Sport & Societies

Chem Eng place sixth in Quidditch competition

Engineering students prove they are smart and sporty

Chem Eng place sixth in Quidditch competition

4am on a weekday morning is rarely a time you see students trooping into College, far less seemingly excited about the prospect of doing so. Yet this was the scene on Tuesday 17th February, as 150 Chemical Engineering students set off to Birmingham to compete in their annual sports competition – Frank Morton’s.

A competition like no other, this year it pitted 29 Chem Eng departments from across the UK against each other in a range of sporting challenges. As with most things, Imperial has a strong reputational pedigree, having won the competition seven times, most recently two years ago in Newcastle.

2015’s edition involved nineteen different sports, ranging from conventional ones such as 5-a-side football, basketball and netball to non-conventional ones like laser quest, crazy golf and Quidditch which made its debut this year. The eventual winners were the hosts with 60 points, leaving runners-up Strathclyde in the dust with 24. Overall Imperial came a creditable sixth; gaining first place in dodgeball, second in tennis and third in rounders and the sports day event.

After the sporting activities and awards ceremony, held in the Barclaycared Arena, were concluded, the famous Frank Morton’s afterparty celebrations began. The IC Crowd set about proving Imperial Chem Eng students can do more than just size pumps, belting out 90s classics from the likes of Spice Girls and S Club 7 with gusto.

As ever it was a fantastic event enjoyed by all who attended, proving that engineers really can operate on very little sleep! 2016’s edition will certainly be an event to look forward to.