Hello everyone! 

The coming of the April break left campus feeling empty with many of our students going home. Despite this there was much work to get done for the vents to be held for once they came back from their well-deserved breaks. 

The closest event at the time had been months in planning and that was Derby Day against our rivals UEA. We had gone all in with marketing materials being a main focus and even creating an entertainment hub where all students could go and enjoy themselves whether they were fans or players after their game wanting to cool down. Leading up to the event I was most worried about E-Sports with the issue that a venue with equipment was hard to secure, as NSE who would usually supply PCs were fully booked until September and all departments within the university refused to supply any. After weeks of research, our last option remaining was Belong Gaming in Braintree. Going back and forth for about a month I was finally able to get a confirmation that the event could take place which was a relief. 

Derby Day itself was a massive success with students having a great time and we saw a great turnout both from Essex and UEA students alike. UEA staff also took their chance to comment that it was the best Derby Day that had been organized in years and that they believed it was an exemplary example of how this annual event should be. 

Across the day it was back and forth with many games coming so close, special notice goes to the Men's Futsal team who came back from 8-0 to 8-8 and then to win on penalties to give us a standing chance in the final event in the dance showcase there was a 1-point difference in it so all was up for grabs. It was personally my favourite event with both teams showing respect and was a nice relaxing atmosphere in comparison to the rest of the event. Following the dances had been concluded we came down only to find out that it had ended in a draw... This resulted in a total score of 26-27 to UEA. 

Although it was hard to take that we lost by 1 singular point it was amazing to see the joy on students' faces across the day and even better to know that it was the closest and most competitive derby day ever witnessed and that there was some hope in our students' eyes that the trophy had the possibility of going home. 

Next week comes a series of events with awards week. Tuesday kicks it off with King's Award for Voluntary Service which is an honor for everyone in the students union, being the first students union ever to receive the award. Straight after we have the Volunteering and Rebel awards which has been a collaboration between VTeam and Societies making sure that all students get what they want from the event. Wednesday will be the sports awards where we will see students rock up in their suits for an evening in celebration of sporting achievement over the last year. Thursday will be my final day of hosting. The Society awards has had adaptions made to previous years with societies wishing to do performances and showcases, recognizing the diversity and talent that our societies hold and love to show our student body. 

Overall, it has been a busy month but it has been an amazing one with more celebrations yet to come even though derby day remains a sore topic...