University of Bath named as Sports University of the Year in Good University Guide 2018
The University of Bath has been named as the UK’s top sports university in the influential The Times & The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.
The award is based on the quality of its world-class sporting facilities, the performance of its student sports teams and the ranking of its sports-related subjects, with Sports Science also topping the Guide’s ranking table for the subject.
Vice-Chancellor & President of the University of Bath, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that Bath has been named Sports University of the Year.
“We have always endeavoured to deliver cutting-edge research which makes a difference and the best possible teaching for our students. Achieving first place in the Sports Science rankings is a testament to years of hard work by our faculty. I could not be more proud of this achievement and the people who have worked so hard to deserve this accolade.”
Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, added: “To be named as Sports University of the Year is a tremendous honour and a worthy reflection of all the hard work put in by our dedicated staff, students, athletes, coaches and volunteers to make this the most vibrant and dynamic sporting environment in the country.
“Our world-class facilities inspire thousands of students each week to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, whether it is training in our gym, swimming in the Olympic-sized pool or playing sport on a competitive or recreational basis.
“But it is not only students who benefit. Thanks to our thriving partnerships with national and local governing bodies, the Sports Training Village is home to elite athletes across a host of sports, including Olympic and Paralympic Champions, and the facilities are also fully open to the public with people of all ages – from toddlers through to pensioners – getting active every day.”
Something for everyone
The University’s £30million Sports Training Village (STV) annually receives 1.6million visits ranging from students and staff to high-performance athletes and the public, including 43 community sports clubs. Recent investments into the facilities include the £1.6million London 2012 Legacy Pool, which is used 310,000 times a year, and a £3.5milion extension to the Team Bath Gym, which is due to open next summer.
More than 1,000 students represent the University in BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] competitions every week. The Men’s 1st Rugby Union squad competes in the BUCS Super Rugby league that brings together the very best British university rugby programmes from across England and Wales. Recreational teams also provide students with the opportunity to get fit and active.
The University is also one of only six UK Sport accredited elite training centres in the country and has 13 partnerships with national sporting organisations including Pentathlon GB, British Swimming, British Rowing, British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) and the English Institute of Sport (EIS).
More than 250 international athletes are based on site across a wide range of sports, many of whom study and train as part of the Dual Career programme or receive support from a Sporting Scholarship. Twenty University-based athletes were selected for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, winning ten medals between them.
Outstanding education and research
In addition to being named as Sport University of the Year, Bath also topped the Sports Science subject ranking. The University offers four high-quality undergraduate degree courses relating to sport, exercise and health, which have been consistently ranked among the top sport-related courses in the UK.
The teaching at Bath is informed by its world-leading research. Students are taught by researchers who are leaders in their respective fields, incorporating their latest research findings into their teaching, enabling students to continue to push existing boundaries and be at the forefront of their fields.
The Rugby Science team in the University’s Department for Health has played a significant role in helping to improve the safety of scrums in rugby union, working in partnership with the International Rugby Board (IRB). The ‘Crouch, Bind, Set’ technique tested and developed by Bath was trialled and implemented globally as a new rugby law in 2013 with the long-term hope of reducing scrum-related injuries amongst the six-million players worldwide.
The University is also a leading authority in bio-banding, working with the Premier League and other sports to tailor training and competition to the different rate of maturation and physical development in young athletes rather than grouping by age.
You don’t have to be a student or Olympian to use our world-class sporting facilities – click here to find out more about our membership options or click here for more details about out Tribe activities for children aged from 2-14.
