Page 31 – Scottish Student Sport

Friday 3rd February 2023

If you’re interested in learning how you can get involved in Squash, read more information here!

Key Information

Squash is a racquet sport played by two or four people in a four walled court. Players take turns hitting the ball against the front or side walls but below the “out” line. To win points a player must hit the ball in a way in which their opponent cannot return it.

Contact: ssssquashchair@gmail.com

Governing body: Scottish Squash. Main contact, Jack Brodie (Club Development Manager)

If you’re interested in trying out the fast-paced game of squash, the following institutions are some of which have a student squash club:

University of Glasgow
Robert Gordon University
University Of Aberdeen
St Andrews University
Heriot Watt University
University of Strathclyde
University of Edinburgh
University Of Stirling
University Of Dundee

Events

BUCS Squash League
Squash Championships

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Friday 3rd February 2023

If you’re interested in getting involved with Scottish Student Polo, find out everything you need to know here!

Key Information

Polo is a team sport that is played on horseback. The objective of the game is to score goals by hitting a small ball into the opposing team’s goal using long-handled mallets. The game is typically played on a large grass field, and each team consists of four players.

Contact: ssspolo@outlook.com

Governing body: Hurlingham Polo Association

If you’re interested in polo, the below institutions are some of which have student polo teams.

University of Aberdeen
University of St Andrews
University of Edinburgh
University of Stirling

Events

Polo League matches 4 times a year

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Friday 3rd February 2023

If you’re interested in getting involved in Scottish Student Netball, find out everything you need to know here!

Key Information

Netball is a sport similar to basketball, but it has certain rules and differences. It is played by two teams of seven players, with the aim being to score goals by throwing a ball into a raised net. The ball is passed between players by throwing it with one hand and players are not allowed to run with the ball. Instead, they must pass it to a teammate or take three steps before being required to pass.

Contact: ScotStuNetball@outlook.com

Governing body: Netball Scotland

Netball has the highest female participation numbers within Scottish Student Sport! Increasing year on year, there are currently 48 teams entered across 8 BUCS leagues from 15 Scottish Universities and Colleges. Many Scottish university teams also compete in local association leagues, regional ladders and national competitions. Here are some of the institutions that have a student netball team:

Abertay University
University of Aberdeen
University of St Andrews
Heriot Watt University
Robert Gordon University
Glasgow Caledonian University
University of Glasgow
Strathclyde University
Fife College
University of Edinburgh
University of Stirling
University of Dundee
Edinburgh Napier University
Queen Margret University

Events

Conference Final
Recreational Netball Festival

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Friday 3rd February 2023

If you’re interested in Scottish Student hockey, find out how you can get involved here!

Key Information

Hockey is a team sport where two teams of 11 players each play on a grass or turf field with a small, hard ball. The objective is to score goals by hitting the ball into the opposing team’s goal using a stick with a curved end. The University of St Andrews also has an Ice Hockey team which has the same objective as field hockey, yet the players are skating on ice.

Contact: ssshockeychair@gmail.com

Governing Body: Scottish Hockey

Hockey is an extremely popular sport amongst students, and these are some of the institutions that have student teams:

University of Glasgow
Robert Gordon University
Abertay University
University Of Aberdeen
St Andrews University
Heriot Watt University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Strathclyde University
University of Edinburgh
University Of Stirling
University Of Dundee
Edinburgh Napier University
Queen Margret University
Fife College
Glasgow College

Events

Conference Cup, a knock-out competition with the eventual winner decided at the SSS Conference Cup Finals

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Friday 3rd February 2023

Interested in learning more about how to get involved with Scottish Student basketball? Well look no further!

Key Information

Basketball is a sport in which two teams of five players each try to score points by throwing a ball through a 10-foot-high hoop that is mounted on a backboard at each end of the court.

Contact: scotstubasketball@gmail.com

Governing Body: Basketball Scotland

Last year Basketball had the 9th highest club membership numbers within Scottish student sport with over 1000 members participating across universities and colleges. If you’re interested in becoming a member yourself, some of these institutions have teams:

University of Glasgow
Robert Gordon University
Abertay University
University Of Aberdeen
Heriot Watt University
Glasgow Caledonian University
University of Edinburgh
University Of Stirling
University Of Dundee
Edinburgh Napier University
University of Strathclyde
Queen Margret University
Fife College
City of Glasgow College
University of St Andrews

Basketball Events

Wheelchair Basketball Festival (SS Games)
Conference Finals
College National Finals

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Friday 3rd February 2023

Interested in learning more about how to get involved with Scottish Student badminton? Well look no further!

Key Information

Badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the World and can be played by two or four players at a time. The game is played on a rectangular court divided by a net and the aim of the game is to get the shuttlecock to land on your opponent’s side of the net. The key skills required for it are fast reflexes and good hand-eye coordination.

Contact: scotstubadm@gmail.com

Governing Body: Badminton Scotland

Badminton is becoming increasingly popular among students and the following Universities and Colleges all have a student team for those interested in joining:

Abertay University
University of Aberdeen
University of St Andrews
Heriot Watt University
Robert Gordon University
Glasgow Caledonian University
University of Glasgow
University of Strathclyde
Fife College
City of Glasgow College
University of Edinburgh
University of Stirling
University of Dundee
Edinburgh Napier University
Queen Margret University

Badminton Events

Conference Finals
Badminton Championships
College National Finals

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Table Tennis before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the sport and what SSS has to offer.

Table Tennis is a sport with origins you may not expect. Despite its dominance by Asian competitors, Table Tennis was initially invented in Victorian England. It is derived from Tennis, which had become a nationally beloved sport and had been adapted into a tabletop game. While the game is also known by the name Ping Pong, it is officially known as Table Tennis.

Table Tennis can be played by either two players or two teams of four players. A game is split into three sets with the winner being the first player to win two. To win a set, a player must reach eleven points and be two or more points clear of their opponent.

A point is mainly obtained in one of three ways. Firstly, a player will win a point if they can strike the ball into the opponent’s half and have the ball bounce twice without their opponent being able to return the ball. To win the point, the player must hit their first shot on the table, the edges also count. The second is for an opponent to hit their ball into the net. If a ball clips the net but is still able to reach the opponent’s half of the table, the ball will still be in play. Thirdly, if your opponent is unable to land the ball back onto the table, they will forfeit the point. A server can also lose a point if they don’t hit the ball on their side of the court first during the service, or if the ball is handled incorrectly during the serve. In a doubles match, players must hit the ball consecutively. If a team player hits the ball twice in a row, they will lose the point on behalf of the team.

Despite inventing the game, Great Britain has never won a medal in Table Tennis at the Olympic Games. They competed most recently in the 2020 Olympic Games, where they were represented by Liam Pitchford, Paul Drinkhall and Tin-Tin Ho

Scottish Student Sport holds both a Table Tennis League and the Table Tennis Championships at the Scottish Student Games.

For more information, click this link: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/table-tennis/

If you’re interested in joining a Table Tennis club, click the following links:

Edinburgh College: https://twitter.com/ecsportsunion?lang=en

Heriot-Watt University: https://sportsunion.site.hw.ac.uk/tabletennis/

RGU: https://www.rguunion.co.uk/getinvolved/societies/tabletennis/

University of Aberdeen: https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/tabletennis/

University of Edinburgh: https://www.eusu.ed.ac.uk/organisation/shinty/

University of Glasgow: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sport/whatson/club/tabletennis/

University of St. Andrews: https://table-tennis.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of Stirling: https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/sportsunion/clubs/tabletennis/

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/7844/

UWS: https://www.facebook.com/teamUWSonline/

Sports Chair: Edmund Lau – scotstutabletennis@gmail.com

Governing Body: Table Tennis Scotland – https://tabletennisscotland.co.uk/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Shinty before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the sport and what SSS has to offer.

Shinty is a Scottish sport which could be compared to a mix of Hockey with some Footballing rules. There is no exact date for the creation of Shinty but it is believed to be over 2,000 years old. The game is mostly played in Scotland, with it also being enjoyed in some parts of England and areas of Scottish settlement.

A Shinty game consists of two teams of 12 players, whose objective is to get the ball into the opponent’s goal, much like in a game of football. Also similarly to football, a shinty game consists of two 45-minute periods with opponents swapping halves during the interval. Shinty also features corners, free hits and penalties are awarded similarly to football.

Shinty is often paralleled with Hockey, due to the use of a caman (stick) to move the ball. However, Shinty can be more rigorous than Hockey, with players allowed to go shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Shinty also allows players to control the ball with their chest and both ends of the caman. Fouls are often awarded for misuse of the caman. Players are not allowed to hit the opponent’s caman with their own. This is called hacking and will result in a foul. A foul will cause either a free hit or a penalty if the infraction takes place inside the penalty area. Fouls can also be called for hitting an opponent with a caman or controlling the ball with one foot. If foul play is judged to have occurred, the resulting player can receive a yellow or red card. If a player receives two yellow cards or one red card, they are ejected from the game and cannot be replaced with a teammate. The winner is the team that scores the most goals across the game.

The highest senior level of shinty is the Mowi Premier Division for men and the WCA Mowi National division, which were last won by Kingussie and Badenoch respectively. The University of Aberdeen is the sole senior representative in the Mowi league system. The men’s team currently play in the Mowi North Division 2, the third tier of Shinty. They finished the previous season in an impressive third place, only beaten out by Beauly and Kilmallie.

Scottish Student Sport offers a variety of shinty competitions.

The Scottish Student Shinty League sees university teams play against each other continuously throughout the academic year.

The October Shinty Festival helps gives a platform for newer players to experience the sport.

The Littlejohn Vase (Men’s) and McHue and Porter Cup (Women’s) are knock-out tournaments that are fiercely contested by universities.

The Camogie-Shinty Hurling International sees Scottish Shinty players take on Camogie/Hurling competitors from Ireland in November.

If you are interested in joining a shinty club/society, click the links below:

RGU: https://www.rguunion.co.uk/getinvolved/societies/shinty/

University of Aberdeen: https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/shinty/

University of Dundee: https://sportsunion.dundee.ac.uk/clubs/shinty/

University of Edinburgh: https://www.eusu.ed.ac.uk/organisation/shinty/

University of Glasgow: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sport/whatson/club/shinty/

University of St. Andrews: https://shinty.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of Stirling: https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/sportsunion/clubs/shinty/

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/7148/

Sports Chair: Lee Thompson – sss.shinty@gmail.com

Governing Body: Camanachd Association – https://shinty.com/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Sailing before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the sport and what SSS has to offer.

For the majority of modern history, Sailing has been used as a mode of transportation across bodies of water. From the first sailboats in Ancient Egypt to the early 20th Century, Sailing was essential to cross the world’s oceans to reach faraway countries/continents. However, with modern technological advancements, Sailing has been increasingly used for recreational and sporting purposes.

Sailing is both simple and complex. While there are many intricacies to racing rules, the simplest explanation is that Sailing is a race between either two (known as a match race) or multiple (known as a fleet race) sailboats. The first person/team to cover the required distance is the winner. There are many different types of sailboats used throughout the sports history. Currently, the eligible boat types are Dinghy, Skiff, Multihull, Sailboard, Kiteboard and Monotype.

Great Britain is the most successful nation at the Olympics, with 31 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze medals in sailing. In 2020, Great Britain won three gold medals. Giles Scott won the Men’s Finn, Stuart Bithell and Dylan Fletcher won the Men’s 49er and Eilidh McIntyre and Hannah Mills won the Women’s 470. McIntyre’s father, Michael McIntyre who won sailing gold at the 1988 Seoul Games, was a graduate of the University of Glasgow.

Scottish Student Sport selects individuals to join their Sailing team every year, where they compete in a host of events including the Laser Performance Collegiate Cup. There is also the SSS Yachting Championship, Team Racing Championship, Ceilidh Cup and BUCS MR Finals. For more information, click here: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/sailing/

If you’re interested in joining a Sailing club, click the following links:

UHI: https://www.hisa.uhi.ac.uk/groups/uhi-wind-and-wave-club

University of Aberdeen: https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/ausailing/

University of Dundee: https://sportsunion.dundee.ac.uk/clubs/sailing/

University of Edinburgh: https://www.eusu.ed.ac.uk/organisation/sailing/

University of Glasgow: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sport/whatson/club/sailing/

University of St. Andrews: https://sailing.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/7120/

Sports Chair: Hazel Brimelow – scottishstudentsailing@outlook.com

Governing Body: RYA Scotland – https://www.rya.org.uk/gbni/scotland

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Rugby before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the sport and what SSS has to offer.

One of Scotland’s most beloved sports, Rugby may seem complicated at first. The origins of Rugby are somewhat dubious, with one famous tale stating that William Webb Ellis invented the sport when he picked up a football during a school game in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire. While this isn’t confirmed, the unusual tale acts as a catalyst for the somewhat unusual nature of the sport.

Rugby has two popular variations, Rugby League and Rugby Union. As the specific rules of the game are extensive, a basic outline and comparison of the two variations will be outlined here. Players can score points in different ways in rugby matches. These are:

Try – A try is awarded when a team can get the ball into the end of the opposing team’s half (known as the try line). In Rugby Union, this will award the team five points whereas a try will be awarded four points in Rugby League. Scoring a try will also earn the team a conversion, which is a free kick of the ball from the point of the final play pass. A designated kicker will then have to kick the ball between the goalposts to earn the extra two points for a successful conversion.

Drop Ball – A drop ball is when a ball is kicked between the goal posts during an active passage of play. This will gain three points in Rugby Union but only one in Rugby League.

Penalty – A penalty is awarded when a player is fouled by the opposition. A team may opt for a penalty kick, which must be placed between the goalposts. This will net you three points in Rugby Union and two in Rugby League.

There are many other rule differences between Rugby Union and Rugby League but they share the same common objective. Teams will try to gain points by using a mix of the mentioned methods. The winner is the team with the most points at the end of the game. Games last for 80 minutes in two forty-minute halves. Players are only allowed to throw the ball backwards, with forward play only allowed if the ball is kicked forward. Players are allowed to tackle each other. However, tackles deemed to be dangerous can result in penalties and the award of cards. A yellow card will cause the player to be removed from the pitch for ten minutes and a red will remove them permanently. Teams are not allowed to substitute removed players.

Scotland has been a very successful national Rugby Union team, having won the prestigious Home Nations and Five Nations tournaments 11 times each. Currently, they rank 7th in the world. Notable college/university alumni currently in the national team are Simon Berghan (Edinburgh Napier), James Bhatti (Edinburgh College) and George Horn (University of Edinburgh).

Scottish Student Sport collates a Rugby team to compete together every year, with two or three games available to the team. There are also BUCS Rugby leagues where universities compete against each other. To find out more, click here: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/rugby/

If you are interested in joining a Rugby club, click these links:

Abertay University: https://www.abertay.ac.uk/life/abertay-sport/university-sports-union/rugby/

Edinburgh College: https://twitter.com/ecsportsunion?lang=en

Edinburgh Napier (Men’s): https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/sports/napierrugbyunion/

Edinburgh Napier (Women’s): https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/sports/napierrugbyunion/

Glasgow Caledonian University (Men’s): https://www.gcustudents.co.uk/groups/rugby-mens–2

Glasgow Caledonian University (Women’s): https://www.gcustudents.co.uk/groups/rugby-women-s–2

Heriot-Watt University: https://sportsunion.site.hw.ac.uk/rugby/

Queen Margaret University (Men’s): https://www.qmusu.org.uk/groups/rugby-men-s-99ff

Queen Margaret University (Women’s): https://www.qmusu.org.uk/groups/rugby-women-s-c780

RGU: https://www.rguunion.co.uk/getinvolved/societies/rugby/

University of Aberdeen (Men’s): https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/6276/