Events
Ben Pocock (Jarj’s) Day is a fun indoor alumni tournament, hosted in Loughborough every May. Haze old and new take to the court to play in memory of Jarj and raise money for charity.
Everyone is welcome. The idea is that you play in a squad with the people who joined the club in the same year as you, and year groups tend to give their teams a name.
Joined 2016/17
Joined 2018/19
Joined 2020
Joined 2022
Ben Pocock, known to everyone at Haze as Jarj, grew up in Keynsham near Bristol and came to Loughborough to study International Business. He was an excellent student, on course for a first class degree, and a talented all-round athlete who also played cricket for St Mary Redcliffe Cricket Club and ultimate for East Midlands Open.
He only came to ultimate because he missed badminton trials, but he quickly became an integral part of every team he played on. He was the first to arrive at training and the last to leave, pushing everyone around him to do the extra fitness and be better, and he was named the club’s player of the year. Off the pitch he was one of the first in the mix on any night out, always keen for a beer, and one of the kindest people his teammates had ever met.
On 17 July 2014, having just finished the second year of his degree, Jarj boarded Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. He was on his way to Perth to begin a six-month placement and study at the University of Western Australia.
He never made it. The plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board, including ten Britons.
To honour him, Haze retired the #3 shirt, and every Haze kit carries BP3 on the sleeve. There is also a plaque in his name in the memorial garden at Loughborough University.
“He was a gifted academic, talented athlete but more importantly a warm, caring, fun-loving son and brother who had an extremely bright future ahead of him.”
“Jarj was the second person I met within the frisbee world, he was so invested in making Haze the best club it could be and committed to making new players feel welcome and I certainly did. … So now when I see a nice day I will say out loud ‘what a beautiful day to be on this earth’ as I heard him say many times.”
“I remember first meeting Jarj at a frisbee session and when I asked him what made him come along he said simply, ‘well I was too hungover and missed badminton trials, so I thought I’d give this a go’. … Beneath the surface he was one of the most kind-hearted and caring people I’ve ever met and was never afraid to give an extra hug or offer advice whenever it was needed.”
“Jarj somehow managed to constantly motivate me to push that little bit harder when we played together. He didn't belittle me, he didn't mock me, he just supported me. … Ben motivated me when he was here and when he wasn't and I'll always be grateful for that.”
“He was that teammate that kept you motivated and pushing through every match, a joy to be playing with in our ridiculous pink shorts, which he made that little bit more ridiculous with his white frisbee gloves.”
“We all loved Jarj for his keenness, his ability to have a great night out, and for his trademark pout, but mostly we loved him because he was just a really nice guy!”
On 16–17 July 2022, eight years after MH17 was shot down, ten of Jarj’s friends from Haze ran 237km as a relay from Keynsham, his hometown, to the memorial garden at Loughborough University, where they had first met playing ultimate. Starting at 4am on the Saturday and running through the night, they finished on the Sunday afternoon after around 30 hours.
They raised £8,770.25 (including Gift Aid) for StreetGames UK, the charity chosen by Ben’s family, which runs sporting programmes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
#BP3, forever our inspiration 💜
Sun 2 May · All day
Netball / Badminton Centre, Towers Way, Charnwood, LE11 3TG
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