Tuesday 21st April 2020

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2019/20 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 2019/20 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 2019/20

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotalNational Squad Members
Abertay University61
6132
Edinburgh College2002
Edinburgh Napier University453128
Fife College1001
Glasgow Caledonian University945181
Heriot Watt University1275249
Queen Margaret University31042
Robert Gordon University12121135
Scotland's Rural College0213
University of Aberdeen231614536
University of Dundee262721748
University of Edinburgh57645117220
University of Glasgow43455013817
University of St Andrews47364612912
University of Stirling291614594
University of Strathclyde2529247815
UHI11022
University of the West of Scotland343101
West College Scotland0101
Z-Guest Entries13212054

 

Total Events: 43 (67% of planned activity)

Last Updated: April 2020

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Wednesday 1st April 2020

The SSS Competitions Committee have passed through a new proposal, allowing students and institutions to compete against each other in eight new sports during isolation. Read more about The SSS Isolympics here!

The Scottish Student Sport Competitions Committee met earlier this week to discuss an emergency plan to keep student sport competition running throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. After a lengthy discussion, the group concluded to extend the current official 35 SSS Sports to include some new additions.

The SSS Comps Committee passed through the motion to include 8 new sports, including e-sports, where Scottish Universities and Colleges will be able to compete against each other to earn BUCS points and SSS medals for their institutions during this period of self-isolation. This new fleet of sports and fixtures will be called The SSS Isolympics.

Our SSS Competitions Committee Chair, Chris Sellar, believes the new initiative will thoroughly enhance the student experience. He said:

“The decision made by the Comps Committee is a very positive one. It is not only in keeping with the SSS values – innovative, responsive and sustainable to name a few – but it is also putting the students’ interests first and foremost. The Isolympics will bring together athletes across the country to pit their skills against the best within their disciplines. This has the making of one of the greatest sporting competitions of our generation.”

Here is all you need to know…

  • Each sports sabbatical officer or equivalent sports coordinator will be in charge of selecting one competitor for each sport. No individual can compete in more than one sport.
  • The SSS Isolympics are mixed-sex, anyone can play against anyone.
  • The fixtures and leagues will be managed by the fixtures administrators or equivalent position at each Scottish institution, liaising with one and other and their clubs as to when the fixtures of each sport can be played.
  • All fixtures will take place over ZOOM call and must be played between the hours of 9am and 8pm. As no participants will be travelling, BUCS Regulation 9.3.5 Start Times stating- No league or knockout match may start before 13:00 on a weekday – is hereby void.

For a full list of rules and regulations for the isolation games please click here.

The following 8 sports have been added into the SSS official list of sports.

E-sports | FIFA 20

Institutions will compete against one and other in a one-off  ‘Kick-Off’ match. Teams will be decided based on the geographical location of your institution. For example a fixture between Robert Gordon University v Heriot-Watt would be Aberdeen FC v Heart of Midlothian FC. All team lines to be sent to our competitions and development assistant Leah Davidson.

Press-Up Challenge 

Individuals have 5 (five) minutes to do as many full press-ups as possible. All videos to be sent to our SSS judge Megan Richardson, who will be the count whether a press-up is deemed complete or not.

Hall Putting 

Individuals have 5 (five) minutes to record their longest putt in their own home. ‘Golf clubs’ can be substituted for brooms or mops. The golf hole must be a tin can with the following dimensions: 73 mm x 110 mm.

Toilet Roll Keepy-Ups

Keep the toilet roll off the ground for as many touches as possible. Three attempts per person, take the best score.

Synchronised Brunching 

Individuals must make two identical brunch meals. SSS brunch connoisseurs Gavin Rittoo and Neil Rankin will rank the dishes based purely on presentation.

Paper Toss

Individuals have 5 (five) minutes to consecutively throw as many pieces of crumpled up paper as possible, into a waste paper bin. If you miss you go back to zero. The bin and the individual must maintain at least a two-metre social distance at all times.

Sofa Jump 

Individuals need have to jump/ ‘fosbury flop’ over the back of the sofa and onto the cushions. The highest jump wins. Each individual is allowed three failed attempts before their final height is recorded.

Speed Ironing

Timed competition – how quickly can you iron your sports team kit?

Fixtures will commence from April 1st 2020 with no final deadline date set as of yet. Best of luck!

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Monday 23rd March 2020

Check out our full report, reaction and results from the BUCS Scottish Conference Finals Day in St. Andrews. Including photos, interviews and highlights!

St. Andrews played host once again to the largest Scottish Student Sport event of the year – The BUCS Scottish Conference Finals. Over 500 students and staff headed to Fife for what proved to be a fantastic day of competitive sport, with 17 finals taking place across 10 different sports.

Check out our highlights, photos and our snapshot of a day that will live long in the memory of those involved.

Full results and photo albums for each sport can be found at the bottom of this page!

Netball

We started the day with the Netball Plate Final in what was a closely fought encounter in the Saints Sport Arena. After the first three quarters only one goal separated St. Andrews 4s and Edinburgh 6s. But the final quarter proved decisive with Saints running away with it scoring 5 goals in quick succession to clinch the first piece of silverware on the day. Special thanks to Natalie Bright and Zanele Vimbela of the Strathclyde Sirens who watched both Netball matches and presented the awards at the medals ceremony.The Women’s Netball Cup Final saw the battle of east versus west as the University of Glasgow 1s took on the University of Edinburgh 5s. The first quarter was tightly contested with the lead changing hands several times, Glasgow ultimately leading 14-10 going into the second quarter. An inspired Glasgow reshuffle saw the west side take control of the game in the second half.  Both sides shot really well and kept fighting throughout the match, but in the end Glasgow ran away with it winning by 56 to 29 thanks to a strong second-half performance.

Tennis

Anyone for Tennis? The Tennis Women’s Cup Final took place between the University of Edinburgh 1sts and the University of Glasgow 2nds in another battle of the east versus west. Starting with four singles matches, the University of Glasgow took a comfortable 3-1 lead with the crucial doubles games still to play. Glasgow sealed the victory winning both doubles matches, taking the score to 5-1 and the cup back to the west coast.

In the Men’s Cup Final the University of Dundee made light work of their opponents beating the defending champions the University of Stirling 4th team. The Tayside team showed great composure, execution and nerves of steel at crucial points throughout the matches, winning comfortably in the end 4-0.

Table Tennis 

2020 was the year Table Tennis returned to Conference Finals day. Battling for the crown this year was Edinburgh University 3rds against St. Andrews 2nd team. The match was a fantastic advert for student table tennis with both sides showing real quality, but it was Edinburgh who got the upper hand and ran out comfortable winners in the end, taking the cup back to the capital.

Football

To football now, where three more finals took place – the first of which saw an all Heriot-Watt encounter with the 3rd team playing the 5th team.

This was a stodgy affair, with the two teams from the Watt battling the elements (heavy hail and rain) almost as much as their opponents. The first half threw up few chances with both defences playing well and neither front-line showing that lethal touch required to swing the game either way. The real moment of the second half came when the heavens opened and hailstones plummeted to earth with fury. The yellow ball was brought out but this didn’t help the strikers much – the tie finishing goalless after 90 minutes. After 120 minutes, still, nothing could separate the teams so it came down to who could hold their nerve in the dreaded penalty shootout. In a tense finish, it was the 3s keeper who was the hero on the day – saving the 12th spot-kick in sudden-death and giving the 3s the victory with the score finishing 6-5 on penalties.

In the Men’s Cup Final, St. Andrews 1st team had the benefit of home advantage as they welcomed Strathclyde University 1st team. The game drew a large crowd of spectators with plenty to play for.  In a game of fine margins in the end, home advantage proved pivotal to Saints as they ran out 2-0 winners with Flynn Gray putting in a man of the match performance. 🎥 You can hear from the winning coach in an interview here!

The Women’s Cup final saw a resurgent RGU return to put last year’s cup final defeat behind them. In between them and the cup was a strong University of Dundee outfit.

The game was end-to-end which saw Dundee take an early lead before being pegged back to 1-1 going into half-time. With 20 minutes to go Dundee again took the lead and looked as though they were heading to victory only for the cup to be stolen from them in the final 10 minutes. A mistake from the Dundee goalkeeper gave RGU a life-line as they pulled it back to 2-2 with five minutes to play. Then came an eventful finale; RGU striker Derrian Gollan (Dez) was brought down after rounding the keeper whilst one-on-one. The referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Dez stepped up to take the decisive penalty. Her effort was brilliantly saved the keeper, diving to her left but Dez was quickest to react slamming home the rebound to send the RGU team delirious and seal the victory. A deserved 3-2 win in the end for a side driven by the disappointment of the previous year.🎥 Check out the winning goal here!Hockey

Staying outside, there was plenty of action on the hockey pitch, with three matches taking place back-to-back throughout the afternoon. The first of which was the ICG Women’s Plate Final which saw an all Edinburgh University derby take place – the 6th team looking to take the crown off the current holder the Edinburgh University 7th team. In the end, the 6s were too strong for their opposition running in 5 unanswered goals, consisting mainly of a mixture of rebounds and short corner strikes. Iona Grant earned her player of the match award scoring a hat-trick as her side ran out comfortable 5-0 winners.

The ICG Women’s Cup final featured the ever-predictable, unpredictable Scottish weather with all four seasons occurring in the one game. The game had rain, sunshine and was temporarily halted by hailstones before Abertay were crowned the winners. The Abertay attackers were in fine form with both Katie and Lucy Murray scoring hat-tricks and proving too strong for Glasgow University 3rd team. The west side did get a consolation goal back in the latter stages of the game giving their supporters something to cheer.

The Men’s Hockey Cup Final was the third and final hockey match of the day – University of Edinburgh 3rd v University of Dundee 1st. Unfazed by the hail, rain, sun and all the other elements from earlier in the day, both men’s sides turned up and deliver a thoroughly entertaining spectacle. Dundee opened the scoring early on through Danny Kidd, but their lead didn’t last long as Edinburgh quickly equalised through Henry Morse-David. Dundee went into half-time in the lead with a goal courtesy of Aaron Martin. The second half was a much more cagey affair with both teams trying to break each other down. Edinburgh drew level with just 10 minutes left on the clock – this triggered an almost instant response from the Tayside team as Danny Kidd scored to put Dundee in front again before Cyril Varghese added the cherry on the top to put the game beyond all doubt.

Unfortunately, the Lacrosse fell victim to the heavy hail downpour and just after half time the pitch was deemed unplayable – meaning the tie between University of Glasgow 2nd and Strathclyde University 1st was postponed.

Badminton

Whilst the heavens opened outside, crowds flocked and the decibel levels rose inside, and in particular – the sports hall!  Spectators emotions were put through the wringer in the Badminton Cup Final between Glasgow Caledonian University and Heriot-Watt University. There was fantastic talent on show throughout the day and after a number of singles, doubles and mixed doubles match up still nothing could separate the sides at 12-12. In the end the result was determined on a countback with Glasgow Caledonian winning more sets across the total match meaning they were crowned Conference Cup Champions. Credit to both teams who played their part in one of the most exciting and closest matches of the day.

Volleyball 

Following on from the Badminton, up next was Volleyball. The Women’s Cup Final saw the University of St. Andrews 2nd play host to the University of Edinburgh 2nd team. The match was highly competitive and exciting throughout with the visitors taking the first set. Despite being cheered on by noisy home support, Saints couldn’t make their home advantage count and came up short in both the second and third sets, meaning Edinburgh took their conference crown back to the capital.

The final game of the day in the sports hall was the Men’s Volleyball Cup Final featuring the University of St. Andrews and Abertay University. This time the Saints made full-effect of their home advantage and gave their supporters plenty to cheer. From the first whistle, both teams fought for every point putting on an incredible display of student volleyball, but the Saints held their nerve at the vital points and came through in straight sets against a determined Abertay side who pushed them all the way.

Rugby

In the rugby, unfortunately, the Women’s Cup Final was won by default after Glasgow Caledonian forfeited the night before their match with Strathclyde. Credit to St. Andrews Women’s Rugby team who offered to play a friendly match against Strathclyde instead, meaning their journey wasn’t wasted and Strathclyde were still able to enjoy the day and celebrate in style.

The Men’s Cup Final saw University of Dundee 1st take on the University of Edinburgh 4th team. Dundee were clearly up for this one and were relentless from the outset. They scored 43 unanswered points against an Edinburgh side who battled hard and gave their all for 80 minutes against a team ranked two tiers above them in the BUCS leagues.

Basketball 

The day finished where it started – back in the arena for the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Cup Finals. Up first was the Women’s Cup Final which saw the University of Dundee take on the University of West of Scotland (UWS). Dundee took the lead in the first quarter and extended their lead in the second to 20-13, before a tactical time out from UWS allowed them to regroup and come out stronger – levelling the tie at 24-24. At the end of the third quarter only one point separated the sides at 40-39 in the favour of Dundee. It was anyones game in the final quarter but it was Dundee who raised their game, adding a couple of vital scores and with thanks to some good game-management they eventually ran out winners by 7 points.

The final game of the day was a cracker, played between UWS and Napier University in front of a full house in the Saints Sport arena! This was a David vs Goliath match-up; UWS returning as reigning cup champions and high on confidence after finishing the 2019/20 season with a Tier 2 title and promotion to tier one. On the other hand, Napier currently sit bottom of Tier 3, with two games in hand. However, this gap in league standings was not reflected on the court.

Only one point separated the sides after the first quarter. In the second, UWS began to pull away much to the credit of their guard Jonny Bunyan who hit back-to-back 3 pointers as the team from the west began to open up a lead. Credit to Napier however who did well to pull the scores back level as clocked ticked past the half-way stage. The quality on show was fantastic with both sides making big shots under the basketball and from beyond the arc – the 3-point shooting of Jonny Bunyon again keeping UWS ahead. With the game coming to an end Napier hit a big 3 pointer to cut the deficit to only 3 points with 39 seconds left. Napier had another couple of opportunities for 3 pointers but couldn’t get another to land and UWS were able to use their experience – slowing the clock down to retain their conference cup crown, much to the delight of their travelling supporters.

Thank You!

Overall the day was a huge success and a great advert for student sport. Huge amount of credit is due to those who helped make the day run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Shout-out to Saints Sport for all their help and support on the lead up to the day and during the day itself – we are delighted to be able to use the fantastic facilities St. Andrews have to offer and we love coming back here each year.

To all our officials, volunteers, umpires and referees without whom none of this would have been possible. Further thanks are extended to the fantastic media team of Oscar James, Calum McGee, Richard Lundy, Hollie Christie and Molly Johnston who all provided fantastic coverage of the event throughout. Full photo albums from the day can be found at the bottom of this page!

Special thanks to the team from Edinburgh College who provided many of our athletes with a free sports massage throughout the day, and to COAST Ambulance and Medical team who were on hand to deal with the few bumps and bruises suffered throughout the day.

Shout-out to the men on the mics – Chris Purdie and DJ Ellingtone – who created a real buzz of energy and excitement through the outdoor medal presentations and in the arena!

Finally to you the athletes! It was our pleasure to welcome you to St. Andrews, thanks for giving it your all playing your part in making memories that will last a lifetime. See you next year…

🏆Full results available here.

📸Photos📸

🏐Netball Plate Final 

🏐Netball Cup Final 

🏀Basketball Women’s Cup Final 

🏀Basketball Men’s Cup Final 

🏑Hockey ICG Women’s Plate Final 

🏑Hockey ICG Women’s Cup Final 

🏑Hockey Men’s Cup Final

🏐Volleyball Men’s Cup Final 

🏐Volleyball Women’s Cup Final 

⚽Football Men’s Plate Final 

⚽Football Men’s Cup Final

⚽Football Women’s Cup Final 

🏉Rugby Women’s Cup Final 

🏉Rugby Men’s Cup Final 

🏓Table Tennis Cup Final 

🏸Badminton Cup Final 

🎾Tennis Men’s/Women’s Cup Final

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Friday 7th February 2020

With over 600 students competing across FIVE different sports, it is safe to say this years Scottish Student Games was bigger and better than ever. Read the full recap including highlights and photos here!

With over 600 students competing across FIVE different sports, it is safe to say this years Scottish Student Games was bigger and better than ever. Students from across the length and breath of Britain travelled to the City of Edinburgh for what was a bumper weekend of activity in the capital. Here is a snapshot of our highlights from the weekend.

Scottish Student Trampoline Open – Sport and Exercise, Pleasance 

Scottish Student Games Reaches New Heights 📸Calum McGee

In fitting style the Scottish Student Games started and finished with the headline act. Flips, falls, a whole lot of bouncing and bananas – thank you Fyffes for sponsoring the event – is an accurate description of the Scottish Student Trampoline Open. This year saw over 550 students from 30 institutions competing in various disciplines. Friday allowed for the athletes to get settled, test the trampolines and have an early (ish) night prior to a big two days of competition.

There was excellent talent on show throughout the weekend with Scottish Students securing gold medals in 12 out of the 19 categories. Notable performances included that of Murray Findlay (University of St Andrews), who retained his Pro-Elite Mens title from last year. Ciara Donlevy (Robert Gordon University) also managed to keep a hold of her crown coming out on top in the Pro-Elite Women’s category for the second year in a row. A full list of results can be found here! 

Huge thanks to Edinburgh University Trampoline Club for hosting the competition alongside Edinburgh University Sport & Exercise staff at the Pleasance. Special mentions go to St Andrews and Dundee University Trampoline Clubs for sharing their equipment for the competition and of course, Wayne the Paramedic from COAST First Aid and Medical who kept everyone safe in what was an action packed few days of competition.

📸 You can find the trampolining pictures from the weekend here!

Scottish Student Climbing Championships – Eden Rock

To Eden Rock next, where the Scottish Student Climbing Championships joined forces with the Eden Rock Winter Series for what proved to be a thoroughly competitive day of competition.

Right foot first at the climbing championships 📸 Molly Johnston

In the Men’s event, Stephen Keir (University of Dundee) took top spot, holding off Angus Davidson of University of Aberdeen and last years winner Fraser Moodie (University of Strathclyde). Fraser’s sister Sophie Moodie (University of Glasgow) was also in action in the Women’s event finishing with a bronze medal behind, Pippa Watkin (University of Strathclyde) and Ajda Remskar (University of Edinburgh) who took silver and gold respectively. There was an incredibly high standard of climbing across the day with seven of the competitors in the student competitions going on to make the Eden Rock Winter Series Finals – a fine example of the calibre of performance on show.

Huge thanks to Eden Rock for hosting and also to Mountaineering Scotland & Climb Scotland for their support at the event. Congratulations to everyone who took part and special mention to Stuart Younie of Mountaineering Scotland for popping down on the day.

📸 Check out the photos from the event here.

Scottish Student Fencing Beginners Open – ENgage Fitness, Edinburgh Napier University  

After last years success the Fencing Beginners Open Championship returned to Edinburgh Napier University. The Open saw beginner fencers competing in three different categories; Sabre, Epee and Foil. Aimed at fencers who have less than two years experience behind them, this event provides the perfect opportunity for students to build their competition experience, confidence and meet new people. It was great to see a mixture of beginners from last years competition and first-time-fencers from across the country competing in two full days of competition.

Action from Day 2 of the Fencing Beginners Championships 📸 Calum McGee

Saturday saw competition in the Men’s Foil, Women’s Epee and Women’s Sabre. Heriot-Watt University were in and amongst the medals in the Men’s Foil with Ben Huysamer getting the gold and Bruce McCaig picked up a bronze medal – sandwiched in between them on the podium was Fraser Kenny (Glasgow Caledonian University) who took the silver. In the Women’s Epee it was Strathclyde’s turn to paint the podium maroon with Carolyn Schwab, Lisa Petry and Zsoka Rati taking gold, silver and bronze respectively (Erin Gandia – University of Dundee – shared the bronze medal).  In the Women’s Sabre, Carolyn, Erin and Zsoka were in the medals again – taking a silver and shared bronze respectively. But they came up second best and were beaten by Ella Willsmore of the University of Aberdeen, who upgraded her 2019 bronze medal to a gold one!

Men’s Epee and Men’s Sabre were on the menu on Sunday. Having won a silver medal in the same competition last year – Dominic Lee (University of Dundee) had a point to prove in the Men’s Sabre. Dominic showed hard work pays off and was rewarded with a gold medal this year beating Dimitrios Kotrotsis (University of Strathclyde) in the final. Juan Chaves (Heriot-Watt University) and Keir Hardy (University of Edinburgh) took bronze. In the Epee, Keir Hardy took another bronze with Charles Burn (University of Glasgow). Alex Strauss-Jones (University of Edinburgh) updated his 2019 bronze to silver, but was beaten by Tomas Iken from the University of Aberdeen in the final.

Overall, it was a fantastic couple of days of competition, played in an encouraging and competitive atmosphere – giving the athletes some great preparation ahead of the Scottish Student Individual Championships next month. 

📸Check out the photos from day 1 and day 2.

Scottish Student Table Tennis Championships – St Leonard’s Land

St Leonard’s welcomed 37 competitors from 9 different institutions on Saturday for a jam-packed day of Scottish Student Table Tennis. In the Women’s singles Xinxin Huo (University of Glasgow) took gold ahead of University of Edinburgh students Mae Ng and Hailey Soo who finished second and third respectively.

Eye on the ball 📸 Calum McGee

In the Men’s event, with last years champion and Commonwealth Games Athlete Colin Dalgleish recently graduating the playing field was wide open. But it was last years runner up Johannes Lautes (University of Edinburgh) who stepped up to take the gold beating his doubles partner John Hannah (University of Dundee) in the final. The match of day took place in the Double Championship Final where Xinxin Huo and Ren Bingchong (University of Glasgow) pushed the top two seeds Johannes and John to the limits but had to ultimately settle for silver.

Huge thanks to to Richard Yule and the Table Tennis Scotland team for coming to watch some of the action on Saturday afternoon, Tianyi Zhang for taking photos throughout the day, Christina Liu for inputting the scores for matches and last but not least the Edinburgh University Table Tennis Club committee.

📸 Photos from the Table Tennis Championships are online here!

Judo Individual Championships – Craigmount High School

Our wonderful team of Judo officials and volunteers

Craigmount High School played host to the Judo Championships which was organised and overseen by Scottish Student Chair Paul Grady, Judo Scotland Officials and our wonderful volunteers from the Judo community. The Judo Championships was a debut entry into the Scottish Student Games and saw students attending from thirteen institutions – including two new entries; New College Lanarkshire and Edinburgh College.

During warm up, the Judo mats were packed of students of varying ability and experience preparing for the competition before weighing in at the desk. As the Judo community is such a close one,  there is a great amount of support available to the students and volunteers on the day which made for a friendly and warm environment.

Once the individual and team competition was over, it was time for the medals to be presented. Thank you to Judo Scotland’s Head of Business Delivery, Tony Penfold and Edinburgh Bushido Judo Club Head Coach and 5th Dan, Andy Malcolm for presenting the medals to the winning students.

📸 Click here for the full result and photos!

Finally a huge thanks to all our volunteers, judges, officials, venue staff and all the competitors who turned out to make this the biggest student games on record. Final shout out goes to our fabulous sports chairs and their committees for pulling together a sensational show of sport – Joshua Watters (Trampoline), Yubo Rasmussen (Table Tennis),  Paul Grady (Judo), Antony Shek (Fencing) and Morna Baillie & Emily Eadie (Climbing) – you all did a wonderful job.

A fantastic start to the year and a great benchmark for what is to come in the world of student sport in 2020 and beyond.

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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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Thursday 28th November 2019

The British Active Student Survey (BASS) 2019-20 is now live. Complete the survey before the 20th of December for your chance to win £50 ASOS vouchers!

What is the British Active Student Survey?

This is a joint initiative between BUCS, AoC Sport and UK Active – with for the first time the work being carried out in Further Education and Higher Education simultaneously. It aims to gain understanding into the levels of physical activity and the relationship between wider health and wellbeing, academic attainment, and employability skills.

The survey builds on the findings of Scottish Universities in 2017, British Universities in 2018 and British Colleges in 2019 – which all highlighted that active students have higher mental wellbeing, social inclusion, plus greater positive perceptions of academic attainment and employability compared to inactive students.

The survey is open from now until Friday 20th of December – take part now! 

Why should I take part?

By filling out the survey you will be contributing to important research and analysis to help gauge a greater understanding of the relationship between active students mental wellbeing, social inclusion,  academic attainment and employability compared to inactive students.

Any university that achieves a 5% completion rate in relation to their FTE of students will be provided with their own data set from the students that completed the survey from their institution.

Students who complete the survey will enter a prize draw to win up to three £50 ASOS vouchers.

For more information and to complete the survey follow the link!

 

 

 

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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

2018/19 was another belter of a year across the Scottish Student Sport membership – recap on all our highlights and successes from the past 12 months.

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