Sports Nominees 2022
Sportswoman of the Year
Aoife Hegarty
I am nominating Aoife for sportswoman of the year, not only because she is a great athlete and amazing sportswoman - but because she has done an extraordinary job of encouraging team spirit, motivating everybody while also making sure to create a safe and positive environment for every member of the club. She truly cares about the well-being of everyone in the club which creates an amazing, positive, and encouraging atmosphere.
Rosemary (Rosie) Huck
I am nominating Rosemary (Rosie) Huck for the title of St John’s 2022 Women’s Sportswoman of the Year. Hailing from Manchester, United Kingdom, Rosie is a first-year DPhil at St John’s College, Vice-Captain of the Oxford University Women’s Water polo team, a member of the Oxford Blues Women’s Water polo team, and a member of the British Water Polo League for Manchester. I am nominating Rosie because of her team leadership, sportsmanship towards everyone she encounters, and positivity in encouraging everyone on the team to become the best version of themselves in and out of the Rosenblatt Swimming Pool.
Rosie has made a special and positive impact on me. Until this Hilary term, I had never played water polo before, but Rosie took me under her wing and patiently explained the rules of the sport to me. Rosie made me feel welcomed as a new member of the University team, she lent me her swimming costume, and she guided me in my first ever water polo game at the 2022 Varsity Weekend. Thanks to Rosie’s care and mentorship, I have become a stronger athlete than ever before, I discovered a passion for this sport, and I found a home in the Oxford University water polo community.
Rosie is determined and dedicated. Alongside training with the Oxford Blues, Rosie has been competing in the British Water Polo League for Manchester which involves her traveling over the weekend to compete. Amid her multiple obligations, she approaches her research with determination and her training with the Oxford Blues with excellence.
Kyle van Zijl, the coach of the Oxford University Women’s Water Polo team also wrote in support of Rosie’s nomination for the St John’s 2022 Women’s Sportswoman of the Year. Kyle van Zijl, shared, “Rosie’s dedication and passion for the sport has inspired her teammates to compete at the highest level and assisted the Women’s Water Polo Blues team in achieving outstanding results - one of the strongest Water Polo teams Oxford has ever produced.
She’s gone out of her way to get her mini-van license to transport the team on our away games and has continually encouraged her teammates to train hard and enjoy the sport.
She not only challenges our experienced players to do better, but she has the patience and understanding to work with newer players who want to learn the sport.”
Rosie deserves this title. It is an honor to call Rosie a friend, mentor, teammate, and member of the St John’s College community.
Alice Kerr
Alice has shown exemplary passion for sports at the college and university level throughout her DPhil studies. She has been an integral part of the college rowing team since her first year (currently also as a cox due to demand for the position), the college football team, the university futsal team (currently serving as captain), while also being involved in e-sports with the university rocket league team. I have never met anyone with such a wholesome relation to sports and her devotion is integral to all these teams she participates in!
Hannah Koch
For the past year, it has been evident to see how Hannah’s passion and talent for rowing has grown and flourished. In the typical Oxford cliche, it has become the topic of the majority of conversations but with every word you can see how much she enjoys it! I am so proud of her for truly getting stuck in and I think she’s an inspiration for all the people who didn’t think they were sporty to keep trying until they find something they absolutely love.
Despite the unending compliments she gets from her fellow team mates, captains and friends, I don’t think Hannah knows just how valuable she is to the rowing team - both with her contribution in the boat and as a friend/cheerleader off the water. Even from the sidelines I can tell how much she loves and supports her fellow team mates and raises moral and spirits through tough times.
I think Hannah deserves this award because she deserves to know what a great team member and sportswoman she is. Maybe this time she’ll listen!
Grace Molloy
Grace has earned three Blues this year in cross country, football and orienteering. She has also represented Great Britain at orienteering where she finished 12th individually and 7th in the relay at the World Champs and finished 4th in the relay at the World Cup final. She is the BUCS orienteering champion and lead the Oxford team to silver in the team competition. Grace was also selected for Scotland U23 for cross country and has represented them at two competitions this year. She also finished 11th in the BUCS indoor athletics champs and will compete for a spot on the blues team in trinity.
Sportsman Of the Year
Edward (Ned) Russell
Ned has had captained the college rugby team for the last two years and this year has lead a particularly strong team who are aiming for Cuppers victory. His performances in college rugby lead to him being scouted by OURFC and has since been selected for the Hounds (2s) Varsity. Ned has also played university cricket for the last two years and will compete for OUCC in Trinity term after training in the nets over Winter.
Jakub Ulik
He never fails to come to both Ice hockey and ultimate frisbee training, he’s always very humble and sportsmanlike, and he gives 100% all the time.
Mixed Team of the Year
SJC Basketball Team
Unparalleled record: SJC Basketball Team has gone undefeated in MT21’s college league (and is leading in HT22)
Tightly knit team chemistry: when we were temporarily behind the opposing team, instead of complaining, the team will call a timeout and come together to discuss strategies and analyse the opposing team’s strengths and weaknesses. Once in a tough game against St Hugh’s, for example, we discussed and concluded that it’s not so much a deficit of skills that dragged us down; it’s a deficit of mentality: we have been spoiled by easy games where we could always get away with bad habits. After this discussion, our team had much fewer careless passes and panicky shots: every player became more composed and resilient. SJC Basketball Team means trust, rapport, and inclusivity.
Diversity: People from JCR/MCR, BAME backgrounds, and different genders are represented in SJC Basketball Team
Saints Lacrosse Team
The Saints lacrosse team have had an absolutely incredible year. In Trinity term, we had our Cuppers Tournament and had a better turnout than ever with lots of new freshers giving the sport a try. After coming fourth in this tournament, the team are more enthusiastic than ever to bring the trophy home this Trinity. With weekly training sessions practising stick skills, team tactics as well as building up stamina with lots of cardio, the team is moving from strength to strength. The team always brings enthusiasm and team spirit onto the pitch and have won the majority of our biweekly matches against other colleges.
We’re looking forward to playing in the Trinity Cuppers Tournament and hope to bring the trophy home!
St. Jahn's Rams
What a team! Led by the wonderful Xavier St. John, many new players, including myself, were recruited into this team, and quickly trained to a standard good enough for 4th in the league (which is basically 1st, because the top 3 teams are unbeatable). We are few in number but team members are devoted, and we always get enough players for a game every weekend. We mesh and work well together, making for excellent teamwork that allows us to dabble in more advanced tactics and rise to the top of the league.
Women's Team of the Year
Saints Women's Football Team
I would like to nominate Saints (women's football) for team of the year. It was a tough start to the season, with many established players leaving, and with many new players joining who had never played in a football match before. The positivity, however, remained unmatched, and the bounce back has been amazing to see. The improvement in play has been obvious, leading Saints to a spot in the Hassan's cup final, where they will try to bring home silverware for the second time in three seasons.
SJC Women's Rowing Team
I am nominating the women's rowing team of St. John's because there has been incredible progress, individually and as a team, over the last to terms. Many new members joined the club in Michaelmas and have shown impressive improvements from being complete novices to proper rowers! The women's team has shown amazing team spirit and everybody has done their best to create a safe, welcoming, motivating, and encouraging environment. There is great team spirit in this group of amazing women and everybody is encouraged to grow - in their own time and way, supporting each other and cheering each other on on the way! I think we have managed to have such a positive atmosphere because no pressure is put on individuals to perform a certain way, the only expectation is to try your best and show commitment to each other! The team has done really well athletically, training many new members and really coming together as a crew, and having a lot of fun doing so, creating lots of memories. I think sports are not just about athletic achievements, but about the spirit and energy in a team and creating an environment in which everyone feels comfortable, can thrive, and have fun while exercising, which I think this team really has managed to do!
Men's Team of the Year
Men's MCR Football Team
The MCR football team hadn't played a game since Hilary term 2019, this season the team started from scratch and made excellent improvements throughout the season. Even though the season started a bit rough with a 5-2 loss to Kellogg and a 3-3 draw to Greek Society in the league, we managed to improve and have a good cup run by getting to the quarter finals beating two first league teams in the process. The team also managed to finish on a high, needing to win by a difference of 5 goals in the last game of the season against Balliol MCR to clinch promotion, with a score of 0-0 at halftime we came out energized in the second half and clinched a 7-1 win. (still awaiting confirmation about promotion, it is not hundred percent clear that goal difference is a tie breaker as we are drawn with Greek Society on points and head to head and there are some issues with the online software, however it is looking likely.) All in all it was a successful season and most importantly we got to play a lot of football and enjoy ourselves! Solid results - only losing two games in all competitions.
Saints Men's Rugby Team
The Saints rugby team has been hugely successful this year. So far: played 9, won 8, lost 1. We came second in the Div. 1 league and we are playing our Cuppers semi-final on this coming Saturday. This is the best team we’ve had since we won Cuppers in 2014. And I stress team: we have 15+ players who have been training twice a week since 1st week of Michaelmas. The level of cohesion and performance we have reached this year is unmatched by any team I have ever been a part of.
Visit here to cast your votes for each team.
You will need to login with your St John's SSO account for your vote to count. Voting will close on Monday 2nd May at noon.