Anglia Ruskin University adult nursing student Lucy Rivers is taking time out from her studies to represent England at the Ladies Roller Hockey World Championships in Akita, Japan.

This will be the fourth time Lucy, a second year student from the Faculty of Health and Social Care, has represented her country and everyone at the University will be closely following her progress.

Lucy and her team will be flying to Japan on 3 October where they will only have one day to get used to the conditions and the rink before getting stuck into the group stages of the competition which are still being decided.

Lucy started playing in 2000 and joined Colchester Roller Hockey Club, She broke into the England squad in 2005 when she was 16 and was selected to play in her first European Championships in Mira, Portugal, and the under 19s in Gijon, Spain. Since then Lucy has played in Chile for the World Championships and again in Spain as part of another European Championship competition. This will be her second World Championships representing her country as Vice Captain.

Roller Hockey is a non-contact ball game played on roller skates or blades between two teams, consisting of four out players and one goalkeeper. The game was invented in England in 1896.

The sport is a fast-paced and exciting spectacle that has significant tactical similarities to basketball. Although Roller Hockey is an English creation it is most popular in the Latin countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Argentina where it is played professionally by clubs such as FC Barcelona, FC Porto and Deportivo LaCorunia who attract crowds in excess of 5,000 people to matches.

At present Lucy plays for Bury St Edmunds Roller hockey club on a Wednesday night and she trains with Colchester Roller Hockey team on a Sunday. The England Squad get together once a month at Peterborough for training as the girls come from all over the country from places such as Plymouth, Middlesbrough, Cambridge and Kent.