It’s another jam-packed edition of Sport & Active Health. It’s been a busy period shaping up for the first semester.
Annual report
The University of Edinburgh is proud to be the number one University for Sport & Active Wellbeing in Scotland and one of the highest performing institutions in the UK. Located in the heart of Edinburgh, our vision for sport and active wellbeing not only encapsulates the pursuit of excellence and innovation but also embodies a commitment to making a global impact while nurturing local community ties.
Through collaborative partnerships spanning various departments and stakeholders, the University’s sporting achievements are multifaceted, emphasising participation, competitive success, and personal development. Aiming to be the leading university for sport and active wellbeing in the UK by 2030 and globally recognised, this vision champions the transformative power of sport and active wellbeing in enhancing physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Our collaborative and critical work between the Sport & Exercise department within Corporate Services Group and the quasi-independent Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU) significantly contributes to the University’s broader ambitions set out in Strategy 2030. This work is underpinned by world-leading research and a philosophy that values physical, mental, and social health, along with the joy of belonging, achievement, and pride.
The academic year 2023-24 has been a record year for Sport and Active Wellbeing at the University, much of which will be documented in the pages that follow. While we have tried to capture all of our progress, awards, and performances, it has not been possible to cover everything given the breadth and depth of our activities. However, it is certainly worth noting the record membership within EUSU, the greatest number of sports clubs (71) on record, and the largest ever membership of our wider gym and facilities. Our Active Lives work continues to be sector-leading, with some outstanding and very bespoke programme work that is undoubtedly changing lives. We have also seen exceptional performances from our student-athletes, with UK-winning team performances and numerous international medals and accolades, culminating in Olympic and Paralympic medals in Paris. Not to be outdone, our roll of honour highlights outstanding achievements from our staff members at the Olympics, Paralympics, and within numerous international federations across the globe.
With the largest health and fitness offering in the UK sector, we continue to hold the philosophy that sport and active wellbeing programmes change lives and make the world a better place. Inclusivity is at the heart of all our activities and initiatives.
The Annual Report can be viewed on the website:
Annual Report for Sport & Active Wellbeing 2023-24
Introducing UoESport.TV: your new home for live sports at the University of Edinburgh!
The University of Edinburgh Sport is proud to introduce UoESport.TV, a new live-streaming platform developed in partnership with Joymo Sport Media Limited. This platform allows students, alumni, and supporters around the world to watch our teams in action.
Starting from October 2024, UoESport.TV will offer live streaming of a wide range of University of Edinburgh sports fixtures. This new service will provide unmatched access to student competitions, showcasing the talent of our teams and athletes and bringing greater visibility to university sports.
Philine Rouwers, University of Edinburgh Sports Union President said:
“We’re incredibly excited about the opportunities this partnership brings to our clubs and University of Edinburgh Sport. This platform gives everyone – from students to alumni and family – a chance to stay connected and follow our teams throughout the season. It’s a great way to bring together our university community and showcase our clubs and students.”
The platform’s launch kicked off with a live volleyball match on Wednesday 9 October, marking the beginning of an exciting season of sports fixtures to be broadcast.
Subscribers can enjoy UoESport.TV at a cost of just 99p per month for students and £5.99 per month for the general public. With this affordable pricing, our goal is to make university sports accessible to a broader audience and give everyone the opportunity to follow their favourite teams closely.
You can visit UoESport.TV to subscribe and stay up to date:
Scottish Action for Mental Health Lecture
Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) in partnership with the University of Edinburgh and sportScotland are hosting a lecture next month. The event, titled Active Lifestyles: A high impact, low-cost mental health solution, will be held at Playfair Library Hall on Friday 29 November at 10am.
Visit EventBrite for more information and to book:
The SAMH Lecture 2024 Tickets, Fri, Nov 29, 2024 at 10:00 AM
IM Sports program expands with new additions and record participation
In exciting news, the Intramural (IM) Sports programme has expanded its offerings to now include ten sports, with tennis joining the line-up for the upcoming season. IM Sports memberships have surpassed 1,700, a rise of over 200 compared to this time last year, reflecting the growing enthusiasm for intramural sport across the University of Edinburgh.
This year’s IM Sports programme has also seen an increase in competitive fixtures, with 26 leagues and over 90 weekly matches scheduled, more than ever before. This brings the total number of fixtures for semester one to over 800, setting another record for the programme.
So far, 184 teams have registered for the programme this year, an increase of 20 compared to the same point last year. With further entries expected throughout the academic year, this year’s growth looks particularly promising.
The programme’s increasing appeal can also be seen in the participation of academic schools, with 63 school-affiliated teams already registered, an impressive 21% increase from last year. This brings the total to a record number of school teams, with 19 out of the 21 academic schools represented in the IM program.
To support this growth, 11 voluntary school sport coordinators are working closely with the Sports Union to integrate IM teams into their school structures. These coordinators play a crucial role in helping schools create affiliated teams, promoting IM sports within their communities, and assisting team captains in accessing funding and leadership opportunities. Schools with active sport coordinators include Biomedical Sciences, Informatics, Social and Political Science, Economics, Engineering, Geosciences, Literatures, Languages and Culture, PPLS, Divinity, Chemistry, and Business.
Support for international societies
The Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU) is proud to continue supporting IM teams from international societies to participate in recreational sports. International students often face barriers to participating in regular club sport, and are underrepresented in sport at Edinburgh. However, through Intramural Sports, they have the opportunity to compete alongside their peers and represent their home countries. A third of society affiliated IM teams are international societies, demonstrating that sport plays an important role in the student experience for many of our international community.
EUSU receives funding to support underrepresented groups and is delighted to continue sponsoring teams. In partnership with PlayerLayer, unique kits featuring the EUSU brand are provided, enhancing students’ sense of belonging and affiliation to the University.
New season of sport kicks off at the University of Edinburgh
British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) is back for the 2024/25 season. After finishing 5th in the league table in 2023/24 the University of Edinburgh prepares for another successful season of sport.
A new season of sport has officially kicked off at the University of Edinburgh, with an exciting year of competition ahead. This year, we have entered an impressive 127 teams across 24 sports, with over 2,000 students competing in over 1,000 league fixtures over the next 20 weeks.
Several teams have already played their opening fixtures in September, starting their seasons with strong performances and early victories, setting the tone for what promises to be an exceptional year of sport.
Teams will be competing against universities across the UK in their respective leagues, and each squad will also take part in knockout competitions, with the first rounds set to begin at the end of October.
Last year saw 14 University of Edinburgh teams reach their finals, demonstrating the incredible talent and dedication of the student athletes. This season, hopes are high to exceed that number as more teams strive to make it to the finals.
Stay tuned for match updates and see how many teams will make it to the finals this year.
Edinburgh welcomes new and returning performance athletes
The annual University of Edinburgh Sport Stars lunch welcoming new and returning athletes to the 2024 performance programme took place on Wednesday 11 September.
Bringing together performance athletes, performance coaches, support staff from University Sport & Exercise and Edinburgh University Sports Union as well as guests from the University and partner National Governing Bodies the lunch celebrates the achievements of the past year of our student athletes.
The highlight of the event was an inspirational Q&A session with athletes and coaches. Fresh from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Megan Keith, Aleksandra Kalucka and Stephen Clegg spoke about their experience performing at the highest level and their journey to reach Olympic qualification whilst balancing academic careers.
Year 4 Applied Sport Science student, Megan Keith spoke about her pride in qualifying for the Olympics in May and going on to win a bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships in June before competing in Paris. She touched on the support she receives from the programme through training and academic support which allows her to compete at the highest level whilst completing her degree.
Aleksandra Kalucka joins the Sport Scholar Programme as a Postgraduate Mathematics student and reflected on her experience winning a bronze Olympic medal and her decision to come to Edinburgh. After competing at 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup held in Edinburgh Aleksandra fell in love with city and chose to take on a new challenge studying at the University following her Olympic success.
Associated athlete, Stephen Clegg finished his Paralympic campaign at the end of August claiming 2 Gold Medals in swimming. He spoke on losing his love of the sport following the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and the support he received from the University of Edinburgh performance swimming programme in renewing his love of swimming. Joined by coach Mat Trodden, they discussed how experimenting with training plans, keeping sessions enjoyable and developing strong collaborative coaching relationships has aided Stephen’s success and his excitement for the future.
PhD Biological Sciences student, Fiona Bunn also spoke to guest on her recent success in orienteering. Fiona recently competed at the World University Orienteering Championships winning Gold in the mixed relay team and placing 6th in her individual races. She was also selected to competed at the European and World Orienteering Championships and won gold at BUCS last season.
Looking at the year ahead we are exciting to be supporting our talented athletes in what looks to be another exciting year for sport at Edinburgh.
Further recognition for European medallist
Applied Sports Science Student, Megan Keith has had a summer to remember on the track and has just picked up another honour in the form of the prestigious Sir William Darling Memorial Prize through the University of Edinburgh.
This prize is awarded by the Principal to University of Edinburgh students who have enhanced the reputation of the University.
Megan is performing at the top of her game. At the end of 2023 she broke the 10,000m record at the European U23 Championships by over a minute and in May won gold at the night of 10,000m PB’s, in turn securing automatic Olympic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Megan then claimed her first senior medal when taking bronze at the European Athletics Championship in Rome.
The Paris Olympics saw Megan hampered by a niggling injury but the experience of an Olympic final will stand her well in the years to come and we are sure we will see her take her place on the top of many more podiums in the years ahead.
University of Edinburgh enters into new partnership with Aquatics GB
The University of Edinburgh has entered into an exciting new partnership with Aquatics GB, Scottish Swimming and Edinburgh Leisure to develop and deliver one of only three high performance centres for diving in the UK.
Team GB Diving squad had a very successful Paris Olympics picking up one silver medal and four bronze medals and University scholar Grace Reid was part of that team and made the final of the 3m Springboard in what was her third Olympics.
This partnership is hugely exciting for all parties as they look to build on this successful period in the sport and develop the next generation of diving talent in Scotland.
Hosted by the University, the partnership will see an Aquatics GB Performance Centre Lead Coach lead, develop and manage the high-performance diving centre programme at the Edinburgh Royal Commonwealth Pool with the directive of producing medal-winning performances at Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games levels.
The world-class, high-performance coaching team put in place will enable high performing athletes and associated programme athletes to succeed on the world stage.
University of Edinburgh Director of Sport and Active Wellbeing, Mark Munro is delighted to have the partnership secured. He said:
“We strive to create a high-performance learning environment where innovation can thrive and where the programme is recognised as ‘best in class’, so to secure this partnership with Aquatics GB, alongside Scottish Swimming and Edinburgh Leisure is a big step for our performance programme. We want to strengthen our position as Scotland’s number one Sporting University and this partnership is another sign of our ongoing development.”