A lot can happen in a week...

It's been a busy week here in the News and Media team and despite the rest of the university being relatively quiet over the summer (the 'out of office' messages still keep coming!) not so for us.
It's been a busy week here in the News and Media team and despite the rest of the university being relatively quiet over the summer (the 'out of office' messages still keep coming!) not so for us.
Last week, we saw the culmination of three major rugby league events at the university, the Carnegie 9s, Carnegie Champion Schools, and the pinnacle of the RL calendar, the Carnegie Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
Our sports news manager Mark is taking a well earned rest this week after the months of promotional work gearing up for these, but they all went off without a hitch. The 9s is only in its second year but this year the crowd almost doubled, cementing it into the calendars of rugby league fans around the country. Well done to Hull FC who were this year's winners! The sprint challenge - new for this year - was a real crowd favourite with rising Rhinos Academy star Jamel Chisholm pipping the other contenders to the post.
Friday saw the culmination of the Carnegie Champion Schools rugby tournament which has seen almost 30,000 participants this year. The year 7 boys final was once again played at Wembley as the curtain raiser to the final on Saturday. How inspirational for youngsters to be playing at Wembley Stadium on the same turf as some of their heroes - to think we are involved in that is quite special.
Saturday was the third of our rugby league dates last week - the Carnegie Challenge Cup final at Wembley. The rain at the eve of final media event certainly didn't dampen the spirits of those who attended. It was a nice relaxed affair this year - a BBQ on a pub roof terrace - which the journalists seemed to enjoy. The game itself was a cracker but Huddersfield just didn't display the passion or will to win of that of their Lancastrian counterparts.
There was only a slight blip that day as we updated scores and images on site from Wembley....and managed to break the homepage in the process!
Contrast the excitement of last week to the sad news we received after the bank holiday that one of our students had been found dead at his home in Hyde Park. From time to time we do unfortunately have students who pass away, but the circumstances surrounding poor Joseph Cook's death are heartbreaking. He was looking forward to his second year of studying fine art - his tutors said he was a really creative and bright young guy. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, I really cannot imagine what they must be going through. Consequently we have been busy with media inquiries in the last couple of days. Unfortunately nothing we say can bring Joseph back but we can certainly pay tribute to his life and those who knew him here are shocked and saddened by what has happened.
A lot can happen in a week...
HG.