SPLOTweb
The web site of Splott Poly Lost Old Timers
SPLOTwebThe web site of Splott Poly Lost Old Timers |
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Well, long, long ago, 1967 to be precise, the University of Wales decided to incorporate the College of Advanced Technology in Cardiff into the University of Wales. The old established University College looked down on this 'young upstart polytechnic' and nicknamed it Splott Polytechnic after an area of Cardiff which was the butt of South Wales jokes. (Yes Splott really exists - you can get a number nine bus there). The new college became the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, UWIST for short, and the students adopted the name of Splott Polytechnic as a good spoof. Splott Poly sweatshirts could be bought, articles appeared in the college magazine about the fictitious Splott Poly, and even the freshers' coach trip around Cardiff would pass through Splott where the freshers would be told, "Splott Poly is somewhere over there behind that warehouse". Indeed there were many first year students that believed Splott Poly actually existed.
Over the years the concept of Splott Poly gradually faded away until one evening at the 1981 Scottish Six Day event in Galloway the members of UWIST's orienteering club realised that this would be the last event that many of its members would attend together as they had graduated earlier in the summer. "Let's form an 'old boys' club." was the suggestion. "What shall we call it?", was the reply. "SPLOT!", was the answer. "It could stand for Splot Poly Lost Old Timers". Thus the name of Splot Poly was rekindled in the form of an orienteering club with 13 paid up members and was even allowed to join the British Orienteering Federation. After that, the rest, as they say, is history.
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