ABOUT

Roses is an annual sporting varsity between the University of York and Lancaster University, although it wasn't always a sports contest. It began way back in medieval times as a war for the throne of England, between the Houses of York and Lancaster. When that war was fought and won, a new one began... Now, our battlefield is the playing field. Each year, we take turns to host this epic battle and this year, Roses is back on home soil!

This year is the 60th anniversary of the competition, so it’s a special one for everyone. We’ll be hosting 140 fixtures between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 May, from American Football and Cheerleading to Debating and Octopush!

But it won’t just be sports fixtures; across the weekend, there will be a range of events to attend across campus and in our venues. So if you aren’t a massive sports fan, you can still get involved in the Roses buzz!

We want to hear from you! Across the weekend, there will be a range of events to attend across campus and in our venues. Whether you’re celebrating a win, cheering on Team York from the sidelines, or enjoying a well-earned pizza at The Courtyard, let us know! Tag @yorkunisu in your Instagram posts and we’ll reshare some of our favourite moments throughout Roses.

Roses gets bigger every year - but we don’t want that to have a negative impact on its sustainability! So we are implementing lots of measures to keep our carbon footprint as low as possible. None of our vendors will be selling beef in line with our participation in the Sustainable SUs charter. This year also sees the return of the reusable Roses Cup: when you purchase a drink at any Roses outlet, you’ll be asked to pay a £2 deposit for a cup which you can reuse throughout the weekend. When you’re done, return your cup to get your deposit back..