AS THE morning temperature gradually decreases, the number of students walking around campus increases, and the picture of 2014/2015 begins to be painted. It’s hard to miss the hint in the portrait of two colours we’ve come to associate with hard graft, passion, determination and hopefully a great deal of success; Black and Gold.
Students all around are once again proudly sporting their university’s colours and next week they will begin sporting them on the pitch, court or track, as BUCS 2014/2015 gets underway!
For those unaware of the competition, BUCS stands for British Universities and Colleges Sport and involves our teams competing against other universities in their region, hoping to achieve glory in both the league and cup competitions. Each university is given a rank in the league table depending on the overall performance of their sports clubs.
The university’s highest placing in BUCS came when it entered the competition for the first time, way back in the 04/05 season where York finished in 33rd place. Since then the team in black and gold have been a consistent top 50 outfit, reinforcing their place as a great habitat for sporting talent.
Last year, York broke back into the top 40 club, finishing in 38th place overall, their highest position for seven years and five places higher than the previous year in 2012/13. The result came as a shock to many yet the clubs and Sport Union overall will be hoping this year for another top 40 place, reinforcing their claim as a big force in the world of university sport.
The standard of sport has definitely increased at York over the years, particularly this year, with many facilities being improved to create quality environments for the athletes to train in and compete on. Focus has also increased on sports which are now being offered specialist support through physiotherapists and workshops. With such improvements being made, it should be of little surprise that this has led to improvements in results. The question is whether this year York can continue to impress overall, and maybe even elevate above last year’s success.
There was particular success last year for the women’s netball 1st team, who were promoted into the Northern 3B league after an epic win over Sheffield 2nds by 52 points to 42. The men’s football 1sts also enjoyed promotion and will be playing in the 2B league this year, sealing their reward with a 3-0 win over Leeds Met.
Perhaps the best hope for success this year, however, is in Lacrosse, as judging by last year’s results the team has a great chance of earning some valuable points for the university. Last season the women’s and men’s teams both won both their league and cup competitions and were undefeated. The challenge of the higher divisions will test their resilience but this is definitely a club setting the bar for sporting success.
But with 65 teams taking part, any number one of them could help push York up the leaderboard, with a number of new additions hoping to make an impact in their first year in the competition. American football, women’s hockey 3rds and women’s football 2nds will all be entering BUCS for the first time.
Look out for all the sport teams taking part in the competition starting next week. This is a very important year in the progress of sport at York, where another top 40 or higher finish will surly boost the university’s reputation for sport success; watch this space!