Frank Morton is coming home
6th May 2015
Up to 3,000 chemical engineering students will travel to Manchester, UK, on 16 February 2016 for the annual Frank Morton Sports Day.
The University of Manchester, UK, will host the national spectacle, now in its 55th year, after a successful bid was presented to the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
The sports day features a wide variety of sporting competitions, a recruitment fair and a lively social programme.
The event originated in 1961. Frank Morton, a prominent professor of chemical engineering and sport enthusiast, organised a football match between the chemical engineering departments at Birmingham University, UK, and, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), UK.
The event has grown enormously since that time and has acquired legendary status among undergraduate chemical engineers. Participation in at least one Frank Morton sports day is viewed as a rite of passage for the professional chemical engineer.
Over 2,500 students gathered at the Birmingham Barclaycard Arena in February 2015. The number is expected to grow further in 2016.
Manchester Technical School, which later became UMIST (now the University of Manchester), was the first higher education institution in the world to offer a course in chemical engineering. Today, the university is home to the largest chemical engineering department in Europe.
Dan Hayward and Jackson Bavinton, presidents of the Manchester 2016 bid, said: “We’re delighted to be hosting the legendary Frank Morton Sports Day. Frank Morton is coming back to the birthplace of chemical engineering, and we believe that this historical significance will add to the success of this event.
“With a mixture of physical and non-physical sports, there’s something for everyone. This will be the biggest Morton event ever and we look forward to showing what Manchester has to offer!”
Tickets will cost around £15, with 30 sporting activities to choose from, including:
- football
- ? netball
- ? pool
- ? squash
- ? quidditch
- ? swimming
- chess, with many more to be announced.
Andy Furlong, director of policy at IChemE congratulated the Manchester bid team: “This was an excellent presentation with great attention to detail, thorough contingency plans, an enhanced support for competitors and improved sponsorship integration.
'It’s a great opportunity, not only for the students, but also for companies to take a stand at the recruitment fair and join the battle on track and field. IChemE will be there again in 2016 and we are determined to improve on our dire performance in the relay and football.”
Proposed venues for the event include the Manchester Central Convention Complex, the Phones4U arena and the Velodrome.
Companies, potential sponsors and students wishing to get involved with the 2016 Frank Morton Sports Day can contact the organisers via frankmorton2016@gmail.com