The annual BUCS Scottish Conference Finals, held in St Andrews, was another great success. Despite the cold and coastal wind, this didn’t stop a jam-packed day with over 500 students participating, 9 sports, 21 fixtures, and many supporters cheering from the sidelines or on the bleachers. 

Hockey: 

The day kicked off at the hockey pitch, where Edinburgh 6s and Stirling 2s battled it out to win the ICG Women’s Trophy. It was a well-contested and close-call game that ended in a draw at the final whistle. The winner was decided through penalty strokes; Stirling edging Edinburgh 4-1, securing their trophy and title. 

The ICG Hockey Women’s Cup Final began shortly after, with Edinburgh 4s and St Andrews 2s. Another impressive athletic display, however saw Edinburgh fell short 3-1 against St Andrews. 

The men’s hockey fixtures were played in the afternoon; a nail-biting performance between St Andrews 3s v Aberdeen 2s, concluding in a penalty stroke shoot off. But yet again, the home side, St Andrews, raised the Hockey Men’s Trophy. 

Another St Andrews side returned to the hockey pitch alongside Strathclyde to declare the Hockey Men’s Cup title. Strathclyde 1s break St Andrews’ streak with a 2-0 win. 

Netball:

It was a westside derby with the University of Glasgow 5s facing Glasgow Caledonian 1s in the EY Netball Women’s Trophy but the girls in blue came up on top winning 50-32. Rachael Maclean of Glasgow Caledonian was awarded MVP. 

Strathclyde 2s and St Andrews 2s followed in a high scoring game, yet “Team Tech” pulled it out of the bag, leading 67 to 43 at full time. Strathclyde’s midcourt, Aina Jenkins-Garcia was crowned MVP.

Tennis: 

It was an East coast v West coast face off with Edinburgh 2s and Glasgow 2s walking onto the tennis courts – but who came out on top to declare the Teach First Tennis Women’s Cup Final title? After some intense moments, Edinburgh won the Cup and Daniella Scotland was named MVP. 

The Teach First Tennis Men’s Cup Final invited St Andrews 2s and Stirling 5s onto the court; an undoubtedly competitive rivalry! St Andrews sought revenge over the Stirling side after last year’s result, and worked their magic, affirming 6-0 and being crowned champions. St Andrews’ Timothy Moore received MVP.  

Despite the classic Scottish weather conditions, this didn’t stop Heriot-Watt and Stirling in the Teach First Tennis Fast Four Men’s Final. It was safe to say that this wasn’t only a battle for the title, but a fight for survival in the multi-directional freezing wind. Stirling carried victory over Heriot-Watt, 5-1. Mark Rutherford from Heriot-Watt was awarded MVP. 

Volleyball:

The Volleyball Women’s Cup Final was atmospheric to say the least with never a dull moment or a trickle of silence. A fierce Glasgow side faced a cool and collected St Andrews. However, the west coast warriors champion the sets in a 3-0 win!

The Volleyball Men’s Cup Final followed later in the afternoon, with Edinburgh 2s and Stirling 1s bringing the heat in an intense showdown. After some thrilling passages of play, Edinburgh lands on top 3-1. 

Basketball:

The BT Basketball Women’s Cup Final showcased a close and highly contested face-off between St Andrews and Glasgow. The Conference Finals host, edged the westside, 60-53, with Heather Ritchie (St Andrews) crowned MVP.

The fun-filled and busy day of competitive sport ended after an outstanding, high-scoring game between Aberdeen and Stirling in the BT Basketball Men’s Cup Final. Stirling secured the title for the third year in a row, leading 95 to Stirling’s 70 points.

Lacrosse:

Alongside the other outdoor sports, the Lacrosse Women’s Cup Final was hosted in a crossfire of high winds and frostbite-like conditions, yet Stirling and Dundee both gave phenomenal performances in a nail-biting fixture. At the final whistle, Dundee are titled champions after a close contested match ending in 12-10. Stirling’s Eilidh Montgomery was announced as MVP. 

Badminton:

The Badminton Mixed Cup welcomed Dundee and Glasgow Caledonian. After some fast-paced and impressive rallies, Dundee concluded the match-up, 9-3 and brought home the Cup. Hamish McAllister of Dundee was voted MVP. 

Football: 

Having only affiliated with Scottish Student Sport this year, it was great to see West College Scotland facing an experienced Heriot-Watt side in the ALDI Football Men’s Trophy. Heriot-Watt won 4-2 after extra time and Adam Kyle from the Edinburgh side was awarded MVP. 

Aberdeen and Edinburgh Napier followed in the ALDI Men’s Cup with the Knights confirming the win, 3-1. 

The University of Aberdeen returned to the pitch, meeting Stirling in the ALDI Football Women’s Cup Final. The “granite city” university claimed the title, winning 3-1. 

Rugby: 

The Rugby Men’s Trophy kicked off with Aberdeen 3s facing Heriot-Watt 3s. It was difficult to depict who was making more noise – the players or the abundance of supporters on the sidelines. The tension on and off the pitch was like no other but Heriot-Watt edged Aberdeen 31-29 at the final whistle. 

Another Conference Finals derby face-off saw Edinburgh 2s and Edinburgh Napier 1s battling it out for the Rugby Men’s Cup Final title. After a well-contested match, the University of Edinburgh claim the Cup after a 26-17 success. 

The Rugby Women’s Cup served excellent play and showcased incredible sporting moments to finish the rugby campaign with Edinburgh Napier 1 challenging Glasgow Caledonian 1s. However, Glasgow Caledonian won with an incredible distance, ending in 82-10 and Katie Lister awarded MVP. 

The 2025 BUCS Scottish Conference Finals displayed fantastic sporting moments and created everlasting memories. The event would not have been possible without the students, but the officials, volunteers, organisers, hosts and spectators as well – a huge thank you goes to all of you! We are excited to see what the future holds for Scottish student sport. 

By Alex Brattesani

You may have noticed our team being supported over the last few weeks by a new Communications Intern.

Meet Alex, a Masters student at Edinburgh Napier who is with SSS this semester. We sat down with her to learn about her sporting background, career goals, and whether her pizza topping of choice will reflect her Italian ancestry…

Tell us about your student sports background

I was a student at The University of Edinburgh and studied BSc Sport and Recreation Management at Moray House, graduating in the summer of 2024. In my first two years, I was a member of the Netball club and played for their second team. As part of the 2s, we reached the final of the Scottish Cup Quaich, played in Division 1 BUCS and CENA League A. I was also appointed social secretary in my second year and thoroughly enjoyed organising fun socials, setting up our annual ball, and meeting new people. In my last two years, I joined the tennis club as part of their development team and played socially.

In my second year, we were assigned to organise and run a sports event. My team and I created a Five-a-side charity football tournament called FitFives. The tournament was a great success, with over 80 people participating and raising £400 for our chosen charity, Conscious Edinburgh. I thoroughly enjoyed pursuing this project and loved seeing the result.

I am now pursuing a Masters in Sports Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University and am loving it! In addition to my Master’s, I am a writer for ENRG Sport and act as the U20s and Women’s Six Nations Correspondent. I am also a co-host of a tennis podcast with professional British tennis player Emily Appleton, “Courtside with Emily and Alex” (free to listen to on Spotify).

Do you have any sporting highlights?

There are quite a few, so it is challenging to pinpoint only a couple! I played competitive netball for many years, starting at the age of 8. Reaching Scottish Cup finals with my school team was always a highlight and core memory, but being selected for East of Scotland Development was brilliant—going on road trips and being undefeated for two years was amazing! Also, being part of the university’s team was a dream that I wanted to achieve for so long, and I loved being part of the squad!

I did however “retire” from netball in the summer of 2024 and pursued long distance running. As someone who was used to sprint and agility sessions, and would only be able to run a 5km max, this was a big step. I signed up for my first half marathon in Glasgow, October 2024, with low expectations and just wanted to complete it, thinking I wouldn’t do something like this again… I was wrong. I ran the race in 1:45:03 and I haven’t stopped running since. Glasgow 2024 was one of my top highlights!

Any exciting race plans emerging?

I have signed up for a few more Half Marathons; Inverness, Edinburgh and London Royal Parks… I’m sure I will squeeze a couple more in there. I also fancy conquering a few Munros and trying out pickleball.

What about work, outside of SSS?

After getting the chance to sit in the press box for the Scotland U20s rugby matches last month, I am excited to also be reporting on the Women’s Six Nations!

What is your ideal holiday destination?

I would love to explore New Zealand or Fiji.

Pineapple on pizza – yes or no?

Despite my Italian ancestry (sorry ancestors), I can be partial to pineapple on pizza but it wouldn’t be my top choice…

Wednesday 5th March sees BUCS Scottish Conference Finals return to the University of St. Andrews once again for one of our biggest days of student sport.

21 fixtures will be played across 9 sports, with 42 teams vying it out to be their Conference Cup or Trophy Champion for 24/25.

With over 500 students participating, we’re expecting a packed day of action so please do pay attention to the pre-event info below.

You can access the full pre-event info guide Pre-Event-Information-BUCSConfFinals_2025.

Looking for your pitch or sports hall? Here’s the Venue Map.

Stay up to date on the day! Follow us on Instagram for live updates.

For someone who “had no interest in taking part or having a career in sport” when he first stepped onto the University of Dundee campus in 2009, Keith Macleod has been on quite the journey.

A year as Sports Union President at Dundee was followed by nearly four years here at SSS as an Administrator and later Communications Coordinator. Since then, Keith has had roles back at the University of Dundee and as a Board Director of Scottish Volleyball, before settling into his current position as Engagement Manager at Scottish Hockey.  So what changed?

“The sporting provision at school in Edinburgh was pretty typical: football for boys, hockey for girls. Occasionally rugby was offered but that never appealed to me at the time! I did musical theatre for many years and was involved in dance, but at that time it was still an up-and-coming ‘sport’.

“The Sports Fair at Dundee changed everything. Suddenly you could see all these sports and clubs on offer, and actually speak to them. It was through that interaction that I signed up to Canoe: they seemed like really nice people, and the sport sounded quite cool – different from your traditional team sports.”

It was this emphasis on friendliness and inclusivity – a highlight of Keith’s time at Dundee – that showed that sport could be part of his student experience in a way that was never available before.

“I didn’t ‘officially’ come out as a gay man until university so there was always that kind of unspoken narrative through high school. Certainly, there wasn’t the realisation that some of the youngsters would be LGBTQI+ and everyone’s just trying to get by with the limited resources and education that was around at that time.

“It’s stark to think about it now. I left high school in 2008 and even then, in the final two years I could only tell you of one out and proud gay man in the school.

“From a sports perspective there just wasn’t the opportunity to try a multitude of different sports in what we would now consider safe environments for those of the LGBTQI+ community and for a lot of us, that was off-putting.

“Suddenly you find yourself going from that restrained environment to somewhere like Dundee which had a really unique and special culture about it. Everyone wanted to be your friend and make sure that you had the best experience possible in whatever you did.

“What stood out to me was there was never any deliberate malice or hate in the student sporting world. I was great friends with the football and rugby teams; sports at that time which you might think would have potentially more homophobic or hateful language within that setting.

“Yes, there’d occasionally be something said that would be classed as homophobic, but it was done in a naïve way, and they were always very apologetic afterwards. Looking back for me, it shows just how important the training and education we provide for clubs now is.

That brings us round to the present day where Keith has been determined to use his lived experiences to improve access and opportunity to sport at all ages. From his days as Sports Union President where he “tried to ensure everyone had the best experience they could, no matter what it took”, Keith has been at the forefront of campaigns and education across his various roles.

“I know we have to put resource into making sure that education and training is available for all clubs and sports. If we take our foot off the pedal or start to deviate, that’s where slip-ups happen and the hard work unravels.

“Just being visible and active in the space matters because growing up, I didn’t see LGBTQI+ staff in the way you do now. Being part of events like the Leap Sports Conference gives that opportunity to share your story, and it’s given me the confidence in myself to campaign for positive change.

“If I had a magic wand, it’s hard to say exactly what I’d change because we’re doing a lot of the right things already. At the end of the day, we have to remember that what sport has, and always has had, is the passion to welcome everyone, whether they do it rightly or wrongly.

“We want people to take part in sport, to be physically active, and get the enjoyment that we get from doing it. Bringing that together and providing that opportunity: that’s our superpower.”