Lee Hanfakheaw writes how he and his Pool teammates beat the University of York’s team at a College Varsity event in March.
I am writing to share exciting news about St. John’s Pool Team’s strong victory at the College Varsity 2024 against University of York.
The event featured 15 sports and 30 fixtures held at University of York which took place last Sunday the 3rd of March. We are the only sport category sent by St. John’s to compete in York, representing both St. John’s and Durham University. After competing 6 singles and 3 double matches, we secured victory over the team from University of York.
This year’s competitors from St. John’s Pool were Louis Huyton (Captain of John’s Pool A Team), Will Gwynne, Milan Grubits, Ethan Bytheway, Isaac Peck, and myself, Lee Hanfakheaw.
It was such a thrilling experience. I believe it was our strongest performance throughout the year and the greatest achievement for St. John’s College Pool in 2024. My teammates have been very supportive, resilient and reliable. I am very glad to be part of St. John’s College Pool and hope that our passion for cue sports can inspire the future generations.
Usually the team mostly play in the Bailey’s room and sometimes at Kitt’s Pool Bar in town (to be accustomed to all table conditions; newer tables are usually more responsive). We also have some practice from our weekly matches against other colleges in Durham. Luckily the table at the competition site in York was a happy medium between the old one in Bailey’s room and the extremely smooth ones in Kitts, but a little smaller than John’s, which makes it slightly easier to cue.
Half-way through the match, a group of students from University of York walked in with a big video camera and a microphone asking for an interview about our team. Will gave the interview on our behalf and said that we were all quite confident in our skills. The competition then resumed and we secured a close victory in our first inter-university competition for St. John’s.
It was an amazing experience and I am very grateful to have participated alongside all of our team members.
John's Chronicle 