Sport Imperial have dropped the ball

This week was meant to be a celebration of women at Imperial, as the women’s rugby team was set to headline Varsity for the very first time. The evening was meant to pay homage to the incredible progression of women’s sport and in fact women at Imperial in general, but in reality, due to the thoughtlessness of the staff of Sport Imperial, it fell flat on its face.

Before the women rugby players had even reached the stadium, the coach that was organised to take them there failed to materialise. Then, during the match, coaches were allowed to leave during the girl’s final match, despite the team stressing that under no circumstances should they be left to play to an empty stadium.

The team were rushed through their cold after-match dinner, after the men’s team had had their fill and already left. Finally, those that were able clambered onto a coach full of agitated spectators that had been made to sit there for 40 minutes, whilst other players were left behind.

To top it all off, those who were left behind were also apparently verbally abused by a staff member, who proceeded to make misogynistic remarks about the girl’s appearances.

Although Sport Imperial state that the transportation nightmare was not their fault, the fact that the whole thing wasn’t organised meticulously months beforehand still raises concerns. As far as I’m aware, Varsity has been a pretty streamlined affair; transport issues have always cropped up but surely over time these should have been ironed out.

The fact that Sport Imperial haven’t outright apologised for any of these events is testament to the fact that no-one ever wants to appear accountable at Imperial; no-one ever hold up their hands and admits they fucked up.

If Sport Imperial organise an event, then it should run as they please, and they shouldn’t blame coach companies or stadium staff that they are paying and therefore can instruct and direct as necessary. It certainly isn’t unreasonable to direct catering to serve hot food at a time you would like, and it also isn’t unreasonable to instruct coaches to leave and arrive when you choose.

Not only that, the fact that extra care and attention wasn’t taken to ensure this essential milestone for women’s sport went off without a hitch is testament to the underlying attitude the institution has towards the women’s teams in general; that it obviously doesn’t deserve such focus in the first place. It stinks of incompetence, laziness, and a disregard for how important this event should have been.

That’s before we even begin to tackle the downright sexism displayed by the staff member who stated brazenly that he didn’t care “how the fat girls get home” after hearing students were stranded.

Women@Imperial week came to a close last week, and it was a flurry of positive tweeting, bright and colourful photos, hashtags, long and buzzword-filled speeches, and totally devoid of any of the grim reality that women face at Imperial day in and day out.

No-one considered using the week to address the damage that misogyny can have on a community, and the negative effects things that some people aren’t even they are aware they are doing can have.

I would like to think that this staff member, who interacts with students of all genders day in day out, doesn’t actually consider himself a sexist pig. However, comments on a women’s appearance made in a derogatory manner and with a vile attitude to boot is a key example of the sort of misogyny that goes unchecked day in and day out.

Maybe if Imperial had not played it safe with Women@Imperial, and not suggested we are already there as an institution when it comes to female equality, such comments would not continue to happen in the future.

We need to fully challenge the poor attitudes to women at Imperial and explain how misogyny can resonate in many ways; from an angry comment over a walkie-talkie to complete disregard when it comes to organising the next big platform for women’s sport, all contribute to the inequality women face day in and day out.

And to be quite frank, it pisses me off.