Cancelled · Issue 863, by Corinne Rhoades

The doors to Solus were locked last Wednesday night after poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of Rubber Duck.

The club night, which is run by the Students’ Union (SU) and was traditionally popular with sports teams, has been suffering from a decline in attendees since midway through last semester.

In a bid to boost sales, a string of offers were devised to try and revamp the night. Last Wednesday’s Rubber Duck had a Pub Golf theme which was set to involve students drinking at 9 different holes before returning to the ‘clubhouse’ in Solus.

But the Students’ Union Entertainments Department cancelled the event at 9.30pm because “not enough tickets had been sold to give those who’d already bought their tickets a good night”.

The previous week under a hundred people were left in attendance by the end of the night.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise that the night only works if the club’s full, so rather than see just a few people in there we decided to cancel.”

As a consequence, students who had bought tickets were refunded and given drinks vouchers.

Junction, Solus’ bar, was also kept open so students could stay but many chose to continue their night elsewhere.

Vicky Williams, Social Secretary of the Ladies’ Rowing team, attended Rubber Duck after a social the week before its cancellation.

She said: “I think we were the only team there. It needs to be reinvented because too many people realise it’s just the same thing. They go to Oceana or Revolutions instead; that’s just where everyone’s going.”

The decline of Rubber Duck affects the Union’s Recycling Your Student Pound Campaign, which encourages students to go out in the Union so that the money they spend will be put back into SU services.

SU Vice President Rowena Vassallo said: “When new clubs open in town, the Union usually loses students for four to six weeks, but then sees them return.

“This year we’ve been unlucky in that two major clubs have opened, meaning students have stayed away.”

Despite this, the SU Entertainments Department said that tickets are continuing to sell out for their other club nights.

gair rhydd also spoke to many sports teams who said they enjoyed Rubber Duck.

Male Football squad player Robert Owen said: “We go because we get sponsorship, but the boys generally enjoy it and it is our union.”

He added: “The only problem I can see is that we need to be in at 8.30, which is quite early.”

The Entertainments Department said they were trying to turn ticket sales around long before last Wednesday’s cancellation, with a recently established Entertainments Committee and Rubber Duck Satisfaction Survey.

But last Wednesday’s cancellation has prompted them to gather student feedback on a wider scale.

A Rubber Duck forum will take place in the coming weeks that will canvass, review, and re-review student ideas to radically improve the night.

Students have also been reassured that there will be an event put on for the end of term. There will also be the SU’s annual Varsity party in April, which they have promised will be “more spectacular than ever”.