On Saturday the 11th of May, having previously lost in 2012 for the first time in 14 years, Cambridge University Bowmen travelled to Oxford for the 64th Annual Varsity Archery Match against Oxford University Company of Archers. On a day full of challenging weather conditions, Oxford held on to the title and emerged victors in both the senior and novice categories.

The match was situated on a sports field on the edge of Christ Church Meadows at the back of Christ Church and Merton Colleges. Through periods of rain, wind and hail each archer unleashed over 100 arrows over a period of more than 5 hours at targets of up to more than 70 meters away. A strong Oxford team who had earlier in the year claimed 2nd place at the BUCS Archery Indoor Championships and 1st place at the British University Team Championships proved too much for Cambridge.

Team results are determined from the scores of the top 4 archers from each university on the day. In the senior category Oxford won with 3386 to Cambridge's 3152 with teams consisting of Kirstie Smith, Matthew Langton, Angelina Measures and Alex Smith for Oxford and Maryia Karpiyevich, Eleanor Brug, Joe Glover and Richard Whiter for Cambridge.

Despite the lack of victory, all of the Cambridge senior team had '1st Class' scores, the highest classification possible on the round shot as set by Archery GB, the national archery governing body. This combined with them making the Varsity team earns them Half-Blues.

In the novice category (for archers in their first year of shooting) despite Isobel Hitchen and Brian Duong of Cambridge coming 1st and 3rd respectively for the ladies and gents novice individual scores, Oxford won 2231 to 2080. James Thomas and Luke Reynolds made up the rest of the Cambridge novice team.

In 2014 the Archery Varsity Match returns to Cambridge to be held at the backs of St John's College. The light blues are already keen for their revenge!