Bridgwater College recently hosted two FA Cup 5-a-side tournaments to encourage students from across the College to get involved in sport.

The first tournament was aimed at student with special educational needs (SEN). Two teams from Bridgwater College entered, along with three teams from South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS), one team from Somerset College and another from Yeovil College. Rachael Edwards, Disability Football Officer from the Somerset FA and Kirsty Whitton, College and Community Football Coordinator from the Somerset FA, helped to co-ordinate the event on the day, which was largely delivered by the Team BC Activators. The Activators took on roles such as central timers, scorers, referees, media officers, pool managers and tournament managers.

The tournament was played as a ‘round robin’ format, with the two teams scoring the most points meeting each other in the final. All participants received a certificate for their great sportsmanship and impressive skill, with SGS College receiving silver medals for coming runners up and Bridgwater College team receiving gold medals and the ‘FA Cup’ trophy.

The Final’s Score: Bridgwater College (Derby) 1 – 0 SGS College (Liverpool).

Darren Garman, a member of staff from SGS College said,

“I just wanted to say thanks to all those involved for putting on yesterday’s football tournament, and want to thank all of the students involved in organising and refereeing etc. All my learners really enjoyed the day and definitely would be up for future football tournaments and fixtures.”

The second tournament saw twenty-two teams from across Bridgwater College come together to compete in College’s version of the FA Cup. In order to make the teams more even, there was a limit of two Team BC football players per team, to give those that wanted to play socially and with their friends a fair chance of doing well. The teams represented on the day included Middlesbrough captained by Harry Laurie, Sheffield United captained by Ed Howes and Stoke City captained by Jack Hoare.

Students entered from courses such as sport, public services, engineering and plumbing, as well as having students from courses such as horticulture, music technology and a levels coming together to play in the same team. Alongside the football tournament was a BBQ and sports massage (provided by Ben Norman and the Hair and Beauty department) for players and spectators to access.

Again, this tournament was ran by the Team BC Activators, as well as some additional students from sport were keen to volunteer to support event management modules for their courses. Between them, they took on roles such as referees, time keepers, scorers, pool managers and tournament managers. The tournament ran extremely well and the students ensured that the tournament was fun and inclusive for all those taking part.

The format of the tournament saw group stages leading to quarter finals, semi-finals and a final. It was Chesterfield captained by Harry Horton and West Ham captained by David McMillan who were destined to meet in the final. The winner of the tournament was Chesterfield after they beat West Ham 1 – 0. The finalists were then presented with medals and certificates.

View more photos from the tournament

Bayley Chatwin, Level 3 Development, Coaching and Fitness student and participant said,

“It was a well organised tournament, quite competitive but overall was a great laugh with everyone enjoying themselves.”

Natalia Plywacz, Level 3 Public Services student, Team BC Activator and Tournament Manager said,

“The tournament went so smoothly, all the BC Activators had certain jobs so they all knew what to do during the day, they did a brilliant job! Students looked like they enjoyed the day in the sunshine with BBQ and music on the side.”

Ben Squires, Level 3 Public Services student, Team BC Activator and Referee Supervisor said,

“I have enjoyed it thoroughly over the last two weeks. Each week has been incredibly enjoyable and some very good football was played. All the activators run it collectively really well and were praised by the participants greatly due to the hard work they have put in. It is growing more and more popular as the years have gone on and I think it will continue to increase!”