The Fitz Sports Awards 2019

Congratulations to all students who were nominated and awarded at this year’s Fitz Sports Awards. The event, held in Trinity Term each year, is a celebration of Pembroke student participation in sports at a College level, with the presentation of 'College Colours' and the 'Sportsperson of the Year' award.

The Master Dame Lynne Brindley and Bursar Jeremy Bennett were joined by Pembroke JCR and MCR students for the annual awards ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, 18th June in the Master’s Lodgings.

The 'Sportsperson of the Year' prize, introduced in 2012 and worth £250, is given to one or more students selected in consultation with the JCR and MCR. This year's winner was second year undergraduate Samuel Wall (BA History, 2017) with visiting student Lindsay MacGregor (History and Politics, 2018) as runner up.

Harry Kendell (MPhys Physics, 2017), Lena Depner (BA Experimental Psychology, 2017) Charlie Buchanan (MSc(Res) Phys and Theoretical Chemistry, 2018) and Hazel Ellender were also nominated for this award, and were each recognised by the Bursar for their excellence in their respected sports.

The JCR Sports rep, Guy Durant (MBiochem Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2017), was awarded the Bursar’s prize, worth £250, for his hard work while in post and his ongoing commitment to sport.

Pembroke College Boat Club was recognised for its continued success as one of the strongest boat clubs in Oxford, retaining second and third positions on the river in this year’s Summer Eights.

Joint recipients, Gabrielle Russo, Jessica Forsyth & Rebecca Bell were recognised for being awarded the Sir Roger Bannister Scholarship earlier this year in March. The Bannister Scholarship is an annual prize available to students in any subject who have shown excellent all round performance in both academic and sporting activities, much as Sir Roger demonstrated during his Undergraduate years at Oxford.

The ceremony was a celebration of College sport on a wider level, recognising dozens of other key members of the Pembroke sport community. Each year student captains of the sports teams across College nominate typically two or three leading players of their choice, with a particular focus on those in their final year, to receive 'College Colours'.

This year's recipients of 'College Colours' and a £25 prize were:

SPORT

COLLEGE COLOURS WINNERS

Football

Ricardo Casini (Yr 3) Sam Gisby (Yr 3) Edward Wilson (Yr 3) Matthew Doyle (Yr 4)

MCR Football

Mariane Aspbury (Yr 1) Malte Kaller (Yr 4)

Netball

Esme Wilson (Yr 3) Libby Munro (Yr 3)

Rugby

Thomas Gibbs (Yr 4) Etienne Cousin (Yr 3) Owen Crush (Yr 3) Matthew Doyle (also football, see above)

Pool

Ned Foulkes (Yr 3) Andrei Nicolaescu (Yr 2) Zihan Huang (Yr 1)

Cricket

Jack Woollett (Yr 4) Edward Wilson (also football and rugby, see above) Matthew Doyle (also football and rugby, see above)

Women’s Rowing

Devon Brameier (Yr 1) Anna Carbery (Yr 4) Jade Bogart (Yr 3)

Men’s Rowing

Ben Thomson (Yr 2) Matthew Kerr (Yr 4)

Lacrosse

Esme Wilson (Yr 3)

Both the 'College Colours' and 'Sportsperson of the Year' awards are possible thanks to the generosity of late alumnus Rodney Fitzgerald (1942), or “Fitz” as he was known. Fitz was a senior Lloyds insurance broker in the City of London and an out-and-out sportsman all his life. He played cricket for Oxford while at Pembroke and later played for Sussex and was also a keen golfer. In later life, he was an active supporter of several important London sports charities.

Always fond of Pembroke and keen to encourage excellence in sport, Fitz left a bequest to the College on his death in 2012, to provide funding for students to reward sporting achievement.

For more information and eligibility on the Fitz Sports Awards, please click here.