Oxford University Sport

Congratulations to everyone receiving their A-Level results today, and especially to those of you that are now 🎉 We can't wait to welcome you later this year!

Keep an eye on our socials over the coming weeks to find out about the many ways you can get during your time with us

Celebrate our summer of sport with great deals from our partners YOUR Personal Training, via the link in our bio or https://tinyurl.com/YPTOxfordUni

Celebrate our summer of sport with THREE Great offers for Summer 2024 from Oxford University Sport.

Contact us on 01865 611476, [email protected] or pop into the sports centre to purchase.

Special Recognition Award - Athletics and Cross Country Clubs

2024 was a special year for Sport at Oxford. On Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May 2024, it was the 70th Anniversary of Oxford’s most famous sporting achievement, Sir Roger Bannister’s 4-minute mile. Thousands of students, staff, and locals participated in the celebrations events, which included alumni gatherings, a community mile down the High Street to Iffley Road, and an afternoon of track races in which the Iffley Road track record was broken and no less than four elite athletes finished under the 4-minute.

What many won’t have seen is the countless hours of planning, logistics, budgeting, repairs work, marketing, communications and promotions that went into delivering those events. Some of the awards and shortlists for this year’s Sports Awards have recognised the individual volunteers and clubs involved in those events, but none could fully recognise the breadth of those contributions, nor the number of individuals involved. Therefore, to conclude our Sports Awards evening, we presented one final ‘surprise’ award, a Special Recognition Award presented to Oxford University Athletics Club and Oxford University Cross Country Club, in recognition of their contributions to Bannister Miles 2024 and the celebration of the 70th University of the 4-minite mile. The combined drive and ambition of these two clubs to deliver an event bigger and more inclusive than ever, their extensive planning and coordination to pull together each element of the celebrations, and the impact the event has had in circles far wider than Oxford alone have been nothing short of formidable. Huge congratulations to all those involved on bringing an incredible vision to life!

Sportsperson of the Year 2023/24 | Gwen Marsden, Powerlifting

Gwen has quite literally gone from strength to strength this year. At Varsity, she placed 1st overall at Varsity and earned her place in the history books after achieving the highest GL points score ever reached in Varsity. At the British Junior Championships, Gwen placed 1st in her weight class and also broke British records in all four categories (bench press, deadlift, squat, and total). Gwen is currently ranked 16th in the UK among all women competitors, across all age and weight categories, and is in the selection pool to represent Team GB at the World Junior Championships.

Congratulations on an exceptional year of sport Gwen!

Blues Team of the Year 2023/24 - Fencing Women's Blues

It's been a stand-out year for Fencing Women's Blues. Runners up in the BUCS National Championship, winners of the Premier South League title with an undefeated season for the third year running, and a clean sweep in Varsity with wins in all three weapons for the second year in row. An absolutely dominant season from the Blues, congratulations on another incredible year!

Team of the Year 2023/24 | The Dolphins, Swimming

The Dolphins, Swimming's Seconds Team, have gone from strength to strength in the pool this year, breaking no less than 7 Seconds Team records. The team won every single race at Varsity, bringing home the win with a 67 point margin, the largest since the reintroduction of the Seconds Match. As in case that wasn't enough, they also broke 11 out of 18 Seconds Varsity records. Congratulations on a stellar year, The Dolphins!

Club of the Year 2023/24 - Tough Rugby

It's been a year of milestones for Touch Rugby in their debut year as an independent sports club. Participation hit an all-time high: a 70% increase in membership, with BUCS participation up by 156% and a 300% increase in female participation thanks to a new women's training programme and a successful social media campaign for International Women's Day. Female-identifying members now make up over 52.5% of the club, and Oxford's women's squad brought home the win in their exhibition match against Cambridge. Development initiatives haven't stopped at gender inclusion. The club introduced a framework whereby team captain positions were rotated to expand leadership opportunities. The establishment of The Portrait of a Teammate framework placed the club's core values at the forefront of their practice: competitive excellence, joy of sport, kindness, belonging, and team spirit. As such, Touch Rugby have been recognised by England Touch as “setting the standards for the growth of university touch status”. Last but by no means least, the club has seen some outstanding successes on the pitch this year, including a historical high BUCS finish and the recognition of BUCS Club Spirit Award in the University Touch Championships. Huge congratulations to Touch Rugby on a truly exemplary year as a club. We're excited to see what next year has in store for Touch Rugby!

Sporting Moment of the Year 2023/24 | George Roberts scoring 79 in T20 Varsity at Lord's

In Trinity Term, Oxford University Cricket Club faced Cambridge in their annual T20 Varsity at Lords. OUCC won the toss with Ben Swanson electing to bowl first. Wickets were shared amongst the bowlers, with spinners Ben Swanson, Chris Mingard and Vignesh Venkateswaran slowing Cambridge down in the middle overs. Cambridge reached a respectable 156-7 off their 20 overs. OUCC opening batter and Vice Captain George Roberts set about chasing this total with a superb innings of 79, ably supported by cameos from Justin Clarke and Max Kirkby through the middle, and Josh Royan's closing runs. This is the first time OUCC have beaten Cambridge at Lord’s for over 4 years and the first T20 Varsity win for 3 years. George was instrumental in this win.

Most Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award 2023/24 - Rashadul Alam, Badminton

Rashadul has been the lead Badminton Club Clubnight rep for Oxford University badminton for the last 3 years, leading four 2-hour sessions each week and clocking up an estimated 320 hours of volunteer session coordination annually. Badminton Clubnight brings together around 100 club members as well as hundreds of other students via the Active At Oxford programme, and sessions have only increased in popularity during Rashadul's time as Clubnight rep. Rashadul makes an effort to get to know Clubnight participants and serves as a friendly face for new players, helping them to find their level within the sessions. On top of this, he has acted as League and Cuppers rep for the past 2 years, matches for around 27 league teams and 216 cuppers players. Rashadul has shown an unparalleled commitment to promoting wider participation in badminton at Oxford and is a fitting winner of this year's Most Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award. Congratulations Rashadul!

Contribution to Sport Awards 2023/24
This award recognises volunteers who have gone above and beyond to contribute to sport at Oxford. This year, there are five recipients of this award, with one winner of the Most Outstanding Contribution to Sport (see next post!)

Thomas Renshaw, for his contribution to the Bannister Miles celebration and his work to found the 1876 Trust in his role as Cross Country Club Secretary.

Dan Kwok, who founded the Oxford Vikings C development team, allowing new members to compete nationally, whilst also fostering growth and development of the sport through the Vikings B team, which has grown to be one of the most well-known university ice hockey teams in the country.

James Harris, who has instructed Lifesaving Club sessions for 8 years and recently delivered an instructors course at Oxford, passing on his expertise to clubmates in order that the club can continue delivering training in the future.

Tom Barrett, for the countless hours he dedicated to making the Bannister Miles celebration a success, from securing sponsorship to planning road closures and everything in between.

Ben Glover, who has volunteered to judge every competition run by the Archery Club in the past decade and has been a consistent source of advice and guidance for the club.

Congratulations to all, your hard work does not got unnoticed and is vital to the continuing success of sport at Oxford.

Diversity and Inclusion Award 2023/24 | Madeleine Hawlay and Eleanor Warrington, Taekwon-Do

Madeleine and Eleanor have gone above and beyond to drive improvements in access, diversity, and inclusion within the Taekwon-Do Club this year. Madeleine conceptualised, researched and produced the first OUTKD Financial Guide with the aim of reducing barriers to participation. Moreover, she has strongly advocated within the OUTKD membership for safe weight management practices from all competitors, helping to change the culture within the club to allow for a more open discussion of mental health and the challenges which come with being athletes, university students, and young people in the modern world.

As OUTKD’s only para-athlete, Eleanor has been a strong advocate for para-Taekwondo for many years and has brought this same passion to the club. She collaborated with the Student Union’s Disability Campaign team to organise an introductory Taekwon-Do session for disabled members of the Oxford Student Community, to empower students with disabilities to engage with Taekwon-Do and sport more widely. She also played a key role in the organisation and running of dedicated training sessions focused on women and non-binary people. Beyond her role in the club, Eleanor has advocated for the inclusion of para-categories for both ITF patterns and WT poomsae - the two main styles of Taekwon-Do - in BUCS Taekwondo BUCS competitions. As a result, these categories will now be included in the Winter and Spring BUCS Championships.

Thank you for your hard work this year, Madeleine and Eleanor. Congratulations on your award!

Fresher of the Year Award 2023/24 | Anneke Zegers, Fencing

Anneke's achievement this year are on a par with what a top Oxford athlete might hope to achieve across the entirety of their university sport career. A gold medal in Women’s Sabre in BUCS individuals; part of the women's team, who won the Premier South league title in BUCS with an undefeated season as well as coming second in the BUCS National Championship at BUCS Big Wednesday; and part of the Women's Blues team who achieved a clean sweep in Varsity. Anneke has thrown herself into her sport in her first year at Oxford and we're excited to see what the coming years have in store for her. Very many congratulations on your achievements this year, Anneke!

Teammate of the Year 2023/24 | Dan Kwok, Ice Hockey

As Captain of the Ice Hockey Vikings B team (affectionately know as the Bikings), Dan has put both the athletic development and social wellbeing of his teammates above his own interests this year. His approach to training is holistic and he regularly checks in on teammates, supporting them to balance their studies with their sport. His organisation, enthusiasm and encouragement to new skaters resulted in the sustained attendance at training such that the squad were able to participate in an extended fixture programme with other ice hockey clubs in the region. Alongside his captaincy, Dan has nurtured the development squad, the Trikes, enabling the Ice Hockey clubs to grow from grassroots level upwards. On and off the ice Dan has provided support for physical training, game strategy, emotional support for his teammates. Great teams are built on people like Dan and we're delighted to award him this year's Teammate of the Year Award. Congratulations Dan!

Coach of the Year 2023/24 | Joey Lovestrand, Basketball

Joey has coached the Women's Blues Basketball team for two years running now, and their continued success is testament to his expertise in the sport and his holistic approach to coaching. He invests countless hours into analysing game statistics in order to provide in-depth feedback for both individual and team progression. Everyone is encouraged to contribute in weekly team debriefs, and team welfare, including mindfulness, positive affirmations, and wellbeing, are central to his coaching. The Women's Blues not only won their Varsity and maintained their position in Tier 1 of BUCS this year, but also came runners up in the National Trophy Final at BUCS Big Wednesday, an outstanding achievement. Congratulations on a highly deserved award, Joey!

Student Coach of the Year 2023/24 | Samual Nicholls, Triathlon

Oxford University Triathlon Club has had a transformational year in the pool, and much of this is down to Samual's skills as a coach and commitment to the club. He has managed both the speed and endurance programmes for the club, coaching beginners and experienced swimmers alike through distances from sprint to full ironman. Samual's energy and enthusiasm for the discipline has changed he club's perspective of swimming, taking it from something that athletes just 'get through' to an element of the sport to be enjoyed and invested in, so much so that Triathlon swim sessions now book up in minutes. Congratulations Samual on a very well-deserved award.

We were delighted to welcome so many of you to last week's Sports Awards night ✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate an incredible year of sport at Oxford.

Keep an eye on our socials over the next few days as we'll be telling you all about this year's fabulous award winners 🏆

Kitlocker are running a competition for incoming sports club committees, offering you the chance to win a set of kit for your club 🎽 Enter here with your name and email by 16th June: https://www.kitlocker.com/oxford/giveaway
The more entries for your club, the greater your chances of winning!

Contact team sport athletes often need proper communication and coordination between players to avoid colliding with each other on the field. Many injury prevention methods currently exist, but none utilise coordination between players as an injury risk factor. A university research group have designed a study in order to quantify coordination between people. Participants will complete a coordination game with a partner in University Parks and the coordination between participant and partner will be measured and quantified onto a readable scale of high to low coordination. If you are interested in participating, please contact [email protected]
Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆
On Monday 10th June, Youni is hosting an exciting careers panel led by women working in sport, with a special address from Paula Radcliffe. Tickets are free and available via the Youni app: https://apps.apple.com/pk/app/youni-uni-life-your-way/id1605755667?mt=8 📱

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Oxford University Lifesaving Club is running a free first aid course at James St Tavern on Saturday 1st June, from 12 – 2pm. They will be teaching CPR and how to treat someone who is choking. The session is suitable all levels of first aid experience. Tickets are free and you can sign up here: https://fixr.co/event/save-an-adults-life-first-aid-workshop-tickets-20277308
Oxford University Lifesaving Club

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises sports clubs on the basis of development successes in all aspects of the club including participation, competition/performance, inclusivity and outreach.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises students, solely on the basis of their sporting achievements.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises first teams solely on the basis of their sporting achievements.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises non-first teams solely on the basis of their sporting achievements.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises first-year students solely on the basis of their sporting achievements.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for the inaugural 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 & 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 award.

This award recognises a club, team or individual who has demonstrated outstanding efforts to run a successful campaign to make sport activities, programmes and opportunities more inclusive and accessible to students.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises an individual who has demonstrated the values of an outstanding teammate, for example a positive attitude, leading by example, supporting teammates on and off the field, bringing the best out of other teammates and developing positive relationships within the team.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/OxfordUniSport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 awards.

This award recognises volunteers who have gone above and beyond to contribute to sport at Oxford. It recognises outstanding sports organisation and services. This can be anything from developing a new programme to encourage growth or excellence within the sport, creating partnerships, outstanding leadership within a committee role or through outreach and mentoring programs.

All those listed on the shortlist for this award will receive a Contribution to Sport award and the winner of the Most Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award will be revealed on the night of the awards

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport

We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year's 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 award.

This award recognises an individual who has demonstrated the values of an outstanding teammate, for example a positive attitude, leading by example, supporting teammates on and off the field, bringing the best out of other teammates and developing positive relationships within the team.

There were over 150 nominations for this year's awards. The panel had a very tough job judging submissions and would like to congratulate all nominees and those shortlisted on their achievements. But who will be our winners...?

Find out on the 10th June at the Oxford University Sports Awards 2024 - purchase your tickets via the link in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oxfordunisport