British Universities
and Colleges Sport |
| Sport | University sport in the United Kingdom |
|---|
| Abbreviation | BUCS |
|---|
| Founded | 2008; 16 years ago (2008) |
|---|
| Affiliation | FISU |
|---|
| Regional affiliation | EUSA |
|---|
| Location | 20-24 King's Bench Street
London
SE1 0QX
United Kingdom |
|---|
| Replaced |
- British Universities Sports Association (BUSA)
- University College Sport (UCS)
|
|---|
|
| www.bucs.org.uk |
 |
British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS) organisations. BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the UK and representative teams for the World University Championships and the World University Games.
BUCS is a membership organisation for over 165 universities and colleges in the UK, with 6,000 teams competing across 850 leagues. Anne, Princess Royal is patron of BUCS.
Competitions and Events
Team sports compete in BUCS leagues, with the majority of league fixtures taking place on Wednesday afternoons, which is commonly referred to as BUCS Wednesday. Wednesday afternoons are generally free from lectures to allow students to compete in sport. There are 850 leagues, with institutions across the country competing against each other to avoid relegation or win the league and gain promotion to higher leagues.
The finals of the Championship and Trophy are played at BUCS Big Wednesday. This annual single-day event showcases the Championship and Trophy finals across 16 league sports. As of 2023,[update] Big Wednesday will take place at Loughborough University.[2]
BUCS Nationals is an annual multisport event that takes place across three days. As of 2023, indoor athletics, swimming, badminton and climbing are the sports represented at BUCS Nationals. The event is held in Sheffield.[3]
Over the year, BUCS runs over 120 events for both individual and team sports.
BUCS Points
BUCS Points are given to institutions depending on where they finish in leagues and events. The accumulation of these points determine which institution becomes overall BUCS Champion.
Loughborough University have won the BUCS competition 42 years in a row up until the 2022-23 season. Both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons were not completed due to COVID.
- ^ Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the 2020-21 season was unable to go ahead.
- ^ Competition was suspended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the points table was voided since the season was not completed.
International representation
Members of both FISU (International University Sport Federations) and EUSA (European University Sports Association), BUCS is responsible for sending a cohort of students to international events including the World University Summer & Winter Games and the European Universities Games. The British international team goes by the name of GB Students.
National governing body involvement
BUCS applies for annual funding from Sports England to support the delivery of student sport across the country. They also work with national governing bodies to develop sports within the student sector and some posts within BUCS are funded by governing bodies, with the aim of developing the specific sport for students.
The Football Association fund projects and positions within BUCS to help develop grassroots football. With their investment, BUCS set up 62 Football Grassroot Hubs to support Football and Futsal in the higher education sector, benefiting just under 70,000 participants. BUCS and The FA also joined to create the Women's Leadership Programme, providing students with important skills and qualities to help them in their future careers whether that is in the football and sporting sector or not. The first cohort of leaders graduated in 2020.
Board
The BUCS Board is responsible for leading strong governance and strategic leadership within the sector. The Board is made up of the chair, five independent directors and four BUCS directors - two representing students and two representing the staff of the membership.
Chair of the Board: Vacant
Commercial Director and Senior Independent Director: Russell James
Sport and Competition Director:
Katy Storie
Finance Director:
Simon Wilson
EDIA Director: Vacant
Legal and Governance Director: Carrie Stephenson
Chair of BUCS Senior Managers Executive:
Cathy Gallagher
Chair of BUCS Advisory Group:
Chris Anthony
Student Director: Ella Williams
Student Director, Welfare Lead:
George Christian
Hall of Fame
In 2019, BUCS introduced the Hall of Fame to celebrate the centenary of British university sport. The Hall of Fame acknowledges individual's dedication and achievements in sport. Members of the Hall of Fame include:
- Alison Odell CBE, University of Birmingham
- Alun Wyn Jones OBE, Swansea University
- Bill Slater CBE, University of Birmingham
- Catriona Matthew OBE, University of Stirling
- Christine Ohuruogu MBE, University College London
- Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, University of Sheffield
- Dame Katherine Grainger DBE, University of Edinburgh
- Danielle Brown MBE, University of Leicester
- David Florence, University of Nottingham
- Dr Deng Yaping, University of Nottingham
- Eric Liddell, University of Edinburgh
- Jonathan Edwards CBE, Durham University
- Lauren Steadman MBE, University of Portsmouth
- Liz Nicholl CBE, University of Nottingham
- Rebecca Romero MBE, St Mary's University
- Sir Gareth Edwards CBE, Cardiff Metropolitan University
- Sir Roger Bannister CH CBE, University of Oxford
- Sophie Ingle OBE, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Non-BUCS sports
Certain university and college sports are not governed by BUCS for various reasons. The following is a partial list of these sports and respective competitions:
