The University of St Andrews – A Fantastic Start to Adulthood
Although Malcolm Cannon’s (BSc 1985) decision to study at St Andrews was influenced by his family, once here he discovered for himself that the University gave him everything he could want for a ‘fantastic start to adulthood’ including – even then – ‘access to all sorts of sport, all of the time’. Read his story here.
Why St Andrews?
My granny had always been my hero. She hailed from Edinburgh and graduated with a first-class degree from Edinburgh University so I told everyone from a young age that I would attend a Scottish University. By 1980 my cousin was already at St Andrews, so it became my first choice, and I was lucky enough to come up to the East Neuk in 1981 after taking a year off.
When I arrived at St Andrews I discovered that it gave me pretty much everything I wanted in life: access on my doorstep to all sorts of sport all the time, a committed and talented set of lecturers willing to help when things got tough and some of the best friends ever.
The academic family concept is one that was new to me when I matriculated, but something about which I have waxed lyrical on many occasions since graduating. My academic father (to whom I have been best man twice!) remains one of my closest friends. My academic mother and I still speak every day by email some 40 years after she left Uni, and I am godfather to my academic son’s youngest child who I see every other month. And it should be noted, I had never met any of these individuals before the 80s! I must be one of the best adverts for the whole academic family idea.
Key memories
Apart from the friendships and the high-quality education, my fondest memories are of my time spent playing university team sports or training at the Sports Centre, playing hall sports, playing Sunday league football or training at St Leonards swimming pool. For this is the real message here … St Andrews gives you the chance to try everything!
At school I had focused very much on my running and jumping and had never really had the chance to try other options, but St Andrews gave me those opportunities which I gladly grasped.
University of St Andrews First XV Rugby team 1983 (Malcolm is at the back, fourth in from the right)
I had only managed to get into the rugby 3rd XV at school, but I had filled out considerably during my year off and found that this gave me a little more courage. This enabled me to squeeze into the St Andrews 1st XV at full back – a position I held for all four years, only missing two games to injury during that time.
We were not very good! And though we played in the National Leagues in those days, we slipped down through the divisions and were languishing at the bottom of division 7 by the time I left. But the camaraderie, the tours, the bus trips to all points of the compass (the national league literally covered the whole of Scotland) and the singing in the Union Beer Bar made up for the poor results in some small way.
A cabaret act at the Andrew Melville Hall Ball (1981) – Malcolm is far right (David Gibson, Captain of the University Swimming team is second right)
My then best pal was captain of the swimming and water polo team and, given the chance to fill in one evening in a meet against Dundee University, I cemented myself in the team for the following few years. I also squeezed into the university volleyball team. This also expanded my circle of friends beyond the rugby side, and included some American students – many of whom were amazing swimmers.
In my first year I was fortunate enough to get a Full Blue for Athletics and thus to be involved in the Rectoral Drag. Katharine Whitehorn was the first ever female Rector, and on a glorious day we pulled her around town – a tradition which went back aeons. It was a privilege and an honour, and I got to share it with my cousin, Eileen Cannon, a Hockey Blue herself! My other cousin Sheila Cannon then dragged the following rector Stanley Adams around town three years later – three Cannons in drags in three years!
AU President
My year as AU President gave me a starter for ten regarding sports administration and the business surrounding sport. While it was not a sabbatical year in those days, it introduced me to the formality of meetings, budgeting, internal and external politics and introduced me to a broad network of other presidents at both Scottish (SUSF) and English (BUSF) universities – many of whom I have stayed in touch with, or reconnected with more recently. I also married the girl who was AU vice-president two years after me!
After St Andrews
Sports helped me in later life too. After graduating I moved career and house quite often (I am now in my fifteenth home since leaving University!) which meant frequent new towns and new jobs. So, each time I joined a new rugby club and made new lifelong friends. I took up athletics again and managed to get to the European Championships in San Sebastian in 2002 – another reason to keep up your sports after finishing full-time education.
Sports has given me wonderful memories and great connections which have certainly helped me in business. I have managed to weave sport into my professional life working both as a CEO and as a Non-Executive Director in cricket, tennis, football (Partick Thistle FC no less) and with the Scottish Sports Association.
So what might I tell a younger Malcolm? Do it all and do it as well as you can. Try everything, give it your all and if you are going to have regrets, have them for doing something, not for not doing something!
Thank you, St Andrews for giving me a fantastic start to adulthood. I hope all undergraduates still seize the day with both hands.