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Team Beckett shines at European Doctoral Olympics
The team, captained by Matt Butterworth and consisting of Shane Thurlow, Matt Hobbs, Eoin Murray, Helen Staff and Alexandra Potts, took part in a gruelling two-day competition against 17 other teams from across Europe, going head-to-head in a range of sporting activities. As well as studying for their PhDs here at Leeds Beckett, Matt Butterworth, Shane, Matt Hobbs, Eoin and Helen are also Graduate Teaching Assistants in the Carnegie Faculty and Alexandra is a full-time bursary student.
Day one of the competition consisted of male and female singles badminton tournaments whilst the remaining four team members took part in a game of green ball (a version of hand ball).
Matt Butterworth explained: “This was a demanding competition as we were all competing in temperatures of 35 degrees. In the face of adversity, the badminton team made it to the knockout stages and the handball team finished in second position behind the Czechoslovakian team, who narrowly beat ‘Team Beckett’ by one goal.”
The morning of day two saw the team take on kayaking, cycling and running. Matt said: “This event asked that two members of the team kayak around lake Aydat (approximately six kilometres) whilst one member ran the gruelling 7.5km course around the lake and a second team member mountain biked across the same rough terrain. The cycle / run duo could swap modes of transport at any time because it was suggested that nobody could run the entire course.
“Matt Hobbs did not only run the entire course, he set a new Strava (the GPS cycling and running app) record while doing so which created a huge buzz around the other teams and the organisers. The team had to meet in a holding area until all team members had competed their event and then cross the finish line. Team Beckett did a fantastic job and finished third in both rounds.”
Finally on the afternoon of day two, competition winners were announced following a futsal event. Matt explained: “The futsal event was made up of teams of five people and we had to play six-minute games which were very quick and intense. After several games, Team Beckett were knocked out of the competition to finish in fourth place: a success which is largely due to a fantastic coaching session from John Hall (our University’s Senior Football Coach).
“During our stay in Clermont-Ferrand we enjoyed a drinks reception, where we were welcomed to France by the Mayor of Clermont. We also attended a gala and presentation evening at the town hall with all the teams. It was a fantastic opportunity to share some time with PhD students from all over Europe, including Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, France, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. To compete as part of a diverse team from different disciplines and ages ranging from 23 to 44, was a real pleasure for everyone. I would also like to thank Pete Mackreth, Head of the School of Sport, and his team for all of their support in organising this opportunity.”