badminton (6.5-1.5), tennis (Pair 1 6-3, Pair 2 7-6), and squash (2-1). My personal highlight of the day was the rugby match. On the back of a 7-year winless streak, Magdalene came out 40-28 winners, only needing to sacrifice one players nose in the process – but he ensures us that it’s now straighter than before. To round off the day, mixed hockey won 15-8. A frankly fantastic day for Magdalene sport!

After the sport concluded, the most important aspect of the day began: the evening festivities. Magdalene and Magdalen sang, danced and played some questionable darts in the revamped bar. The games room hosted pool and table football. A rather frantic game of “Où est le Poulet?” ensued as everyone tried to find the chickens, Léa Steele and I, who had a pot of gold (50p and £1 coins) to hand out. Though it was never a competition, I think we won the night as well.

Magdalene-Magdalen is one of the highlights of the year and brings together the College like nothing else. I look forward to next year. Till then, Garde Ta Foy!

By Mr Gordon Yu (2022)

This article was first published in Magdalene Matters Spring/Summer 2022 Issue 54.