Tonight’s Rose Café focused on the Transatlantic Series which is a series of track and field competitions between American universities and universities from the United Kingdom. I was previously unaware of the rich history of the series and I enjoyed learning more about the competition. It was interesting to learn that Oxford and Cambridge Universities team up to compete against two North American universities. It must be an interesting experience for the athletes to compete on the same team as their rivals; however, maybe national pride unites the athletes during the competition.

I think it would be interesting to create a similar series in different sports. However, I cannot imagine basketball or football athletes from different institutions temporarily combining into a signal team. Perhaps swimming is a good candidate for a similar transatlantic competition series.

The speaker tonight also displayed great passion for the games. It was clear that the games have had a large impact on his world view. I think his passionate speaks strongly to the value of cultural exchanges at a relatively young age. It would also be valuable to have such a cultural exchange with student-athletes from countries with greater differences. Athletics is a great way to bond and these interactions could go a long way toward increasing sensitivity between nations and cultures.

I was happy to learn about a tradition that Cornell is deeply involved in.