Corpus Christi College’s annual Oxford sports day has been cancelled this year after Oxonians reportedly stole a teddy bear and a photo of Boris Johnson’s son during last year’s event.

The Corpus Challenge, which sees students at the two colleges face off in a series of sports events, has been an annual affair since 1997.

Oxonians supposedly ransacked Corpus Cambridge’s JCR, taking pool cues and light bulbs. Varsity also understands that students attempted, and failed, to steal a water fountain.

The Oxford students also took a box of items from the Corpus JCR, which contained gay and non-binary flags, as well as a staple picture of Boris Johnson’s son, Theodore Apollo.

The Corpus challenge is a cornerstone of college social life, described as “one of the most fun days of the year” by the Cambridge College’s JCR.

Students from the sister colleges compete in sports such as hockey, frisbee and football, and more recently, in light bar sports such as mooting and darts.

The competition is characterised by students as friendly, with the JCR website declaring it a “light-hearted event” despite the Oxbridge rivalry.

On the College’s confessions page, distressed students paid homage to a teddy bear which was supposedly stolen and dismembered, describing it as “forever loved”.

The looting of the JCR was described by one Corpus student as “savage”, telling Varsity that “they took everything they could”.

The Dean of Corpus Cambridge deplored the actions of students and the decision was made to cancel this year’s event.

The Corpus JCR have decided to hold a JCR-MCR Corpus competition as an alternative, in light of there being “no way” to go to Oxford for the usual competition.

The minutes from a JCR meeting on the 18th of January, stating the cancellation of the event, were met with a positive reception, with a subcommittee being created for the new event this year.

A spokesperson from Corpus Christi College Cambridge told Varsity: “By agreement of the Deans of both the Oxford and Cambridge colleges, the 2024 Corpus Challenge was cancelled.”

“No members of Corpus Christi College Cambridge were disciplined following the 2023 Corpus Challenge, and we are pleased to say that an alternative Corpus Challenge between the Corpus JCR and MCR will take place, including a student vs staff/Fellows football friendly.”

“The Deans and colleges will review the 2025 Challenge in due course,” they added.