Kevin Whitworth / Jacurutu

I'm afraid I don't have the full set of scores or the final standings from the Student Nationals yet, but I'll make a start on a report for the weekend without them.

The weekend got off to a good start, leaving York about 17.30 with an eventful journey to Kenilworth, where we arrived about 20.00 to a very warm welcome at Hollyhurst Guest House. After unloading, we headed of into town to find some food, and picked an Italian restaurant on the high street to load up with carbs (well, pizza) for the games on Saturday. Afterwards, we went to the pub, and completely failed to consume any beer, before returning back to the guest house for an early night.

Saturday, after a hearty breakfast, we arrived at the pool in Coventry in time to sign in and for Ali & Tom to attend the captain's briefing. The format was to split the teams into two groups initially. Teams would play every other team in their own group, round-robin style, and then the top teams in each group would play each of the top teams in the other group, and likewise, the bottom teams from one group would play the bottom teams from the other group. Points were awarded for a win (3) or a draw (1), and are carried over from the round-robin stage to the final stage to work out the overall standings.

York had a hectic start to the first group stage, with the first 3 games having only a one-game break between each game. Then a 3 game break gave us a chance for a bit of a breather, before a much longer 8 game (lunch!) break before our last group game. The first game, against the hosts Warwick, went well, with York winning 4-1 (I think). It didn't seem to last long, and it turned out to fit all the games in, matches were being played 5 minutes each way. However, things then started going down hill. We were beaten by Stirling, only managing to score one goal, and then were pretty much trying to limit the damage against Portsmouth and Plymouth. The long break before the final game against Oxford gave us a chance to regroup and re-focus as a team, and talk through things like how to deal with advantage pucks (something we rarely have to deal with, and need to practice more). As a result, we played fantastically against Oxford, gelling together much better as a team, and beat them 4-3 (I think).

With the round-robin stage complete, we discovered we were in the bottom of our group, and would be playing against Aberdeen, Bangor and Durham. This was great news, as Bangor is Jodie's former club, so there was a touch of rivalry there (and instructions from Lucy, another Bangor alumnus, to beat them), and we play Durham in the ONE league, and York A were beaten by them last time round, so we had a point to prove! Aberdeen were strong - we played well and put up a good fight, but lost 4-1. (Sorry once again to the person who got a smack in the face from me as a result of a tackle.)  The match against Bangor was very close, and Bangor beat us by one goal (3-2?). That was really annoying, as we missed one goal where we had 3 against 1 on a break only metres out from Bangor's goal, but didn't manage to score - we'd have drawn at least, if not won, if we'd scored that goal! Durham was the closest match yet, and was a tie well into the second half, with play heading up and down the pitch. I was subbed out at the time and desperate to get into the water when Anthony decided enough was enough and subbed out, giving me a chance. There was a complete melee in the goal mouth, and I couldn't get anywhere near, but the York defense was doing a sterling job, and I just managed to reach under the scrum and hook the puck out, giving me a chance to get it out to Tom, who'd listened to the advice earlier about keeping the forwards out of the melee to be able to make a run if we got the puck. Tom made a fantastic swim up nearly the whole length of the pitch, to score the winning goal!

Although the scores listed above are from memory (and maybe wrong), I'm confident about which games we won and lost, which are as follows:

• First round (group 2):
  • Warwick - York won
  • Stirling - York lost
  • Portsmouth - York lost
  • Plymouth - York lost
  • Oxford - York won
• Second round (group Y - York were 'D'):
  • Aberdeen - York lost
  • Bangor - York lost
  • Durham - York won

The final standings aren't clear. There was some confusion when they were read out. As listed, York came 11th out of 13, finishing above Oxford (12th) and the hosts, Warwick (13th). Bangor came 9th, and Durham 10th. However, despite Jamie's protestations about moral victories and being the nicer team, the general consensus is that York came 10th and Durham 11th. The overall winners were Glasgow, so congratulations to them! 

Overall, I think the York team played very well. There were some strong teams there, and although we lost our way early on, the way we played against Oxford, Aberdeen, Bangor and Durham shows that we've got a great set of players who can pull together as a cohesive team. Sure, we need to develop our skills and tactics, but we're a young team, with many recent converts to Octopush, and little opportunity to play competitively (although the ONE league is helping to change that). We have a great foundation to build on, and should come back even stronger next year.

Before I finish, a couple of thank yous. Firstly to the York team for showing me a good time (not that sort of good time!). Secondly to Trudi and Ken Wheat at Hollyhurst Guest House for the warm welcome, great accommodation, and lovely breakfasts. Thirdly to the guys from the BOA for providing buzzers and doing a great job refereeing. Finally, of course, to Warwick Uni Octopush team for organising such a great event.

And, absolutely finally:

Well done Yorktopush!