The University of Nottingham topped the medal charts with 14 titles and retained their spot at the top of the university sport standings at this year’s BUCS Big Wednesday.

BUCS and UoN were delighted to welcome coaches, athletes and supporters from across the UK to the David Ross Sports Village.

The event is the pinnacle of the BUCS calendar and yesterday’s activities saw over 100 teams, competing in championship and trophy finals, descend on the University of Nottingham for one day of sporting excellence, where over 100 student volunteers, officials and BUCS staff delivered a truly memorable athlete experience.

The event included the introduction of two new sports this year, with American Football and Wheelchair Basketball being added to the occasion. University of Nottingham made both Championship finals, with American Football losing agonisingly against UWE having led with 10 seconds to spare. Meanwhile, Nottingham’s Wheelchair Basketball secured the first ever BUCS National title with a 66-40 victory over Cardiff Met.

The BUCS league programme sees 100,000 students each year take part in competitions in some 3,500 teams across 600 leagues, making it the biggest student sporting programme in Europe.

Hosted by the University for the third time, the event took place in six hub venues in the city, including the £40m David Ross Sports Village on University Park campus, Jubilee Sports Centre, Nottingham Tennis Centre, Beeston Hockey and Basford United. The event drew bumper crowds with many events sold-out and live streamed matches receiving record viewing figures meaning that the event was the biggest to ever be delivered.

The event was also the greenest ever, with the University of Nottingham making a commitment to offset the collective carbon emissions from travel to the event via the planting of around 800 trees, which equate to approximately 20 tons of carbon. Practical measures were also put in place to reduce waste and all athlete match teas were vegetarian, with all catering providers serving meals with recyclable containers/cutlery only.

University of Nottingham Sports Office, Amba Gooden commented:

“Welcoming the best student-athletes in the country to our city has been a real privilege. I am incredibly proud of our teams and this was such an incredible event to host here in Nottingham. Win-or-lose we gave it everything a huge congratulations to our newly crowned National Champions in 8 sports!”

For the full written reports from the day, please visit the University of Nottingham Sport website.

University of Nottingham Sport – BUCS Big Wednesday 2022 results

The University of Nottingham — with 22 teams competing in the finals, with 14 of those in the Championship competition — made the most of the home advantage and the huge Green and Gold crowd got behind them secure 14 titles including 8 in the Championship and 6 in the Trophy).

• Men’s Badminton Championship Winners
• Women’s Lacrosse Championship Winners
• Women’s Squash Championship Winners
• Men’s Table Tennis Championship Winners
• Women’s Table Tennis Championship Winners
• Men’s Volleyball Championship Winners
• Mixed Wheelchair BB Championship Winners
• Men’s Badminton Trophy Winners
• Women’s Hockey Championship Winners
• Men’s Rugby Union Vase Winners
• Women’s Table Tennis Trophy Winners
• Women’s Tennis Trophy Winners

Highlights included an historic Championship gold for the Women’s Lacrosse squad, who dictated their final winning 12-7 against Durham to take the national title.

Men’s Volleyball were also crowned national champions after beating Essex University 3-1 at Jubilee. The team building on their fantastic season under new Head Coach Freddie Fairbairn.

Women’s Hockey dominated large parts of their Championship final again Birmingham spurred on by two-time Olympian and University of Nottingham Sport Scholar Nike Lorenz, who played a pivotal role in the team winning their first national title in several years.

For the full reports from the day, please visit the UoN Sport website. 

All proceeds from UoN ticket sales will go directly to the Official Charity Partner the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre and the event organisers hope to have raised thousands of pounds from the sell-out crowds at the venues in Nottingham.