Monday 5th June 2023

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2022/23 season is here!

The SSS Medal Table is a method for institutions to see how successful their student-athletes have been over the course of the SSS season.

The table includes all events in which SSS medals* have been awarded during the 2022/23 season.

All semester 1 and 2 events which took place have been added.

The table defaults to alphabetical but can be sorted by any of the column headings.

 

SSS Medal Table 2022/23

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Aberdeen University28241769
Abertay University4239
City of Glasgow College4228
Dumfries & Galloway College0011
Dundee University17112452
Edinburgh College1326
Edinburgh Napier University54211
Edinburgh University1049162257
Fife College2439
GCU127827
Glasgow University625763182
Heriot Watt University10151540
NESCol0101
New College Lanarkshire0101
QMU0213
RGU1081533
St Andrews University646247173
Stirling University42302698
Strathclyde University343836108
UHI80210
UWS551020
West College Scotland1001
Z-GUEST29282986

 

Last Updated: June 2023

*Also includes BUCS medals won at Scottish Conference Finals

Compare how your instution got on against the 2021-22 Medal Tracker!

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Thursday 27th April 2023

Over 220 athletes from 15 universities and colleges descended on Grangemouth Sports Stadium on 22nd April to compete in the pinnacle of the Scottish Student Athletics season – the Outdoor Championships.

Over 220 athletes from 15 universities and colleges descended on Grangemouth Sports Stadium on 22nd April to compete in the pinnacle of the Scottish Student Athletics season – the Outdoor Championships. Despite the strong winds the students gave it their all, determined to win points for their club in the John Innes Memorial team competition.

We saw a blistering Men’s 5000m where the previous student record for that event was broken not once – but twice! Peter Bradshaw (University of Edinburgh) pipped his team mate Finlay Ross-Davie to 1st place in 14:54.64 but both broke the 5-year record.

Women’s discus also saw a record-breaking performance as Kiera Maxwell (University of Glasgow) hit 44.03m – over a metre further than the record set last year in the same event.

The Outdoor Championships also included Seated Throw para-adaptive events for the first time, with University of Stirling’s Adam Donnachie furthering his PB in the discus and maintaining his top UK ranking in shot putt too.

University of Glasgow stormed to victory in the John Innes Memorial Trophy, bagging the most number of team points in the team event. Full results can be found on our website and check out our photo album here. Well done to all athletes and thank you to the officials who made it all possible.

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Tuesday 25th April 2023

It’s Awards Season again!! We are now accepting nominations for the 2022/23 SSS Awards! Read on for more information on the different award categories, the nomination process and where the winners will be crowned.

We are delighted to announce that the SSS 2022/23 Awards are officially open!

The Awards 

We are accepting individual nominations in the following five categories:

  • Female Athlete of the Year- Aimed at high-performance female student-athletes, whether or not they compete for their college or university. This will be awarded to a female individual for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2022-23 season (April 2022 – April 2023) while making a tangible contribution to the institution.
  • Male Athlete of the Year- Aimed at high-performance male student-athletes, whether or not they compete for their college or university. This will be awarded to a male individual for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2022-23 season (April 2022- April 2023) while making a tangible contribution to the institution.
  • Volunteer of the Year- Aimed at students and non-students who volunteer at a local level. This is not aimed at volunteers primarily in a SSS role (please see Dr Rob MacPherson Award); coaches (see Coach of the Year); paid staff going the extra mile (see Honorary President’s Medal). This will be awarded to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to student sport at a local level during the 2022-23 year. The contribution may be in many forms such as exceptional active or administrative services to a club, college, or university; as a faithful club servant, committee member, leader; official; or purely down to their love of sport. Volunteers purely in a coaching capacity should be nominated for the Coach of the Year award.
  • Coach of the Year- Aimed at those who coach student sport/student-athletes at any level of performance. They may be either volunteer coaches or paid coaches. Not aimed at professional coaches based in Higher Education for whom student-athletes are not the main focus. This award will be given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to student sport by coaching during the 2022-23 season. Good quality coaching; innovative ideas; dedication to the sport; and a drive to continually improve their own skills are features of an outstanding coach.
  • Honorary President’s Medal- Aimed at any individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to/lasting impact on student sport at a local, regional or national level. Nominees should be regarded as wonderful examples/ advocates of student sport and their behaviour should resonate with the above SSS values.

We are accepting group nominations in the following two categories:

  • Club of the Year- Aimed at the all-round best performing Club, on and off the field of play. Not aimed at clubs that have had a successful competition year only. This will be awarded to a club that can demonstrate impact in the 2022-23 season. Increasing memberships, upping participation, innovative projects, developing volunteers, promoting the role of officials; fundraising, community links and involvement in institutional activity are just certain elements that would demonstrate excellence.
  • Team of the Year- Aimed at the most successful, high-performing student teams in the country, whether within SSS/BUCS competition or further afield. Not aimed at a team that performs to the fullest of its potential in the lower levels of competition e.g. a third team that has a 100% season is still unlikely to win this award. This will be awarded to a team for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2022-23 season (April 2022-April 2023). This can include international performances.
  • The final award is the Dr Rob MacPherson Award. This award differs slightly from the rest of our awards – there are no nominations, instead, the winner is selected by the SSS staff team as opposed to the Executive Committee. The award is aimed at any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to volunteering with Scottish Student Sport.

The Details

  • Nominations for each category should be a maximum of 250 words, in bullet point format listing out key achievements.
  • Institutions can nominate in as many categories as they wish, but may only put forward one entry per category.
  • Past winners can receive the same award again.
  • Only member institutions can nominate. All member institutions have been sent login details to the online portal where nominations should be submitted.
  • Nominations close on FRIDAY 5th MAY at 18:00 and the Executive Council will then decide on the winners.
  • Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on Wednesday 7th June, as part of the SSS Conference.
  • Please contact Totty with any queries.
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Thursday 20th October 2022

Check out the highlights from our recent Athletics Opening Match!

Check out the highlights from our recent Athletics Opening Match! We had a record-breaking number of entries from students across 14 universities and colleges at the event on 19th October 2022 at Emirates Arena.

Results are available online HERE and in Excel format HERE. Also on Power of 10 HERE!

Congratulations to University of Glasgow for winning the overall Appleton Trophy for Best Overall Institution as well.

Well done to all participants and thank you everyone who helped make it happen – specifically the officials and volunteers!

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Monday 6th June 2022

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2021/22 season is here!

The SSS Medal Table is a method for institutions to see how successful their student-athletes have been over the course of the SSS season.

The table includes all events in which medals have been awarded during the 2021/22 season.

All semester 1 and 2 events which took place have been added.

The table defaults to alphabetical but can be sorted by any of the column headings.

 

SSS Medal Table 2021/22

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Abertay University43
411
Ayrshire College112
Borders College11
City of Glasgow College4217
Edinburgh College224
Edinburgh Napier University4217
Fife College1427
Glasgow Caledonian University96318
Heriot Watt University10111334
Queen Margaret University123
Robert Gordon University510722
Scotland's Rural College112
UHI51410
University of Aberdeen23361978
University of Dundee34212075
University of Edinburgh876652205
University of Glasgow466245153
University of St Andrews714138150
University of Stirling433731111
University of Strathclyde32333398
University of the West of Scotland116623
Z-Guest Entries12111538

 

Total Events: 73 (88% of planned activity)

Last Updated: June 2022

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Thursday 26th May 2022

Students shone at Stirling as they took on the epic Monument Mile challenge

The Monument Mile has established itself as a special event over time and this year’s iteration certainly lived up to that expectation. Records were broken, inspired by the brilliant crowd that came out to support the athletes, and students showcased their talent brilliantly.

It is an age-old simple, yet challenging concept the event is based on: who can run the mile the fastest? 35 students from 8 institutions joined runners from across the country as they attempted to answer that question on 20th May.

The athletes were set off in races seeded by personal best times round the University of Stirling track – warming up the crowd almost as much as the flame machines at the side of the track – as we edged ever closer to the eagerly anticipated Elite Men’s and Women’s races.

The Women’s Elite Race was a spectacular race, with all barring one athlete finishing in under 5 minutes. Overall 1st and 2nd place runners were Niamh Carr and Katie Lowery respectively (both University of Edinburgh) who controlled their race, utilising the pace set by others and putting in a brilliant kick in the final 200m. As Niamh took the Elite Women’s Prize, the student prizes were awarded to Katie Lowery, Hannah Anderson and Kirsty Purcell in top-down order. With Hannah and Kirsty also from Edinburgh, the famous Haries green decorated the podium!

It was then all eyes on the Men’s Elite Race which featured 4 student men battling for the overall prizes as well as the student prizes. Ben MacMillan (University of Stirling) took to the front of the pack to help lead the race behind the pacer and Kieran Reilly (University of Stirling) joined him to maintain a stunning pace. It was a kick at the 400m mark from Ben MacMillan, coupled with windless conditions, that sealed a brilliant win in under 4 minutes! This makes Ben the first Scot to break the 4-minute mile time in Scotland since 1985 and was also a Meeting Record. Kieran did enough to seal second place, holding off Jack Patton from Kilbarchan, whilst Kristof Hornyik (University of St Andrews) and Ben Sandilands (Scottish rural College) also had superb runs. With Ben claiming the Elite Men’s prize, the student men’s medals went to Kieran Reilly, Kristof Hornyik, and Ben Sandilands.

A Student Team Prize was awarded to the 4 student runners from one institution who achieved the fastest overall cumulative time. This went to University of Edinburgh runners Niamh Carr, Katie Lowery, Callum Tharme and Blayne Wright.

Massive thanks to Michael Wright and the rest of the Monument Mile team for partnering with SSS this year to provide a student championships within the competition, we look forward to working with you again. Thank you also to the officials and volunteers who gave their time to support the event!

You can catch up on the action via the recorded YouTube LiveStream HERE and photos HERE. Full results can be found HERE.

All images used in this article courtesy of Bobby Gavin.

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Monday 25th April 2022

Records were toppled last weekend as the Student Athletics Championship returned to a sunny Grangemouth Stadium. 

Records were toppled at the Student Athletics Championship returned to a sunny Grangemouth Stadium after a long 3 year break. Students were delighted to be back competing in the Outdoor Championships, with more than two hundred and twenty entrants representing Colleges and Universities across Scotland.

Arriving with smiles on their faces, their mascots and a bunch of team spirit the stadium came alive once more with student energy.

It was a record-breaking day all round, with five records broken across the track and field! In the Women’s 100m Hurdles Katie Purves of the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) smashed her own record from the competition with a blistering time of 14.19s. Following soon after Roisin Harrison (University of Aberdeen), ran an incredible 24.06 in the Women’s 200m, beating Katie Purves (UWS) and Charlotte Bevan (Robert Gordon University, RGU) at the line. The third track record break came from University of Stirling’s, Sarah Tait, who shattered the Woman’s 3000m Steeplechase, taking victory from Margarita Radeva (Aberdeen) and Sarah Gilhooley (RGU) and breaking a record that has stood for 8 years. In the field events, Claire McGarvey from University of Glasgow broke the Women’s high jump with an excellent 1.75m jump! Meanwhile, Alice Baxendale broke a 6 year old record in the Women’s Discus with a massive 42.59m.

Students from up and down the field showcased student athletics at its very best, and a true festival atmosphere was felt by all. It was particularly excellent to see multiple college students participate – and especially on the podium! Finlay Waugh (City of Glasgow College) claimed gold in the Men’s 200m running a phenomenal 21.72. Meanwhile Ben Sandilands from Scottish Rural College topped the field in the Men’s 1500m by over 2 seconds. It was a great day for Alexander Mackay (UHI) who took double gold in the Men’s Discus and Men’s Shot Putt, firmly clear of his competitors in both field events.

The stands came alive as students raced the relays to seal off the day, squeezing in one last opportunity to earn some overall event points for their institution. It was a strong showing in the afternoon session which sealed the deal, however, and rapturous excitement could be heard across Grangemouth Stadium as the University of Glasgow took home the John Innes Memorial Trophy for the 9th year in a row!

The full ratified results can be found here and John Innes Memorial Trophy Results can be found here.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Scottish Athletics and the volunteers that made this event possible, as well as the students brought such a competitive energy with them.

An album of photographs by Bobby Gavin can be found here, and a further album from Scottish Student Sport can be found here.

Got 5 minutes to spare? Please take the time to complete our Feedback Survey to tell us about your experiences of the day!

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Wednesday 16th February 2022

Saturday 12th February 2022 saw not one, not two, not three but FOUR records broken as students from across the country battled it out to be crowned Scottish Student Champions.

Saturday 12th February 2022 saw not one, not two, not three but FOUR records broken as students from across the country battled it out to be crowned Scottish Student Champions.

Although it was a dreich day in Glasgow, the Emirates Arena was glowing as students provided shining performances across Track and Field.

The day began with a brilliant battle for Women’s 60m Gold between Alyson Bell (University of Edinburgh) and Katie Purves (University of the West of Scotland). Gold went to Katie with a 7.61s run taking her into the top 5 ranked Women in Scotland for that event. Katie (pictured right) then went on to break her own SSA Indoor 60mH record from 2019 in a storming time of 8.40s, taking her to 2nd ranked Woman in Scotland!

The morning’s Field events also drew attention with three Women’s Pole vaulters clearing the same height (2.90m) and medal being decided on countback. Gold was taken by Morgan MacDougall of Glasgow Caledonian University, but credit is due to Rosie Brown (Strathclyde) and Grace Brennan (University of Aberdeen) who took silver and bronze respectively.

On the circular track, another SSA record taken on the day was won by Krystof Hornyik (University of St Andrews, pictured) who broke the previously 7-year standing SUCA Men’s 1500m record from Christopher Watson (formerly University of Strathclyde) by 4.74 seconds in 3:53.28. Brilliant performance from the Hungarian runner who held off Jamie MacKinnon from University of Strathclyde to silver and Nikolai Gajic (University of Glasgow) to bronze.

It was a whopping throw of 13.29m in the Women’s Shot Putt that saw University of Strathclyde’s Teddy Tchoudja (middle) take gold and break her previous SSA Indoor record, set just a few months earlier, by 63cm. This put Teddy over 2m ahead of silver (Karolina Wamsler, University of Edinburgh), with bronze won by Alice Baxendale, also University of Edinburgh.

Back on the Track, the Men’s 3000m was won in a very convincing fashion by Noah Lambert (University of St Andrews, pictured) who broke Cameron Smith’s 2020 record (8:33.32) with a brilliant run of 8:25.24. Jimena Andrade (University of the West of Scotland) took the gold in the Women’s event with 11:04.07.

In the Women’s Long Jump, we had the highly unusual situation of 3 athletes recording exactly the same distance (5.31) so silver and bronze were awarded based on the next best jumps of each athlete. Gold medallist, Anna Cameron (University of Strathclyde) was joined on the podium by fellow teammate Hannah Wallace who took bronze. Silver went to Jane Davidson of University of Aberdeen with the next best jump of 5.29m. The Men’s Long Jump was won by Euan Urquhart (University of Glasgow) putting 1m between himself and second place with a great jump of 6.94m.

The relay events always seal the event off on a high as students cheer themselves hoarse as they will their teammates around the track. University of Strathclyde’s Women’s 4x200m relay was just .25 of a second off of the overall record for the event, storming to victory! Meanwhile, it was just .17 seconds between Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities in the Women’s 4x400m relay in a nail biter of a finish – University of Glasgow just pipping Edinburgh to the line. It was a University of Glasgow Double in the Men’s relays, with their teams taking Gold in the 4x200m and 4x400m with track to spare between the runners up.

We saw brilliant performances in all events with many students reaping the rewards of continued training despite the recent restrictions, demonstrated in 33 PBs set and 56 SBs. Well done to all involved – full results found HERE.

Congratulations also to the University of Glasgow who won the Iain Cosgrove Trophy for Best Overall Institution! Full results for this trophy can be found HERE.

Katie Purves (UWS) was awarded the Ian Tatton Trophy for Best Performance by an Individual Athlete, for her double Gold detailed earlier.

A special thank you to all those who gave up their time to help make the event happen: Scottish Athletics Staff, Scottish Athletics Officials, Scottish Student Athletics Development Group and the student volunteers on the day. The event couldn’t have run without you. Big thanks to Bobby Gavin (credited for these photos) and William Cosh for taking photos on the day. Full albums can be found on Facebook HERE.

Thank you also to all clubs for continuing to support the event! See you all again soon at the Outdoor Championships in April.

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Wednesday 26th May 2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2020/21 SSS Awards! This year we have revamped our awards line-up with six brand new awards up for grabs! Find out more here.

We are delighted to announce that the SSS 2020/21 Awards are officially open!

This year we are doing things a little bit differently. As opposed to our usual individual and club awards, this year our awards will be based on the SSS values! Given the unusual and challenging year that everyone has faced, we wanted to recognise the incredible work and many success stories across our sector and celebrate the amazing people involved in student sport in Scotland.

The awards will therefore be based on the SSS values and we are looking for nominations for the following categories: Ambitious, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative, Responsive, Sustainable, Honorary President’s Medal. An additional eight award, the Dr Rob Macpherson SSS Volunteer of the year award, will be selected by the SSS staff.

The Awards 

We are accepting nominations in the following categories:

  • Ambitious – Who is this aimed at? Unsung heroes – juggling multiple projects/things at once.
  • Collaborative – Who is this aimed at? Best online learning resource/best practice sharing, coaching and officiating,  Zoom webinars.
  • Inclusive – Who is it aimed at? An inclusion champion – someone who has made their sport more accessible and available to all.
  • Innovative – Who is it aimed at? Those who have been exceptionally innovative and creative – i.e using Zoom workouts, creating new podcasts, performance athlete finding new ways to train.
  • Responsive – Who is it aimed at? Examples of best practice in adapting to COVID, new ways of working and flexibility.
  • Sustainable – Who is it aimed at? Sustainability champions – people/groups that have incorporated sustainability into their clubs/work.

The above awards can be won by individuals or groups, so please feel free to submit nominations for both outstanding individuals and student sports clubs!

  • Honorary Presidents Medal – This award is for any individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to/lasting impact on student sport at a local, regional or national level. Nominees should be regarded as wonderful examples/ advocates of student sport and their behaviour should resonate with the above SSS values.
  • The final award is the Dr Rob Macpherson Award. This award differs slightly from the rest of our awards – there are no nominations, instead, the winner is selected by the SSS staff team as opposed to the Executive Committee. The award is aimed at any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to volunteering with Scottish Student Sport.

Check out our 2019/20 award winners here! 🏆

The Details

  • Nominations for each category should be a maximum of 500 words.
  • Institutions can nominate as many groups or individuals in any category as they like.
  • Only member institutions can nominate. All member institutions have been sent login details to the online portal where nominations should be submitted.
  • Nominations close on MONDAY 7th JUNE at 18:00 and winners will be announced in July as part of the SSS Month of Celebration.
  • Please contact Totty with any queries.
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Tuesday 27th April 2021

On Sunday 25th April, in the Glasgow sunshine, members of the SSS Tribe took part in the Jog Leaders training through SSS’ collaboration with Jog Scotland and Scottish Athletics.

The Leadership in Running Fitness course is delivered regularly by Jog Scotland and, through collaboration, individuals from SSS member institutions were able to participate at a discounted rate. The course comprises of a number of theory modules and a practical session, which in this instance was taken at Scotstoun in Glasgow. Having staff and students with this kind of qualification will allow institutions to be prepared to harness the increased interest in recreational running that we have seen over the past year.

jogscotland is Scotland’s recreational running network and is part of scottishathletics. It is made up of hundreds of jogging groups meeting in sports centres, community halls, parks and businesses, and jogging on their local paths, pavements and trails. The emphasis at every jogscotland group is on enjoying exercise and supporting one another in a friendly atmosphere. Groups are led by qualified Jog Leaders (mostly volunteers), who guide and inspire their members. Nobody is “too slow” to join jogscotland. Groups are available for walkers, joggers and runners of all levels, from complete beginners to long-distance runners.

Here’s what participants had to say:

I signed up because running is something that I enjoy and have an interest in. Having this training will help me to encourage and motivate others when I begin leading running groups in my local area with fellow students at New College Lanarkshire but also the wider community. The course was very informative and enjoyable, and the tutors on the day were fun and encouraging. Helping others to improve their fitness, health and wellbeing is important to me as an individual and as a student. 

Kellyann McGraith (HND Fitness, Health and Exercise @ New College Lanarkshire)

The course is ideal for us as it allows us to engage students at Glasgow in the new beginners jogging groups we are setting up.  We have noticed that our members are keen to exercise outdoors as much as possible and the social, physical and mental benefits of these activities is invaluable.

Calum Hill (Active Lifestyles Lead @ University of Glasgow)

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