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Blogs • Josh Pemberton (Blog Scholar 2009)
The Sweetest Victory yet
Posted by Josh Pemberton on Thursday, May 28, 2009
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Last weekend saw the introduction of a new event to the calendar of Otago halls of residence, with an inter-hall rowing regatta being staged in the harbour. Given that Selwyn’s major sporting competition is traditionally with Knox College, an event like this with all halls invited is somewhat unique. Nine halls signed up for enter the competition, which was to be staged in ‘eights’ with each hall fielding a minimum of two novice rowers. The Selwyn squad, coached by the wily Matt McGovern and managed by Em Haigh, spent four weeks sacrificing their beauty sleep to spend cold dark Dunedin mornings training on ergs and out on the freezing water, "eating pain" as they put it, with victory in mind. My commitment wasn’t as good as some. Myself and my neighbour Evan Jones were appointed "assistant managers" but made it to only two trainings, which we spent in an almost hypothermic and somewhat hungover state in the coach boat.
At the regatta itself there was a large Selwyn turnout, indicative of our hall spirit and sense of community - especially given that the other teams had literally no-one come along to watch them. We offered plenty of banter to the other halls via megaphone, and it’s fair to say we were pretty confident. Hence our absolute shock when we were knocked out in the heats by a matter of metres, by none other than the hall I’d least wanted to lose to - Knox. The result was all the more inexplicable given Knox’s pre-race talk about how they hadn’t done a single training - this would have meant that their two novices had ever rowed a boat, and they’d still somehow beaten us. Yet about an hour after our heat it emerged that the old foe had actually deliberately misled the referees, flouted the rules and abused all notions of sportsmanship and honesty by fielding an eight who all had rowing experience - not one novice rower. There were no objections to Knox’s disqualification and our subsequent promotion to the final, where we convincingly beat Carrington and Cumberland to be crowned champions. In my opinion this is one of the most epic stories to have some out of the dozens of years of rivalry between the halls. I’d hate to sound vindictive, but the lesson I took from the day was that if there’s anything better in sport than doing the hard yards and getting the best possible result, it’s seeing your biggest rivals using underhand tactics and failing to get away with it.
At the regatta itself there was a large Selwyn turnout, indicative of our hall spirit and sense of community - especially given that the other teams had literally no-one come along to watch them. We offered plenty of banter to the other halls via megaphone, and it’s fair to say we were pretty confident. Hence our absolute shock when we were knocked out in the heats by a matter of metres, by none other than the hall I’d least wanted to lose to - Knox. The result was all the more inexplicable given Knox’s pre-race talk about how they hadn’t done a single training - this would have meant that their two novices had ever rowed a boat, and they’d still somehow beaten us. Yet about an hour after our heat it emerged that the old foe had actually deliberately misled the referees, flouted the rules and abused all notions of sportsmanship and honesty by fielding an eight who all had rowing experience - not one novice rower. There were no objections to Knox’s disqualification and our subsequent promotion to the final, where we convincingly beat Carrington and Cumberland to be crowned champions. In my opinion this is one of the most epic stories to have some out of the dozens of years of rivalry between the halls. I’d hate to sound vindictive, but the lesson I took from the day was that if there’s anything better in sport than doing the hard yards and getting the best possible result, it’s seeing your biggest rivals using underhand tactics and failing to get away with it.
The Lighter Side of Selwyn Tradition
Posted by Josh Pemberton on Monday, May 18, 2009
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The special character of Selwyn largely comes from long standing traditions such as the ballet, haka and waiata and our O-Week rituals. However the hall wouldn’t be what it is without a few crazy rites in among the more serous customs. With the conclusion of April, the boys of the college were finally allowed to shave after a mandatory "Amish April" in which we grew out our facial hair, or lack thereof. Bad genetic inheritance meant that I was relegated to the latter category, resulting in a month of good natured banter which gave me even more incentive to commit to the event which followed straight after: "Mullet May". At midnight on Friday May 1st, about 40 Selwynites met in the common room, armed with shavers, kitchen scissors and bleach and a complete abandonment of dignity and vanity. By the time we left, a good number of the boys had been rendered unrecognisable with freshly shorn, styled and dyed locks. Although Amish April and Mullet May might seem trivial, I believe they are indicative of the nature of students in the hall. With the pressure of tests and assignments an ongoing fact of university life, it’s surely a positive that Selwynites can still enjoy a bit of light relief, even if it does consist of significantly worsening their physical appearance and chances with the opposite sex.