Athletics Archives - Scottish Student Sport

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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Friday 24th June 2022

We are looking to recruit a new Scottish Student Athletics Communications Officer to drive the development of student athletics in Scotland and support social media engagement.

#ScotStuAthletics

Role title: Scottish Student Athletics Communications Officer

Responsible to: SSS Head of Competitions

Where (location): Various within Scotland

Time commitment: Variable, up to 10-15 hours a month, with 2-4 full-day events

Role duration: Minimum one year – until 30th June 2023

Scottish Student Sport (SSS), the organisation for student sport in Scotland, is seeking an energetic and committed individual to act as one of the lead volunteers within Scottish Student Athletics.

As the Communications Officer your main responsibility will be to support the SS Athletics Chair and SSS by publicising the sport and its activity (e.g. posting on social media channels).

Furthermore, as part of the SS Athletics Development Group, you will work with the rest of the group to create and deliver a development plan across a range of areas beyond publicity including: competition, workforce, club development and inclusion.

Main Tasks

Creation of appropriate platforms to engage with students
Responsible for Scottish Student Athletics social media channels
Regularly update social media channels
Promote great work happening in Scottish Student Athletics clubs
Work within group to identify key areas of work for coming year
Drive specific outcomes as agreed by Chair and SS Athletics Development Group
Gather feedback from student clubs and member institutions on SS Athletics Development Group areas of work
Take minutes from SS Athletics meetings
Develop sport specific policy to improve student experience across all relevant areas of SSS work

Required Skills, Qualities & Experience

Experience of using social media to promote a club/organisation
Empathy for the needs of student clubs
Proactive, can do attitude
Experience of student athletics in Scotland
Knowledge of athletics landscape in Scotland
Ability to effectively communicate with a range of stakeholders

Desirable Skills, Qualities & Experience

Photography experience
Videography experience
Access to camera

Training & Support Available

Annual Chair Development Day hosted by SSS
Any relevant CPD courses/experience as identified by Chair and Head of Competitions
Named staff member within SSS

The Vice-Chair will be appointed on a voluntary basis for a minimum term of one year. Individuals may re-stand for the position or for another vacancy at the end of the year. All reasonable expenses incurred undertaking the role will be reimbursed in line with SSS policy.

Application is by CV and cover letter, sent to Events Coordinator – jess@scottishstudentsport.com

This role can be downloaded in PDF format HERE

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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

Institution	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Abertay University	4	3	4	11
Ayrshire College	1	1		2
Borders College			1	1
City of Glasgow College	4	2	1	7
Edinburgh College	2	2		4
Edinburgh Napier University	4	2	1	7
Fife College	1	4	2	7
Glasgow Caledonian University	9	6	3	18
Heriot Watt University	10	11	13	34
Queen Margaret University	1		2	3
Robert Gordon University	5	10	7	22
Scotland's Rural College	1		1	2
UHI	5	1	4	10
University of Aberdeen	23	36	19	78
University of Dundee	34	21	20	75
University of Edinburgh	87	66	52	205
University of Glasgow	46	62	45	153
University of St Andrews	71	41	38	150
University of Stirling	43	37	31	111
University of Strathclyde	32	33	33	98
University of the West of Scotland	11	6	6	23
Z-Guest Entries	12	11	15	38

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 20^th 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 1^st and 2^nd 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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Thursday 28th April 2022

It’s Awards Season again!! We are now accepting nominations for the 2021/22 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 2021/22 Awards are officially open!

With a return to activity, this year the Executive Committee have decided that we should revert back to our usual set of awards. We are really looking forward to receiving all the fantastic nominations.

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 2021-22 season (April 2021 – April 2022) 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 2021-22 season (April 2021- April 2022) 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 2021-22 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 2021-22 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 Presidents 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 2021-22 season. Increasing memberships, upping participation, innovative projects, developing volunteers, promoting the role of officials; fundraising, community links and involvement in institution 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 2021-22 season (April 2021-April 2022). 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.

Check out our 2020/21 award winners here! 🏆

The Details

Nominations for each category should be a maximum of 500 words.
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 THURSDAY 12th MAY at 18:00 and the Executive Council will then decide on the winners.
Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on Wednesday 8th June, as part of the SSS Conference.
Please contact Totty with any queries.

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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 12^th 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 2^nd 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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Wednesday 16th December 2020

Inspiration, innovation and collaboration at every corner. These were some of the key themes that emerged from the SSS 2020 Festive Gathering. Over 70 members tuned into the virtual gathering and were treated to thought-provoking discussion, high-quality guest speakers and plenty of Festive Fun! Read all about it here!

In a change to tradition and a fitting tribute to 2020, the SSS Festive Gathering was delivered virtually this year with over 70 members across the tribe tuning in to hear from a panel of world-class athletes and leaders in sport.

Whilst the virtual gathering was a first of its kind, the longstanding tradition of participants wearing festive jumpers remained true – with some fantastic outfits on show throughout the afternoon. None more so than panelist Robyn Love (pictured below) in what is undoubtedly a candidate for the most festive photo of the year.

After an energising welcome from SSS Chair Pete Burgon, a brief review of the year gone by and finances approved – our attendees were met by two equally inspiring and thought-provoking discussions from our special guests.

First up, the Road to Tokyo panel, where SSS Head of Competitions Chris Purdie, was joined by three athletes whose experiences through student sport had helped shape their career path and their journey to next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Neah Evans (Cycling), Megan Gaffney (Rugby) and Robyn Love (Wheelchair Basketball) discussed how their positive student sport experiences helped them reach where they are today. From balancing the workload of their studies with the pressure of performing in their sport and also trying to keep up a social life in the process, the panelists spoke honestly and fondly of their student days.

All three touched upon the huge sacrifices required to make it at the top level and acknowledged the vital support they received from their institutions and staff during their time at University. This support has been vital to them and many other young athletes looking to achieve their potential while also studying and preparing for their future.

The panel discussed the importance of resilience and “bounce-back ability” that the challenges of Coronavirus and lockdown caused before previewing what promises to be a jam-packed and exciting year of sport in 2021.

All three have very real and promising hopes of competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games and everyone at SSS wishes Megan, Robyn and Neah every success for 2021 and beyond.

Following this inspirational panel, the next section was packed full of ambition, innovation and collaboration at every corner: An Audience with Jan Paterson.

Jan is currently Managing Director Sport for Neom, delivering a bold new vision of future living. Neom is being designed as a global city for global citizens and Jan’s role is to engrain sport and physical activity in the lives of residents. In the future city, citizens will never be more than 8 minutes from a sports facility and physical activity will be an integral part of the curriculum.

Jan herself is a pioneer and her experiences in leadership roles were a great learning opportunity for our audience. She spoke of the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, and the significance of bottom-up team building. We also heard some great stories of her times at the World University Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

To round off the day and in true 2020 style, the SSS Tribe were treated to a Zoom Quiz of the Year courtesy of Pete Burgon. This gave everyone a chance to show off their best Christmas jumpers, share some “funny” Christmas jokes and engage in some much needed festive cheer.

We would like to wish everyone a restful festive break and we look forward to seeing you all in 2021.

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