Thursday 30th January 2020

Scottish Student Sport are delighted to announce Queen Margaret University as the host for the SSS Conference 2020. Read the full story here!

Scottish Student Sport is delighted to announce that Conference 2020 will be hosted by Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh. This is the first time the event will be hosted by QMU, and as a modern and ambitious institution they are excited about the opportunity to welcome the SSS tribe.

QMU is located at the purpose-built site in Musselburgh – just a 6 minute-train from the centre of Edinburgh – and sustainability is ingrained in campus life. SSS is ambitious about delivering the most sustainable conference to date.

Conference 2020 is the culmination of the student sport year and provides a fantastic opportunity for the network to come together to learn and celebrate. The event will include a host of inspirational guest speakers and innovative workshops, as well as opportunities to be active. The climax of the 2-day event will be the Scottish Student Sport Awards Dinner, celebrating the biggest and best achievements and contributions of the sporting year.

Andy White, Student Vice President at QMU, said:

“We’re delighted to be able to open our doors to the SSS tribe in June and share with them a couple of days of inspirational activity.”

“Queen Margaret University are absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Scottish Student Sport 2020 Conference. Our Students’ Union supports our sports teams to punch well above their weight in relation to the relatively small size of our student community. We’re delighted to be able to open our doors to the SSS tribe in June and share with them a couple of days of inspirational activity.” 

Stew Fowlie, COO at SSS, added:

“There is a terrific blend of spaces and services available at QMU, allowing us to generate a really upbeat atmosphere for our members and guests. This environment, coupled with strong local support, provides all the ingredients for what promises to be our best conference yet. We look forward to working with QMU in the planning phase and most of all to welcoming the SSS tribe to Musselburgh for 48 life-changing hours in June.”

Conference 2020 will year take place on the 10th and 11th of June 2020. Add this date to your diary NOW and watch this space for further information and sign up!

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Wednesday 18th December 2019

Read all about the highlights from our annual Festive Gathering which took place at Perth College, UHI. A fitting way to end an incredible year of Scottish Student Sport.

For the first time, the SSS Tribe descended on Perth College UHI for our annual Festive Gathering. We were delighted to welcome our members, colleagues and friends from across the length and breadth of the country to participate in a number of forums, workshops and discussions – giving everyone the opportunity to learn, collaborate and innovate the world of Scottish Student Sport going into the new year.

Stew the COO and SSS Chair, Pete Burgon kicked things off with a SSS update and overview of the accounts before we were treated to a practical session delivered by our friends at Scottish Disability Sport (SDS).

SSS has a strong partnership with SDS and this partnership has flourished with the number of events across our member institutions greatly increasing over the last few months – highlighting the appetite for disability sport in both Colleges and Universities in Scotland. Heather Lowden and Gavin Macleod, from SDS, were joined by wheelchair athlete Gemma Lumsdaine to deliver practical skills and theoretical insight into disability sport.

As well as learning more about the disability sport landscape, participants had the opportunity to test their practical skills; activities included visually impaired running,  Wheelchair Basketball, Goalball and mastering the art of Boccia. For a number of participants this was the first exposure to disability sport and raising this awareness is an integral element of the partnership between SSS and SDS.

After a hearty lunch,  we were treated to a panel discussion on Women in Sport and a keynote workshop on organisational sustainability. The panel was chaired by University of Stirling’s Cathy Gallagher who guided the conversation on a range of topics from participation in student sport to career opportunities and the role of the media in women’s sport.

Cathy was joined by Shelley Kerr, Head Coach of Scotland Womens National Football Team, Gemma Lumsdaine, Wheelchair Basketball coach and Wheelchair Rugby Player, and Laura McGhie, Sports Journalist at BBC Scotland.

With a wealth of experience on the panel we explored some of the barriers to participation but also the hurdles that women potentially face/faced in beginning their career in sport. With fantastic role models on the panel some of the topics discussed included how we celebrate achievements, encourage leadership and promote careers in sport for young women. One of the key actions to come from the discussion is to look for ways to better communicate and promote what we are achieving in the world of Women’s sport, and the importance of collaborative working to achieve this.

Following the panel discussion we were treated to a keynote workshop from Jen Curran. Jen works for Wren & Greyhound, a consultancy supporting the not-for-profit sector in working toward organisational sustainability. Jen delivered fascinating insight on a number of topics relevant to the SSS Tribe including income diversification, workload management and the importance of relationships.

To finish the day the Tribe had the opportunity to hear from Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal at UWS and recently elected Chair of BUCS. Craig’s background in sport makes him a great candidate to succeed Professor Sir Ian Diamond in leading BUCS forward and supporting the work of SSS.

Special thanks to the staff at Perth College UHI for playing great hosts and making us feel warmly welcomed. Thanks to our guest speakers, the Women in Sport Panel, SDS and all our members who attended, contributed and participated in what was a great day and a fitting way to end a hugely successful 2019. Here is to 2020…

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Friday 6th December 2019

We are delighted to announce the return of the Scottish Student Games for 2020. Read the full games preview including information on venues, entries, photos from last year and details of a brand new sport in this years #ScotStuGames2020…

We are delighted to announce the return of the Scottish Student Games for 2020. Now running for its fourth successive year, the games will see competition in five sports, across three days, in one city. Forget #TOKYO2020, the event of year is #ScotStuGames2020. Edinburgh will hosts this years games with host venues including the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University and Eden Rock – with one more to be announced in due course.

This year the games are bigger and better than ever – as we welcome Judo to the action alongside returning favourites Trampolining, Climbing, Fencing and Climbing.  Click below to find out more about each event, including sign up information or scroll on for a preview of each event – including photos from last year.

This year sees the 35th edition of the Scottish Student Trampoline Open. Running over three days, this event is the flagship event of the SSS games with last years competition attracting over 500 participants from 33 institutions. The Trampoline Open will include the return of the Home Nations Event, in which the Scottish team will be looking to retain their crown and build on their impressive 21 podium places from last year. The action will take place in University of Edinburgh Pleasance Sports Hall and will kick off from Friday 31st of January. 📸A full list of photos from last years event can be found here! 

After last years success the Fencing Beginners Open Championship will return to Edinburgh Napier University. The Open will see beginner fencers from across the whole of the UK  so – we are expecting high numbers of entries in all of our categories; Sabre, Epee and Foil. Targeted at fencers who have less than two years experience behind them, this event is the perfect opportunity for students to build their competition experience, confidence and meet new people. 📸 Check out last years photos here! 

Eden Rock will be the venue for the Scottish Student Climbing Championships. The action will begin from 11am on Saturday 1st February and will include multiple bouldering challenges over various degrees of difficulty. This year the champs are joining forces with Eden Rock and will be hosted alongside their fourth round of their Winter Series. Last time out, the Moodie siblings – Fraser (University of Glasgow) and Sophie (University of Strathclyde) both came away with silverware and will be looking to repeat their glory this year.

The Table Tennis Championships will return to at St Leonard’s Land at the University of Edinburgh for the #ScotStuGames2020. With Team Scotland Commonwealth Games athlete Colin Dalgleish (Robert Gordon University) graduating last year, the Men’s Singles event is well and truly anyone’s title this year. 2019 saw record numbers of entries into the Table Tennis Champs so we will be hoping to build on those numbers with events in; Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and a Double Championships.

The fifth and final event is the Judo Individual Championships. This is a brand new event to the Scottish Student Games which will run over two days – Saturday 1st February and Sunday 2nd February. At the moment the venue location is TBC but will be released shortly along with all the entry information.📸Check out the photos from last years championships here!

  • Read More
    Table Tennis Championships
    1st February 2020
  • Read More
    Trampoline Open
    31st January - 2nd February 2020
  • Read More
    Climbing Championships
    1st February 2020
  • Read More
    Fencing Beginners' Open
    1st - 2nd February 2020
  • Read More
    Judo Individual Championships
    1st -2nd February 2020

This is an event not to be missed. Whether you are participating, watching or volunteering make sure you get involved! Many thanks to all Governing Bodies involved with this event: Table Tennis Scotland, Climb Scotland, Scottish Fencing, Scottish Gymnastics and Judo Scotland.

To follow all the action of the #ScotStuGames2020 make sure you keep an eye out on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels where we will be bring you live updates and reaction as it happens!

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Wednesday 27th November 2019

We are excited to launch our brand new Scottish Student Sport Podcast! Episode 1 is now LIVE and available on Spotify! Find out more here.

We are excited to announce the launch of the brand new Scottish Student Sport Podcast!

In its debut series hosts Gavin Rittoo and Stew Fowlie will be joined by a variety of guests from across the Scottish Sporting world and beyond to discuss their journey and how student sport has shaped it along the way.

Aired monthly, the podcast will feature a chat with one of the sports sabbatical officers from our member institutions – getting to know them a little bit better and the exciting work they are doing this year. There will also be a ‘competitions corner’ segment which will round up all the latest results and reaction from our competitions and events across the country. Alongside this the show will round up all the latest news, updates and discuss all the hot topics in the exciting world that is Scottish Student Sport.

Episode 1

00:00 – 08:00 – Intro and Welcome with Stew & Gav

08:00 – 24:30 – Interview with Georgia Moran, Edinburgh Napier University

24:30 – 28:00 – Live musical performance from Georgia Moran

28:00 – 31:00 – Competitions update and reaction

31:00 – 50:30 – Interview with Malcolm King from the Big Sleep Out, previewing the event in December which SSS will be participating in

50:30 – 53:00 – Round up and upcoming events with Stew and Gav

How to listen:

You can find us on spotify, stitcher, spreaker and all other good podcasting sites.

Listen to “Episode 1 | Georgia Moran & The Big Sleep Out” on Spreaker.

Get in touch

If you have listened to the podcast then we want to hear from you!

Tweet us your thoughts on the podcast using the hashtag: #SSSPOD. Whether its praise, criticism , support or if you have a great idea then let us know! We will read out the best tweets on the next episode…

If you would like to appear on the podcast then drop as an email: info@scottishstudentsport.com 

If you are interested in joining our SSS Sleep Out team on Saturday 7th of December to help raise money and fight homelessness in Scotland then all the sign up information can be found here.

 

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Thursday 14th November 2019

Look out your thermals, jackets, scarves, headwear – whatever you have and join us in sleeping out. We are inviting you to join the movement and Sleep Out on Saturday 7th of December to raise funds and tackle the problem of homelessness is Scotland. Find out more here!

Scottish Student Sport have joined forces with Will Smith, Dame Helen Mirren, Georgia Moran and Chris Martin in a one-off global campaign – The World’s Big Sleep Out. On Saturday 7th of December the Scottish Student Sport team will be taking to Princess Street Gardens to sleep out for the night to raise money and support the charity Social Bite – who are doing remarkable work to help fight homelessness in Scotland.

SSS will be sleeping out along with 50,000 other people on Saturday 7th of December in a campaign which will stretch across 50 cities worldwide. We have arranged for free spaces to be available for all Scottish Student Sport clubs, members, institutions, staff, students and friends to participate in this unique event.

📽 WATCH | Georgia Moran, Will Smith, Dame Helen Mirren and Chris Martin invite YOU to sleep out.

Here’s how to register: 

  1. Follow the link to register and join the SSS Sleep Out Team
  2. Click the first option – Sign up as an individual or team – don’t worry the £15 charge will be waived after registering.
  3. Register your own information name, address, contact details etc.
  4. Submit a fundraising goal.
  5. When it comes to the ‘Create/Join a team section’. Select find and search for SSS Sleep Out. Join this team.
  6. Before you hit continue make sure you enter the discount code: SSS19 this will clear the £15 registration fee.

Important Information: 

  • Your ticket is free and you don’t have to pay the registration fee, however you still need to commit to raising as much money as you can with your fundraising to help people in a situation of homelessness in our area and throughout the world.
  • When you register using this discount code, you will be join the Scottish Student Sport Team and will be fundraising and participating together for this important cause.
  • For more information head to the World’s Big Sleep Out website.
  • Read more about the great work Social Bite are doing to help fight homelessness in Scotland.

SSS are delighted to support this amazing one-off campaign and are excited to join the movement to tackle homelessness in Scotland and throughout the world.

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Wednesday 13th November 2019

Read all about the race and results from our biggest ever SSS Cross Country Championships to date!

Camperdown Country Park, Dundee was the scene for the 2019 Scottish Student Cross Country Championships where a record 220 students – 91 female and 129 male – took to the hills and mud to compete for the national student titles.

The heavy rain the week prior ensured classic cross country conditions on the course; wet and muddy. Major obstacles on the course included a short sharp ascent near the beginning of each lap and a long, narrow ascent shortly afterwards. It soon became apparent that success would be dependant on how competitors tackled the long ascent without “going into the red”.

The day commenced with the women’s race – two laps of the circuit totalling 6.4km – where a leading group of athletes soon developed. After the first lap it was all to play and it wasn’t until the second lap where the leaders started making their charge to the front. Holly Little of Queen Margaret University strode out into a convincing lead and did well to progress this as she crossed the finish line with fantastic time of 25:27. Not far behind were Kerry MacAngus of Strathclyde University and Constance Nankivell of Edinburgh in second and third place respectively.

Encouraged by a boisterous crowd, the men’s race – three laps of the circuit totalling 9.5km –  started at blistering pace, with the short sharp ascent helping to thin out the front group after a hurried start. Jack Leitch of Edinburgh University, Kevin Wood of St Andrews University and Hamish Hickey of Stirling University were soon in a world of their own competing for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. All three men threw in tactical surges to try and gain the edge over their competitors, but the others were always very astute in responding with haste. It was only in the third and final lap that Jack Leitch of Edinburgh was able to pull away to take the win in 31:45. For the minor podium places, Kevin Wood remained just out of reach of Hamish Hickey of Stirling to take the silver medal, despite a powerful sprint finish from Hamish.


Owing to a combination of great strength in depth and some outstanding individual performances, Edinburgh University were crowned top women’s team, top men’s team and the overall winners on the day. In the women’s race Aberdeen finished 2nd and Glasgow University were the bronze medallists. In the men’s event Strathclyde University pipped Glasgow University to take the silver medals, with 66 points to Glasgow’s 68.

A huge congratulations to everyone who competed on the day. We look forward to welcoming you to the next fixture in the Scottish Student Cross Country programme, which is the Edinburgh University Braids Hill Race – a very popular fixture in the Winter League!

🏆 | Full men’s results available here!

🏆 | Full women’s results available here!

📸 | Special thanks to Dan Smith & Christopher Viney for the brilliant photographs.

📸 | Head over to the SSS Facebook for all snaps! 

 

 

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Wednesday 30th October 2019

The SSS team are excited to announce the launch of a new volunteering award, the SSS Volunteer of the Semester.

This award is to celebrate the achievements of students from across the country who play a vital part in the organisation and delivery of sport and physical activity at Scotland’s Universities and Colleges.

The Volunteer of the Semester Award will run in both Semester 1 and Semester 2. Any current student, at a member institution, who has made an outstanding contribution during the semester is eligible to be nominated.

The nominees may have been involved in a variety of volunteering roles such as exceptional administrative services, club servant, committee member, leader, official or coach.

Nominations should be submitted by a staff member or sabbatical officer via our Awards Portal here. Nominations close on Friday, 15th November so get your nominations in today!

If you have any questions then please feel free to contact Development and Competitions Assistant, Leah Davidson.

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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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