The 'Challenge' Cup

by Vicky Matthers

Yes, it's that time of year again when I wheeled out my 400mm lens, dusted it off and got to play at being a sports photographer again!  Although we do still cover lots of sporting events, to be fair nothing quite beats the Wembley experience.

I was there covering the Carnegie Challenge Cup Final, Leeds Rhinos v Warrington Wolves, for the sponsors Leeds Metropolitan University.

I was due to start at 11am with pre-match branding and behind the scenes activity, I decided to get there a little earlier so that I could enjoy a cappuccino in the Icons bar of the Hilton Wembley, it does have the most fantastic view of the stadium!  It wasn't all relaxing, I was of course discussing the days brief with Mark Dorey from Leeds Metropolitan University....thanks for the coffee Mark!

Getting around Wembley is not easy at all, it is like a rabbit warren, you can easily get completely lost.  Luckily for me I had the help of one of the stewards, Hamid, who was fantastic and was with me for most of the morning.  He gladly helped carry some of my kit and even held the flash for me whilst I was photographing some fans!

The weather just about held up, the reports were not good earlier in the week and I wasn't looking forward to spending two hours in the pouring rain.  There was an incredible downpour in the first half but miraculously I managed to keep me and my kit pretty dry.  The picture below shows Leeds Rhinos' Darrell Griffin in action trying to hold off the Warrington Wolves players in the pouring rain.....

Photographing sport involves a lot of kit and a lot therefore a lot to carry!  Below is all the kit that I took with me to Wembley before I loaded it up in the car...

Here's to next years Challenge Cup, I for one am looking forward to it already!!!  A few images from the big event...