The Imperial College Hockey Club (ICHC) hosted a bar night at Vintage, formerly Chateau 6, on Thursday last week. The event was open to all students and served as a way for both students involved in sports and others to blow off some steam before the all-important Varsity games this March.

The event was organised by ICHC Club Captain Jason Ye and Social Secretaries Guy Khosla and Gilles Stassen, with tickets costing £5 and including a free shot when bought online. Tickets were also available on the door and the venue filled up rapidly as the evening progressed. The organisers had secured drinks deals with Vintage that kept their attendees’ drinks flowing, with beer and Jagerbombs at £2, vodka mixers at £3 and a surprise addition of Sex On The Beach cocktails at £3 following the generosity of the venue’s staff hours before the event kicked off.

Two ICHC members, Joe Andrews and Josh Freemont, (Jolt DJs) provided the music and served as the DJs for the dancefloor. Their exhilarating mashups filled Vintage with avid students who braved the snow to come out and experience an invigorating clubbing atmosphere. Coupled with the fair drinks prices, the barrage of over 150 students had an overall air of positivity about the event.

We asked Jason Ye why he chose Vintage for the venue rather than Metric or the Union, and he explained that “by holding it at Vintage, [they] were not exposed to any financial risk or costs”, what with there being no minimum bar spend, minimum attendance, stewarding costs and other limitations. While hosting a “We Are Metric” night in the Union would require the event to end at 11pm, Vintage stayed open three hours later, and the ICHC were able to negotiate “very favourable drinks deals” because they supplied their own DJs.

“The fact that it was an event open to everyone and not just the Hockey Club made it a great night”, Jason continued, adding that Vintage “seemed pretty receptive to holding more events in the future” and that “the club is an extremely nice venue”.

This was the first event of its kind for this year’s ICHC committee, and the weather conditions on the night raised concern for turnout, but Jason told Felix they were “extremely pleased with how it went and would probably look to hold [an event] there again some point in the future”. ICHC found it particularly interesting that “there were quite a few people who bought their tickets on the door, including members of the public who were just looking to get out of the snow”. This, in turn, worked in their favour, as “the mix of ICHC members, Imperial students and the public contributed to an amazing atmosphere inside”.

Vintage has previously been used by many Imperial Clubs & Societies for various events as Chateau 6 before its rebranding. With an extensive range of cocktails, its prime location opposite Fulham Broadway station and numerous rooms for gathering or dancing, the ICHC executed a fun filled event for all.