It was a statement of ambition from York Sport Union, and its President Charlotte Winter, to claim that their aim for the year was to move York into the top 40 sports universities in the country. It would be fair to say that, whilst not a weak sporting establishment, the university is not counted amongst the national elite.
While that is still the case, progress has clearly been made. Even Winter herself must be pleasantly surprised by the position that the university is in. The futsal team have been the trailblazers, becoming the first university club to win a BUCS Premier Division title earlier this year.
On Sunday they take on UWE (Hartpury) or Middlesex in the BUCS National Championship quarter-finals. Their last 16 clash against Leicester was one for the ages. They showed great resilience to win, having trailed for most of the match. The atmosphere at that game was unlike any I had experienced at a university sporting event. For a match outside of Roses, it was incredible.
But they are not alone in surpassing expectations. The women’s fencing 1sts have also reached the BUCS National Championship in their sport, and after a first round bye will take on Cardiff this week in the quarter-finals. After only marginally missing out on winning the Premier League, they too are in with a strong chance of glory.
Other flagship sports are also succeeding. The men’s rugby have had a tremendous season, with good form on the field, and off-field recognition as well. Both men’s and women’s lacrosse 1sts go from strength to strength, and both 1sts football teams also sit atop their leagues. The men’s and women’s badminton 1sts have proven hard to beat and both challenge for promotion from Northern 2B. Meanwhile, less mainstream sports such as squash and water polo have also experienced impressive results.
Speaking to Vision about the unprecedented success, Winter said: “I’m incredibly happy with how the Top 40 campaign has gone so far. We’ve had some exceptional performances from the teams this year- not least futsal and their league win.”