3 May 2012
This weekend, Imperial athletes will get a head start on their Team GB counterparts by stepping on track inside the Olympic Stadium as part of the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) athletics championships.
Tags: British Universities and Colleges Sport, London 2012, Sport Imperial
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11 August 2011
Imperial has finished first among London institutions in this year’s British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships’ national ranking.
For the second year running Imperial achieved 17th place overall in the BUCS championships, where competitors from institutions across the country take part in a diverse range of sports, from football to clay pigeon shooting. The points from all of their games provide the grand totals for the participating universities.
Eighty students from Imperial took part this year, and highlights for the College included gold medals in fencing for both the men’s and the women’s teams, which means Imperial is now the number one institution for fencing in the UK. The judo club also brought home a range of bronze, silver and gold medals.
Second year Biochemistry student Alice Mitchell is in the unique position of contributing to both of these successes. Having led the Imperial team to gold in the Women’s Fencing one day, the next she was on the judo mats winning a bronze medal, and helping the team to secure an overall bronze.
Alice says: “I feel very proud to have represented Imperial in two sports, and to have done as well as I did. I’m particularly pleased for the fencing team, as we came so close last year, finishing second. It was a very heartfelt moment when we finally won. It was a good year for me to be captain, but I definitely can’t take all the credit as we have a fantastic team full of really lovely, motivated people who make it such an enjoyable experience.”
On her unusual success across two sports she adds: “Judo and fencing are in some ways similar as they both require endurance and every fight is different. Yet I found it quite challenging to adapt to judo, as with fencing your legs and sword arm are very separate, but with judo everything has to be done fairly fluidly. I think the mindset is much the same though, as you have to go in thinking that you will win, whether they’re an international or not. You can’t give way to them because as soon as you do, the fight is over.”
This is a fantastic result for Imperial’s sports clubs”
Neil Mosley, Head of Sport Imperial and Assistant Director of Commercial Services, said: “This is a fantastic result for Imperial’s sports clubs. They should be very proud of their combined efforts. It shows that our student body aren’t just the budding great scientists of the future – they excel beyond the lab and classroom too. We’re continuing to invest in sports services here at Imperial, like the £300,000 refurbishment of the Energia gym this summer, and look forward to next season when we’ll be aiming even higher.”
Imperial College Union’s incoming president, Scott Heath, said he was delighted by the effort the student clubs and teams had put in: “Sports play a huge part in the student experience and we are proud to see the commitment and effort of our members rewarded with another high ranking position in the BUCS championship. As we know, the most well-rounded students are those who can display team-work, great communication and personal commitment. By embracing our sporting culture we can help students build these skills and have a truly memorable student life at Imperial.”
Imperial first achieved 17th place last year, marking a sizeable climb up the rankings, from forty-eighth place eleven years ago. The Imperial medics, who field a separate team to the College, also had a successful year, moving up six places in the BUCS table to claim 100th place.
– John-Paul Jones, Communications and Development
Tags: British Universities and Colleges Sport, BUCS, Sport Imperial
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