The Macadam Cup is a
varsity match played between the sports teams of
King's College London proper (KCL) and
Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine (GKT). The championship is named in honour of
Sir Ivison Macadam
Sir Ivison Stevenson Macadam (18 July 1894 – 22 December 1974) was the first Director-General of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and the founding President of the National Union of Students.
He was also the Edi ...
, an alumnus of King's. Macadam also gave his name to a building at the King's
Strand Campus
The Strand Campus is the founding campus of King's College London and is located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, sharing its frontage along the River Thames. The original campus comprises the Grade I listed King's Building of 1831 ...
, the location of the
students' union (
King's College London Students' Union
King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is an independent charitable organisation that's works to further the interests of its members (approximately 36,000 students at King's College London). It governs the 300 student societies and a ...
).
History
The cup was first instituted in 2004 after an election pledge by the incoming President of the Students' Union, Michael Champion. The motivation behind the competition was not entirely focused on sports; Champion enjoyed large backing from the Health schools, and in a time where the political will of the college was to rebrand
Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' (GKT) to KCLMS, Champion saw the event as an opportunity to enshrine GKT identity through the vehicle of a sporting event. The ulterior motive of the Macadam Cup was designed to make it increasingly difficult for Champion's successors to merge the GKT sports teams with the KCL ones.
As Champion's year in office progressed it looked less likely that the Competition would materialise; funds for extraordinary ventures like this were not available and with the exception of the vice-president (Student Activities), Ben Philip, Champion did not enjoy the support from his fellow executive board members.
When few thought the competition would go ahead, Champion found a dusty old St. Thomas' Rowing Club champagne bowl, took it to
Asprey and Garrard on
New Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the ...
and got it restored to its former glory for £1,000. He had inscribed on the bowl: ''Vicant Optimi'' or "The best shall win". The shortfall in funds was provided by the King's College London Alumni Association, and so, in its first year, the Cup was called "The Alumni Macadam Cup".
Sports
Since its conception, the Macadam Cup has grown in the number of sports contested. At present these include: Swimming gala, Water polo, Badminton, Squash, Hockey (men and women), Mixed fencing, Mixed tennis, Ultimate frisbee, Rugby (men and women), Netball, Lacrosse, Football (men and women) and Cricket.
Sports and presentations are mainly held at
Berrylands
Berrylands is a residential neighbourhood in Surbiton, London, originally forming part of the Municipal Borough of Surbiton, and since 1965 part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is a suburban development situated south west of ...
and occasionally shared with
Honor Oak Park
Honor Oak Park railway station serves the suburban area of Honor Oak in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is down the line from , between and .
The station is operated by London Overground, with London Overground and Southern trains servi ...
Sports Ground with the day ending a Results night in
KCLSU
King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is an independent charitable organisation that's works to further the interests of its members (approximately 36,000 students at King's College London). It governs the 300 student societies and ...
's Tutu's night club.
Results
From its inauguration in 2004 to 2010, King's College London had yet to win the Macadam Cup, leading to chants of "You'll never win Macadam". In 2011, 2014 and 2016, and 2018 KCL won the Macadam Cup.
In the event of a tie, the Macadam Cup is ordinarily determined by a 'Tug of War'. In 2017, the winner of the cup was decided on football penalties, carried out by members of 5 different sports, which GKT won 4–1.
External links
King's College LondonKing's College London Students' Union
References
{{Reflist
King's College London
Student sport rivalries in the United Kingdom
Student sport in London