Brown on Sport
Greetings and a warm welcome to what promises to be another exciting year of college sport. For those of you returning I am sure you are all looking forward to catching up with team-mates to plot the downfall of those unfortunate enough to come up against the might of Imperial's sportsmen and women, aided by either rigorous training in our brand spanking new sports centre or just plenty of team bonding sessions in the Union Bar. I will not fritter away my inaugural column preaching to the converted so for those of you who are either new to Imperial or elected not to take part in organised sport last session I urge you to attend the freshers fair and sign up for whatever sport interests you. In addition to shamelessly cheerleading for IC sports teams part of my remit as sports editor is to extol the virtues of being a member of a club so here goes.
First and foremost being a member of one of our numerous clubs is one of the best opportunities for meeting new friends that college life will present. In general due to sports people being better balanced due to their wide range of interests they are far more fun than the students who could be accused of taking their studies a little too seriously. By all means work hard but ask yourself is getting straight A's really worth being transformed into an introverted geek? In addition there is also the benefit of regular exercise. Your first year away from home will probably involve pigging out on junk and /or copious quantities of alcohol. I mean do you really want your friends back home to kit you out in a "I went to Imperial College but all I got was a fat arse" t-shirt next summer?
The other question some of you may ask is "am I good enough?" The answer is a resounding yes. All abilities are catered for from complete beginner up to outrageously talented so no matter where you are on the sporting spectrum you'll soon find your niche. One of the benefits of union-subsidised sport is you have the chance to try things that you may not have encountered before either due to the requirement for expensive equipment or just plain old regional unpopularity. Even if you only have a passing interest in a sport most societies run initial trial sessions so have a go and at the very least you'll be able to walk away knowing for sure that it wasn't for you.
So go forth ladies and gentlemen and sign up for your chosen cause. With any luck some of you may even feel the urge to share news of your exploits through the pages of this esteemed journal. Contributions to the above address please and best of luck in all your sporting endeavours.
Please send your sports reviews and reports to sport.felix@imperial.ac.uk
