By Emma Griffiths, Sports Editor
It's that time of the year again: freshers’ fair looms with its never-ending aisles of sports teams brandishing sign up sheets in every direction. University sport is an incredibly important aspect of many students' university experience - but what options does Bristol have to offer, from competitive squads to social mixers and everything in-between?
What is BUCS?
BUCS stands for British Universities and Colleges Sport and is the national governing body for university sport in the UK, meaning that it organises over 850 leagues across the more than 50 sports that it recognises.
The BUCS season usually runs from October to July, and mostly happens on BUCS Wednesday, when matches between different universities in the league will take place throughout the year, with a view to earn the most points and be crowned Best University.
Although these competitions are individual to each sport, at the end of the season, these BUCS points are counted for each university according to performance across all of the leagues, cups and matches. These points are then reflected in the national ranking table of UK university sport.
Bristol is currently ranked 10th in the UK, meaning that BUCS is an incredibly important aspect of university sport.
Standout BUCS teams
Almost all sports within Bristol’s Student Union are involved with BUCS, but there are some sports which consistently perform impressively within the set-up.
UBRFC and UBWRFC - the men’s and women’s rugby union teams - are consistently performing within the BUCS tournaments, and both have an ongoing partnership with the professional rugby team Bristol Bears, meaning that their performance is sure to only improve in coming seasons.
The men’s and women’s field hockey team (UBMHC and UBLHC) is one of the largest squads within Bristol Uni sport with five men’s teams and seven women’s teams, with both 1st teams competing in the prestigious BUCS South Premier league.
Under the umbrella organisation of Bristol Performance Sport, sports like netball, lacrosse, football, rugby, tennis, rowing, and water sports have all been flagged as performance driven and receive specific coaching and support.
Casual playing and intramural involvement
However, although Bristol Sport does compete at high levels of competition, there are plenty of options for those who want a more casual sports experience.
Most competitive programs have a social squad, with fewer practices a week and more of a focus on the community aspect of Bristol sport, frequenting Wednesday night socials. These social squads either function under the same umbrella as the performance squads, such as with the UBMLC (University of Bristol Men’s and Mixed Lacrosse Club) social and performance teams, or shift into separate intramural teams.
Intramural sport functions entirely separately from the BUCS squad, and is run by the Bristol SU and the University Sports Department. Teams can be based on anything, from accommodation to course to simply friendship groups.
Despite being far less competitive than the BUCS pathway, there are still weekly matches against other intramural teams within the university and a termly winner crowned.
Some popular intramural sports are rugby union, netball, football, basketball, and cricket, amongst other sports like badminton, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball.
Bristol Uni’s Sports Facilities
Most of Bristol Sport functions from the University of Bristol sports complex Coombe Dingle, which is a 15 minute walk past the North Village accommodation. In this 38-acre complex there are grass and AstroTurf pitches, 14 indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and an Olympic weightlifting gym, which all sports squads can access for strength and conditioning.
As well as pitch space, there is also a physio clinic and a host of coaches for various sports and strength and conditioning.
Away from Coombe Dingle, the Richmond Building (which was previously the home of the Bristol SU) houses the university pool, which is 32 metres long and has six lanes.
The university gym, called the Indoor Sports Centre, is also away from Coombe Dingle on Tyndall’s Avenue nestled amongst other university buildings. Here, as well as a multistorey gym, there is a double court sports hall, sports medicine clinic, and capacity for over 100 classes per week.
There is also a smaller gym in the North Village accommodation Hiatt Baker for North Village residents (but shhh - this one’s Bristol’s worst kept secret!). There are free-to-use tennis courts littered across Bristol’s first year accommodation, including at Goldney Hall, Wills Hall, and Durdham Halls.
For those who want to venture even further afield, there is even a table tennis table in the Fry building (the Maths faculty).
Read more about what sports are available in Bristol outside of the SU here:
How to watch Bristol’s sport matches
Wednesdays are the most important day of the sporting weekly calendar, as they not only host the infamous Wednesday night socials and club nights, but also promise weekly high performance matches at Coombe Dingle.
For those who want to watch these matches (or just simply visit the Pavilion Bar known for its affordable drinks!), there is a special Bristol Sport shuttle bus that runs between Coombe Dingle and Tyndall’s Avenue throughout the afternoon and evening to cut out that dreaded hike up Whiteladies Road!
Featured Image: Instagram @bristolunisport
What sports will you be getting involved with this academic year?
