Day one
Battling some unpredictable weather, the teams tentatively headed outside, reminiscent of their old primary school days (way back when), dosed up on hey-fever tablets and adorning sunglasses to the Pavilion grass pitches for the first session. Most people could distantly remember the simple rules of rounders, hit the ball, run around the posts to score points, catch or stomp the batters out etc, however, it’s never that simple when you add the pressure of competition into the mix. As team players entered the batting box the tension was palpable, as batters swung for the ball, frantically (sometimes) running to first base, risking a run to second or even a full-rounder! Equally, the fielding team needed their wits about them, deciding which base to throw the ball to, to stomp out the running batters, how to best pitch the ball and where to locate their fielding teammates to ensure those big hitters didn’t get away from them! All the intricacy and strategy of rounders gave everyone involved something to talk about.
However, there was no slowing down teams RISistence is Futile, Happy Ravers, PMO and Living La Vida Mocha, who all made excellent first impressions, winning all their games and leaving the other teams in their dusty wake.
Day two
With adverse weather conditions, rain and thunder on the horizon for day two, our heroes, the Sports Development team were left with no choice but to move rounders indoors to the main sports hall. This change of venue meant a shift in some of the rules, meaning those big hitters from day one would no longer be reaching for the skies, with points now being deducted for any ceiling infringements! In addition, any ball caught rebounding off one of the sports centre walls would also class as being caught out. With these new rules in place, teams refocused their efforts to be more strategic and get those rounders in.
With some fast-paced rounders action, U Bunch O’Kents took the win, achieving an impressive total of four out of six wins. Living La Vida Mocha were close runners-up, displaying some heroic efforts, with their pitcher, Dan, taking a hard-hit ball straight to the chest and even managing to hold on to it, subsequently catching out the batter! They were followed closely by Campus Sporting Exploits in 3rd place. An honorary shoutout to ToMORA Never Dies who secured three wins in their three games played on the second day.
To keep up to date with the VC’s Cup results, lead table and upcoming events, please visit the VC’s Cup webpage.
Next event: touch-tennis on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 July, in the Kent Indoor Tennis and Events Arena.