British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national organisation for higher education sport in the UK. It brings together expertise and experience from two former representative bodies – British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS) – to provide a unified voice for sport, fitness and physical activity on university campuses.
Sheffield Hallam compete annually in BUCS competition with approximately 40 teams regularly competing on a Wedensday afternoon plus other teams such as Rowing, Athletics, Swimming, Cycling and Surfing are entered in BUCS Championships.
BUCS’ vision is to enhance the student experience in three key areas:
• Performance
• Competition
• Participation
What BUCS do
BUCS works with student athletes, athletic union staff and elected officers as well as professional sporting staff, coaches and volunteers at 150 member institutions. It offers a comprehensive, multi-sport competition structure and manages the development of services and facilities for participative, grass-roots sport and healthy campuses through to high-performance, elite athletes.
Why get involved with BUCS?
Participation in sport at higher education institutions is already impressive:
• One in four students take part in regular physical activity
• 3,800 sports teams operate on campus, with the highest participation in rugby, football and hockey
• 41% of university sports teams are female
• 150 weekend sporting events take place each year
• 58% of the GB Team competing in Beijing 2008 have come through the higher education system
• 67% of visits to university sporting facilities are from students, with 26% from community users and 8% from staff (NASS Survey 07/08)
• BUCS members operate approx. £20bn worth of sporting facilities and amenities, including 45 fitness suites, 541 tennis courts and 139 sports halls
• The first ‘British University Championships’ in March 2008 attracted 5,000 athletes and 3,000
spectators to the city of Sheffield and generated more than £86,000 worth of media value