There's all to play for in the 2022/23 season. Both sets of basketball Blues hope to make progress in their domestic competitions alongside repeating their recent dominance over Oxford.

Women’s Blues

According to veteran hooper Mie Mnt the 2021-22 season was “tough and very demanding” for Cambridge’s women. The team struggled in both major competitions they competed; the Blues were knocked out in the first-round of the National Trophy and came fifth in the Midlands Top Division.

However, rather than knocking back the team’s positivity, the team is hoping to use these setbacks as a source of strength. Facing competitors of “extreme talent,” Mnt described how the Blues have to become “determined and accountable.

“We took it as a pleasure and an honour to play against such talented women”, Mnt said, “and took it as an opportunity to really leave it all out on the court.” This attitude was ultimately vindicated in a nail-biting 56-53 triumph against Oxford,

Now captained by St John’s Mairead Healy, the upcoming season promises to be just as thrilling. Following Oxford’s promotion to the Midlands first division, the same division as Cambridge, the Blues can look forward to three more opportunities to reproduce their Varsity success.

These unmissable match-ups are not all that Blues basketball has to offer. Mnt speaks glowingly of the “relaxed and welcoming environment” in the team. Last season included a collaborative session with Cambridge Adult Disability Multi Sport, the annual alumni match, and even a wedding between two former members of the men’s and women’s teams. The club told Varsity the wedding had “the highest average height” of any wedding in recent memory.

Men’s Blues

Cambridge lawyer and baller Vittorio Masina said the men's Blues were “reasoned, physical, and crafty” men’s Blues during last season's highs and lows.

A fiercely contested Varsity victory was a highlight. The game went down to the wire, with the Blues maintaining their composure to secure a 72-67 win. Masina praised a “monster performance” from Magdalene’s Stan Hinton, comprising decisive free-throws and a game-saving block in the dying moments. Masina’s own influence – a 30-point haul – shouldn't go unnoticed either.

The Blues also saw success in the National Trophy, reaching the quarter-finals. It was only due to an agonising 82-80 defeat to Surrey that they did not progress further. Nonetheless, Masina was encouraged, claiming that their results offered “tangible proof that the system we had been building worked” and that it was “a boost in confidence for what’s to come.”

While their sporting project was being vindicated on the court, their lack of navigational nous was being exposed off it. Driving back from Nottingham, a sat-nav screw-up led the team to Oxford’s Wolfson College, rather than the intended Cambridge namesake. This was, comically, a mistake “nobody noticed until we met their porters.”

Under new captain Stan Hinton, the Blues are looking forward to another exciting season, perhaps with more careful map reading. Basketball players would be wise to heed Masina’s call to join “the most fun sports team in Cambridge!”

Those interested in playing basketball can visit the University Sports Fair on October 3rd and can find the teams on Instagram at @cuwbbc and @camunibasketball.