EUSA Insider:
Yolanda King
Age: 23
Place of Birth: Hastings, England
University: University of Nottingham (GBR)
Published: 13 February 2018
Briefly describe how and why did you get involved in Table Tennis?
My Dad used to play table tennis and started an after school club with my Mum at my school. It was for the older schools years so at the beginning I didn't join but sat in the corner and read books. Then one day I gave it a go and... here I am today 15 years later.
"...playing sport is a great release of pressure as well as being fun!"
What do you study? How do you balance your study, trainings and competitions?
I am completing my MA Criminology degree alongside working as a sabbatical officer in the Students' Union. It can be very difficult to balance training and competing, and throughout my whole time at University I have had to juggle and miss many other opportunities to play and compete; it is not too much of a sacrifice as I enjoy competing and training. It is worse when I have to miss playing or going to the gym for work or course deadlines, as playing sport is a great release of pressure as well as being fun! At the University of Nottingham, we have fantastic purpose-built facilities and a great coaching team, who have developed our training programme around the University academic schedule, so if you want to play a lot, you can!
Tell us about your experience of the European Universities Championships 2017. Is this your first time at an EUSA event?
We went as a squad of 8 players, a Mens' team and a Womens' team to the European Universities Championships in Olomouc. I was part of the University of Nottingham team that won a bronze in the women's team event. This was a great achievement for us as it was the first time we had medalled at this competition. I also reached the quarterfinals of the singles.
"This was a great achievement for us as it was the first time we had medalled at this competition"
My team mates Maria Tsaptsinos and Jenny Lui also won a silver medal in the Doubles, and Danny Reed won a bronze in the singles. Olomouc was a very quaint city, we were located next to the table tennis venue which was great for competing but we were also very close to the city centre so managed to see some tourist sites. This was my 2nd time competing at a European Universities Championships, however I also competed at the 2016 European Universities Games in Croatia.
In 2018 the European Universities Games 2018 will take place in Coimbra, Portugal, do you hope to be there? Why do you think university sport events are important?
I would love to and I am aiming to compete at the European Universities Games in Portugal, but first we have to win the British Universities and Colleges sport national league which will qualify us for the Cup. The winners of the cup then go on to play the European Universities Games and the competition is quite strong this year.
"The European Universities Games is a fantastic opportunity to represent your university internationally"
This is your chance! What is your message to European students like yourself?
The European Universities Games is a fantastic opportunity to represent your university internationally. You get to meet and make friends with other players from across the world, experiencing the culture of different cities and competing against countries across Europe. The games are a multi-sport event so you also get the chance to watch other sports. Good luck and I hope to see some other University of Nottingham teams in Portugal.
#GreenandGold
EUSA would like to congratulate Yolanda on her success, as well as the rest of University of Nottingham delegation that conquered Olomouc! We hope to see you in Portugal this summer for the Games.
