Executivesummary.
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
As I write these notes, the sun is shining through the window at Coombe Dingle, and thoughts of spring and summer sports stir. I sit here as term 2 finishes, reflecting on all the action; it will be hard for me to summarise all the key moments in just these few words! Fortunately, I have some fantastic staff who have described and provided visuals to portray the clubs’ and teams’ magical moments for Bristol.
We started on 6 January with a brand new pre-season week, an opportunity we took from the student assessment period having moved forward, to December. We welcomed back over 350 students to gain access to coaching, facilities, catering, and education support with our Performance Consultants. The sun shone and it was great to see students so relaxed, having had a break that wasn’t filled with exam revision. This week was perfect preparation for the second half of the competitive season, beginning later in the month.
The term flowed by like a very smooth steam train, with so many amazing Wednesdays and weekends filled with exciting games, and thousands of
students pulling on the Bristol jersey to go and represent with pride and enthusiasm. We had great numbers of teams fighting for top spots in leagues and late places in Cup competitions, which was incredible to see. I will save the detail of how things ended for William’s BUCS review..
Pre-seasontraining,January2025
During the students’ Easter break, we will be holding our new Scholar assessment day, where we will interview 75 athletes for a range of scholarships including Gold and Vice Chancellor’s awards (£4k and £1.5k, respectively) The calibre of athletes we had apply this year was easily the highest ever, showing the value in our greater focus on this area, and the work of Performance Pathway Manager Will and our fellow coaches.
We hope that this will result in a very good level of depth being added to many sports programmes, come August’s Results Day!
THANKS
I would like to thank all the coaching staff, MDT team, and S&C coaches, whose work since January - to support clubs and individual students along their journey at Bristol, and prepare them for on-field competition - has been exceptional. The focus of the whole Sport, Exercise and Health division is on developing active communities, and all areas feed in to the success that we have in Performance Sport. Without that joined-up support, it would not be possible, so thank you all.
To our donors, stakeholders and friends of the programme; your investment, advice and support also means this programme can grow, and with even more investment into scholarships, we can offer more to the athletes that we’d like to bring to Bristol, for a dual career.
I wish you all a fantastic Easter period and look forward to seeing many of you at Coombe for some BUCS cricket action
later this month. There will be some great games to enjoy in the sunshine.
Over and Out!
Watch January pre-season highlights, on @bristolunisport Instagram
CoachesataCPDdayon25March;anetball sessionwasledbyChani,andakicking masterclassledbyAmberandOlly
FineTime Photography
BUCS.
The debut of a January pre-season was a cause for optimism around Coombe Dingle, as Bristol looked to re-enter the fray as the standard bearer, in relentless pursuit of titles, finals, promotions and playoffs.
It is no mean feat that Bristol ran away victors in four out of five finals at March’s Western Conference Cup, meanwhile W2s Water Polo bowed out in the last 4 of the National Championship. An occasion that gave us a whistle-stop tour of both tactical nuance and physical adeptness.
WesternConferenceCupFinalwinners:
Badminton W2
Futsal M2
Netball W2
Tennis M3
Squash W2 (Silver)
It’s time for Bristol to hold 13 league titles aloft, epitomising the age-old mantra that it’s a marathon and not a sprint; reducing our opponents to facilitating our own title races. Sometimes not even attrition can hold you back!
2024-25leaguetitlewins:
Tier 1 Badminton M1, Cricket Indoor M1, Fencing M1, Football M1, Tennis W1
Tier 2 Badminton M2, Hockey W3, Netball W2
Tier 6 Football M6
One more roll of the dice awaits our tennis side who have secured, but not yet played, their playoff.
PremierSouthplayoffs:
HockeyW1 v St. Andrews W1 (1-2)
FootballM1 v East London M1 (1-2)
NetballW1 v Cardiff (36-28)
TennisW1 v KCL (fixture TBC)
BadmintonM1 v Surrey M1 (6-2)
FencingM1 v Essex M1 (135-27)
Hockey W1 met St. Andrews at home (coinciding with Derby Day) in theirs on 26 March, for the second time in as many months, after succumbing to defeat in the National Championship quarter-finals. Unfortunately it was a 2-1 defeat, and with a final loss away to Bath
Student spectators at Derby Day on 26 March FineTime Photography
on 9 April, the ladies didn’t quite make it to Super BUCS.
While the majority of our teams bid farewell on another fabled campaign, we now breathe life into the cricket calendar. And as term 2 comes to a close, after just shy of 900 fixtures, we proudly regain hold of our top 10 place.
View the latest BUCS Points table
Sports psychology.
This term has been one of hugely reward and impact with regards to the provision of Mental Fitness support across the competitive pathway, at BUCS and beyond.
Stand-out projects have been with the tennis, football, hockey and netball clubs, where huge value has been placed on the role of Psychology, Team Dynamics and Mindfulness-based mental skills, in preparing squads for Playoff scenarios.
One such example can be drawn from the tennis women's 1s who are in playoffs this month. I have facilitated educational sessions for them on-court, as well as coffee discussions, and interactive breathwork sessions at the Indoor Sports Centre. Meanwhile, I continue to work alongside Ali (Head Coach) to help shape the training environment.
Alongside this provision, I continue to work with our Vice Chancellor’s Scholars who, individually, and in team contexts, are competing regularly on the national and international stage. Hampshire pathway cricketer Kamran Dhariwal is utilising mental skills training as part of his indoor preparations, in 1:1 sessions with me.
I have also helped springboard the Injury Support Group with Ella Lovibond (Bristol SU Sport and Student Development Officer and Bristol Bears Rugby fullback), running psycho-educational workshops and discussion on Fridays at Senate House. Topics include the psychology and mental wellbeing around injury and rehabilitation, coping techniques and applied neuroscience. This supportive space continues to create a community for all students currently not in competition.
CONNOR GRANT MENTAL FITNESS & WELLBEING CONSULTANT
Ella Lovibond Evoke Pictures / Fran
Nutrition.
In my short tenure (since February) so far, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting nine of our Scholars, and have been in continuous conversation with six other athletes. We are working towards understanding the energy demands of their sport and macronutrient targets, to support performance and recovery over the remainder of the season, summer and into pre-season.
Identifying available time to improve and plan ahead
We have managed to solve a cramping issue in one of our athletes, and I’ve implemented a higher calorie focus on another, who has been hitting personal bests in the gym. They also came first in their track competition, again with a PB!
We’re now seeing athletes tracking their foods and I’m receiving pictures of their meals. This helps me to gain an understanding of their food choices, so that I can provide guidance. We are planning areas within their week to plan the preparation of meals and schedule eating times (see below). Follow
The attitude of the Scholars has been great and they are ‘hungry’ to learn and improve their nutrition habits, to become fitter, faster and stronger.
An Instagram page is being made available for all students at the university of which nutrition tips will be shared, give it a follow!
An athlete’s improvement on calorie / macronutrients
Strength& conditioning.
SUMMARY
Term 2 has been an exciting period of time for strength & conditioning. A mixture of Playoff opportunities, Cup finals and even the start of some sports’ seasons, means there are a breadth of opportunities for athletes to work hard on improving their physical conditioning, and openings for coaches to influence performance, within their sessions.
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
The new academic year structure meant, for the first time post-Christmas, we implemented a one-week pre-season that followed a similar structure to August; utilising the University’s nutritional partner, Source, to help fuel activities. During that week, we saw 473 attendances at the Olympic Weightlifting (OWL) Gym, and on pitch, with many sports going on to have a very successful January and February.
From a physical preparation perspective, we are very fortunate to have these pockets of time to engage students and drive adaptation, during a busy year.
The success we have seen during early to mid-stages of the season have resulted in many teams having crucial
Gabriel Mann performing a Nordic Hamstring Curl, one of many exercises that increase strength and lowers injury risk in the hamstring muscles.
fixtures late in the academic calendar this year. The likes of hockey, tennis, badminton, netball & football have continued to work hard, well into summer exam period and have done well to maintain a level of performance culture within the S&C environment.
For others, the options of ‘open gym’ slots help to provide a level of autonomy to exercise around their busy exam and
revision timetables.
Many sports are yet to play, and continue to train in preparation for their first run of fixtures. Cricket have been in since mid-October and have run through a number of training blocks, looking to enhance their strength speed and power, and build on their fantastic indoor result earlier this year.
Rowing have been in since September and continue to work hard, both in the gym and on the water, ahead of their key races this summer. And both men’s and women’s rugby 7s teams are beginning to increase their running loads and aerobic conditioning, in preparation for tournaments over the next three months.
physical testing batteries to drive accountability when returning. However, I will echo my statement from last year, that we encourage as many students as possible to return for August pre-season and enjoy some hard work – no matter your current physical condition!
THANK YOU
On behalf of the wider strength & conditioning team, I’d like to thank everyone who has played a part in sessions this year. The energy brought into the OWL, even in the depths of winter, has been second-to-none. We hope students have enjoyed themselves and thank those leavers who have completed three years of hard work.
LOOKING AHEAD
Looking ahead to the summer, we are placing a massive importance on students returning to August preseason. Learning from this year’s congested calendar, we quickly realised that the best time for students to increase their physical capabilities is when there are minimal commitments such as lectures, training and fixtures; so attacking this period is important. We are attempting to do this using XPS, to deliver our remote programmes and use
CALUM CONWAY LEAD S&C COACH
Coaches Olly, Chris and Calum offer matchday support from the 3G viewing balcony SmifSports Photography
Performancepathway.
As the end of term 2 draws to a close, we transition to the ‘business end’ of our recruitment cycle, with the two key stages being the UCAS deadline and the scholarship interview process.
GUARANTEED OFFERS
This year we gave out a record number of guaranteed offers to prospective students, ahead of the UCAS deadline56 in total. We also have a further 19 students on our priority list; those who would have been given a guaranteed offer but didn’t require one, due to having already received a University offer.
Guaranteed offers are a real gamechanger for us, meaning we can provide significantly greater security to applicants and the recruitment process. A guaranteed offer means that if the required grades are achieved, they are guaranteed a place on their chosen course. This may seem minor, but with 10 applicants to every available place at Bristol (on average), many students are being rejected, even with better grades than required. In addition, we have been unable to overturn several initial rejections and offer out places.
This group is by far the best, most talented, and has the greatest depth, we
have ever put together at this stage of the process – a testament to the hard work over the last three to four years of growing the programme, both as a whole and with each sport individually.
VICE CHANCELLOR’S SCHOLARSHIPS
The second stage of this process is our scholarship interview day, with over 75 incredibly talented athletes invited to attend on 8 April.
This will be by far the most competitive interview process to date - In fact, we will reject a higher level of athlete talent this year than that held by Scholars in previous years. This is again a huge representation of how far the programme has come, in terms of attracting aspirational dual-career athletes.
To give a flavour of the current list:
Rugby 17 age group internationals
Cricket 1 professional cricketer who has already made their first class debut, plus another waiting on a potential contract
Rowing Hockey 5 age group internationals, including an U19 World medallist
3 age group internationals
Tennis 1 top 10 U.S athlete
Netball 1 England age group international
GOLD SCHOLARSHIPS
Last year, for the first time, we gave out our Gold scholarship – a ‘bumper’ scholarship with monetary value of £4k per year, plus additional multidisciplinary team support. These are generously donated by our alumni with a view to recruiting exceptionally talented dual career athletes.
Given the standard of the recruitment list this year, we have been working hard with the Philanthropy team to raise more Gold scholarships. We currently fund 5 Gold scholarships; one for rugby, one for tennis, one for hockey, and two ‘open’ Gold scholarships. This, combined with our £40k pot for Vice Chancellor’s scholarships creates a very competitive offer. We hope this continued work to source more Gold scholarships will capitalise on the huge opportunity this recruitment year has presented.
Now all roads lead to results day…
THANKS
Thanks once again for your continued support to the programme here at University of Bristol!
Americanfootball.
SEASON REFLECTIONS
After a Christmas break to recharge, the Bristol Barracuda were back in the fray in February, with a challenging spell of three games in seven days, to finish off the regular season, and the club pushing towards a playoff spot.
First, a strong defensive performance eked out a narrow victory away to the Swansea Titans. This was followed up by a mid-week trip to Bath to face off the Killer Bees, for a match likely to determine which of the teams would make the post-season. The result was a strong 20-12 victory for Bristol, with running back Archie Calhaem, and rookie wide receiver Taran Hobby, getting touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, defensive back and kick returner Matheus Nudelman chipped in with a big kick return touchdown
Cuda finished off the regular season with a loss to a strong Bournemouth side, but finished second in the league with a 5-3 record and secured a spot in the playoffs.
BUCS PLAYOFFS
The first round brought a trip to Greenwich, to play King’s College London Regents. Fresh off a 7-1 league campaign, KCL were tipped as favourites, but a week spent studying the opposition’s film led us to have a solid game plan - one which paid off, with an impressive 20-0 victory.
Matheus Nudelman makes an interception during Bristol’s playoff victory vs King’s College London Regents Rory Macnair
A loss to Brunel Burners (who went on to win the competition and gain promotion to the Southern Premiership) in the next round brought an end to Cuda’s playoff journey, but after a disappointing
Celebrating the away win vs Bath Killer Bees
James Gilchrist
2023/24 campaign, this year has marked our first playoff win in Division 1, and the club has a large number of rookie contributors, which should set us up well in the coming years.
END OF SEASON
Attention soon moved on to flag football, in preparation for a Derby Day game against Bath, as well as our first alumni game in a decade. Alumni relations have flourished this year, and thanks to the establishment of a new Alumni Committee, we're excited about future plans for mentoring connections, career events, and new avenues of funding.
THANKS
I’d like to take the time to celebrate some individual achievements; Linebacker Caspar Henfrey, who first picked up a football at our September Give-It-A-Go session, has been selected for the GB U19s programme, which is a remarkable achievement in such a short timeframe. Caspar has become a defensive stalwart this year, and we’re excited to see him represent the club on the national stage.
Our only woman in the club, Bella Whitney, was also selected to the GB squad, marking our first national women’s programme representative.
The off-season now awaits, but it's been incredibly rewarding seeing the dedication of players, coaches, and committee translate into tangible results over the season. We’re on a journey under the leadership of first-year Head Coach James Gilchrist, and I’m excited to see what the club’s future holds!
Boat.
TERM 2 SUMMARY
With no exams and a new Senior Coach set to join UBBC imminently, January was certainly a brighter start to the new year than we were used to. Refreshed and energised, the club had an extremely productive month - the training was the best I have been a part of in my ten years at UBBC.
SENIOR COACH
We’re excited to report that Freddie Bryce has been appointed as Senior Coach. Day-to-day, Freddie will support me in the design and delivery of the rowing programme, assisting in the development of the club and the students, here at UBBC.
Freddie joins us from Reading Bluecoat School Boat Club, where he assisted in the coaching of the senior boys’ group. Before turning to coaching, Freddie was a Coxswain at Oxford Brookes University, where he spent three years performing at the highest level. His knowledge and experience will be invaluable, as we look to continue moving forward as a club.
CARBON UNDERWRITING
UBBC are also thrilled to welcome Carbon Underwriting, as club sponsors.
The partnership will look to strengthen the club's position within university rowing, with support provided to all areas of the club. This unique opportunity promises to continue our goals of diversifying and improving rowing accessibility at university level, in addition to supporting the club's growing Performance programme.
The good news continues, and I’m pleased to share that UBBC have taken delivery of two additional Hudson boats this term. An Ultimate SHARK Predator (USP) eight and a Super Predator (SP) four - both for the women’s squad. This is the fourth Hudson USP hull that has been purchased in the last two years and I’m proud to say the club provided all the funds to make these purchases a reality.
FEBRUARY GB TRIALS
At the midway point of February UBBC sent five trialists, including Toby Finch (Coxswain), Jake Birch, Joe Cunliffe, Indira Ogunbiyi and Emily Bernham, to GB’s second round of trials. Results:
M2-JakeBirch&JoeCunliffe:8thfullU23
W2-IndiraOgunbiyi&EmilyBernhem:3rd fullU23
The club is very proud of the performance of both boats. Jake Birch
Birch and Joe Cunliffe were both invited to the GB Final Trials at Caversham this month, which puts them in a strong position for seat racing in the summer after Henley Royal Regatta, to make a GBRT U23 team.
weather conditions, all crews had to compete over one busy day of racing. I’m happy to report that the senior squad had its most successful BUCS Head ever! There were however some disappointments; it was a tough day for the senior men’s eights, both placing fourth in their respective categories.
WInt8+:1 and9 place st th
OpCh4+:2 place nd
OpCh4-:5 place th
Opint4+:14 place th
Wint4+:1 &8 place st th
OpCh8+:4 place th
Opint8+:4 place th
WCh4-:6 place th
WBeg8+:10 place th
MBeg8+:9 place th
Trailer loaded and ready for the long trip home, eyes were firmly on the Tideway for Head of the River and Women’s Head of the River. It is the one time every year where the whole of the UK lines up against each other to race down the Championship course in LondonOlympians included!
WEHORR
The final weekend of February saw UBBC crews travel north to Newcastle to compete in BUCS Head. Due to poor
The final race of the winter season for our women’s squad was also the largest women’s rowing race worldwide - the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race. It seemed fitting that it took place on
Indira and Emily in the GB Trials
Men’s four at BUCS Head Both images: AllMarkOne
International Women’s Day! UBBC sent three eights and achieved an impressive set of results, in a very strong field:
UniversityofBristol‘A’-26th
UniversityofBristol‘B’-72nd
UniversityofBristol‘C’-286th
HORR RACE REPORT
It was the men’s turn to travel to London on 22 March, for the last Head Race of the season. Unfortunately, the men had a disrupted run into Head of the River with illness and injury pooping up across the squad. UBBC fielded 3 eights achieving the following results. Considering the lead up to this event we should be immensely proud of the effort and the results our men achieved
UniversityofBristol‘A’-25
UniversityofBristol‘B’-72 th nd
UniversityofBristol‘C’-256th
THANKS
A huge thanks to all our supporters, our friends and alumni, colleagues within Sport, Exercise and Health, The Fernside Trust and our sponsor Carbon.
Women’s eight at BUCS Head
Cricket.
‘BEST IN THE WEST’ INDOOR SUCCESS
Everyone at UBCC is extremely proud of our men’s 1s who came runners up in the National BUCS Indoor Competition. After 14 games unbeaten, winning the Regional Qualifying Group, the South of England Championships, National Final group stages and our semi-final, our boys fell at the final hurdle, where we were outplayed against a classy Worcester side.
After the last Performance Report, I left you all on a cliff-hanger, as we had confirmed qualification for the South of England Championships; so down to Canterbury we travelled - and here’s some of what’s happened between then and our Championship Final at Edgbaston:
We found ourselves 34-5 after just five overs against Imperial, looking like going home, until Luka Woods single-handedly scored 73* as the last man standing. Kamran Dhariwal retired on 25* in just six balls against Kings. He then came back to the crease, to end up with 58*.
Alex Quin took the greatest caughtand-bowled that I have seen in 25 years of cricket, against Kent.
Nic Chantler showed his class straight away at Edgbaston, bowling some incredible leg-spin. He bamboozled the opposition and ended up with three wickets as we bowled UEL out for 46.
We beat four-time repeat Indoor National Champions Durham University. Men’s 1st XI Captain, Charlie Atkinson showed character, resilience and determination to put on the most heroic innings, ending up 43* not out, with our 30-man support, cheering his name. Fired up, he then went on to take three wickets, Nic with 2fer, and we restricted Durham to 106 all out. I still have goose-bumps thinking about it!
Big Kam showed class yet again, single-handedly scoring 53* against Worcester to give Bristol their 13th win in a row.
Leicester fans in the semi-final were very loud, very rude, and not very good at cricket. They yobbed our batters off for 10 overs as we got to 129. They were all out for 50 and their army of hooligans left after the fifth over.
So into the final we went, against the side we had already beaten, Worcester... Sometimes in sport, you have to put your hands up and say you were completely
outplayed in that moment - and this was one of those times. We put up a good fight, but the score board pressure was too much and we fell 30 runs short. A valiant effort, but it wasn’t meant to be.
A huge thank you to all the supporters who travelled to Birmingham to come and watch. We will be back next year ready to go, one better.
THE BRISTOL BASH
Bristol Grammar School has become home to intense rivalries between our six newly formed teams.
The Bristol Bash is UBCC’s brand new intra-club indoor cricket tournament, created in an effort to bring the club together, through competitive enjoyment, and is open to all abilities, ethnicities & genders.
The tournament has been a resounding success, with more than 75 students turning up over five Saturday evenings; forming new friendships and playing opportunities.
Thanks to Parikisith Shetty, Sam Toohey and Charlotte Bunn for helping organise and run it.
DESERT SPRING PRE-SEASON TRAINING CAMP
Held at the ICC Accredited Desert Springs High-Performance Training Facility, our lads spent four days in sunny Espana, preparing for the upcoming summer. Our 14-man squad won all four matches, and spent valuable time on grass wickets. The time away has been so precious for team bonding, working through game plans, and removing many of the barriers the English weather has caused us in the last couple of years. We will look to continue this for the foreseeable future.
2025 SEASON OUTLINE
The 2025 season fast approaches and this summer sees a restructuring of the club's summer teams. This year, we are entering five teams into BUCS leagues with the men’s & women’s 1st XI playing in their Southern Premier leagues, the two 2nd XIs in Western Tier 1 and the Men’s 3’s playing in Western Tier 2. Our Men’s 4th and 5th XI’s will be playing a variety of social matches against a range of other universities, local teams and other societies.
This restructuring has occurred to align ourselves better with the new academic year structure; to create a more focused
training environment for our BUCS playing teams, and allowing our social members a non-competitive environment to enjoy university cricket.
The BUCS season kicks off on 16 April, so make sure you are following us on Instagram, Facebook and X to stay up to date with fixtures and results.
FrogBox will be in action again this year, with all 1st XI games and many others livestreamed on our Youtube. Let’s pray for some sunshine...
Yours in cricket, Chris
CHRIS BOLTON
Men’sfootball.
SEASON REFLECTIONS
The end of the season has come around extremely quickly. The men have had a really good one, winning two leagues, reaching a Cup semi-final and playing some really exciting football. The only downside has been the relegation of the 3s from Tier 2 into Tier 3 - they found the competition very strong, in a competitive league, but I am sure they will bounce straight back next year. The Saturday team will finish second in the Hellenic League Division 2 West, and they have reached another Cup final; They’ll face Swindon Supermarine Development on 10 May, at Mangotsfield United’s ground, in Bristol.
Western Tier 1 league champions
Platinum Photography / Simon Goodwin
team won 6 games, drew 2 and lost 2 in the ten-match season.
The playoff on Wednesday 9 April sees us face University of East London in an attempt to reach the Premiership South for the very first time. This is, arguably, the biggest game in the club’s history and the squad are really up for the challenge.
The 2s and the 3s both played in Tier 2 this season. The 2s made a very strong challenge to win the league, but came up against a strong Cardiff Met team, who proved difficult to beat. They also had an excellent run in the Cup and reached the semi-final, only to lose to Bath 2s.
The 3s found this league difficult and though they played some great football, they were on the losing side, by the odd goal in four games. I am sure we will regroup and come back stronger in the new season.
The 1s won the Western Tier 1 league with a great 7-2 win over Cardiff University in the final game. Overall, the
The 4s and the 5s played really well and both will be playing in Tier 3B and 4B respectively, next season. The 5s finished off their season with a great 4-0 win over league winners Cardiff Met 5s. Both teams were extremely competitive throughout the season and things bode well for the coming season.
The 6s had a brilliant season winning the 6B league, with Captain Charlie Taylor being the club’s top scorer, with 12 goals in 10 games. They will be promoted into 5B next season.
Overall, the club finished in 8th position in the BUCS men’s points tablefinishing above Birmingham, Chichester, Northumbria and Nottingham Trent.
3s put pressure on the 2s, with a good inswinging corner. The 2s went on to win 3-2
HELLENIC LEAGUE DIVISION 2 WEST
The Saturday League team will finish in 2nd place after a rollercoaster of a season. Missed chances have continued to cost us, and a 1-1 draw against Bourton Rovers meant we could not win the league.
We have reached the
Cup again and hope to retain the trophy that we won last season. We lost two games against Tytherington Rocks which we could, and should, have won easily and the missed chances cost the team the league. The players really enjoy this league and we look forward to renewing the campaign next season.
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Tom Flint, outgoing Club Captain, set up a development squad featuring players who’d missed out on selection to the main club, and about 30 players have been attending training sessions on a Friday. Tom arranged a match versus Oxford Brookes who brought a combination of their 4s and 5s to Coombe Dingle The score was 3-3 and the squad thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so we will hopefully continue with this next season, and arrange more fixtures.
To end the year, we hosted an intra-club padel tournament at Lockleaze Sports Centre, on 23 March, which turned out to be a great success. Part of our wider BRIT challenge - raising money for the British Inspiration Trust, who support the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff. The men had a great time and raised over £200 in the process. There was a great standard of padel on display
@sxhaloe
with James Martin and Xander Wright defeating Amit Waiss and Seb Tolosa in the grand final.
THANKS
This is the end of a really good season for the men’s football club and we are already looking forward to pre-season and the new season, next academic year. We lose a lot of players at the end of the year and we take this opportunity to thank all of them for their commitment to the club.
The players would like to thank the following coaches for the support they have received throughout the year: Calum, Samara, Connor and Will. They have kept us fit and well, and made the club extremely competitive
ALAN TYERS
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Amit Waiss celebrates a great strike against Cardiff University, to lead 3-0 Platinum Photography / Simon Goodwin
Men’sfutsal.
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
This season has marked another impressive year for University of Bristol Futsal Club, with the second team winning the Western Conference Cup and the first team qualifying for the European University Championships for the third consecutive year - having beaten each team in the Men’s Premier Division South at least once, for the first time in the club’s history.
Next season, the club will be adding in a women’s futsal team and continuing to build on this season’s success under the excellent stewardship of Club Captain Max Cuello Wolfe.
The University of Bristol is building a reputation as one for futsal excellence, consistently competing with the leading universities in futsal, over the past five seasons and now attracting some of the most talented futsal players in the country, to study here. The club now holds two U19 England players, while outgoing Tottenham Academy player Oliver Cannon was selected by Arsenal legend (ooh, the irony!) Ian Wright, for the inaugural Baller League, which recently started on Sky Sports. Oliver is goalkeeper for Wembley Rangers AFC. Our club even got a shoutout on the live draft!
Despite the disappointment of not going all the way in the National Championship, it’s been an incredible season for the first team, as we wish farewell to a number of players who have been the glue of the club for the past few seasons; Basil Arnander, ‘the cat’ Ollie Sturt, Seb Stanbridge, Sean Dale, Oliver Cannon and Joel Berman.
Western Conference Cup winners
JLF Visuals
BUCS SUMMARY
The first team finished off the season with an impressive run of away victories, beating Cardiff 5-4 with a late comeback (always a tough fixture) and Bournemouth 13-2, in a commanding performance. Word of the club’s prolific finishing had spread across the south coast, with Solent electing to cash in on a 3-0 home walkover, fearing a record defeat and saving some valuable pounds on their away day coach fare.
On top of making club history with that full sweep of National Premiership South opposition wins, the first team finished with the fewest goals conceded in the league, by some margin. However, a mini blip in form in the early seasoncoinciding with the loss of a couple of key players - meant three losses and a draw, with a third place finish, overall.
Celebrating at the Conference Cup Final JLF Visuals
The 2s showed their steel in the second half of the season, with notable victories against Marjon (14-3) and Southampton 2s (14-1), and with every single player scoring - including this fireball of a 10 metre penalty from goalkeeper, Mo. They had a second narrow defeat to league winners, Southampton 1s, losing 10-9, but their season was all going to come down to the Cup Final showdown against the same team, in Bath, in early March.
The first team have had an incredibly talented squad this season, and all have pushed their own levels, along with the incredible support of the S&C coaches.
The second team’s season was pinned on the Conference Cup Final against league winners University of Southampton 1s, who had already beaten them twice prior (very narrowly). It was to be played on a much larger court than the usual league games, so the team set up for a defensive masterclass, restricting Southampton to shots from distance, against our outstanding goalkeeper Mo Al Ghanim.
LOOKING AHEAD
I’m excited to see both teams grow in maturity and consistency, learning to execute game plans in critical moments. I hope next season will bring even more success as the club continues to grow and attract more and more students to this incredible sport! Where else do you get the chance to represent your university on a national and international stage, at the top level, and go toe-to-toe with a number of international players?!
JONO TYRELL
HEAD COACH, MEN’S FUTSAL
Hockey.
LADIES’ HOCKEY
Firstteam
Our ladies 1s have performed incredibly since Christmas. We are currently sitting second in the West Premier, with a couple of games still to play. A few stand-out performances have to be putting six goals past Exeter and four past Swansea. The ladies have worked extremely hard to put themselves in a great position to win the league as well, which would be a special achievement. The hockey seasons are long and challenging, so a serious amount of credit needs to go to these women for how much time and effort they put in to the programme
In BUCS, the ladies 1s played Cardiff Met on 5 February in a decider for league winners. Our ladies were certainly ready for this one, playing some excellent hockey early on, to excite the crowd turn out at Dingle. A couple of chances went begging towards the beginning, but it was 3-0 to Bristol come half-time. The second half started with the women in high spirits, though Met got a goal back within the first couple of minutes. Bristol kicked on though, to finish 4-1 and take the BUCS league win.
On 26 March, they faced St. Andrews 1s in a home playoff game, sadly missing out on entry into Super BUCS, with a 2-1 loss.
Secondteam
The ladies 2s have had a bit of mixed bag of results since Christmas, playing really well at times and putting in some strong performances against the likes of Falmouth, who are top of their league. A stand-out performance has to be winning 1-0 away at Plymouth in a show of real character and belief from the group. The BUCS season continued in the right direction through term 2 though, with the ladies picking up some good results to keep them safe in the league.
Amber Patel in a match vs Clifton Robinson 3s
MEN’S HOCKEY
Firstteam
The men’s 1s have had a seriously competitive set of fixtures for the second half of the season, coming off what was a really strong start. We welcomed Sevenoaks to Coombe Dingle for our first game back - a close encounter throughout the 70 minutes, but Bristol scored a last-minute winner that saw it end 3-2. This result set us up nicely for the following couple of games against Bath and Canterbury, who were below us. Unfortunately, results didn’t go our way and we lost our place in Division 1 South. The men worked seriously hard through a long, challenging season though, which is a huge credit to them.
Secondteam
This season has proven a tough one for a squad largely at the start of their university era - our predecessors having gained promotion at the end of a fruitful cycle, last season.
However, we win or we learn, and this season has done a lot for the development of this next cohort of Performance Hockey players at Bristol. Throughout the season we have won plaudits from our supporters, opponents and umpires, for our style of play, for our application and attitude, and for our development across the season. We have played our best hockey against the very best teams at this level. While this brought few points, the attitude and application of the boys is both inspiring and positive for the longer-term mission; often, the difference between teams comes down to small margins and consistency of action, and we are confident that the resilience and learning gained from this season will stand us in good stead, as we bid for a swift return to this level.
Survival (in Tier 2 of the National league) was the aim for BUCS from the start of the season, but we didn’t quite manage to maintain our league status. A hardfought draw with local rivals Bath 2s
SmifSports Photography
M1s celebrating a goal against Sevenoaks
followed a determined win against Southampton 1s, in term 1.
A very young squad should be proud of another season at this level, and some very strong performances against Cardiff 1s and our own M1s, as well as the aforementioned positive results, give us a lot of learning to take forward.
CHRIS
WHITE HEAD COACH, HOCKEY
Netball.
TERM 2 SUMMARY
What a term it was! All six teams have been on an incredible journey, each giving their best and leaving everything on the court. Every team has been fully involved in their respective Cups and played crucial league games, making for a thrilling conclusion to the season. This spring term has truly showcased the talent, hard work, and commitment of the players, and the results speak for themselves. There’s so much to be proud of, and now the excitement and anticipation for what comes next is already building.
FIRST TEAM
The first team recently had the opportunity to compete against Birmingham 1s in the National Championship This was a fantastic chance for the players to face a highquality team and challenge themselves at the next level. While the final score of 69-25 reflected a tough defeat, the game offered a valuable experience. It showcased excellent teamwork, hard work, and resilience from the team, all of which will serve them well as they continue to grow.
Following that game, the team relentlessly focused on preparing for the
most important match of the season; the winner-takes-all playoff final, against Cardiff. Their hard work paid off, as Bristol took a deserving 36-28 win, securing their place among the elite in the top tier of BUCS, next season.
Term 2 has truly been one of growth, determination, and anticipation.
SECOND TEAM
The 2s made history this season with an outstanding performance that saw them become the first team to win a Cup and gain promotion in the same campaign. This remarkable achievement is testament to their hard work, determination, and unity throughout the season.
The journey to success culminated on Conference Cup Finals Day when they faced Cardiff 3s. The team emerged
First team
triumphant with a hard-fought 48-39 victory. But the team wasn’t done yet; in their final game of the season, they took on University of South Wales and delivered a commanding 73-22 win, securing promotion to Division 1A next season!
This term has been a memorable one for the second team; full of significant milestones and performances that will go down in history With the Cup victory and promotion under their belts, they’ve earned a well-deserved place among the top competitors for next season.
DERBY DAY 2025
Alongside the epic Premiership playoff fixture, the club had another exciting event to look forward to - Derby Day!
An afternoon face-off at Coombe Dingle on Wednesday 26 March saw our 2s beat Swansea 1s 67-28. It was a fantastic occasion and a strong performance, leading us to end the season on a high.
For many of our players, it was also an emotional day, as our leavers wore the club dress for the final time. It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to such dedicated and talented individuals, but Derby Day offered a great opportunity to celebrate their contributions and wish them well as they move on to the next chapter.
CHANTELLE WOPARA
2s - Western Conference Cup winners BUCS Sport / Jack Hodgetts
Rugby.
DERBY DAY 2025
I write this report as I wake up the morning after Derby Day 2025, and what for me has to be the highlight of term 2 with four of our sides taking the field to play Birmingham, in front of big crowds of students, parents and University stakeholders.
Derby Day was yet again aboveexpectation and was a fantastic event, not just to promote rugby, but all of the sports our great University covers. It also marks the end for the 15s season as that was, in the main, our leavers’ final run out at Coombe Dingle. Events like this and the emotions that follow remind me every year how much the clubs mean to the students, who spend 3-5 years supporting, and then suddenly it stops. Clubs at university are vital to a student, to offer them that extra-curricular support, and events like Derby Day are the perfect demonstration of that. So, thank you to everyone who had a helping hand in organising that event at the rugby clubs.
MEN’S XV: DAVE ROLLITT MEMORIAL
The Men XV had one more game, on 9 April, meeting Richmond in London for the annual Dave Rollitt memorial. Dave
was a former UBRFC player who also played for Bristol, Richmond and England. The club went to London with alumni and supporters to watch a great game and remember a incredible rugby player. This marked the end of the 15s season, as the front row forwards return to the gym and the 7s squads embark on their season, with tournaments in Prague, Edinburgh, Hartpury and for the university BUCS 7s this year, London.
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
The beginning of term 2 seems a million years ago now but the term started with a fantastic January pre-season camp where both clubs had brilliant numbers and offered the coaches a fantastic start to the year - the change of academic year structure moving exams to preChristmas was used to their advantage, to get ahead of the game.
The women continued their dominant year, with fantastic results against all sides in the league, including very convincing wins over Swansea, Oxford and Cambridge, which cemented a 2 place finish. The final battle of the season was against the high-flying, topof-the-table Brunel. Sadly the women failed to get the away win against those who would eventually become the promoted side, but for the women’s 1
nd st
XV to be so dominant (bar Brunel) was exciting to see.
The cherry on top of the women’s season was the individual success that the women’s team have had; three players were selected for Celtic Challenge, four have gone on to represent Bristol Bears Women senior side, Natalee Evans (featured on the Autumn report front cover) was selected for England U20s and Stella Orrin was selected for the Wales Senior Six Nations training squad. Incredible achievements that we are so proud of, and shows the hard work of the athletes and their coaches.
Read the Welsh Rugby Union press release, announcing the extended Wales training squad for the 2025 Women’s Six Nations campaign.
All-in-all, with the women’s 2 XV finishing mid-table, it’s been an extremely successful first season under Amber Reed and Holly Phillips, who have led the programme so well and really changed the performance culture of the club. nd
The men’s season was less successful as the very tough Premier South league took its toll on the players early in the season - losing eight influential first team players in the opening weeks. Injuries and a lack of depth really gave its punishment on results, however Head Coach Dan Gaywood never gave up and his enthusiasm pushed the 1 XV squad to some really good end of season victories; Brunel 2s and the memorable final game of the season at home to Bath 2s, which was a great way to seal of the season. A 12-hour coach journey to Strathclyde was rewarded with a semifinal in the Cup, again against Brunel. Sadly, they were too strong for us and took the win. st
The season highlights in terms of results were the men’s 2 XV who, having been recently promoted to the Premier 2 league, had a incredible 4 place finish, beating Cardiff, Exeter and UWE (twice) on the way to the highest the team has ever finished.
SmifSports Photography
UBWRFC and Wales Women forward Stella Orrin
It’s clear that depth is the issue, especially around injuries, and thanks to our partnership with Bristol Bears, the recruitment of both teams next year looks extremely exciting. This coming as we approach the second year of this partnership. The rugby club has so many people making sure it’s run smoothly; from Matt Paine and Matt Birch in management, Cal Conway, Joe Page and Will R-K in Strength & Conditioning, two fantastic committees, fantastic grounds staff, the Facilities & Operations team, Will Horsley and so many more making sure we do everything to the best of our ability.
From of the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. Now we are into term 3 –sun, heat and 7s.
An encouraging high five after a 26-33 home loss for W1s to Hartpury W2s, in a term 1 friendly SmifSports Photography
Tennis.
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
There was plenty of tennis left to play for all teams heading into term 2, and a lot at stake. Women’s 1s were fighting for a playoff spot for the second year running, Men’s 1s, 2s and Women’s 2s were all vying to stay in the leagues they had been promoted into, multiple teams were still in Cup and Trophy competitions, plus there was the National Premier League to complete; it was an exciting term to be a part of!
COMPETITION
Hand-in-hand with the success of being promoted in one season, comes the challenge of remaining in the higher league the next, and our teams fought hard and have performed brilliantly to try and achieve that. Alongside league fights we had great results in the Cup and Trophy competitions.
BUCSleagues:
W1s 1st,WesternTier1 Playoff vs KCL still to come
W2s
W3s 4th,WesternTier1 3rd,WesternTier2B
M1s 5th,SouthernPrem maintained position in league
M2s
M3s
M4s 4th,WesternTier1 2nd,WesternTier2B 4th,WesternTier2B
CupandTrophy
Bristol has had a great run of Cup and Trophy competitions this year.
W1s Quarterfinals,NationalTrophy
W2s W3s Last16,NationalTrophy Round1,ConferenceCup
M1s Quarterfinals,NationalTrophy
W2s M4s Round2,NationalTrophy Semifinal,ConferenceCup
Our Men’s 3s travelled to Bath to take on Cardiff Met 2s in the Conference Cup Final, determined after a tough loss to the same side in League competition 1-5 earlier in the term.
ConferenceCupwinners(M3s): Owen Palmer, John Brunskill, Jamie Blunt, Desmond Martin, Sam Cassidy BUCS Sport / Jack Hodgetts
Tied at 3-3 after regular play, we had a shootout! Up stepped first-year Sam and third-year Owen to play the Singles 10point Championship tiebreaks - winning
both, and seizing the win for Bristol. We have been runner up for the last two years, so for these lads to get the win was huge. The support from the Bristol crowd made such a difference - I had never seen so much maroon at Bath before!
BUCSIndividualChampionships
Bristol hosted the Western Qualifier for the BUCS Individuals competition at the beginning of March. We had 14 representatives from our men’s and women’s squads in the tournament. Eight players made it to the second round, and three players made it to the last qualifying round but didn’t quite make it. We had two of our players (Ella Walker for the second year in a row, and Dasha Kuzmina) qualify for the National Finals in Loughborough at the end of March. This is a great achievement for both players.
NationalPremierLeague(NPL)
Our strongest men and women compete in the National Premier League on weekends between November and February; the highest level of team competition in the country, and a step above BUCS. After a competitive season, our men finished 7 in the league, and the women finished 6 ; performances of which we’re very proud. th th
Ella Walker at the BUCS Championships BUCS Sport
THANKS
As ever, I want to thank all the staff involved in making our performance squads, and UBTC as a whole, an incredible club to be a part of.
To all in the Tennis, Performance, Facilities & Operations and Business Development teams, who all make the environment the best we can for our players: a massive thank you.
I want to take the opportunity in this report to give the biggest thanks to the players that are moving on from our university this year. They are a cohort who have truly been remarkable for student Performance Tennis and who have built an extraordinary culture at this club (names overleaf).
Natalia Mathieu, Angelique Trinder, Alice Taylor, India Henke, Ella Walker, Max Canosa-Ede, Desmond Martin, Tommy More, Owen Palmer, Jamie Blunt, Toby Comberti, Alexander Stannard, Victor Wiles and Alex Matthews (7 years of service!): you are leaving a lasting impact on all of us, which is going to be tough to follow.
Find UBTC on Instagram @uniofbristoltennis
Visit the UBTC website
ALI BLACKETT
HEAD COACH, TENNIS
Juniortennis.
Our Junior Performance programme continues to recognise talented juniors from across our Development programme, who are showing a real passion for the game and excelling in their age group, with an invitation to join and train more frequently with us.
Our performance players train with our fantastic coaching team multiple times week, choosing from a Tuesday and Friday evening, and a Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning. Our morning performance sessions are accessible for all our local clubs around the Bristol & Bath area, to help bring more of our talent pool of juniors together and help supplement their weekly programmes.
After increasing our numbers from 20 to 28 juniors across our morning programme in June 2024, we grew again to 35 juniors, in March 2025; a great achievement for all involved.
Since my last report, we have now moved to Direct Debit payments for all our morning players and they have all recently received their personalised report - charting their progress, areas of development, and their short-, mediumand long-term goals.
We have had another comprehensive Performance Camp offer for our juniors. With recent camps at February half term and upcoming Easter and Summer camps, where we return to our 9am to 4pm model, with incorporated S&C from our UOB team and our first 8U offer.
Finally, we have had some excellent individual success this year, including Josh Martin who’s made the step up in age groups, recently winning a 12U Grade 4 competition in Cardiff.
Etty, Richard, & Alan (9U) were selected to represent their county and all played their part in helping Avon win the South West event - qualifying for the National South event at the end of March, and finishing 5th.
You can watch a ‘Day in the Life of a Junior Performance Tennis Player’ video on @bristolunisport Instagram, featuring Zoe Doufexi, who continues to impress with some excellent competition successes including Grade 3 tournament wins in Hull, Bristol and Shrewsbury.
OLLIE BENDALL
HEAD COACH, JUNIOR PERFORMANCE TENNIS
Hockey TalentAcademy.
TERM 1 REFLECTIONS
Into the second term of our second season, the Bristol Talent Academy continues to prove an enlightening, enjoyable, positive and highly performing talent development environment.
Following shortlist assessment sessions in October, 26 girls and 30 boys were selected to our squads for this season. In term 1 and 2, these squads completed 25 sessions and over 50 hours of learning per gender, including Strength & Conditioning sessions that, for the first time, are running throughout the cycle for this group.
Beyond the pitch, we have completed the induction process, welcoming our participants and their parents at a ‘Welcome briefing’ in November, giving our community a little flavour for how Sport at University of Bristol operates, and undertaken a detailed individual development planning and feedback process. We also welcomed England Age Group coach Don Vinson, who provides us invaluable feedback and development as part of our Talent Academy partnership with England Hockey; Don has kindly recognised the buy-in, engagement and willingness in our squads. As last year, we are confident that this will result in significant progress
in development for everyone involved.
Alys Davis, 2024/25 Girls’ Captain taking on East TA in last year’s Talent Academy Cup
Chris Huxley-Reynard
TERM 2 REFLECTIONS
Term 2 brought our first fixtures of this cycle. Much as in our senior squads, a high level of turnover means that learning from each other and becoming a team is a significant achievement in itself. The squads faced the Oxford, Bath and Exeter Talent Academies in minitournaments in January and February, though results, at this stage, take a back seat in games that are detailed ‘development matches’ within the Talent Academy process. Both groups have shown excellent teamship, communication and drive, and no shortage of ability.
Term 2 has also brought our the first of our mid-cycle assessment sessions which act as an early look at applicants for next years squads. Some significant potential has been observed and another cohort of young people have fed back on how much they have enjoyed being part of the Bristol experience.
Off the pitch we have undergone a considerable application process to reconfirm our intent to licence for the Talent Academy for the next 3-year period; the outcome of which should be known early in term 3.
LOOKING AHEAD
In term 3 we look forward to much more development, with another 20+ sessions and more competition yet, all the way to the Talent Academy Cup in July.
We are, once again, proud to work with everyone that is part of the Talent Academy - an initiative that is very clearly delivering on what we set out to achieve.
MARTIN HICKS
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