Individual BUCS events
As well as the regular BUCS league there are also lots of one off events and indiviudal competitions available for you to take part in.
Do you have a specialised sport?
Are you ready to compete nationally against other universities?
Take a look at the events page on the BUCS website to find out about upcoming events. examples include boxing, archery, climbing, weightlifting, trampolining and many more.
Each event have specific entry requirements and deadlines, please check these carefully. If there is something that you would like to enter, please email su.activities@uos.ac.uk in the first instance with plenty of notice before the entry deadline. We hope to be able to sponsor as many events as possible and help cover your entry fee, transport and kit costs but please email to see if this is possible before entering.
Max's experience
Athletics: Cross Country Championships 2022-23
On Saturday I was very proud to represent Suffolk University at the BUCS national cross country event held at Pembrey Country Park in South Wales, it was quite a trip getting there driving over 250miles on Friday to stay over the night before the event, but as a keen competitive runner it was an event I really wanted to attend and hoped to deliver a strong performance for the Uni.
I have been running since primary school, I am lucky to have a natural ability, but I also train hard for endurance running, as a junior I represented my primary and secondary schools, and during that time I had secured places to represent Essex County Schools and Essex County at national events, I run locally for Colchester harriers and my progress from a junior to senior athlete has been good, last year I posted some really good times, I qualified for the Essex U20 team and if I could replicate that qualification time it would have given me a very good finish in the BUCS.
The BUCS cross-country is the national cross-country event for all UK universities, this years event had 1400 athletes, it is a very professionally run event, with commentators, interviews during and after the races, with all the major universities represented some of the large ones had 40+ athletes, Suffolk had just the one and that was me, I was immensely proud to represent the university. Unfortunately, due to flu over Christmas and a few niggly injuries I hadn’t really been able to put the level of training in I would normally had done, so I had a feeling I wasn’t going to trouble the leaders. My attitude is very much be as competitive as I can all the time, so at the start I was keen to give it my best. After the first 2k I was in quite a good position in the pack just off the lead, but I soon started to feel the lack of training in my legs and I slowly slipped down the pack and some way off the leaders, as I crossed the finish line I felt pretty deflated. With a long journey home ahead to reflect on the race I was a bit down, but on reflection and knowing what I am capable of I told myself that with the illness and injuries, this year was just not my time, but next year will be. Hopefully next time we can see Suffolk up there with the big teams, maybe a few more students can join me and we’ll have a decent team.
Up next for me is the London Half in April, then the Colchester 10k and a few local 5 and 8k’s, you’ll also see me in the summer running the Ipswich 5k around the marina.
I always want to challenge myself to see where I am at compared to other runners, in the London Half, I’m in the first wave of starters, starting with the elite athletics, hopefully pushing for a good time and a decent placing.
Finally, I want to thank the university for supporting during this event.
Emily's experience
BUCS Weightlifting Championships 2022
This year I was lucky enough to qualify to be the first person to represent UoS at the British University and College Sport (BUCS) Weightlifting Championships, which was held at St Mary’s University on 12th April. The competition involved taking three attempts in the two ground-to-overhead lifts: the snatch and clean & jerk, to produce the heaviest combined total score possible in kilograms.
I finished 9th place overall in the very competitive women’s under 71kg bodyweight class and secured competition personal bests in both my lifts. It was a fantastic opportunity and I feel very grateful to have been supported by the university to attend the event. I was also very lucky to have been supported on the day of the competition by my coach Kirsty Turner, the co-owner of Orwell Fitness and Weightlifting Club where I train, who attended the event with me. I’m passionate about encouraging more women to take part in sport, particularly a stereotypically male-dominated sport like weightlifting. I hope that by a woman being the first person to represent the university in weightlifting, others might be encouraged to get into sport.