Your Guide to Roses Weekend
It’s time to teach you everything you need to know about the biggest event on your Lancaster calendar.
Lancaster and York: it’s a rivalry going back hundreds of years (literally.) And it’s this struggle between red and white that has become the basis for the largest Inter-varsity tournament in Europe.
Roses is a weekend long sporting event full of competition, excitement, screaming, cheering and lots of Lancaster wins. And it’s been going on now for almost sixty years!
So How Did We Get Here?
Almost sixty years ago, the then Vice-Chancellor of York University decided that York and Lancaster should have a boat race. But the students at both universities decided to take it a little bit further. Instead, they held a 3-day tournament of sports: rowing, table tennis, relay race, hockey, and tug of war.
And of course, it couldn’t stop there. As the years went on, as did Roses, increasing in popularity as it continued to snowball to greater heights.
Which Bring Us to Now…
With over 140 fixtures, events range anywhere from Basketball to Ultimate Frisbee and even eSports. Each year, the two unis take turns to host Roses – this year? It’s York’s turn!
What Does a Typical Roses look Like?
Roses happens in Summer and takes place over a three-day weekend: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Everybody is invited including students (both Lancaster and York), staff, and members of the public.
Friday
First fixtures + opening ceremony to kick off the weekend!
Saturday
Full day of fixtures well into the evening
Sunday
Final day of fixtures with a closing ceremony/ result (someone’s gotta get the trophy!)
To win Roses, Lancs or York have to reach a pre-determined number of points – which means that sometimes, you’ll end up knowing who has won already by Sunday.
Sugarhouse Roses Nights
Every night of Roses, the LUSU owned student night club Sugar hosts their own celebrations with guest acts and DJs. If you want tickets for these when they become available, be quick! They go FAST.
Student Media
With so many fixtures throughout a Roses weekend, it’s impossible for one person to see them all. But, with the hard work of our student media teams, you can keep up to date with all of the scores – wherever you are!
The student media teams from both Lancaster and York work together throughout the weekend to provide you with live updates as the fixtures go on. This includes live commentary, point updates throughout the day, and live streams of each fixture. Plus, if you follow @officialroseslive on Instagram, you can get all that Roses goodness in the lead up to the big weekend too.
The Leaderboard
If you want to see the history of Roses – all the way from the 60s till now – then look no further.
Check out the results board below to see who has the most wins…
As you can see, we are currently beating York for overall wins after we toppled the tiebreaker over in 2024 at our latest home Roses – big up Lancs!
Want to get a better idea of the immaculate vibes crafted?
Check out 2024’s Roses Gallery to see what we got up to last time.
Check it Out!
Watch our Roses Aftermovie!
For a recap of the drama, excitement (and sweet, sweet victory) of our previous home Roses event, check out our Official aftermovie.
Now You’re All Caught Up!
And that is pretty much everything you need to know about Roses. Whether you’re the biggest sports fan ever, an athlete, a spectator, or completely new to it all, Roses is the perfect atmosphere for everyone. And we can’t wait to start sharing it with you.
Follow @officialroseslive for updates on all things Roses and keep an eye on @lancastersu for announcements.
Written by Shannon Daniel
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & CREATIVE WRITING GRADUATE