The Roses Tournament is an annual sports competition between

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

and the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

in England, often described as the largest inter-university sports tournament in Europe. It is organised by their respective Students' Unions,

YUSU University of York Students' Union (YUSU) is the representative body for the students at the University of York, England. It provides representation for all students, is the key provider of entertainment and welfare services, and operates a ran ...

and LUSU. It takes its name from the 15th-century civil war, the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

, between the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...

and the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...

. The counties of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

are traditionally symbolized by the

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and the

white rose The White Rose (german: Weiße Rose, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students (and one professor) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, ...

respectively, although York teams today play in gold and black kits. The competition is held every year during the early May bank holiday weekend, alternating its venue between the two universities.

History

The first event happened on 15 May 1965 after the Vice-Chancellor of York, Lord James of Rusholme, suggested a

boat race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

between the two universities. The students amplified this idea and held a 5-day event with a variety of sports:

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

, table tennis,

relay race A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

, mixed

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, and

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

. The winner of each of the sports received two points, and the losing vice-chancellor presented a trophy to the winning university. The event has continued to increase in size since its founding, with new events added every year (2004 had 37 different sports). Live coverage of the event is broadcast every year by a joint collaboration between the two university's student television stations

YSTV York Student Television (abbreviated YSTV) is England's oldest student television station. Founded in 1967, the station is based at the University of York, with its studio in James College. YSTV once held the world record for longest continuous ...

and LA1:TV, and its two student radio stations,

Bailrigg FM Bailrigg FM (formerly known as University Radio Bailrigg (URB) and Radio Bailrigg) is a student radio station at Lancaster University. It operates in a music format predominantly featuring pop, but also broadcasts news, drama, comedy, and enterta ...

and

University Radio York University Radio York (commonly known as URY) is a University Radio station covering the campuses of the University of York. It was the first legal independent radio station in the United Kingdom. Broadcasting from Vanbrugh College on the Univ ...

. The importance of non-sporting social activities at the event has also been increased, with organised events on the Friday and Saturday evenings. In the 2012 tournament a stadium was used for the first time. The Rugby 1sts XV battled it out at

Huntington Stadium Huntington Stadium (formerly Ryedale Stadium) is the former stadium of England, English rugby league teams York Wasps, and York City Knights. History The stadium, which was financed by Ryedale District Council and was initially named the Ryedal ...

, the home of the

York City Knights The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC (known as the York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Knights played their home games at Huntington Stadium before moving to Bootham Crescent. ...

. During the 2013 tournament York opted to use the same venue again, for the second year running. The Lancaster University Men's Hockey Club 4th Team, Lancaster Bombers American Football team and the Lancaster Trampolining team were the only teams to remain unbeaten in the history of the tournament to date going into Roses 2012, however all three teams lost to their York counterparts in 2012. For the 50th battle of the Roses in 2014, the tournament was hosted at Lancaster, with the event highlighted with marketing across campus with players from all sports to boost morale. Lancaster created a purpose built stadium for first time which hosted both the opening and closing ceremony, as well as fixtures including women's rugby, men's rugby and archery. Wins were taken by Lancaster in sports that have previously been won by York annually, such as Rugby XV 3rds and 2nds, Men's Lacrosse and Badminton. The women's basketball fixture on the Sunday, won by Lancaster, took the university across the threshold needed to win the tournament. Octopush, a form of underwater hockey, was featured for the first time in the 2014 tournament. Bar sports were dominated by Lancaster, taking a whitewash in both pool and darts. The 2015 tournament was officially opened by England football team manager

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

and Football Association chairman

Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...

. The opening ceremony, which featured a series of boxing matches dubbed 'Friday Night Fight Night', was watched by 1,000 people in the University of York's Central Hall, with a further 5,000 people watching on large screens across campus. It was also the first year that one university had scored more than 200 points; however more point scoring activities are present now compared to 50 years ago.

Esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

were introduced to the tournament for the first time in 2016 in the form of ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'', ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

'' and '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive''. The 2018 tournament saw the introduction of

Dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents, while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, cat ...

and

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

to the competition, as won by the Lancaster Royals. In March 2020 it was announced that the event would be cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. However, a competition was held with the Roses tournament being replaced by a Virtual Roses tournament which was won by York. The first Roses following the COVID-19 pandemic saw the largest win margin of the tournament's history as Lancaster beat York 241 points to 102.

Results

*Lancaster: 27 wins (23 home, 4 away) *York: 28 wins (24 home, 4 away) *Draws: 1

Current list of sports

The following sports were included in the 2022 edition of the tournament: *

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo, is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. The sport is also known simply as "polo" by its players and supporters. Each team has five players on the pitch (and up to three substitutes), who compete ...

Canoe slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of th ...

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

Debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

* *

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Korfball Korfball ( nl, korfbal) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless bask ...

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

Mooting Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase ...

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

* * Pole fitness *

Pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

Running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

Snowsports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...

Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Trampolining Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more com ...

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...

* Underwater hockey * Volleyball * Water polo * In addition to the University teams, football and netball also includes matches between each university's intercollegiate league champions. Postgraduate and medical society teams have also appeared in some years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic

Virtual Roses 2020

Summer Edition

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the annual Roses Tournament to be held at

was cancelled. As an alternative,

Lancaster University Students' Union The Lancaster University Students' Union (LUSU) is a students' union at Lancaster University in Lancashire, England. It is a registered company and charity overseen by a board of trustees. Politically, it is led by six sabbatical officers - ...

and York University Students' Union created a virtual tournament on Facebook. Events took place in the form of challenges that participants would have to provide photographic or video evidence for. Challenges of were judged by Lancaster SU Vice-President for Activities, Victoria Hatch and York Sport Union President, Maddi Cannell. The tournament took place between 1–2 May 2020 and was won by York by a score of 2337-1971. Charity fundraising was also done alongside the tournament, with a total of over £5000 being raised.

= Opening Ceremony

= The 'Opening Ceremony' for the tournament featured a number of video performances being uploaded to the Virtual Roses 2020 Facebook page on 1 May 2020. Sets were performed by Emily Millard, Lancaster's Brass Quintet, Lancaster's

Clarinet Choir A clarinet choir is a musical ensemble consisting entirely of instruments from the clarinet family. It will typically include E, B, alto, bass, and contra-alto or contrabass clarinets, although sometimes not all of these are included, and ...

, Lancaster's

Chamber Choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

, Hamza Dalvi, Victoria Hatch, and Lancaster University Comedy Institute.

= Events

= There was a mix of events that were open to all, events that were only open to members of specific societies, and events only competed by specific individuals. Most events awarded 50 points for 1st place, 30 points for 2nd place, and 20 points for 3rd place. Some events awarded points for the number of participants each University had. Some events awarded 100 points for the winner.

Winter Edition

A winter edition of the Virtual Roses Tournament, to take place on

Lancashire Day Lancashire Day is the county day of historic Lancashire in England. It is held on 27 November to commemorate the day in 1295 when Lancashire first sent representatives to Parliament, to attend the Model Parliament of King Edward I. Lancashire ...

(27 November), was announced via the same Facebook page that hosted the summer edition on 17 November 2020. Lancaster won by a score of 40-22.

Roses Unlocked 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the annual Roses Tournament to be held at York University was cancelled. As an alternative,

and York University Students' Union created "Roses Unlocked". Events took place in the form of a pentathlon consisting of a sprint, running, a static erg, a swim and a cycle between most uni sports teams and were live-streamed online. The tournament took place between 30 April–2 May 2021. York won by a score of 115-57.

References

External links

York Sport UnionRoses Live
{{Lancaster University Sport in Lancaster, Lancashire Sport in York Lancaster University University of York Student sport in the United Kingdom Student sport rivalries in the United Kingdom Culture of Lancaster University