Monday 6th June 2022

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

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

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

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

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

 

SSS Medal Table 2021/22

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

 

Total Events: 73 (88% of planned activity)

Last Updated: June 2022

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Wednesday 9th February 2022

After two years of waiting we were able to host the Scottish Student games once again on the first weekend of February.

What a weekend that was! After two years of waiting we were able to host the Scottish Student games once again on the first weekend of February.  Although the format was slightly different, we in the SSS office felt it brilliantly showcased the magic that is Student Sport.

We were absolutely delighted to see so many smiling faces involved in all four sports and the atmosphere really was electric! The event was made possible by the support from our amazing volunteers, judges, officials, partner institutions and of course, our participants, who showed off some incredible talent and sportsmanship despite dealing with all of the challenges a post-COVID event brings.

Without further ado let’s break down some of the action from across the weekend!

We saw fierce competition from across the field that culminated in two thrilling Men’s and Women’s Individual Finals. We had a total of forty five competitors representing seven institutions across Scotland all competing to be crowned Scottish Student Table Tennis Champions.

Mae Ng (University of Edinburgh) went unbeaten throughout the day in both Women’s Singles and Doubles. She first won the doubles alongside fellow Edinburgh teammate, Faye Leggett, against a tough Glasgow duo of Ailsa Khalid and Siqi Li before playing the very same doubles teammate an hour later in a tense singles final, winning  3-2.

Similarly, on the Men’s side, Chongzhi Wang (University of Edinburgh) also kept a spotless record, remaining unbeaten throughout the day. He paired up with John Hannah ( University of Dundee) to win the Men’s Doubles, before playing his former teammate in a tight Singles Semi-Final. Great play was seen from both players, with Chongzhi Wang taking the gold in  a 3-1 win

Overall, the University of Edinburgh dominated the medals table with 38% of all medals available, with the University of Glasgow coming in second with 29% of the share. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d love to extend a huge thanks to the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh University Sports Union for hosting us, as well as a massive thank you to the volunteers who helped make the event possible. Without your time and dedication the Table Tennis event couldn’t have operated as successfully as it did!

You can check out the photos in our Facebook album HERE

The Trampoline Championships was a roaring success, with 109 nine students representing 9 institutions from across Scotland. 74 Women and 35 Men took to trampolines across a variety of categories including; DMT, Individual and Syncro – it was certainly an event to be remembered!

A highlight from the day was Murray Findlay (University of St Andrews), who competed in the Pro-Elite Men category, completing an incredible routine with a difficulty of 12.5! Another athlete, Sophie Thomas (University of Glasgow), also had a standout performance. Sophie competed in the Elite Women’s category and caught the attention of competitors and judges by scoring 32.0 for her second routine, with one of the highest execution scores of the day.

Check out the full results HERE!

Everyone at SSS would like to extend a huge thank you to the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Sports Union, the judges, and volunteers who made this event possible! We’d also love to extend a thanks to the participants for creating such a lively atmosphere and offering up some excellent competition.

View the pictures from the event HERE.

Swimmers from Stirling, Strathclyde, St Andrews and Dundee competed for podium placings in the fantastic venue of University of Strathclyde, under the expert eyes of Scottish Swimming officials.

All 46 swimmers swam brilliantly, enjoying the return of the competition after 2 years. One of the top highlights from the day came from Albertus Andika Bangun (University of Stirling & Indonesian National Team swimmer) who won the 50m and 100m butterfly events by large margins -a whopping 2.5 and 4.3 seconds, respectively!

Another highlight from Saturday was University of Stirling’s swimmer Zoe MacDonald who achieved 4 individual gold medals! Zoe swam to victory in the 100m fly, 100m IM, 50m fly & 100m breast. What a performance!

The competition for the Trophy awarded to the Best Overall Institution was incredibly close between the University of Stirling and the University of St Andrews – just 4 points in it! Congratulations to the University of Stirling who took the crown with 185. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the University of Strathclyde, Strathclyde Swimming and the Scottish Swimming Officials, as well as the volunteers and participants who made the event a reality!

You can check out the photos from the event in our Facebook album HERE –

A sport severely impacted by COVID-19 made a brilliant comeback at the University of Strathclyde on 5th February, with 74 competitors and 6 teams attending the competition. The Training Day on Sunday 6th February was also a massive hit with  25 attendees learning from the significant experience of Ramsay Thomson (6th Dan).

Students from Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrew’s, Stirling, Napier, Queen Margaret, Heriot-Watt, Glasgow Caledonian and Dundee universities competed alongside  Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow Clyde College students in the Championships. Congratulations to the University of Edinburgh who took gold in both the Men’s and Women’s Team competitions. Full results can be found HERE.

We’d like to extend a massive thank you to the University of Strathclyde, the officials and volunteers who made the event possible, without your contribution we wouldn’t have been able to achieve anywhere near the level of success that we did! We’d also love to thank the competitors for their excellent sportsmanship and respect for each other and the officials.

You can check out the photos in our Facebook album HERE –

 

Please also take the time to tell us how you found the event by filling out our Feedback Survey! It only takes a few minutes and helps the events improve year on year.

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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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Wednesday 9th September 2020

Check out the highlights from our first-ever virtual Chair Development Day and meet your new and returning SSS Sports Chairs!

Last Sunday (6th September 2020) Scottish Student Sport hosted the first-ever virtual Chair Development Day! A total of 35 volunteers across 28 of our sports engaged in a zoom-based training day designed to equip them with all the necessary tools to tackle the upcoming 2020/21 season.

Throughout the day, the eager volunteers were treated to a series of different workshops delivered by the SSS staff touching upon a little bit of everything and anything. Including; introductions to the staff team, planning the return to play for student sport, how to encourage growth and participation levels within their sport, student mental health, all things social media and communications,  and engaging discussion surrounding where student sport fits in the wider student landscape.

In another first, the workshop was opened up to include not only sports chairs themselves but also other members of each sports development committees. This enabled vice-chairs and other officers to learn, engage and contribute to the conversation around planning for the next 12 months and beyond!

Despite not being able to meet in person, in true SSS fashion, everyone on the call grasped the opportunity to get to know each other, collaborate with one another and share best practice. We can’t wait to see some of your fantastic ideas in action. We hope all our volunteers found the day beneficial and are feel better prepared to grasp their unique opportunity and tackle season 2020/21!

Meet your sports chairs and find out what they made of the day!  🎥👇

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Tuesday 30th June 2020

The SSS AGM took place virtually on Thursday 11th June 2020. Did you miss it? Catch up on everything you need to know here!

The 2020 SSS AGM took place on Thursday 11th June via Zoom webinar in what was the first (but perhaps not the last…?) of its kind for the SSS Tribe. Over 50 members from 16 institutions were able to tune in and whilst something was lost in the two-way face-to-face interaction, we also gained in some respects and the Chair is to be congratulated for bringing it all to a close within 62 minutes. Please click here for the official AGM minutes.

The meeting allowed for a bittersweet look back at the unusual year, which until mid-March had been going like a train, with a bumper year in terms of club activity at an institutional level, and event entries nationally. This appetite will surely stand us all in good stead as the subsequent lockdown begins to lift.

The AGM endorsed a sober but pragmatic approach to the 20-21 Academic Year in terms of SSS’ planned activities and finances, and approved a one-year plan that can get the organisation safely to next summer whilst still being well placed to deliver across every part of the business.

Some notable features of the revised plan include:

  • Carrying as little risk as possible, with modest aims around event entries
  • Shelving of all non-essential costs
  • Budgeting for a significant deficit on the year, equal to the current level of our non-fixed reserves
  • Offering up to a 25% discount on membership fees for those who need it

This will mean less room for manoeuvre and the cessation of some aspects, including our Special Projects Fund, but gives us a solid footing for what is a most unpredictable year. It also allows for the full staff team to remain in place throughout, so as to be best placed to provide a strong service to the members.

For more information about our plans for 20-21, please don’t hesitate to contact stew@scottishstudentsport.com

With the finances dealt with the AGM was then able to confirm the line-up of volunteer officers and appointments that will help to shape SSS’ work over the next twelve months. Across all of our committees we are blessed to have the most capable and enthused individuals in place and each of them comes into office with the thanks and optimistic expectations of the wider membership. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the new SSS Executive, Development, and Competitions Committees for season 2020/21.

The departing volunteers – and particularly the sabbatical students leaving office – exit with a huge vote of thanks from all at SSS. We all appreciate that the year has ended in strange circumstances for you all, but we know that you have all the traits and tools you need to make a really positive transition, and we hope you’ll retain a long and positive engagement with the Tribe.

 

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Monday 29th June 2020

The CHANGES: Train the Trainer programme is designed to up-skill staff in the network to deliver awareness workshops to clubs in an attempt to tackle the challenge of initiation and hazing activity within student sport. Read more about the partnership, and the work done so far.

As of August 2019, the SSS and CHANGES partnership, led by Professor Moira Lafferty (University of Chester) and her colleague Dr. Caroline Wakefield (Liverpool Hope University), continue to work towards a joint aim of making student sport safe and inclusive for all. Together we are continuing to work towards the commitments set out in the partnership agreement alongside the CHANGES trainers, Development Committee, and Equality Steering Group.

So far the partnership has hosted two Train the Trainer programmes which has led to the upskilling of 17 student sports staff across five regions of Scotland. In February this year, SSS invited the trainers to a CHANGES networking and planning workshop to discuss the journey so far and future steps. Amongst other things, the trainers made it clear a third train the trainer programme was required to reach the target of training all student sports clubs in Scotland.

Train the Trainer Course

The third Train the Trainer will take place on Friday 23rd October in Edinburgh. The deadline for signing up is Monday 19th October at 12:00. Professor Lafferty’s research highlights the advantages of having external staff deliver the CHANGES workshops to student clubs. The overall aim is to be in a position where we have developed a large enough workforce so that institutions are able to support one another to train up all our 614 clubs in the network.

Please note that we are mindful of the challenges Covid-19 may bring with delivering this course. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep up to date with public health guidelines so that we can take all the necessary steps to ensure the safety of those involved.

📲Sign up here for the next CHANGES: Train the Trainer course.

Michael Webster from the University of Edinburgh, participated in the training last year and from that, co-delivered a workshop to over thirty sports club members.

He said: “The Train the Trainer course was engaging, informative and eye-opening. The effects of hazing and negative group events can be catastrophic, so to have the ability to deliver workshops with the aim of positively influencing the culture of student sports clubs, feels incredibly impactful, and fulfilling on a personal level.”

“The tools and techniques from the course have allowed me to frame conversations around looking to the future, creating new traditions, and utilising team-building techniques to create inclusive, positive, and safe welcome activities.”

The current list of available trainers can found below and will be updated after the October Training.

Tayside, Fife, and Grampian Regional Trainers;

Eamonn Laird, University of Dundee – e.y.laird@dundee.ac.uk

Ellen Morrissey, Robert Gordon University – e.morrissey@rgu.ac.uk

Claire Scott, University of St. Andrews – cls25@st-andrews.ac.uk

South East Regional Trainers;

Fraser Reynolds, Edinburgh Napier University – f.reynolds@napier.ac.uk

Craig Bodel, University of Stirling – craig.bodel@stir.ac.uk

Amy Beattie, University of Stirling – amy.beattie1@stir.ac.uk

Michael Webster, University of Edinburgh – michael.webster@ed.ac.uk 

Bethany Lawrie, University of Edinburgh – Bethany.Lawrie@ed.ac.uk

Catherine Wilson, Heriot-Watt University – catherine.wilson@hw.ac.uk

West Regional Trainers;

Iain Christie, the University of the West of Scotland – iain.christie@uws.ac.uk

Seona McKenzie, University of Strathclyde – seona.mckenzie@strath.ac.uk

Jamie Taylor, University of Glasgow – Jamie.Taylor@glasgow.ac.uk

Scottish Student Sport Staff;

Gavin Rittoo, Scottish Student Sport – gavin@scottishstudentsport.com

Nicola Scott, Scottish Student Sport – nicola@scottishstudentsport.com

Megan Richardson, Scottish Student Sport – megan@scottishstudentsport.com

Neil Rankin, Scottish Student Sport – neil@scottishstudentsport.com

 

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Wednesday 29th April 2020

The numbers are in and SSS are excited to announce a 12% growth in club membership numbers in the 2019/20 academic year. Check out the sport-specific breakdown and highlights here!

Scottish Student Sport are delighted to report that across Scotland, the collective total club membership numbers has reached just under 40,000.  Here are some of the facts behind the numbers…

  • Across 571 student sports clubs there are 39,947 individuals reported to be taking part in club activity. This healthy annual growth of 12% is representative of the hard work put in by the staff, volunteers and students at each institution working hard to ensure good quality, fun and friendly sport and physical activity are available on campus.
  • We are delighted to see a huge increase in the reported involvement of students with a disability with that number reaching a total of 1,330 students.
  • The sex balance reported is 45% male, 48% female and 6% unknown.
  • There is slight movement in the top 10 sports per membership numbers with Netball moving up and Tennis moving down. Each sport in the top 10, with the exception of mountaineering, have all increased in size since the 2018/19 reporting.

Please see below a snapshot of the data capture. If you have any questions regarding the data then please email Development & Competitions Assistant Leah Davidson.

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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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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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