Roses Tournament

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Multiple issues Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox sports rivalry The Roses Tournament is an annual varsity sports competition between Lancaster University and the University of York in England. It is often described as the largest inter-university sports tournament in Europe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The tournament is organised by their respective Students' Unions, LUSU and York SU. It takes its name from the 15th-century civil war, the Wars of the Roses, between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire are traditionally symbolised by the red and the white rose respectively, although some York teams play in gold and black kits.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The competition is held every year during the early May bank holiday weekend, alternating its venue between the two universities.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

The first event happened on 15 May 1965 after the Vice-Chancellor of York, Lord James of Rusholme, suggested a boat race between the two universities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The students amplified this idea and held a 5-day event with a variety of sports: rowing, table tennis, relay race, mixed field hockey, and tug of war. The winner of each of the sports received two points, and the losing vice-chancellor presented a trophy to the winning university. The event has continued to increase in size since its founding, with new events added every year (2004 had 37 different sports). Live coverage of the event is broadcast every year by a collaboration between the two universities' student television stations YSTV and LA1:TV, and their two student radio stations, Bailrigg FM and University Radio York. The importance of non-sporting social activities at the event has also been increased, with organised events on the Friday and Saturday evenings.<ref name=":0" />

In 1989, Roses celebrated its silver Jubilee with rugby, rowing, a boat race and tug of war some of the 30 sports. York won the tournament by 101-97 with a 3-1 win in the football securing the win. <ref name=":2">https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/uoy-sp-1-1-26 (Issue 1 Summer Term)</ref>

In the 2012 tournament a stadium was used for the first time. The Rugby 1sts XV battled it out at Huntington Stadium, the home of the York City Knights.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the 2013 tournament York opted to use the same venue again, for the second year running.

The Lancaster University Men's Hockey Club 4th Team, Lancaster Bombers American Football team and the Lancaster Trampolining team were the only teams to remain unbeaten in the history of the tournament to date going into Roses 2012, however all three teams lost to their York counterparts in 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

For the 50th battle of the Roses in 2014, the tournament was hosted at Lancaster. Lancaster created a purpose built stadium for first time which hosted the opening and closing ceremony, as well as fixtures including women's rugby, men's rugby and archery.

The 2015 tournament was officially opened by England football team manager Roy Hodgson and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The opening ceremony, which featured a series of boxing matches dubbed 'Friday Night Fight Night', was watched by 1,000 people in the University of York's Central Hall, with a further 5,000 people watching on large screens across campus. It was also the first year that one university had scored more than 200 points; however more point scoring activities are present now compared to 50 years ago.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Esports were introduced to the tournament for the first time in 2016 in the form of League of Legends, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The 2018 tournament saw the introduction of dodgeball and golf to the competition, as won by the Lancaster Royals.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In March 2020 it was announced that the event would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, a competition was held with the Roses tournament being replaced by a Virtual Roses tournament which was won by York.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LUSU2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nouse05052020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Since the pandemic, Lancaster have dominated the competition, winning all four editions since 2022. This ongoing streak is also the first time that either university has won four or more consecutive tournaments. There had previously been five instances of three consecutive triumphs.

Results

• Lancaster: 30 wins (24 home, 6 away)
• York: 28 wins (24 home, 4 away)
• Draws: 1 (1 at Lancaster, 0 at York)

No.	Year	Host	Winner		Runner-up		Ref.
1	1965	York	York		Lancaster
2	1966	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
3	1967	York	York		Lancaster
4	1968	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
5	1969	York	York		Lancaster
6	1970	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
7	1971	York	York		Lancaster
8	1972	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
9	1973	York	Lancaster		York
10	1974	Lancaster	Draw
11	1975	York	Lancaster		York
12	1976	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
13	1977	York	Lancaster		York
14	1978	Lancaster	York		Lancaster
15	1979	York	York		Lancaster
16	1980	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
17	1981	York	York		Lancaster
18	1982	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
19	1983	York	York		Lancaster
20	1984	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
21	1985	York	Lancaster		York
22	1986	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
23	1987	York	York	104.0	Lancaster	69.0	<ref>https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/uoy-sp-1-1-24 (Issue 1 Summer Term)</ref>
24	1988	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
25	1989	York	York	101.0	Lancaster	97.0	<ref name=":2" />
26	1990	Lancaster	Lancaster	170.0	York	68.0	<ref>https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/uoy-sp-1-1-27 (Issue 1 Summer Term)</ref>
27	1991	York	York		Lancaster
28	1992	Lancaster	York	100.5	Lancaster	90.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
29	1993	York	York		Lancaster
30	1994	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
31	1995	York	York	122.0	Lancaster	99.0	<ref name=":6" />
32	1996	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
33	1997	York	York		Lancaster
34	1998	Lancaster	Lancaster		York
35	1999	York	York		Lancaster
36	2000	Lancaster	Lancaster	151.5	York	77.5	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
37	2001	York	York	132.5	Lancaster	102.5	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
38	2002	Lancaster	York	120.5	Lancaster	119.5	<ref>LU News. Lancaster narrowly beaten in War of Roses Template:Webarchive</ref>
39	2003	York	York	132.0	Lancaster	101.0
40	2004	Lancaster	Lancaster	145.0	York	107.0
41	2005	York	York	159.5	Lancaster	91.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
42	2006	Lancaster	Lancaster	134.0	York	115.0
43	2007	York	York	143.0	Lancaster	103.0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
44	2008	Lancaster	York	124.0	Lancaster	122.0	<ref>Roses 2008 Fixtures and Results – The Yorker Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="Roses York Sport">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Rob Miller " Roses 2008Template:Dead link</ref><ref>LU News. Lancaster pipped by York in the Roses Template:Webarchive</ref>
45	2009	York	York	194.5	Lancaster	79.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
46	2010	Lancaster	Lancaster	157.5	York	105.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
47	2011	York	York	176.5	Lancaster	104.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
48	2012	Lancaster	Lancaster	156.5	York	131.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
49	2013	York	York	180.5	Lancaster	105.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
50	2014	Lancaster	Lancaster	183.5	York	142.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
51	2015	York	York	227.5	Lancaster	141.5	<ref name="roseslive.co.uk"/>
52	2016	Lancaster	Lancaster	212.5	York	138.5	<ref name="roseslive.co.uk"/>
53	2017	York	York	206.5	Lancaster	159.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
54	2018	Lancaster	Lancaster	225.5	York	126.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
55	2019	York	York	209.5	Lancaster	143.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
rowspan="2" Template:N/A	Template:N/A	colspan="6" rowspan="2" Template:N/A
Template:N/A
56	2022	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Lancaster	241.0	York	102.0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
57	2023	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Lancaster	200.0	York	126.0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
58	2024	Lancaster	Lancaster	217.5	York	126.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
59	2025	York	Lancaster	184.0	York	160.0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Current list of sports

The following sports were included in the 2023 edition of the tournament:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• American football
• Archery
• Badminton
• Ballroom dance
• Basketball
• Canoe polo
• Cheerleading
• Climbing
• Cricket
• Cross Country
• Cycling
• Dance
• Darts
• Debating
• Equestrian
• Esports
• Fencing
• Football*
• Futsal
• Golf
• Handball
• Hockey
• Indoor hockey
• Korfball
• Lacrosse
• Martial Arts
• Motorsport
• Mountain Biking
• Netball
• Pokémon
• Pole fitness
• Pool
• Powerlifting
• Rowing
• Rugby union
• Sailing
• Snooker
• Snowsports
• Squash
• Swimming
• Table tennis**
• Tennis
• Trampolining
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Underwater hockey
• Volleyball
• Water polo
• Whitewater canoeingTemplate:Div col end

* In addition to the University teams, football and netball also includes matches between each university's intercollegiate league champions. Postgraduate and medical society teams have also appeared in some years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

** In 2023 table tennis is the 'Vice Chancellors' Fixture', with the sides consisting of the vice chancellor and the sports president.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In past years, croquet is usually played between "executive" teams comprising some combination of chancellors, vice-chancellors and Students' Union presidents, and does not contribute any points to the overall score.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In some years, this has been replaced with crown green bowls.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the COVID-19 pandemic

Virtual Roses 2020

Summer Edition

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the annual Roses Tournament to be held at Lancaster University was cancelled.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As an alternative, Lancaster University Students' Union and York University Students' Union created a virtual tournament on Facebook.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Events took place in the form of challenges that participants would have to provide photographic or video evidence for. Challenges of were judged by Lancaster SU Vice-President for Activities, Victoria Hatch and York Sport Union President, Maddi Cannell.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> The tournament took place between 1–2 May 2020 and was won by York by a score of 2337-1971.<ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Charity fundraising was also done alongside the tournament, with a total of over £5000 being raised.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Opening Ceremony

The 'Opening Ceremony' for the tournament featured a number of video performances being uploaded to the Virtual Roses 2020 Facebook page on 1 May 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sets were performed by Emily Millard, Lancaster's Brass Quintet, Lancaster's Clarinet Choir, Lancaster's Chamber Choir, Hamza Dalvi, Victoria Hatch, and Lancaster University Comedy Institute.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Events

There was a mix of events that were open to all,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> events that were only open to members of specific societies,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> and events only competed by specific individuals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> Most events awarded 50 points for 1st place, 30 points for 2nd place, and 20 points for 3rd place.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some events awarded points for the number of participants each University had.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some events awarded 100 points for the winner.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Winter Edition

A winter edition of the Virtual Roses Tournament, to take place on Lancashire Day (27 November), was announced via the same Facebook page that hosted the summer edition on 17 November 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lancaster won by a score of 40-22.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Roses Unlocked 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the annual Roses Tournament to be held at York University was cancelled. As an alternative, Lancaster University Students' Union and York University Students' Union created "Roses Unlocked". Events took place in the form of a pentathlon consisting of a sprint, running, a static erg, a swim and a cycle between most uni sports teams and were live-streamed online. The tournament took place between 30 April–2 May 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> York won by a score of 115-57.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• York Sport Union
• Roses Live