Tuesday 9th July 2024

SSS AGM 2024 is confirmed for Wednesday 7th August. Check out all the info you need, including accessing supporting papers.

Details for the 2024 Scottish Student Sport Annual General Meeting have been confirmed with all members, volunteers and partners invited to attend.

The AGM will take place virtually via Zoom on Wednesday 7th August with an 11:00 kick off.

Supporting papers can be accessed on the event page below, and will be issued via email to all voting members 7 days prior to the AGM. Zoom calls will also be circulated to all attendees at this time.

As a member organisation, our AGM is an important event in our annual fixture list. Alongside reporting back on our strategic and financial goals, we have the election of a number of positions and committees who help us operate.

We hope to see a healthy turnout across our members, volunteers and partners as we prepare for the 2024/25 season. In the meantime, any AGM enquiries can be sent to SSS Business Manager Julia Stenhouse via email or telephone: +44 (0) 7532311467.

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Friday 14th June 2024

Read about the eight worthy winners of our 2024 SSS Awards, handed out at a ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Stirling Court Hotel.

Aonghus Sellar collecting the Dr Rob Macpherson Quaich from Dave Baker of Decathlon UK on stage

The annual Scottish Student Sports Awards took place on Wednesday 12th June at Stirling Court Hotel, where eight deserving recipients were rewarded for their commitment over the season.

The awards up for grabs on Wednesday night celebrated everyone from our top performing athletes and clubs, through to our hard working volunteers and the coaches delivering success on the student stage.

Thank you to everyone who helped the night run so smoothly. Particular thanks must go to Decathlon who supplied a range of exciting prizes for our winners. The successful recipients of the two man tent were the talk of the night!

Here’Fs who walked away with the awards on Wednesday.

Coach of the Year: Dean Robertson (University of Stirling)

Under Dean’s guidance, the UoS Golf Club have achieved remarkable national and international success in the past 12 months. His golfers have delivered consistent podium finishes across all SSS Golf competitions (men’s, women’s & team), and delivered team league success in both the Conference Cup and BUCS Championship.

This athletes also achieved top three finishes in the R&A Student Tour, while Dean has been appointed as the GB&I Captain for the Walker Cup later this year – setting a new benchmark for student golf at the highest level in the amateur game.

Also shortlisted:

  • Mat Trodden (University of Edinburgh, swimming)
  • Stuart Milne (University of St. Andrews, football)

Club of the Year: University of St. Andrews Tennis Club

With a record 400+ members, Saints Tennis combined performance and participation by achieving the highest number of BUCS points in the institution while simultaneously running a very successful recreational programme.

Tennis Scotland’s 2x University of the Year delivered over 16 hours of weekly sessions, including adding new pickleball and other racket sports to their offering. Outside of the univeristy, they launched three community outreach and workforce development project, including their Tennis for Girls initiatives which introduces tennis to new female junior players, and their parents.

Also shortlisted:

  • University of Dundee Dance Club
  • University of Aberdeen Futsal Club
  • University of Stirling Men’s Rugby Club

Team of the Year: University of Edinburgh Women’s Orienteering

It’s been a year of domination for UoE’s female orienteerers. They secured the top six teams at the Scottish Student Orienteering Championships, and lifted their 10th consecutive BUCS title. Such was their strength, they won 56 out of the 60 BUCS points available in women’s orienteering this year! Five individuals were selected to represent GB at the FISU World Orienteering Championships.

Outside of student sport, their athletes enjoyed multiple podium finishes at the British Orienteering Championships, and six athletes have been selected to compete in international competition.

Also shortlisted:

  • University of Strathclyde Women’s Water Polo 1’s
  • University of St. Andrews Women’s Football

Male Athlete of the Year: Charlie Aldridge (University of Edinburgh)

Reigning Male Athlete of the Year Charlie made it a second successive title on Wednesday and it’s no surprise seeing his list of accolades this season.

The now professional XC rider competed in four rounds of the 2023 UCI World Cup and picked up European bronze at U23 level.

His crowning moment, however, came when he collected a first rainbow jersey by winning the 2023 UCI World Championships, competing at home in the Tweed Valley.

Also shortlisted:

  • Ben Sandilands (SRUC, athletics)
  • Greg Lobban (Heriot-Watt University, squash)

Female Athlete of the Year: Megan Keith (University of Edinburgh)

2023/24 has been a real breakthrough year for Megan. At age grade level, she won two European Golds, with British and European records falling along the way. In the XC season, here 1 min 23 winning margin was more than double the Championship’s best ever.

After getting her first taste of senior track competition at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, this week Megan stormed to Bronze at the European Championships in Rome over the 10k. Later this summer she’ll make her Olympics debut.

Also shortlisted:

  • Katie Shanahan (University of Stirling, swimming)
  • Faye Rogers (University of Aberdeen, swimming)

Volunteer of the Year: Tom Stewart (University of St. Andrews)

There aren’t many jobs Tom doesn’t do in the footballing world at Saints Sport. This year he took on the roles of United Colleges Amateur Football Manager, Receational Coach, Sunday Leagues Coordinator, 2nd Team Player/Coach, and Club Vice-President.

He led twice weekly rec training sessions, and created a club buddy scheme for new members. Supporting athletes at every level of the sport has been his passion, which saw Tom develop a pathway for lover team players to progress across multiple squads.

His popular Sunday league and 6-a-side matches boosted participation, and also supported multiple charity initiatives with over £4.5k raised. His week-in-week-out dedication is unrivaled and his passion for the club and sport is clear for all to see.

Also shortlisted:

  • Gary Caldwell (University of Stirling, football)
  • Alyth Allen (University of Glasgow)

Honorary President’s Medal: Ross Simpson

Ross had dedicated over 15 years of his career to developing student sport at every level.

From his time as Sports Union President at Heriot-Watt University, Ross was a SUS/SSS staff member for six years before moving down the stairs of 48 Pleasance to University of Edinburgh Sport, where over a nine year tenure was instrumental in the great expansion of EUSU.

Ross has taken on many additional responsibilities including being an SSS Executive Committee Member, sitting on various BUCS Committees, helping lead the Volunteer Zambia programme, and having key FISU involvements at the World University Games in 2019 and 2024.

Dr Rob Macpherson Award: Aonghus Sellar (SS Football)

The Dr. Rob Macpherson Award is a special one for SSS – honouring a remarkable man, while celebrating the incredible work that volunteers do to keep our sports and events running throughout the year.

Our recipient for this year has been instrumental in reshaping the image and success of SS Football’s digital presence. Aonghus has put tireless work into reporting on student activities from across Scotland, and doing in-depth research into the history of our competitions to reach a new generation.

Despite being in a new full-time role, Aonghus has no hesitation about using holidays to support, and this season he attended all Conference Finals, plus our Men’s and Women’s Football Finals – even though they took place on separate days!

Aonghus has been a consistent and enthusiastic communicator with the clubs and as he steps up to the Chair role for 2024/25, we can’t wait to see what he has planned to help grow the sport over the coming year.

Also shortlisted:

  • Kirsten Mullen (SS Athletics)
  • Sandy Bond (SS Cycling)
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Friday 17th May 2024

Have your say on the future direction of Scottish Student Sport as we seek views ahead of developing an updated strategy.

Further to recent correspondence across the membership the Executive Council of SSS has elected to undertake a refresh of the organisation’s strategy, so as to best position SSS to meet current challenges and future opportunities.

SSS is facing some funding challenges over the next 12-18 months, driven mainly by an indication from Scottish Funding Council (SFC) that its current grant funding to SSS (@ £100k p/a) will be discontinued after 31st July 2025.

In addition, SSS is facing inevitable rises to its core costs at a time when asking members and individual participants to pay more is expected to be difficult.

Alongside the pressure on resources there is, however, also an opportunity to think differently about SSS and to explore alternative approaches to the future. Perhaps the single biggest opportunity in this regard will come from reviewing our relationship to sportscotland. SSS will be invited in to discuss future funding arrangements around Oct 2024 ahead of sportscotland’s new financial year in April 2025.

It is therefore a very interesting moment to be thinking afresh about our core priorities and asking the right questions about where our focus and responsibilities should rest from 2025 onwards.

With this in mind, all members and partners are asked to contribute to a short strategic review exercise this summer.

Phase one of this is to complete a catch-all survey aimed at gathering a range of views.

All those with an interest are invited to complete the survey which can be found here.

Those completing the survey are asked to:

  • Confer with colleagues if this seems appropriate (although multiple responses per institution are welcome)
  • Refer to existing SSS literature as included in tandem with the survey (see below)
  • Familiarise themselves where possible with SSS’ current funding, structures and output

SSS Strategy 2021+      Joining The Team     Work With Us 

 

The survey will stay open until midnight on Monday 17th June. To see what’s included in the survey before filling it out, click here.

Thereafter, the SSS Executive Committee will oversee further consultation with members and partners which will include:

  • A session to explore interim results and gather view at the SSS Conference on 13th June
  • Consideration of the full survey results at Exec Council meeting on 21st June
  • Dedicated meetings with key groups including College leads, sabbatical students and Directors/ Heads of Sport during July and August
  • A series of partner meetings to be concluded by end August

This will allow for a revised strategy to be issued and tested with members during September and give SSS a clear direction to carry in to sportscotland review meetings in the autumn.

Looking ahead to summer of 2025 some change seems inevitable and so even if we are not yet clear what we transitioning towards it is very likely that some organisational changes will come in time.

Nevertheless, in 2024-25 SSS will likely aim to stay true to our current direction and ambition, funding for which our partners have already committed, and to carefully time any structural change so as to deliver for our members, honour partner commitments and where possible, protect our staff.

If at any stage you wish to discuss the future of SSS, please reach out to COO Stew Fowlie or to Jonny Pearson via chair@scottishstudentsport.com

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Friday 19th April 2024

Details have been released for the highly-anticipated Scottish Student Sport Conference 2024, powered by Technogym.

The 2024 Scottish Student Sport Conference, powered by Technogym, will take place on 12th-13th June at Stirling Court Hotel.

Always a highlight of the SSS calendar, the conference brings together our community to network, share practice and celebrate the success of student sport. For the first time, we’re inviting SGBs and decision makers from across Scottish sport on Wednesday 12th to put students in the spotlight, and promote closer collaboration.

Wednesday night will see our ever-popular SSS Awards Night with all the information about categories and nominations to come soon!

Thursday’s agenda will feature voices from across the SSS network, including the Sabbatical Officer Group who will be sharing early findings from their cost of living student survey.

Late sign up is still available! Please email jo@scottishstudentsport.com to secure your place.

Pricing

SSS Members can take advantage of a reduced rate of £70 for a single day ticket, £70 for our awards evening, or for the biggest saving, our multi-day packages: two days for £135 or two days plus awards for £200.

Non-Members can attend a single day for £85, with awards available for an additional £85. Multi-day options allow for a two day conference package of £160, or add the awards evening for a total cost of £245.

Accommodation

The deadline has passed to book accommodation on site, but we recommend you check the local area for last minute options.

Agenda

We’re delighted to reveal an outline of events for the two days so you can begin planning what to attend! Here’s how the days will look.

 

View the Digital Programme here

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Wednesday 17th April 2024

Join us in celebrating the recent success of our SS Volleyball Men’s National Squad at the Tartan Tournament Challenge held in early April!

As we approach one of the biggest events in the Scottish Volleyball calendar with the Cup Finals Weekend on the horizon, we wanted to highlight the glowing success of our SS Volleyball Men’s National Squad at the recent Tartan Touch Tournament hosted at Kelvin Hall on 6th-7th April.

With the inaugural event as part of the 2024 calendar, our men’s squad took the opportunity to attend and compete across the weekend. The men’s squad came up against fierce competition in Scotland U20 Men Blue, Scotland U20 Men Burgundy and NUVOC. With some brilliantly contested matches, it was our very own SSS team that were able to come out on top with the following results:

Pool stage vs NUVOC – 4-0

Pool stage vs Scotland U20 Blue – 3-1

Pool stage vs Scotland U20 Burgundy – 4-0

Final vs NUVOC – 3-1

Many thanks to our friends at Scottish Volleyball for the invite to the weekend and well played to all teams that competed, with their write-up of the event available HERE. We look to use the momentum from this event to propel us into the Scottish Volleyball Finals Weekend, with both the men’s and women’s SSS teams in action with the below details:

Friday 19th April @ 12:00 – SSS Women’s Exhibition Match (SSS vs Scotland Select)

Friday 19th April @ 14:00 – SSS Men’s Exhibition Match (SSS vs Scotland Select)

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Tuesday 9th April 2024

Get the lowdown as we prepare for two huge football finals this week! Heriot Watt play Stirling in the mens, and St. Andrews face Edinburgh in the womens.

One of the biggest weeks in the Scottish Student Sport calendar is here as the nation’s top footballers prepare for our Football Finals.

In the Men’s competition, Heriot Watt University and the University of Stirling face off for a third consecutive year. aiming to lift the historic Queen’s Park Shield in its 103rd year.

We have another repeat of the 2023 final in the Women’s competition where the University of Edinburgh will be hoping to stop the University of St. Andrews making it three wins in a row.

Get the lowdown ahead of both finals below.

Queen’s Park Shield Final: Heriot Watt University vs University of Stirling

  • Wednesday 10th April
  • 14:00 kick off
  • Oriam outdoor pitches, Heriot Watt campus

Both universities will be looking for bragging rights come Wednesday with their two previous finals being split one apiece.

Heriot Watt won the first of those match-ups 2-1 in 2022 while Stirling go into the final as defending champions following their tight 1-0 win last year.

The hosts have enjoyed a fairly smooth ride to the final as they claimed a 3-1 win away to Aberdeen in the quarter final before coming out on top in a thriller at St. Andrews. 5-3 was the score that day.

On the other side of the draw, Stirling cruised past Edinburgh 6-2 but were made to work for a 2-1 win at home to Strathclyde.

#SheCanSheWill Cup Final: University of St. Andrews vs University of Edinburgh

  • Thursday 11th April
  • 15:30 kick off
  • University of St. Andrews pitches

Edinburgh are facing the mighty task this week of playing two huge games in as many days. On Wednesday they take on Nottingham Trent in their first BUCS Premier North play-off. On Thursday, all the attention shifts to Fife as they travel to take on a formidable St. Andrews team.

St. Andrews walked away the victors in the last two finals against Edinburgh and after their performances this season will back themselves to secure the hat trick. The road here proved to be easy going with a 18 goals scored in their quarter and semi final appearances versus Edinburgh 2’s and the University of Glasgow respectively.

Edinburgh have been in fine form themselves – their BUCS playoff evidence of that. The challenge will be to regroup and recover in time to stake a claim for the #SheCanSheWill Cup on Thursday.

How to follow

We’ll have a live stream of the Queens Park Shield Final over on the SSS YouTube channel – coverage starting just before kick off.

Hit up the SSS Instagram and SSF Instagram for updates throughout both games, including as live highlights and score updates.

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Thursday 4th April 2024

The 99th Scottish Student Golf Championship event took place at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth. Here’s a summary of the competition.

Moray Golf Club hosted the 99th Scottish Student Golf Championship and the Golf Team Championship from the 24th to the 29th of March 2024. Despite some challenging weather conditions, players turned up in good spirits and excellent golf was on show throughout the week.

The first 3 days of the event took place under a stroke play format, meaning players are scored individually and compete against the whole field. There were 75 participants in the men’s competition. The first day took place on the new course, and saw UHI’s Taylor Kerr score the best round with an impressive 67.

The second day provided more bitter, turbulent conditions on the new course in Lossiemouth, but thankfully players were able to remain dry throughout. After the second round had finished, a cut took place meaning only the 38 best-scoring players would make it to day three where play would switch to the old course.

Due to adverse weather conditions, only one round was played on the final day instead of the planned two. Despite Kerr scoring his worst round on the final day (73), his performances in the first two days were just enough to see him be crowned winner. Kerr finished the competition on 3 under par, narrowly beating out Ben Brookes and Jerry Fang of Stirling University who both finished on -2.

There was also a team element involved in stroke play, Universities/Colleges were able to submit a team of three or four players, with the three best scores counting for each round. This resulted in a victory for the University of Stirling. Thanks to the team of Will Coxon, Ross Laird, Ben Brookes, and Alexander Farmer.

14 competitors entered the women’s stroke play competition, representing a wide range of institutions. Lorna McClymont, from the University of Stirling, entered the competition with high expectations and she proved herself on the very first day. Scoring 69 on the old course, which was the best of any player.

McClymont continued her strong play on day 2 when the players switched to the new course. Her score of 68 was only matched by the University of St. Andrew’s Lucy Jamieson. This gave McClymont a three-shot lead on the chasing pack entering the final day.

Although she was unable to repeat her score of 69 from round 1, McClymont still scored a solid 72 back on the old course. Meaning she was an exceptional -12 overall for the competition and the winner of women’s stroke play.

Regarding the team element for women’s stroke play, the groups were slightly different. Teams were made up of two or three members from their institutions and the two best scores from each round were taken. The University of St Andrews came out on top thanks to quality golf from Lucy Jamieson, Megan Ashley, and Eilidh Monk.

The second half of the competition took place under match play rules, meaning players play directly against an opponent, competing to win individual holes. In the men’s side of this event, teams were made up of eight players and one substitute. Five teams entered: Stirling 1s, 2s, and 3s, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Stirling. A strong three days of golf from Stirling 1s resulted in silverware.

Women’s match play was a head-to-head format where the players compete individually. The final of the match play was an all-Stirling University affair. Lorna McClymont continued her form from earlier in the week. This resulted in her facing Ellie Docherty, a native of Moray Golf Club, in the final. Docherty showed outstanding technique in the final and took the victory on her home turf.

Thank you to all the staff and volunteers at Moray Golf Club, who were incredible hosts as always.

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Thursday 4th April 2024

West College Scotland’s Active Health Coordinator Savannah Antoine brings students together for three days of activity and inclusion.

A group of staff and students at West College Scotland celebrating International Mother Language Day

The power of sport to connect was on full display at West College Scotland when over 200 students came together to celebrate International Mother Language Day with three days of activity, camaraderie and fun.

International Mother Language Day – which took place on February 21st – is a globally-observed day created to highlight the importance of linguistic diversity in fostering mutual understanding and respect. For West College Scotland, this offered the chance to connect ESOL (English as a Second Language) and sports students across a variety of inclusive activities, led by their Active Campus Coordinator and Wellbeing team.

Over the three day programme, students participated in sports from table tennis to basketball. A buddy system operated between ESOL and sports students to create connections across the participants and create an enriching cultural experience for all involved.

The day was the brainchild of West Scotland College’s Active Campus Coordinator Savannah Antonie. In her short time in the role she has already transformed how sport and activity is accessed by the entire student population.

An image showing Savannah Antoine

Savannah is part of the Active Campus Network, supported by Scottish Student Sport, sportscotland and Colleges Network: an initiative aimed at creating active, healthy environments across the nation’s college campuses.

The energy and excitement across those participating was clear. Natalia Skoromna, a Ukrainian student, commented:

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect but it has been so much better than I thought – I’ve loved it! It has been a really good morning and has really helped my mental health, I already feel much more relaxed. The lecturers have been wonderful – me and my friends would love to be able to do this every week.”

The influence that Savannah has had on campus was shared with her colleagues. Sports Lecturer Alex Beattie highlighted:

“The difference in sport provision since Savannah has started is amazing. Sports halls, which were previously dead space during lunchtimes or break times, are now filled. It’s all students from all sections of the college who are coming and playing. It feels like a college where you’re really playing sport. You see the engagement of the students, it’s been amazing and has made a massive difference.”

International Mother Language Day is just part of a series of initiatives being run across the College to help encourage students to get active on campus. We can’t wait to see sport continue to flourish at West College Scotland!

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Friday 29th March 2024

Scottish Student Sport welcome Ruairidh Campbell as our new Communications Coordinator!

Ruairidh Campbell - new SSS Communications Coordinator

It may be the business end of the SSS competitive season, but we’ve been hot on recruitment and are thrilled to unveil Ruairidh Campbell as our new Communications Coordinator!

We caught up with Ruairidh in his first week as the rugby referee kicks off his time at 48 Pleasance.

What are you most excited about in joining the SSS team?

100% it has to be getting the chance to tell the stories of everyone that helps contribute to Scottish Student Sport. I think everyone involved, whether participating, volunteering or just following, knows of the people and characters without whom sport just wouldn’t be the same.

It’s also going to be lots fun being back on the ground at SSS events. These were always a highlight of the year in my student days so it will be great to capture all the energy and excitement on the day. Lucky for me the SS Athletics Outdoor Championships will be one of my first events.

Take us back to your student sports days. How were you involved?

I spent five fantastic years at the University of Glasgow with most of my time focused on the Athletics Club. When I first joined in 2016, we still had Laura Muir (then fresh from the Rio Olympics) as a member so it was pretty surreal arriving at a flat party to see her there! Over my time with the club I competed at every opportunity on the track and spent a few years on the club committee; ultimately leading to me joining the Scottish Student Athletics Development Group as Vice Chair.

What was your best student sport memory/experience?

My athletics career certainly peaked when I represented Glasgow as Gus (the tiger) in the BUCS Nationals mascot race. By far it was the hardest race of my life (the head especially was a nightmare to keep on) but we had a lot of fun and raised some money for charity too.

Are you still active in sport?Ruairidh Campbell refereeing a rugby match

I still try to compete in athletics on the road and track but these days I’m mostly found on the rugby pitch as a match official. Week to week I referee in the FOSROC Super Series and assistant referee the professional URC and EPCR competitions. I also ref 7s internationally which has led to me travelling to some pretty cool places.

One match I’m yet to tick off though is the BUCS Scottish Conference Final so I may have to change that next year!

What’s your ideal holiday destination?

Italy is definitely a favourite. The food, the scenery, the food again – how could you not love the country? The next holiday plan involves taking a campervan around the Dolomites which I’m very excited for. Saying that, it’s also very hard to beat the Outer Hebrides on one of those rare days the weather is on your side.

Pineapple on pizza: yes or no?

At risk of being turned back at the border on my next visit to Italy I better say no!

To chat about all things SSS media, Ruairidh can be reached at ruairidh@scottishstudentsport.com

Rugby photo ©: Bryan Robertson

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Friday 22nd March 2024

RGU hosted the 2024 Scottish Student Sport Badminton Championships. Two days full of fast-paced action provided great entertainment for spectators. Here’s a summary of the weekends events!

The 2024 Scottish Student Sport Badminton Championships took place on the 15th/16th of March at RGU SPORT and featured 188 players across 5 different events. The weekend contained incredible moments of determination and skill, which culminated in a series of gripping finals on Saturday evening. Here’s how it went!

Friday morning began with men’s singles action, including a 46-minute match in the round of 128 between Aqeel Khaldun of St Andrews and University of Aberdeen’s Connor Mcrobbie, with the latter winning the third set to advance to the next round.

After a huge number of entertaining matches, the men’s singles final took place on Saturday evening, where Strathclyde University’s #1 Angus Meldrum faced #2 Ciar Pringle from the University of Stirling. A back-and-forth match took place where momentum swung both ways. Ultimately, Pringle’s power allowed him to erase a 1-0 set deficit in a captivating match and take home the gold medal, winning the final two sets 21-18, and 22-20.

Women’s singles proved to be equally entertaining. #3/4 Deepthi Ramesh from the University of Edinburgh proved to be strong from the start, making her way to the final without having a single game enter the third set. Including a win over #1 Toni Woods from the University of the West of Scotland in the semi-final 21-13, 21-18.

The other side of the bracket provided more intense matchups, including a semi-final between the University of Stirling’s #2 Xinrui Tan and Strathclyde’s #3/4 Sophie Ford. Tan advanced to set up a Stirling vs Edinburgh final.

Ramesh’s speed and technique proved too much for Tan, as she won the women’s singles final 21-14, 21-8.

Mixed doubles contained plenty more spectacular badminton and close matches for spectators in Aberdeen. Such as back-to-back 3-set matches for the University of Strathclyde’s #5/8 Finlay Sherrif and Sophie Ford. Including a 1 hour 13-minute game against the University of Edinburgh’s Godfrey Antomarlin and Harriet Dawson in the round of 16 which saw Strathclyde leave victorious.

The University of the West of Scotland’s Jack Macgregor and Toni Woods began the weekend #1 and immediately proved worthy of their ranking, winning their first game 21-5, 21-2. They continued their dominance on their route to the final through powerful and precise shots.

The other finalists, University of Edinburgh’s #2 Zachary Wong and Wen Jun, impressed on the other side of the bracket. Including a toughly contested victory against the University of Stirling’s #3/4 Ciar Pringle and Xinrui Tan 21-16, 21-16 in the semi-final.

The final produced a thrilling game of badminton, Wong and Jun won a close first set 21-18. Macgregor and Dow showed great resilience, fighting back in the second set to win 21-14.

Both teams were visibly exhausted going into the third set but unwilling to give up their chances to win a gold medal. Wong and Jun edged the last set 21-19, bringing home the victory for the University of Edinburgh.

Women’s doubles kicked off with a bang. An opening-round 3-set match featured the University of Strathclyde’s Caroline Deighan and Erin Sinclair against the University of Edinburgh’s Stella Doherty and Shermaine Leung. The Glasgow-based university took a narrow win in the final set 24-22.

Representing the University of Edinburgh, #1 Wen Jun and Jane Yi showed great court intelligence and skill as they advanced to the semi-finals to face the University of the West of Scotland’s #5/8 Toni Woods and Maria Leith. A close match between two strong pairings resulted in a 21-18, 21-17 victory for the University of Edinburgh.

The other semi-final was an all-Edinburgh University affair, #3/4 Anett Karsai and Eilidh Mccallister faced #5/8 Sophie Barrie and Sophia Schubert. Either team could have advanced but clutch shots from Karsai and Mccallister saw them win both sets 22-20.

The first set of the women’s doubles final proved to be tense and hugely entertaining for everyone watching on at RGU. Both teams were impressive throughout, eventually Jun and Yi won 28-26 meaning they took control of the match entering the second set. A fierce second set with several long rallies resulted in a 21-15 win for the #1 ranked duo.

Finally, entering men’s doubles, Kenneth Cheung and Adam Pringle were the favourites, ranked number 1.  After three strong performances, they advanced to the semi-final to set up a Glasgow derby, when they took on the University of Glasgow’s #5/8 Alastair Campbell and Alex Chudic. Supporters were plentiful and passionate for both sides. The Strathclyde pairing grabbed the victory, 21-11, 21-7.

The other semi-final featured another Strathclyde duo, #5/8 Angus Meldrum and Finlay Sheriff matched up against #2 Torben Trapp and Zachary Wong from the University of Edinburgh. The duo from the University of Edinburgh advanced after two intense, competitive sets, winning 21-18, 21-15.

Unfortunately, the University of Edinburgh pairing was forced to retire in the final, as Wong was in serious pain due to a cramp in his calf and was unable to participate to the best of his abilities. This meant Cheung and Pringle were crowned winners and took gold medals back to the University of Strathclyde.

The University of Edinburgh won the Scottish Student Sport Badminton Championships 2024 thanks to their victories in the mixed doubles, women’s doubles, and women’s singles. Wen Jun won the MVP award for the weekend, her impressive physicality and technique were vital in Edinburgh’s victories in mixed doubles and women’s doubles. She won 11 games and was undefeated across the two days.

A massive thanks to RGU SPORT and RGU Badminton for helping us host an amazing event, and to all the volunteers who made it run so well.

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