Playing to win the Varsity football trophy is one way to automatically earn yourself a Blue Louis Ashworth with permission for Varsity
Cambridge sports come with loads of traditions, and one of the most famous is getting awarded a Blue. When I first got here, everyone seemed to chat about which sport was the easiest route to snag a “Blue.” But what exactly is a “Blue”? And why does it mean so much?
What’s a “Blue” anyway?
A Blue is basically the top award you can get as an athlete at Cambridge, mostly given when you compete in a Varsity match or race against Oxford. The full Blue is the big prize, but there are also half-Blues and second team colours for different levels of achievement. This goes way back to the 1860s, when Cambridge Blue became both the signature colour on kits for top sports teams and an accolade for players. At first, only men’s rowing, cricket and athletics could get Blues, but now loads more sports are included-and women’s teams too. Nowadays, separate men’s and women’s Blues committees decide who gets what.
Which sports earn full Blues?
The way they sort sports into categories that decide which colours players get can be pretty confusing: some sports hand out full Blues just by playing in a Varsity match; others switch between half- and full-Blues depending on circumstances. The usual suspects listed as full Blues on the Hawks’ website include association football, cricket, lawn tennis, rowing and rugby union. Boxing and golf make the cut too-alongside field hockey and squash-which might surprise some compared to others.
Even though netball’s super popular around here with lots of teams at both University and college levels, it doesn’t show up on the Hawks’ site. Still, women playing netball in Varsity matches can earn full Blues. Also worth mentioning: some sports marked as full Blues for men aren’t necessarily in that category for women.
Which sports don’t get full Blue status?
Interestingly enough, even though athletics was one of the first to get Blue status ages ago, not every athlete who takes part in Varsity earns a full Blue-some only qualify for half-Blues. Rugby league doesn’t have guaranteed full Blues either; it’s listed as offering either full or half-Blues compared to rugby union which gives out straight full Blues.
You can also get discretionary full Blues in quite a few other sports like cycling, para-athletics, rifle shooting and even real tennis-something I had to Google since it’s not just Wimbledon stuff! Meanwhile, handball and lacrosse only offer half-Blues along with chess-which is physically demanding even if it doesn’t look like it.
Why do some sports get different colour awards?
At first glance it seems random why some sports are grouped differently while others make sense. For example individual events like athletics probably have more discretion because athletes compete alone across very different disciplines at varying skill levels; meanwhile team games all play together in one big Varsity match.
But there are plenty where I’m left scratching my head over why they’re treated differently. Take rugby union versus rugby league-it feels like another old reminder of class divides still hanging around parts of Cambridge sport. Since those two games are so similar it’s hard to see why their awards differ so much. It can’t be just because rugby league has 13 players instead of 15; probably it’s linked more to where those players come from socially.
I guess people might argue that these differences come down to how well each team performs nationally versus regionally since Hawks’ site mentions success levels affecting whether someone gets a full or half-Blue. But surely this changes year by year? If that’s true then why stick rigidly to fixed categories? Some years certain teams deserve top honours way more than others; winning against Oxford isn’t equal to getting thrashed yet both count equally right now.
I’m glad I don’t have the tough job trying to standardize all this across such varied sports-but honestly clearer explanations about why these distinctions exist wouldn’t hurt anyone.
No doubt making it onto Cambridge’s top teams is huge accomplishment on its own without having this complicated tradition deciding which sport makes you more impressive than another based on your colour award. Still looks like this will stick around for ages-so go ahead keep scanning that list trying figure out which sport might be your best shot at scoring that coveted Blue!
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