The sun beat down on Clifton College Sports Centre as over 200 of the area’s finest (and fittest) media talent battled it out for the Bristol Media Cup on July 27th. They were cheered on by an equal number of sunkissed fans, as a combination of entertainment organised by Riot Events and Bristol Music Foundation provided a great family atmosphere, with live performances from The Cedar, Ruth Royall and Beth Porter.

Over 3 hours, 30 teams played 60 games in the group stage, scoring over 150 goals. The 6 group winners and 2 highest losers (with 10 points from 4 games, so no slouches themselves…) went through to the knock-out stage.

The quarter-finals saw the departure of reining champions Radio Bristol, and with the 2 semi-finals ending 5-1 and 5-0, the final provided a fitting climax as the Aardman A and GDS teams played out an enthralling game. GDS equalised with 30 seconds left, to take the game to a penalty shoot-out, which was finally won by Aardman.

As well as the rightly-coveted Bristol Media Trophy (now nestling alongside the Oscars in the Aardman trophy room), the team won a fabulous overnight stay at the Mercure Holland House.

Click here to see photos from the day taken by Neil Young.

The Cup is a firm fixture in the calendar, with space to be even bigger next year. In the meantime, there’s a possibility of a 4-a-side Bristol Media Indoor league, organised by Whitchurch Sports centre. If you’re interested, email Alex Holcombe call Alex on 07824 602157.