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student news


Daniel goes for glory


in world competition THE University could have a world champion in its midst when theology student Daniel Briggs competes in the World Tae Kwon-Do Championships in Telford this autumn. Already the reigning British,


Martial arts


al arts.By aged10 he had acquired his blackbelt and appeared in film productions to instruct others in various disciplines. At age 16 he began practising Tae


European, Scottish and English champion, he is looking to add the world title to his CV during what maywell be the biggest evermartial arts event. Daniel is currentlyunbeaten in


both European and British com- petition and is looking to go one better than he did the last time he competed in the world champion- ships in 2007. Having taken silver on that oc-


casion, the 22-year-old has stated that only his best performance to datewill be acceptable. Daniel said: “I will be accepting


nothing short of gold! “This academic year, Ihavere-


tainedmytitlesofBritishChampion for the fifth consecutive year and as EnglishChampionfor the thirdcon- secutive year. “I amgoing to be competing in all


competitions this year inthe runup to the Championships so I can be in the best possible shape. It is one of my dreams to go there andwin.” Daniel, fromDunfermline in Scot-


land, beganmartial arts aged five in a mixed martial arts class which incorporatedmany of the tradition-


Kwon-Do after having also sampled karate, and just six years later he nowcompetes internationallyinthe welterweight division. Despitehis success inthe sport,an


appearance in the Olympics re- mains doubtful for Daniel, whois insteadlooking toachieveaMasters degreeandperhapsevenadoctorate inTheology. Hehas thoughrealised thathis abilities can produce other unexpected opportunities. He said: “I have done some pub-


lished sports commentary on the likesofChrisHoyandAndrewMur- ray, published throughout Scotland in an article on inspiring Scots and their effect on the younger gen- eration on athletes. “I have also done some work with


MTV on music videos.Shereen Crystal, a friend of mine, asked me to be in several of hermusic videos as an upcoming R‘n’B artist in Lon- donandNewYork. Ihaveevenmade contact with Simon Webbe and well-knownvideodirectorLukeBig- gins about future video projects.” Having completed his second year


atUniversity,Daniel nowbegins his rigorous training over the summer in preparation forwhatmaywell be the competition of a lifetime.


AIMING FOR THE TOP: Daniel Briggs is hoping to improve on his silver medal from three years ago in the World Tae Kwon-Do Championships.


Pride in northern showdown Netball


THEladies’netball teamproduced afineperformancetoearnasilver medal in the British Universities andColleges Sport (BUCS)North- ern Conference Cup inMarch.


They won six matches on their


way to the final,whichwas played aspartof theBUCSNetballCham- pionships in Sheffield. They were eventually beaten


FINAL ENCOUNTER: The ladies’ netball team.


32-48 in the final by Hull, but Captain Lizzie Humphrey was proud of her team’s efforts.


She said: “Wedidn’t ever expect


todoaswellaswedid.Wecameup against alot of tough teams, but just keptwinning. “Our greatest rivalry iswith the


University ofManchester, and we absolutely thrashed them!” The Conference Cup was one of


two near-misses the teamhad this season.Theynarrowlymissedout


Photo supplied.


STUDENTNEWS Sports round-up


FIGHTING FORGOLD


onwinningtheir relevantdivision of the NorthernConference League, finishing in second place on goal difference. “Wewere reallyunlucky not to


win the league.Itis usuallysep- arated by head-to-head records against the team you are level with,but as thatwas the same too, it went down to goal difference whichmeantwe lost out. “I’mreallyproudof theteamand whatwemanaged to achieve.”


Hoop stars keep on winning


Basketball


THE University of Chester men’s basketball teamkept up the institution’s long history of success in the sport afterwin- ning the BUCSNorthern Con- ference Cup inMarch.


The teambeat the likes of


Liverpool JohnMoore’sUni- versity and Lancaster Uni- versity on theway to the final. Acrowd of about 200 people


gathered in the SportsHall at the Chester campus to cheer on the teamin the final, and celebrate an eventual 82-78 overtimewin against Leeds Carnegie 2nds. Phil Brandreth, TeamCap-


tain, said: “Itwas great to play in the final, especially because itwas on our home court, so a lot of our fellowstudents, friends and familywere able to watch. “We had fantastic support


fromall the sports teams in- cludingmen’s football,wo- men’s netball and the rugby teams. “Being Captain, I’mreally


pleasedwithwhatwe have achieved this year.We have made a big impression in the University andwere able to have themost successful sea- son Chester has had in terms of basketball.” The institution has a proud


history in the sport, dating backmany years. Current Chairman of BUCS Basketball SportsManagementGroup, Trevor Pountain, captained Chester during his days as a student and representedNorth West Colleges. Nowa lecturer at Southamp-


ton Solent University, Trevor is also currently a FIBACommis- sioner and nationalOlympic member for basketball. Hewas formerly the Presid-


ent of England Basketball (2000-2006), on the officiating committee from1991-1997 and was the Chair of the English Association of BasketballOffi- cials from1991-1997. Recalling his days of playing,


and studying at Chester, Tre- vor said: “We played in the NorthWales League and whilstwe had friendly games with other institutions, there were no BUSA/BUCS compet- itions. “We did beat EdgeHill one


darkwinter’s night in the old gym. Theywere the big college teamin those days,with a couple of England squad play- ers.”


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