By Tony Costin
They say sport brings us together and while that may not quite be the case in the annual varsity between Staffs and Keele, it certainly will be at the United Campus Games between our Stafford and Stoke campuses.
The Games, which start at 1pm on Wednesday 7th October, will consist of teams from both campuses. Five sports will be represented with players mixing to simply become Team Red and Team White, each a union of Stoke and Stafford.
With their newly-formed line-ups the teams will then play each other throughout the afternoon at both campuses, with football, basketball, netball, rugby and Ultimate Frisbee on the agenda. The prize of exclusive United Campus Games t-shirts for all the winning teams making victory that little bit sweeter.
As well as being a great opportunity for all students to watch some of the best sporting talent Staffs has to offer, the event also extends into the evening as anyone attending that night's Gobble at the LRV wearing red or white will get in at a reduced price before 11pm.
Ash Holland, a Students' Union vice president, has been very excited to see the Games get off the ground and spoke to us about his hopes for the afternoon and how it came to fruition.
"We found out there was a pot of money we could use, so we thought we'd use it to get the students from both campuses engaged with each other. At first it was just 'The Campus Games', but we thought unifying the two campuses would be much more worthwhile and it just grew from there," he said.
"We want to use the hype and promotion that we usually see at the Keele vs Staffs varsity to get students from Stafford and Stoke involved in sports. You might realise what you can join in with on a Wednesday afternoon.
"Kick off is in Stoke at 1pm, the next event will be at Stafford at 2pm, so come and watch enthusiastic students play sports and be part of the Staffs uni team for the day.
"No matter how accomplished you are, doesn't matter what campus you're from, come and watch and bring a good vibe. Keep an eye out for a favourite team or the people you like watching.
"I will be there to welcome the teams. I'd love to take part in either the Frisbee or basketball, but I'm too busy rushing between Stoke and Stafford."
While the lead up to the event has seen massive response from sports teams, it may be the last of its kind with the Stafford campus set to close in 2016.
Ash added: "It may be the first and last Stoke and Stafford campus competition, but I think this will create a competition we have yearly. It could be the first of many Red v White events, we'll build it from here."