The Westminster Dragons men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams visited the University of Westminster’s partner university, Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) in Uzbekistan, to play friendly matches against the WIUT Wolves.
The trip took place between 28 February and 6 March, with 15 Westminster students, two coaches, and four members of the University of Westminster Student Union (UWSU), traveling to Tashkent. Executed in under three months, this was the first occasion that such a visit had been organised between the two universities. The visionary of the idea was Dr Peter Bonfield, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Westminster, with the aim of bringing the two communities together through sport.
The teams played two matches each, with a warm-up game against local teams and then a televised game against the WIUT Wolves. The Dragons men’s basketball team secured two victories, while the women's volleyball team came very close to winning both matches.
During the one week visit, WIUT organised a wide range of activities for the Dragons teams, including a polo match, a training session in a martial arts gym with Olympic champions, bus tours around Tashkent, and a ceramic studio tour in addition to trips to bazaars and mosques.
Talking about the trip, Beth Lewis, Sports Development Coordinator at Westminster, said: “Thank you to everyone at WIUT and the Students’ Union for hosting an unforgettable week for our volleyball and basketball teams. It was fantastic to see our students throw themselves into the opportunity to learn about our partner university as well as Uzbek culture. There is plenty of learning to take away from the trip; mostly to not underestimate the power that sport has in bringing communities together!”
Reflecting on the trip, Olga Sobolewska, student of the Fashion Business Management BA course at Westminster, and Capitan of the Dragons women’s volleyball team, said: “Thank you so much WIUT for having us - we have genuinely enjoyed every second, and all that we can now think about is when are we going to come back again.
“Thank you very much to Dr Peter Bonfield for giving us this unforgettable opportunity. He was 100% right about everything he told us about WIUT and Tashkent; the people are amazing, the weather is great, and so is the food. We really hope to see both WIUT women’s volleyball and men’s basketball teams coming soon to visit us in London.”
Find out more about the Dragons Sports Teams at the University of Westminster.
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