college Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Scottish Student Sport

Wednesday 1st February 2023

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

When it comes to modes of transportation on land and sea, there will almost certainly be a corresponding sport that uses said modes to race. Cycling is no different. Invented in 1917 by Karl Von Drais, the bicycle has become one of the world’s most popular transportation tools due to its ease of accessibility and relatively cheap cost.

Cycling, as a sport, is very broad as there are several cycling events. In the Olympics, cycling is split into four categories: Road Cycling, Track Cycling, Mountain Biking and BMX. These all work in a similar fashion where two or more cyclists (apart from BMX where it’s taken in turns) will race across a predetermined path where the competitor who finishes with the fastest time is declared the winner. The difference between these events is the terrain they take place on.

Cycling has been an Olympic event during the entirety of its modern resurgence. Great Britain is the most successful nation in Olympic history with 33 gold, 26 silver and 20 bronze medals. At the 2020 Olympics, Great Britain won six gold medals where they won the Women’s Keirin, Men’s Omnium, Women’s Madison, Men’s Cross-Country, Women’s Race and Women’s Freestyle.

Each year Scottish Student Sport hosts the SS Cycling Series where universities compete with each other to be crowned the SS Cycling Challenge. There is also a BUCS League for students to get involved with. If you wish to know more, click the following link: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/cycling/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/6432/

Chair Head: Fred Hockey – SSS_Cycling@hotmail.com

Governing Body: Scottish Cycling – https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/cycling/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

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

Cross Country is a style of long-distance running. Unique to the sport, Cross Country takes place on natural terrain, usually found within the countryside area. This means that runners may potentially run along roads, grass, mud and wet areas. Cross Country was first introduced in 19th century England and has become a very popular school sport.

The rules of Cross Country are very simple. A group of runners compete against each other to run along a course (typically 4-12km), which can either be one long track or a lapped shorter track. In individual races, the winner is the racer who reaches the finish line first. In team races, the winner is determined by the placement of each team’s individual racer. The team with the highest average placement will be deemed the winner. There is also a more immediately accessible version of Cross Country called the slow race, the goal of which is to finish in last place without stopping.

Cross Country has a peculiar relationship with the Olympics. The sport was contested between 1912-24 but fell into controversy after a heatwave at the 1924 Paris Games where some runners fell unconscious under the heat with two runners falsely being reported as having died. Cross Country does still exist in the Olympics, being a discipline in the Modern Pentathlon event.

The most prestigious Cross Country event is the IAAF Cross Country Championships. In the 2019 edition, all gold medals were won by athletes from either Ethiopia, Kenya or Uganda. The last medal won by Great Britain at the event was the Junior Women’s 6km team event, where they gained bronze.

Cross Country is a very popular sport with many events for potential runners. These include the Winter League, Cross Country Championship, 5km Relay Championship, Half Marathon Championship, 10km Road Race Championship, Hill Running Championship and Inter-District Championships. So, there is plenty of opportunities to get involved.

To learn more, click the following link: Cross Country – Scottish Student Sport

If you’re interested in joining a Cross Country club, click the following links (note, these are mostly Athletics societies, so it is best to contact them about Cross Country before joining):

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

City of Glasgow College: https://www.citysa.co.uk/get-involved/sports-societies/sport/running/

Edinburgh College: https://ecsa.scot/activities

Edinburgh Napier University: https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/sports/napierathletics/

Glasgow Caledonian University: https://www.gcustudents.co.uk/groups/athletics–8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/6408/

Sports Chair: Gregor Malcolm – scotstucrosscountry@outlook.com

Governing Body: Scottish Athletics – https://www.scottishathletics.org.uk/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

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

Boxing is one of the world’s most historic sports. The earliest evidence of Ancient Boxing comes from the Middle East in 3,000 BC and was made an Olympic sport at the 23rd Olympiad in 688 BC. Boxing, as we know it today, is largely derived from the Marquees of Queensbury rules, first published in 1867.

Boxing is a 1v1 sport which consists of three rounds, typically ranging between 3-12 per fight. The objective of the game is to render your opponent unconscious or unable to answer a referee’s 10 count once they’ve fallen to the floor. If neither has happened before the allocated number of rounds is over, the result will be decided by a judge’s score. A judge will base their decision on who they felt had the best performance per round. Once the scores are added together, the fighter with the most points will be declared the winner. If scores are still equal, the bout will be ruled a draw.

While bare-knuckle fighting does exist, almost all professional boxing is contested using boxing gloves. At some levels, fighters will also wear headgear to protect themselves from potential head injuries/concussions. You are not allowed to hit an opponent below the belt, on the back of their head or the back of their neck.

Boxing is performed in a ring with ropes and four corner stations. Fighters are not permitted to use ropes as leverage and are not allowed to leave the ring for the duration of a fight. Fighters will be warned of rule breaks and may face a points deduction or disqualification if rules are continuously breached.

Boxing matches are separated by weight class. In amateur boxing, these are:

Light Flyweight – Men’s 46-49kg, Women’s 45-48kg

Flyweight – Men’s 49-52kg, Women’s 48-51kg

Bantamweight – Men’s 52-56kg, Women’s 51-54kg

Featherweight –Women’s 54-57kg

Lightweight – Men’s 56-60kg, Women’s 57-60kg

Light Welterweight – Men’s 60-64kg, Women’s 60-64kg

Welterweight – Men’s 64-69kg, Women’s 64-69kg

Middleweight – Men’s 69-75kg, Women’s 69-75 kg

Light Heavyweight – Men’s 75-81kg, Women’s 75-81kg

Heavyweight – Men’s 81-91kg

Great Britain has seen large success at the Olympic Games where they are the third most successful Boxing nation, with twenty gold medals and sixty-two medals overall. In 2022, Great Britain won two gold medals. Galal Yafai won gold in the Men’s Flyweight while Lauren Price won the Women’s Middleweight gold.

Scottish Student Sport hosts many boxing events throughout the year, including the Annual Scottish Student Championships, BUCS Championships and British and Irish Championships. So, there are plenty of events for budding boxers to compete in

If you are interested in joining a boxing society, click the following links:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/6240/

Sports Chair: Hameed Ahmed – sssboxingchair@gmail.com

Governing Body: Boxing Scotland – https://www.boxingscotland.org/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Archery before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of the game and what Scottish Student Sport can offer.

Archery is one world’s oldest practices. As far back as 10,000-20,000 BC, hunters were using a bow and arrow to hunt for food and to defend against invading forces. Variations of Archery can be seen throughout history in a vast array of cultures. The sport of Archery doesn’t date as far back but is still over 600 years old, with the first documented example taking place in Finsbury, England. Since then, Archery has become a staple of the Olympics and student sport.

There are two popular forms of Archery, those being Indoor and Outdoor Archery. While the name may suggest the only difference between the two is where the sport takes place, that would be a misconception.

Outdoor Archery is the style seen at the Olympics. Competitors take turns shooting an arrow at a target 70m away. The target is separated into rings, with the rings closest to the centre earning the most points. In singles competition, each competitor is allowed to shoot three arrows per end. The competitor with the highest score at the end wins. In a team competition, each archer is allowed to shoot one arrow, with the team earning the most points declared victorious. The winner is determined by either the player/team with the most ends or the player/team with the most overall points, depending on the competition rules. If a match results in a draw, a tiebreaker will be introduced with either a shoot-out end or the first player to hit the centre 10 marker being deemed the winner.

Indoor Archery works similarly, just on a smaller scale. Both the distance between the archer and the target and the target size is roughly a third of what they are in Outdoor Archer. As the size of the target is different, archers are given three targets to shoot at instead of one. Archers must hit one of each target per end.

Great Britain has had mild success in Archery at the Olympics, with two gold, two silver and five bronze medals. This is enough for Great Britain to be the 6th most successful country at the games. However, the last medal for Great Britain came at the 2004 Athens Games where Alison Williamson won a bronze medal. The last time Britain won gold was in 1908 when William Dod and Queenie Newell both claimed the top spot. The win made Queenie the oldest female gold medal winner at 53 years old.

There are many Scottish Student Sport-affiliated events for Archery enthusiasts, including both Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Head-to-Head Competitions and an Archery League. To find out more, click the link here: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/archery/

If you want to give Archery a shot, click the following links:

Edinburgh Napier: https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/sports/napierarchery/

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

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

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

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

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

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

University of Strathclyde: https://www.strathunion.com/sports-union/club-sport/club/6112/

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

Sports Chair: Gleb Evteev – scotstuarchery@outlook.com

Governing Body: Scottish Archery – https://scottisharchery.org.uk/

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Wednesday 1st February 2023

Want to know more about Swimming and Water Polo before joining a society? Here’s a quick overview of what Scottish Student Sport offers for Aquatics.

While Aquatics can be a broad umbrella term for many water sports, at Scottish Student Sport this term refers to Swimming and Water Polo. Swimming may need little introduction but Water Polo could require some explanation.

To give a brief overview, Swimming involves competitors racing against each other over the required laps of a swimming pool in the fastest time. The first to cover the requisite distance is the winner. Swimming competitions are split into lengths and types of stroke, including butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke. In team competitions, one swimmer will start in the water and after they have gone the requisite distance, the next swimmer will dive into the pool. The winning team will be the first to cover the required distance.

Water Polo is the aquatic variation of Polo. The game is played by two teams of seven players with one goalkeeper per team. The object of the game is to throw the polo ball into the opponent’s net. Once a team is in possession of the ball, they are given 30 seconds to have a shot at the opposing goal. If a shot isn’t taken then play will be handed over to the opposing team. Water Polo players are only allowed to hold and receive the ball with one hand. Handling with both will result in a foul. The game takes place over four 8-minute periods, with the winning team being those with the most goals by the end of the game.

Great Britain has seen a mix of success in Olympic Aquatics events. Firstly, Great Britain saw immediate success in Water Polo, winning the first four Men’s Finals (Great Britain only officially holds three gold medals as one was later attributed to the Mixed Team due to one GB member being from New Zealand). No GB team has made it to the top 4 since 1928.

In swimming, Great Britain holds the sixth-best record with 20 gold, 29 silver and 30 bronze medals. In 2020, Great Britain won four gold medals, won by Thomas Dean (Men’s 200m Freestyle), Adam Peaty (Men’s 100m Breaststroke), the team of Thomas Dean, James Guy, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott and Callum Jarvis (Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay) and the team of Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy, Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson (Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay). Both Duncan Scott and Kathleen Dawson studied at the University of Stirling.

Scottish Student Sport holds two Aquatics Swimming Leagues open to all participants regardless of skill level and hosts the Aquatics Championships every year at the academic year-end. There are also BUCS Swimming and Water Polo competitions for students to take part in. To find out more, click here: https://scottishstudentsport.com/sports/aquatics/

If you want to join an Aquatics society, click the following links:

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

Queen Margaret University: https://www.qmusu.org.uk/groups/qmu-swim

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

UHI: https://www.hisa.uhi.ac.uk/groups/outdoor-swimming-club

University of Aberdeen (Swimming & Water Polo): https://www.ausa.org.uk/sports/club/swimpolo/

University of Dundee: https://sportsunion.dundee.ac.uk/clubs/swimming-waterpolo/

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

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

University of St. Andrews (Swimming): https://swimming.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of St. Andrews (Water Polo): https://water-polo.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

University of Stirling (Swimming): https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/sportsunion/clubs/swimming/