High praise for University of Bath as BUCS Big Wednesday provides a feast of spectacular student sport

An Olympic gold medallist was among the hundreds of athletes from across the country competing at the University of Bath this week as it hosted BUCS Big Wednesday, the culmination of the student sporting season. More than 100 teams contested a total of 52 finals across 14 different sports during two outstanding days of competition across the Claverton Down campus, with action taking place in the £30m Sports Training Village, the Founders’ Hall and on...

23 March 2017

Pentathlon GB performance director Jan Bartu awarded Honorary Doctorate by University of Bath

Jan Bartu, one of the longest-serving and most consistently successful performance directors in British sport, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bath. Bartu has built and then led the PentathlonGB Performance programme, based at the University since 1998, and supported athletes to win a total of five Olympic medals, including a gold from Steph Cook at the Sydney 2000 Games. Already a member of the University’s Hall of Fame, Bartu received...

22 March 2017

Two golds and a silver as Paralympic champ Paul Blake makes strong start to 2017

University of Bath-based Paralympic champion Paul Blake has started his 2017 campaign in fine style by winning two golds and a silver at the Dubai 2017 World Para Athletics Grand Prix. T36 runner Blake, coached by Rob Ellchuk at the Sports Training Village, ran his fastest 200m time since 2012 as he clocked 25.73 on the newly-laid track in Dubai to claim his first victory of the week in Monday’s T35/36/42 final. He was back...

22 March 2017

Team Bath judoka Gregg Varey back on World Cup podium after winning Morocco medal

Team Bath Judo’s Gregg Varey won his first medal at World Cup level since moving up to a higher weight category when he competed at the Casablanca Africa Open in Morocco. Varey, who made the switch from -60kg to -66kg in 2014, beat reigning Junior European Champion Dzmitry Minkou of Belarus in the bronze medal contest. He had earlier overcame Abdulaziz Albashi of Saudi Arabia and Spain’s Jose Aranda Olalla to reach the semi-finals, where...

22 March 2017

Team Bath Netball edged out in narrow defeat to Superleague leaders Surrey Storm

Team Bath Netball gave Superleague leaders Surrey Storm the toughest test of their season so far but fell to a narrow 52-46 defeat at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Monday night. In a physical and fast-paced match, the Blue and Gold – sponsored by Sitec - reduced an eight-point half-time deficit to just two goals during another emphatic third quarter but Storm held on for victory. The result leaves Team Bath -...

20 March 2017

University of Bath proud to be awarded ‘elite status’ accreditation by UK Anti-Doping

The University of Bath has become the latest university to complete UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)’s Accreditation Programme. The University has shown its firm commitment and dedication to clean sport by completing the programme and achieving the highest level of ‘elite status’. The Accreditation Programme was launched in 2012 to recognise and enhance the work being conducted by universities, colleges and schools in the UK, in support of UKAD’s prevention strategy and vision of clean sport. The...

20 March 2017

Stunning sabre debut helps wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver achieve golden double in Pisa

University of Bath-based wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver won double gold when he competed at the IWAS World Cup in Pisa, Italy over the weekend. As well as taking the title in his specialist epee discipline, the weapon he won silver with at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Gilliver also struck gold on his international sabre debut. Gilliver, a sporting ambassador for Team Bath partners MJ Church, won four of his five poule contests in the...

20 March 2017

Buccs ladies are on the up as hockey men prepare for title decider at University of Bath

Team Bath Buccaneers Hockey Club are celebrating after the ladies’ 1st XI secured their return to the Investec National Women’s Hockey League. And the men could also be popping the champagne corks next weekend as victory in their final match of the regular season would clinch another league title and a shot at promotion to the Premier League. Buccs’ ladies went to West Club Women’s League Premier Division 1 leaders Clifton 2nd XI on Saturday knowing...

19 March 2017

Best four-man bobsleigh finish for Brad Hall ends BBSA World Cup season on a high

Brad Hall’s best-ever four-man finish ensured the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) ended their international season on a positive note in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Hall, who is in his first full season as driver, finished eighth overall and ahead of a host of top teams at the venue for next year’s Winter Olympics after clocking a combined time of 1:40.37, just 0.15 seconds away from a medal. Bruce Tasker and rookies Sam Blanchet and...

19 March 2017

Heartbreak but pride for University of Bath as Twickenham bid falls just short

A valiant display from the University of Bath men’s 1st XV was not quite enough to earn them a trip to Twickenham as Hartpury College held on to reach the BUCS Rugby Championship final. Hartpury – the BUCS Super Rugby league champions and unbeaten at home all season – were forced to defend desperately on their own line for the last ten minutes of an enthralling semi-final as Bath threw everything at them in an...

14 March 2017