Reflecting on History
On Saturday, 16 March, history was made; the first ever girls OTH v Commoners Winchester College Football match was played.
In a tightly contested game, OTH emerged as the winners, taking home the newly named Ali Pot.
Following the game, the two captains, Francesca and Kate, reflected on this momentous occasion.
Q: How does it feel to be a part of a significant moment in the school’s history?
F: I feel extremely honoured, and so should every single girl who turned up to canvas sessions. Winchester College football is such an essential part of life at this school and it can be extremely daunting taking up such a unique sport that holds so much value. I am extremely proud of every female Wykehamist who took part.
K: Absolutely amazing - I remember the first moment I had to myself when I got home after the game, when all of it suddenly sunk in - my team had just won the first ever game of girls' Winkies. I could not stop smiling and congratulating everyone - it was truly a team effort and everyone played so well and it was a super intense and enjoyable game.
Q: How did it feel to be named captains?
F: The best bit about being captain was watching the game develop. It was a much more official role than it was last year and I felt a lot of responsibility for how the game progressed; especially as it grew into two teams from the singular VI we had last year. Although I may have been a bit pushy at first! There was no better feeling than seeing the canvas filled with girls from both year groups. I feel extremely lucky that I was able to have a role in bringing people together and creating a new event in the school calendar.
K: I felt very privileged to get to be captain and above excited to try and lead OTH girls to victory - there's so much talent in the team and I felt confident that we had a good shot at winning the match.
Q: How did the idea come about?
F: Dr Romans has always been extremely enthusiastic about the introduction of female Winkies so around four of us joined in with Commoner Canvas last year. From that, we were able to pull together an Oakeshott’s team to play in VIs festival. The introduction of a new cohort of girls into the school meant more numbers for a winkies game! So Dr Romans, Mr Burley and I immediately started looking for official dates in September so that we had enough time to prepare for this exciting game.
K: We played in VIs Festival last year following a few training sessions with Commoner Canvas and whilst it was fun, we did feel completely out of the boys' league so Fran worked with Dr Romans to arrange girls-only sessions this term, finishing with this match.
Battling on ropes
Q: What were your thoughts leading into the game?
F: I was mainly just excited, if not a little nervous, as the Commoner side had suffered a multitude of injuries including an ankle sprain by myself, three days prior. We had been training together and it looked like we had a fairly even game ahead of us; I think everyone was looking forward to playing in front of a crowd for the first time. Winchester College Football’s popularity had only grown among the girls as the term progressed so numbers and enthusiasm were no issue. My main priority was getting the complicated rules learnt so that we could focus on having a really fun, interesting and enjoyable game.
K: In the weeks leading up, I was focused on making sure we worked well together as a team and knew our rules as well as possible to give us a good chance going into the game. Then I was quite nervous after the boys' VIs game as OTH had just beaten Commoners by a good margin so it was a tough act to follow. But after a short warmup and kick-around, the only thought I had was that we were going to win and have a great game and I was very excited.
What were your thoughts after?
F: So overwhelmed with happiness and pride; esspecially when Ali Pot was revealed. I was so overjoyed that the match took place, and how far the girls game had come – from a few of us playing on the boys canvas to two whole teams. I cannot wait to come back and visit to watch the future games.
K: I was really happy and so proud of the team and to have made history as the first winning team. In any photo you see post-match, OTH girls are grinning because we were so incredibly proud of our win - it was by no means guaranteed, and the match was hotly contested at points, especially right at the start when Commoners scored two behinds.
If the cup has been named, what is the name and why was it chosen?
F & K: After originally being nicknamed ‘hush pot’, as it was hidden from us, we have named it "Ali Pot" after the three "Alis" who have been so instrumental in introducing girls into Winchester. Ali Harber, our deputy head pastoral, Alison Seymour, Oakeshott's tutor and Alison Mayne, who is on the board of governors. It felt fitting to be able to honour them and everything they've done for us these past two years through this. It's currently sitting proudly on the mantelpiece in our common room in Oakeshott’s, which is the central space for all the girls at Winchester and, we think, the perfect place for it.
With the brand new Ali Pot
What would you like future matches to look like?
F & K: We would love to see Girls Winkies grow, with Xs and XVs matches in the future when we have enough girls to make the numbers, just like the boys have. Otherwise, our only hope for future matches is that they are as fun as this one was to play and enjoyable for spectators to watch. In the lead-up to their XVs games, the boys release anthems for OTH and commoners respectively; it would be great if our own traditions could emerge and develop into something similar to the boys.
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