Victory for BU Volleyball

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BU’s Men’s Volleyball team has been crowned champions of the Volleyball England Student Cup.

The BU Varsity First team gained the trophy after winning in straight sets in the final against local team Wessex LeAF.

Dan Hunter, BSc (Hons) Software Engineering student and captain of the BU volleyball team, said: “It was a great feeling as I had never won this but also great as it’s the first time for the University as well.

“The win is a reward for all the hours SportBU have dedicated to all the volleyball people in recent years and it’s great to say we are national champions.”

The Student Cup saw 32 of the top University and College teams from across the country battle it out for the title over two days of competition in Norwich.

The BU Men’s Varsity Team reached the final without dropping a single set to their opponents in any of their matches.

It was a case of third time lucky for the team, who have been runners up in the competition for the past two years.

Dan, who competed in the London 2012 Olympics as part of the Great Britain Men’s Volleyball team, added: “It was a great tournament for the BU Men who have been training together at the University and with the local club Wessex. After last year’s loss in the final we were motivated to go all the way this year.”

Ian Wood, Duty Manager: Health and Fitness Services for sportBU and current BU Master’s student, also played in the winning team.

“It was a great feeling to win, especially against local rivals in an explosive game,” said Ian, who is completing an MSc in Sports Management.

“We’re lucky enough to have a strong team at the moment including Olympians, GB athletes and Super 8 [Volleyball England’s top division in the National League] players due to the overall strength of volleyball as a sport in the South.

“It is now becoming one of the top places for talented players to come and play alongside study and work.”

He added: “The infrastructure provided by the University and their links with the local national league teams – including Wessex LeAF BU and Solent Volleyball Club – allows the players to train and compete regularly together at a high level, which has really benefitted the university team.”

Andrea Ivanov from the BU Men’s First team won the competition’s award for Most Valuable Player.

The BU Women’s Volleyball team also competed in the Student Cup competition, coming 9th in the women’s tournament, while the BU Men’s Second team were placed 15th.

Find out more about the Volleyball England Student Cup

Students take on videogame marathon to raise money for charity

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Students from Bournemouth University aim to raise £2,000 for charity by playing video games continuously for a week.

The group of around 20 students will take it in turns to play the Zelda computer games in The Atrium, on BU’s Talbot Campus.

They started at 1pm on Monday and will finish on Sunday April 14, with the games being played 24 hours a day.

They are holding the event to raise money for GamesAid, which supports various children’s charities, including improving access to gaming and technology.

“They help disabled people who can’t use controls to play games by adapting them especially for them,” said Mike Warner, a second year BSc (Hons) Software Engineering student, who has organised the fundraiser.

“It’s about making them accessible for everyone.”

The group are playing the games on a number of large screens on The Atrium, and people can also watch a live stream of the players on a website created by Mike.

They aim to complete all 12 Zelda titles in the 212 hours they will be playing.

“Lots of people have come around to see what is going on,” said Mike, 26, of Wimborne.

“I was up late before we started because I was finishing off the website, so I’m already behind on my sleep, but I’m not worried about getting bored of it as each game is really different.”

He added: “We probably won’t have time to finish them all, but it is worth a go.”

Mike attempted the challenge with friends in 2011, and raised £1,312 for GamesAid.

He said: “When I raised money for them last time, I met the people behind GamesAid and it was really impressive seeing first-hand what they have done.

“This year, we want to raise £2,000.”

To watch the live stream of the Zelda marathon and donate visit: www.zeldagamesaid.co.uk.