The 2021 shortened BUCS league and knockout season has been cancelled due to rising levels of COVID-19 throughout the UK. The season had been postponed in the summer until January 2021, but it has been announced by BUCS that despite adapting to new legislation, it can no longer go ahead as planned due to the unforeseen steep rise in cases.
Consequentially, no BUCS team competitions will go ahead this semester; including sports such as American football, basketball, volleyball and water polo. Hope does remain that some individual events will be able to go ahead from March and it remains possible that the Outdoor Cricket season will continue; however, this is dependent on Covid restrictions being retracted in the coming months.
For over 100 years British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) has been at the forefront of university sport in the United Kingdom.
BUCS works with its member institutions to get more students active more often, through traditional competitive sport and providing physical activity opportunities.
The official “BUCS” website highlights that despite no events continuing until March, they are hopeful in remaining flexible and reacting quickly to new legislation that would enable any events to go forth. Virtual activities will be utilised to preserve student engagement in physical activity.
The “BUCS Play” app hopes to achieve this, providing virtual activities and engaging opportunities. The app will be released within the next few months as BUCS emphasise that there players welfare and safety is their priority.
A spokesperson for BUCS said: “We will continue to prioritise student safety, demand and viability to guide our decision making.
“Over the last few months, we did all we could to try and make sport happen. We very much recognise the importance of sport, and the part it plays in the physical and mental wellbeing of students, especially at the moment. Our aim is to remain flexible and react to the changing situation as quickly as possible.”