Tuesday 29th October 2019

The University of Edinburgh dominated the SSS Aquathlon Championships with both Edinburgh Students Graeme Scobie and Eilidh Thompson winning the male and female race respectively. Click here for full results and report.

On 20th October a total of 57 students took to the water and road for the 2019 SSS Aquathlon Championship on what was a chilly, but most importantly, dry morning in Stirling.

The race consisted of a 750 metre (30 lengths) swim in the National Swimming Centre at the University of Stirling before a quick transition into running shoes for two laps of the loch (5km) on University campus. Kindly hosted by our friends at Stirling Triathlon Club the student race has grown bigger and better every year with a total of 57 students competing including 34 females and 23 males.

First up was the female race where Edinburgh University students Eilidh Thompson and Mary MacIntosh dominated the race from the outset – making considerable distance between themselves and the rest of the chasing pack. The race was neck and neck right to the finish with only 0.3 seconds splitting the leaders after lane order time adjustments. But it was MacIntosh who edged out Thomson in the end – her quick transitions between disciplines proving pivotal in her road to glory. Third place went down to sprint finish between Jessica Buckett and Anja Powell (both Dundee University) with Buckett edging it with her lunge at the line.

In the male event the slightly lower numbers gave the athletes a bit more space in the water. Edinburgh University dominated this one from the outset too with Graeme Scobie and Callum Roberts starting strongly in the water. The swim strung out the men’s race more than the women’s with a steadier trickle of athletes entering and leaving transition. Scobie backed his fastest swim time with a strong run to secure the win with Roberts holding on to take second place. A blistering run from Csoban Balogh (St. Andrews University) saw him move up the field to take third.

It was fantastic to see such great a turnout at in both events, with multiple new entries and new personal bests for a lot of the field. Well done to everyone involved – we look forward welcoming you to the next event in the Scottish Student Triathlon calendar which is takes places on 12th April in Cupar, Fife.

Please click HERE for the full student results and HERE for the medal winners.

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Friday 18th October 2019

The results, recap and rundown from the first ever SSS Athletics Event!

 

Golden Performance from Holden

Jumping for Gold | Holden wins the high jump in a tense finish.

It was the start of a new era on 2nd October 2019 as the newly-formed Scottish Student Athletics Committee hosted their first event, the renamed ‘Opening Match’. The Emirates Arena in Glasgow buzzed with anticipation and activity as students from 13 institutions travelled far and wide across the country to take part in the event.

The Opening Match (previously the ‘Freshers Match’) is designed to provide a relaxed atmosphere for students to kick start their participation in the student athletics programme. Athletes with all levels of experience are welcome – the more beginners, the merrier – and we were delighted with a turnout of 129 students. Notable entrants were from the Glasgow Clyde College and New College Lanarkshire – Scottish Student Sport events are always open to colleges so we were delighted with this uptake.

Brilliant performances were seen across the day, with much excitement starting in the Women’s High Jump where a ‘Jump Off’ was needed to separate Lucy Holden (Abertay University) and Emma Thompson (University of Strathclyde). Holden ultimately rose to glory with a score of 1.58metres enough to claim victory.

The Men’s 60m saw Cole Milne (University of Stirling) take the crown with a time of 7.31 seconds. In the Women’s race not even the photofinish could split Sarah Duff (Heriot Watt) and Rianna Sterricks (University of Stirling) who shared the podium with a time of 8.45 seconds. Other notable performances included Callum Letham (University of Stirling) and Ellie Wilson (University of Glasgow) won the Men’s and Women’s 200m respectively.

Top 3 Finish for Glasgow in the Men’s 15oom

Glasgow took their momentum from the track to the field with Josie McDonald topping the pile in the Women’s Long Jump with an impressive jump of 4.72metres. Euan Urquhart followed suit in the men’s event with a jump of 6.20metres, while Carl Dietrich claimed top spot in the Shot Put and Mantas Liekis in the High Jump.

The highly anticipated relay races at the end of the day did not disappoint with Glasgow coming out on top again – winning three out of the four races! True SSS collaborative spirit was on show in the Men’s 4x200m as Granite City rivals, University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University, put aside their differences to merge and form a guest team when neither club had enough runners to form their own. The team did very well, finishing second, however were not counted in the final results due to their guest status.

The Scottish Student Athletics Committee are keen to preserve the history of the event left by SUCA, and have therefore committed to continue the event records and trophy legacies. The Appleton Trophy pits University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow against each other and awards the club which wins the most overall points. Congratulations to University of Glasgow who won it this year!

The Appleton Trophy Winners 2019

Under the SSS banner for the first time it was brilliant to see the event run so smoothly, and much credit needs to be given to all the officials, volunteers, Emirates Arena and Scottish Athletics staff who without, this event wouldn’t have been possible.

We are excited to announce that the next event in the Scottish Student Athletics calendar is the Indoor Championships, which will be taking place at Emirates on Saturday 8th February 2020! Make sure you join the Scottish Student Athletics Facebook Group for all updates regarding this event.

Shout out to Callum McGee for the fantastic photos – all of which are available to view here! 

Full Results: Scottish Student Athletics Opening Match Results

Join us for the next SSS Athletics Event on Saturday 8th February

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Monday 14th October 2019

Stirling completed a clean sweep of victories in the 15th BUCS/SSS Fife Tournament at The Fairmont (Kittocks), St Andrews last weekend. Both the Stirling men’s and women’s first teams topped the table, alongside Robert Foley who won by 5 shots and Chloe Goadby who trumped her Stirling teammates to finish on top. Read more for the full results and report!

Stirling university completed a clean sweep of victories in the 15th BUCS/SSS Fife Tournament at The Fairmont (Kittocks), St Andrews last weekend.

Both the Stirling men’s and women’s first teams topped the table, alongside Robert Foley who won by 5 shots and Chloe Goadby who trumped her Stirling teammates to finish on top.

As it happened…

Benign conditions in St. Andrews set up a final day thriller at the BUCS/SSS Fife Tournament. While the men’s competition saw Robert Foley’s (Stirling) class take him away from the field, the women’s event was a see saw battle amongst the final group right down the 18th, with Chloe Goadby (Stirling) finally sealing the win.

Foley started the day three days back from team mate Greg Hurley but made an immediate inroad with a birdie at the 1st. Hurley was struggling to replicate his consistency of the first two days, bogeys at 3, 4, and 7 saw him out in 39. A second birdie for Foley at 5 saw him take the lead for the first time in the tournament, a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. Further birdies followed at 9, 11, and 12 with the course under siege from the talented Swiss. However, the closing holes of the Kittocks are the hardest on the student tour for a reason and four dropped shots over the final 3 holes left Foley one under for the round, six over for the tournament.

Meanwhile, Hurley had pulled one shot back at the 14th, and although he gave it back on the 16th it looked like a well-deserved 2nd place was in his grasp. Unfortunately, the sting in the Kittocks tail also snared the first year student, an 8 at the last meaning he finished in a credible 3rd place. The runner up was Autumn Trophy winner James Glenn (Durham), who demonstrated his usual solid golf to move up the field. A one over outward 37 was followed by an impressive level par final 9 holes of the tournament to leave him at +11 for the tournament, 5 shots behind Foley. The Stirling men romped to victory in the team event, their +22 score over the three rounds 27 strokes clear of the St Andrews team.

In the women’s competition, the final all-Stirling group of Goadby, Penny Brown, and Louise Duncan were well clear of the field at the start of play and were soon locked into a three-way battle for the title. Duncan led by one on the first tee but was quickly joined at the top as Goadby birdied the 2nd. All three players then birdied the 4th, and when Brown birdied the 5th as well, it was a three-way tie at -2. Duncan dropped back with a bogey at the 6th before a second bogey at the 9th meant that at the turn, Goadby & Brown were tied at the top, Duncan two back.

While many were seeing the start of a two way back nine struggle, Duncan had other ideas as she fired off three straight birdies from 10-12 to move to -3 and the outright lead. The 11th saw Brown drop a shot and so by the time Duncan moved to the top there was a shot between each of the three. A first dropped shot of the day for Goadby at 13 gave Duncan her biggest lead of the round, two ahead with 5 to play. Next it was Brown’s turn to raise her game, back-to-back birdies on 14 & 15 moving her into a share of the lead. Not to be outdone, Goadby picked up a shot on 16 and it was all level again, this time at three under for the tournament.

With organisers beginning preparations for a playoff, the closing holes of the Kittocks course again saw decisive action. A bogey from Duncan on 17 saw her drop one back and with Brown and Goadby just short of the green in 2 on 18 it was finally down to these two. Goadby played a fantastic chip to leave her with a short putt for a birdie and Brown could not match that, eventually finishing at -2 for the tournament, two back from winner Goadby.In the women’s team competition, the Stirling 1st team saw off their 2nd team, a thoroughly impressive -6 for the tournament giving them a 16 stroke win.

The Tour moves back down to England for the last event of the first semester with league play set to begin next week. Full results are available on GolfBox.

 

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Thursday 19th September 2019

Scottish Student Sailors recap on a successful trip to Lake Garda, Italy where the team finished a respectable 5th place in the LaserPerformance Collegiate Cup.

Described by, C. Valluy & B. Lynch 

Over the last week of August (Aug 26th – Sept 1st), the Scottish Student Sailing National Squad competed at the LaserPerformance Collegiate Cup in Torbole, Lake Garda, Italy. As required for team racing, the team consisted of the following six members; Sophie Taylor (Captain & Helm), Emily Hill (Crew), Brendan Lynch (H), Ben White (Cr), Matthew Caiger (H) & Angus Lawson (Cr), picked from a pool of sailors from the seven Scottish Universities directly involved with student sailing.

LaserPerformance structured the event such that the teams had an opportunity to be provided with some professional coaching for two days, before the regatta started. After arriving and completing registration on the Monday, the team spent the following day getting to grips with the z420s, a larger dinghy than the firefly – the reference boat of BUCS team racing. Day two of the clinic involved practicing what they had learnt, refining techniques and talking tactics before three days of racing.

Day one, an afternoon session, started off in disappointing fashion with the team losing their first race to returning champions, team USA. The team didn’t let their heads or their sails drop and bounced backing winning their next three races against the Netherlands, Belgium & the Irish Mixed – a strong and promising start for team Scotland.

The second day of racing was more intense with sailing running from 9am through to 6pm in challenging, breezy conditions. At the end of the day, two round robins had been completed. The pick of the races saw the Scottish squad narrowly lose out against Ireland leaving them joint fourth going into the final day. Day three of racing was dedicated to a final round robin before the semi-finals and finals. Scotland enjoyed a handful of wins and losses but unfortunately narrowly missed out on a top four finish, ending up in a respectable 5th place, especially considering this was the first time that some of the pairs sailed together.

 

“This really is a fantastic event; well organised, fantastic boats, great people and an incredible venue. The coaching was a real treat as it is so rare in university sailing to get five days of professional coaching – it does wonders for your sailing.”

Final Standings 

1. USA
2. Austria
3. Great Britain
4. Ireland 1
5. Scotland
6. Ireland 2
7. The Netherlands
8. Belgium

Brendan Lynch shared his thoughts on the event:

“This was a fantastic event; well organised, fantastic boats, great people and an incredible venue. I can confidently say that the entire team had a great week. For me, the coaching was a real treat as it is so rare in university sailing to get five days of professional coaching and it does wonders for your sailing.

“If you are looking to compete make sure you are confident in your boat speed, the longer courses used here favour quick teams! Hamish Taylor will be the SSS dinghy captain this year and is the person to talk to if you have any questions.”

To read his full unique recap on the event and more about the z420s head over to the SSS Sailing Facebook Page!

Congratulations to all the competitors, thank you to LaserPerformance for putting on a wonderful event in a scenic location and to their media team. Thank you as well to Scottish Student Sport and all of the institutions involved with sailing for their continued support as ever. See you next year!

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