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Winner - Outstanding Contribution

We are very pleased to announce that due to their varied significant achievements and ongoing commitment, we have seven winners of the 2020 Award for Outstanding Contribution.

The seven winners remarkably have just short of 40 years of collective experience of Cambridge Sport. From coaching to captaincy, via sandwich making, charity fundraising, training plans and everything in between, find out more about the winners and the impact they have made in their clubs.

For all seven, we have used some of the original nominations, which best demonstrate the impact they have made!

 

 

Angus Buttar (Wolfson)

CU Association Football Club

 

“He is someone who really leads by example, never with arrogance but with humility, generosity, kindness, instilling confidence in the rest of the team.”

Jed O.

“Angus does it all with a smile on his face and a continuous vault of energy and love. He is a total inspiration and I want to be like him.”

Jack M.

“He sets the standards high and leads by example. Angus Buttar is a quiet, but confident leader at CUAFC whose force of nature has propelled CUAFC to different heights this year. He personifies the word ‘superlative’; defined as “of the highest quality or degree”, Angus has gone above and beyond the call of duty as Falcons captain this year. He is an empathetic leader and always carries himself with dignity, bringing positive energy to the club like no-one else. Thoughtful and considerate, he truly cares about the people of the club and has developed strong relationships with every single player in CUAFC. I truly believe this is why he has managed to meaningfully contribute to the club and help it achieve so much in such a short amount of time.

On behalf of the club and its’ members, we believe this application is supported by all in CUAFC and hope this helps convey our appreciation for his time, commitment and love for the club.”

Jocelino R.

 

 

Ben Tinkler-Davies (Clare)

CU Swimming and Water Polo Club

 

“Ben has been an outstanding asset to Cambridge Water Polo Club, as the best player the men's side have had in living memory, an incredible captain for two years, and in his final year an amazing President of CUSWPC. Ben joined Cambridge with a huge amount of water polo experience under his belt, including representing GB at several age group levels throughout his time at school, and in his first year playing and training with the GB team alongside his studies and playing in the World University Games in Taiwan..

He has given up many hours of his time both captaining and coaching both (otherwise coach-less) teams on the men's side, in an official capacity as captain during his second and third years, and as a voice of wisdom and knowledge this year too. He has taken on the less fun admin roles of Vice-President and President, spearheading a long-term new strategy to improve alumni relations and donations, and undertaking a complete overhaul of funding strategies, as well as strengthening existing policies.

No one could deny that he has consistently gone over and above in his dedication to the club, even making four loaves worth of jam sandwiches for the Oxford Varsity night out for us drunk stragglers, and as such I cannot think anyone could have done more to deserve recognition for outstanding contribution.”

Lara T.

 

 

Felicia Chang (Sidney Sussex)

CU Olympic Gymastics, CU Ultimate

 

“Fi is an exemplary sportswoman and after four years of tireless dedication to university sport, her friends throughout the sporting community would like to honour her outstanding contributions.



Arriving in Cambridge, Fi only planned to play ultimate Frisbee at a college level, but her drive and competitive spirit has seen her far surpass these initial expectations. She was selected for the Great Britain under-24 women’s ultimate team after trials towards the beginning of her third year, after just 2 years of playing. Fi represented GB in international tournaments across Europe, and played at the World Championships, all the while balancing GB training with serving as women's captain for Strange Blue. Her captaincy saw the team finishing in 6th at a university women’s indoor regionals, their highest position in 4 years. These results are a testament to her commitment to coaching many students new to ultimate into club level players, and she has continued inspiring her teammates on and off the pitch as mixed team captain this year.



Perhaps, however, Fi would first and foremost consider herself a gymnast. After a long break from the sport, Fi made a strong comeback at university, placing 9th in the individual all-around BUCS grade 1 competition. She brought her gymnastics career to a fitting end this year by becoming the women's all-around individual Varsity champion and a three-time full blue gymnast. Fi has been a key contributor to the women’s teams’ successes in competitions over the last four years. Sustaining an MCL tear in her second year, Fi worked to put aside her injury frustrations and channel her energy into developing both A and B teams as women’s captain, leading to a decisive victory at Varsity that year. Fi is equally proud of her own achievements as she is of her successful efforts at promoting participation in a sport which can sometimes appear inaccessible at an adult level and has used her qualification as a level 2 coach to support less experienced club members. Her introduction of gymnastics Cuppers, together with the men's captain at the time, is just one example of the legacy Fi will leave within the gymnastics club.



Having served in countless administrative roles in both clubs, she is universally recognised as being a safe pair of hands invaluable in guiding committees through logistical matters. These include finding 3G training pitches for the ultimate club, and organising and hosting the Varsity match in her third year as President of CUOGC. On top of this, Fi has maintained her enthusiasm for trying new sports as a beginner, and always strives for improvement; for instance, she has qualified for BUCS after starting powerlifting for the first time this year. She uses her experiences in a variety of clubs as a member of the Cambridge University Student Sport Advisory Group, always aiming to bring the same benefits she has enjoyed to all those involved in university sport.”

Elise C., Lili P., Kasia W., Jack W.

 

 

John Harrison (Robinson)

CU Association Football Club

 

“John Harrison has been a loyal servant for CUAFC for 8 years. He has played at all levels of the football club and embodies everything that we stand for: passion, integrity, skill and general 'goodness'.

John has played for both Blues and Falcons (2s), and he has been outstanding every single year. John was a key part of the Falcons squad that saw them get promoted for the first time (2016/17) from Midlands 4D to where we are now in 3B. This year he is an integral part of the Falcons squad and is the reason we have conceded fewest goals in our league. We are also pushing for promotion this year. John was further a part of the 2017-18 Blues squad who were crowned Midlands 1A champions. Our final league game this year will be John's 99th competitive appearance for our club.

Outside of his incredible CUAFC achievements, John has been CUAFL (CU Association Football League) President for 4 years in a row, ensuring that many students are able to compete in football every single weekend for their college.

In short, John has had unrivalled commitment and success in the footballing world at Cambridge University for the past 8 years.

There is no one more deserving of this award than John, whose contributions to football at Cambridge have been significant and consistent over the best part of the last decade.”

Angus B., Re-em T., Nick G.

 

 

Phil O’Dell

CU Hare and Hounds

 

“Since coming to CUH&H in 2012, Phil has transformed the club into a thriving, BUCS-medal-winning, inclusive society that has runners ranging from GB athletes to complete beginner. Phil has made his mark on the club through the advice he gives, the training he sets and the attitude that he instils in the squad.

Phil commits a large amount of his time each week to the club, travelling from Bedford to Cambridge at least twice a week and often coaching multiple interval sessions in the day. He plays a crucial role in preparing the club for Varsity and BUCS, attends every race regardless of location (BUCS was in Edinburgh this year) and takes an interest in every athlete and their individual aims. As the squad has grown in numbers and depth, Phil organizes training outside of term time as well, despite only asking for travel expenses. He has increased participation hugely and brought the club 7 BUCS Cross Country medals.

Phil goes beyond his duties to the club as a whole by taking on many of the club’s athletes as their full-time coach, athletes who have notably enjoyed a huge amount of success since coming to Cambridge. This involves setting individualised weekly training plans, being in regular contact to assess how the athlete is finding the training load, developing race strategies and creating a long-term progression to help the athlete achieve their goals. Phil personally coaches the following CUH&H athletes:

•             Niamh Bridson Hubbard - Women’s Blues Varsity Match champion 2019, reserve for U23 European XC Championships GB team 2019

•             Phillip Crout - winner of the Men’s Blues Varsity Match 2019

•             Nancy Scott - 3rd at Blues 2019, 4th at British Championships 3000m Steeplechase 2019

•             William Ryle-Hodges – 9-time Cross-Country Blue (a record)

•             Emily Ruane – 4th at Blues 2019

•             Joseph Massingham – 37th at English National Cross Country

•             Louise Shanahan – Winner of 800m BUCS Indoors 2020

•             Norman Shreeve – 12th at Blues 2019, 29:57 10km personal best.

Phil regularly attends coaching seminars and training opportunities, particularly focusing on women’s athletics in order to deeply understand the best approach for long-term success. This was exemplified this year when our women’s team of Niamh, Emily and Nancy (athletes Phil has developed over three years or more) took the Bronze at BUCS Cross-Country, the first women’s team medal for Cambridge since 2004, in an event which is dominated by Loughborough, St Mary’s and Birmingham.

Last November Phil was awarded the British Milers’ Club Lifetime Service to Coaching Award in recognition for his many years of coaching at Bedford AC and his London-based Training Group. All of us at CUH&H firmly believe that he also deserves recognition for the colossal effort he has put in over the last 8 years at Cambridge.”

Iain D.

 

 

Robyn Macrae (St Catharine's)

CU Polo

 

“Robyn has made a fantastic contribution to CUPC since she joined 3 years ago. She is a superstar on the pitch who has never lost a varsity match. She brings boundless enthusiasm and positivity to every match she plays and is a huge asset to any team.

Alongside her achievements on the pitch, Robyn has worked tirelessly as part of the CUPC executive committee for the past 2 years. In her first role as sponsorship lead, Robyn's professionalism and enthusiasm were successful in generating sponsorship for the club. As club captain this year, Robyn has led the club through a very successful winter season and succeeds in not only fulfilling her role, but also managing to support all the other committee members in their respective roles as well.

Alongside her polo and PhD commitments, Robyn is a very talented rower, representing St. Catherine's W1 boat in many races. Robyn's dedication, alongside her sporting and academic success make her an inspiration and role model for many. She is a truly wonderful representative for sportswomen at the University of Cambridge. “

Aeisha J.

 

 

Tricia Smith (Christ's)

CU Women’s Boat Club

 

“Over the last 8 years, Tricia Smith has made an Outstanding Contribution to sport at Cambridge. She is the most veteran member of Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, and her impact has extended well beyond Goldie Boathouse to raise the profile of sport at Cambridge in general.

When Tricia first arrived at Cambridge in 2013, she joined both Cambridge University Ultimate and Christ's College Boat Club, having never rowed before. That year, she earned a Half Blue for Ultimate and joined the CUWBC Development Squad, where she progressed rapidly. She won her first Boat Race in the 2015 lightweight eight. That year was the first year that the women’s Boat Races were held on the Tideway in London; this huge step forward demanded that the club cultivate a team culture of professionalism, hard work, and support. Tricia committed entirely to help building this culture and was elected to the leadership role of Lightweight captain for the 2016 season.

During the year of her captaincy Tricia was injured and unable to race. However, she took this as an opportunity to broaden her impact through sport. Having lost her mother to cancer while she was on CUWBC's Development Squad, Tricia aligned with the mission of the Boat Races’ charity sponsor, Cancer Research UK. She undertook a personal fundraiser where she tried 27 different sports in 27 days in Cambridge, playing with clubs across the university, finishing by cycling from Cambridge to the Boat Race course in London. She raised over £10,000 toward cancer research and toward the project building Cambridge Rowing's boathouse in Ely. This world-class facility has greatly advanced the standard of the university's rowing with and also hosts college crews and other camps.

Following this inspirational effort to support charity and sport, Tricia doubled down on her own training. 2017, 2018, and 2019 were perhaps the most successful years in CUWBC's history; Tricia raced in our victorious Blondie crew in 2017 and won two Boat Races in the Blue Boat in 2018 and 2019. In the 2018 season, Tricia was CUWBC's Vice President. In that role, she did many administrative tasks including liaising with the Combined Boat Clubs of the colleges. She ran the CUWBC social media, producing content for a growing following interested in the Boat Races. Her initiative of "Teammate Takeover Tuesday" showcased how our student-athletes balance their Cambridge degrees with elite training. Tricia is a shining example of that balance, having pursued an undergrad, master's, and PhD while advancing her rowing—she raced in the fastest university pair in the country and the semi-finals at Henley Royal Regatta in 2019.

Throughout this time, Tricia has been an advocate for mental health. Her guidance has helped over 100 of her teammates navigate their degrees and trialling for the team. Tricia has supported every one of the combined 10 Boat Race wins across CUWBC’s eights during her tenure at the club. She is an inspiration to our 2020 blue boat currently training to win her personal fifth Boat Race.”

Abigail P.

 

 

Don’t forget that voting is still open for the Sporting Moment of the Year Award. Watch the videos here, share your favourite on social media & tag us in your posts! https://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/sporting-moment-vote-now