Performance Sport Report - Spring 2024

Executivesummary.

Hello to all colleagues, friends, partners and stakeholders,

I would like to welcome you to the Spring edition of the Performance Sport report, with reflections on this magical term, since the start of 2024.

I always seem to say it, but wow this has been a special term, and as I write these notes in mid-March, we have had some huge success stories already; from teams in BUCS and National Competition, to individuals playing Super League Netball, and to top that, some very exciting sporting playoffs to come over the next few weeks.

Inside this juicy issue you will hear from Coaches, staff in the MDT team, athletes on the squad, and our updates on recruitment!

Since the term started in January, we’ve had pre-season to support athletes in balancing their revision, exam period, and using sport, strength & conditioning and friends to help them through the tricky assessment period. We ran this over two weeks, and with this being the last year the University will have exams in January, it’s going to allow a very exciting opportunity for us; more on that in our Summer report

This term has seen some real magic across our teams and sports. We have had Conference Cup Final wins (more from Andrew, next), league title wins and promotions, fighting all the way in some leagues right to the end (!), and the cherry on the top; seeing Men's Hockey bounce straight back up into the National League under Chris White’s first season of leadership. What an achievement!

We are coming up to mark a year without our very special Head of Hockey, Ben Dudley; he lost his fight with Cancer in 2023. His memory is in the walls of the Division and especially the Performance Office. I often look up to the sky and wonder ‘what would Ben have said, or asked me in that situation?’. He normally had a very good reply for me, or a conversation to have. Grief is a like a river someone once told me, its always moving, sometimes it can get stuck behind some leaves or a rock, but it finds a way to push forwards to its destination. You have no choice.

I would like to remember Paul, Sally and the whole family at this time of the year with all of our love and thoughts, and to say that our memories of Ben stay vivid, and clear, with smiles on our faces never to leave us

I would like to thank the Priory Foundation and Nigel Wray for your continued support and faith in our programme, and all of our partners and stakeholders who contribute in so many ways to make the programme a success.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter period. The rain will stop and the sound of willow on bat will soon ring around the leafy grounds, when the sun finally puts its hat on...

Looking ahead, we have some very exciting months of sport to enjoy, both in Bristol and the World Stage; a small Olympic festival on the horizon, around the stunning streets of Francais! Bristol alumni will be out in force and a big focus of the Summer issue will be previewing those, and their journeys to Medal Success!

Over and Out!

BUCS.

March saw the conclusion of BUCS leagues for our 85 teams that compete across terms 1 and 2; the culmination of more than 850 fixtures. Wesaw17teamsplace1stin their respective leagues, with 13 eligible for automatic promotion, and 4 involved in playoff fixtures to earn a place in the BUCS Premier South league for their sport. The four in playoffs were: Volleyball Men’s, Rugby Union Men’s, Tennis Men’s and Tennis Women’s.

We were also lucky enough to join 8 teams representing Bristol in the BUCS Conference Cup finals, this year hosted centrally in Exeter. The Conference Cup is a regional knockout competition that runs the full length of the season. Basketball, Lacrosse and Tennis each had two teams qualify, with Squash and Badminton sending one side each.

University of Bristol currently place 10th of 144 competing institutions in the BUCS points table with 2654.5 points – another top 10 finish would be the 8th consecutive season that this has been achieved.

TheteamsthathaveearnedthemostpointsfortheUniversitysofarthisseasonare:

73points:Women’sWaterPolo1s

66points:Men’sWaterPolo1s

65points:Women’sBadminton1s

65points:Men’sLacrosse1s

We are now in the middle of a transition period, as attention turns to summer BUCS competition; Cricket, Rowing, and Rugby 7s to name a few. We have the exciting addition to our cricket programme of two ‘University of Bristol X UWE’ hybrid women’s teams, incorporating the best talent from across both esteemed higher education institutions in Bristol.

Fingers crossed the rain is held at bay and the first balls of the BUCS Cricket season can be bowled on 17 April, with our W1s team facing Birmingham away, and our M1s facing Oxford away, to usher in a first-class summer of sport!

ANDREW LANHAM BUCS AND COMPETITIONS ADMINISTRATOR

Nutrition.

Nutrition support within the performance environment at the University of Bristol has continued to grow; here's how it's progressed:

PARTNERSHIP WITH NUTRITION X

Educating athletes about nutrition is vital, but it's equally important to establish a provision that reinforces this education and nutrition strategy. So, our response was to partner with Nutrition X!

Nutrition X is one of the top nutrition supplement companies among elite athletes, based in Gloucester. Their products are crafted using ingredients backed by scientific literature, showcasing substantial enhancements in athlete performance and health. All their products are certified by Informed Sport, assuring athletes that they undergo batch testing for safety. We are looking forward to seeing how this partnership develops and using Nutrition X products within multiple streams in the performance structure.

GAME DAY NUTRITION SUPPORT

One way that Nutrition X products have been utilised is creating a game day supplement package for sports teams.

This package consists of carbohydrate gels for rapid carbohydrate-based energy, hydrafuel — an electrolyte and carbohydrate powder mixed with water to enhance fluid retention and increase carbohydrate availability and an MRM shake containing both carbohydrate and protein, to aid recovery.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with players expressing that the supplements have enhanced their performance and elevated the professionalism of their sporting experience.

CONTINUING INDIVIDUALISED SUPPORT WITH VC SCHOLARS AND MAROONS

The focus of Fridays at Coombe Dingle is still to provide individualised support for the VC Scholars and Maroons. A recurring topic that many have been working on is the importance of precompetition fuelling.

Athletes are often surprised to learn the significant amount of carbohydrates they need to consume to ensure sufficient energy availability for optimal performance! Together, we work through a thorough plan which is realistic for the athlete to maintain

Upon implementing pre-match fuelling strategies, many athletes have reported increased energy levels, improved concentration, reduced cramping, and delayed onset of fatigue.

In addition to individualised support, small group sessions have fostered a more dynamic exchange of energy and ideas. This approach has led to positive engagement with nutrition among athletes.

Sports Psychology.

VC SCHOLARS & MAROONS HEAD COACH 1:1 MENTORING

The Spring term has been very dynamic and rewarding from the perspective of Performance Psychology. Our Vice Chancellor’s Scholars have continued their participation countrywide, from National league futsal to West regional hockey champions.

My support has taken me onto the pitch working on rugby-specific mental and perceptive skills for international Sevens competition, in the gym training performance breathwork with our injury rehabilitating rowers, and catching up over a coffee with our Bristol Bears Women’s player Ella Lovibond.

The performance-wellbeing discussion has been consistent this term as well with Physio; Henry Abrahams and I took several scholars to Clevedon Marine Lake to dip in sub-10 degrees water, as part of their recovery between matches. The benefits of cold water immersion are well-documented and our Scholars have since habitualised this practice with regular trips.

I’ve been working closely with our Head Coaches in Hockey, Cricket and Rowing this term.

Chris White (Hockey) and I have been supporting the players, balancing BUCS and weekend leagues and exploring the role of momentum in hockey.

Chris Bolton (Cricket) invited me to the BOLA indoor training facility to work with his women’s and men’s performance players on incorporating mental cues into their bowling and batting processes.

And in early March I was on the launch with Ed Bloomfield (Boat) on the River Avon, talking through his evolving coaching philosophy and helping to shape this year’s Boat Club culture and season’s aspirations.

CONNOR GRANT

Physio.

In February, Connor and I took the Scholar group down to Clevedon Marine Lake to open up discussion & learning around the potential benefits of cold water immersion. The lake was a balmy 6 deg for the cold dip!

The potential benefits of cold water immersion are fairly well-documented with improvements in recovery and muscle soreness being touted as the headlines. But it is also recognised, perhaps more importantly, that this is a practice that can improve and promote resilience and have positive impact on health, with both physical and mental health benefits.

The workshop was a success with many of the group deciding cold water immersion is something they would like to continue in some form, and it stimulated some good conversation and learning, with even a monthly session being muted for the last Friday of each month!

ScholarsandHenryatClevedonMarineLake

Strength& conditioning.

Term 2 is always a busy time of year, being the ‘business end’ of the season, recruitment, and academic year – and this one has been no different!

REFLECTIONS - SAMARA NCHE

My time here at Bristol has already been very fulfilling. The dedication and enthusiasm of the students has made each day a rewarding experience.

Coaching a variety of clubs and genders, seeing their progress in the gym, and supporting them on the field / court on BUCS Wednesdays has been inspiring. Moreover, the sports coaches and Performance team have been incredibly easy to collaborate with, and have been a huge support in driving attendance and upholding standards with regards to S&C.

This term, I have been able to support clubs on match day with their warm-ups, since we now have sufficient capacity within the team. This has been impactful, attracting good feedback from coaches and students, and I look forward to building on this next term / year with the learnings we have taken

Looking ahead to term 3, we are currently planning our physical profiling process for students ahead of summer, to help them understand what they need to work on with. I’m looking forward to the continued growth and success of the programme.

S&C IN NUMBERS:

LEAD COACH ROLE

We are excited to announce that Calum Conway has joined us as Lead S&C Coach. Calum will be with us 3 days per week, as part of the backfill to Will’s secondment to Performance Pathway Manager.

Calum has joined us from RCG Rugby and brings plenty of experience to the team. I’m looking forward to the impact Calum will certainly make.

Thank you, as ever, for your continued support of sport here at Bristol.

WILL RUSCOMBE-KING AND SAMARA NCHE S&C COACHING TEAM

UBWRFCbattleagainstBirminghamatDerbyDay FineTime Photography

Performancepathway.

RECRUITMENT

With the UCAS and scholarship application window now closed, we are looking forward to our scholarship interview day at Easter. We will be hosting all applicants at Coombe Dingle to get to know them and their aspirations. We have our best candidate list to date, with the highest level and depth of athletes.

We are also working hard to expand our Widening Participation support, including working closely with the Widening Participation team who have just secured £30k of funding. This was very kindly donated by an alumnus and guarantees 2 WP Scholarships. We are continuing to fundraise ahead of the interview process, so that we can support as many athletes as possible.

PERFORMANCE SPORT SCIENCE MSCI

The sports course development is gathering pace, with content and structure of the course coming together. The initial feedback from the survey of prospective students is very positive and we are confident that we have a strong business case, which we aim to submit in October

We are in good conversations with key sports tech companies which will support the key module, ‘Training Science’, in which athletes will analyse their own training. At the start of the year, each student will put together their training week, according to their context and sport. They will then be given the appropriate technology to measure their own training, meaning there will be a high degree of autonomy and individualisation inherent to the course.

Assuming the business case is approved without delay, we hope to see the first cohort joining us in September 2025 –watch this space!

PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT

Due to the potential course, we are actively engaging key stakeholders within the development of the course including Gloucester Cricket Club, GB Rowing, England Hockey to name a few.

In addition, we are in the process of developing a network of schools and clubs to form a pre-university network. The aim is to create a community in which we can facilitate best practice, CPD, support, and of course, recruitment

We are having some excellent conversations with stakeholders to develop a pre- to post-university pathway and I look forward to continuing this work over the coming months. WILL

Athletespotlight.

PHOEBE MASLEN, NETBALL

The start of the netball Superleague season has been very exciting for me as part of Team Bath.

Our season commenced with a victory against Strathclyde Sirens where we played in front of a vibrant crowd of 6,000 at Nottingham Arena. This win marked a significant confidence boost for not only the team, but also for me, as it was my first full Superleague match being in the 12.

PhoebeinCentreagainstStrathclydeSirens

Five games into the 18-week season, we have come across some of the top teams in the league, but we have shown some real grit and determination.

For me personally, it has been a real achievement to gain a lot of court time at Centre, playing against some of the top players in the country, and surrounded by a wealth of experience.

Training alongside the Roses squad in England Futures camps has also been a wonderful opportunity to grow as a player, both on and off court, with the main goal being the upcoming U21 World

Morgan Harlow

PhoebeMaslenplaysinWingDefenceagainst SaracensMavericksforTeamBath

Morgan Harlow

Youth Cup 2025, held in Gibraltar.

In addition, my home club, Weston Park Blades, have enjoyed great success in the National Premier league, where we have finished second in the country, after playing games week-in, week-out.

This is an incredible achievement for the club’s history, and again playing alongside Superleague and ex-England internationals has really helped me develop my experience and leadership as a player.

I look forward to the remainder of the Superleague season, hoping to continue my journey and to continue growing as an athlete.

PhoebeattheScholar’sDaylastyear FineTime Photography

Readmore(Universitypressrelease): Student Leads England to Euro Gold in First Capped Games [October 2023].

As well as this, next season is an exciting year for our BUCS Netball team, as we continue to develop in the Premier division. PHOEBE

Boat.

FLOODING AT THE BOATHOUSE

Like previous years, the start of 2024 presented a familiar challenge with the weather proving to be exceptionally unkind. For most of January, the entire Saltford Rowing Centre was flooded; the river level rose to 3ft inside the boathouse, setting a record for flood levels along the river Avon at Saltford. So it was another incredibly frustrating start to the year for the club.

When the river level finally subsided, we were left to deal with the damage caused by the flood. In total, three boats were written off and several other pieces of equipment needed significant repairs, or were so badly damaged that they were simply disposed of. A huge thanks to the grounds staff at Coombe Dingle, who came down to help with the clean-up.

Whilst we could now access our boathouse we still couldn’t train as the river levels remained high, thus making it too dangerous. In a search for water that could actually be rowed on, the club loaded the trailer and headed to Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor, for a training weekend. Despite the awful weather, UBBC still managed to have a very productive weekend.

FloodingatSaltfordboathouse

A week or so later we were back on the water at Saltford. The good news continued, and I’m pleased to share that UBBC will be taking delivery of a Hudson Ultimate SHARK Predator (USP) coxed four for the Men’s squad later this term. This is the third Hudson USP hull that has been purchased in the last two years. I’m proud to say the club provided the lion’s share of the funds to make this purchase a reality; no mean feat for a boat costing just shy of £20k

The boat will be our flagship hull for future campaigns at BUCS and Henley Royal Regatta, and will be named after Nick Nops in recognition of the support he has given the club over the years. There will be a boat-naming ceremony later this year at HRR, at which we look forward to raising a glass in thanks, to Nick.

TERM 2

Due to all the inclement weather, more events have been cancelled than have gone ahead so far this season. However, UBBC had a fantastic day out in London at Hammersmith Head. It was our novice’s first race on the Tideway and everyone in the boat club had some great results, including a win in intermediate Men’s Eights for the second eight. Both our Men’s and Women’s First Eights placed well in both Championship categories, which is a good sign for the rest of the year.

Op Champ:

Op Int:

Op Int:

Op Int: W Champ: W Int:

Op Dev: W Dev: 5th 1st 7th Time only 4th 5th 5th 2nd

We are now looking forward to WeHORR and HORR in the coming weeks!

Women’ssquadtrainingatWimbeballLake

Men’ssquadtrainingatWimbeballLake

Both images: Aaron Sims

THANKS

A huge thanks to all our supporters, our friends and alumni, colleagues within Sport, Exercise and Health, The Fernside Trust.

Men’sfootball.

BUCS SUMMARY

The season ending has come all too quickly and the club has experienced some highs and lows. The 1st team were 3rd in Tier 1 with some really good performances at the beginning of the campaign, a bit of a struggle in the middle part and a good ending as they beat Solent at home 5-1.

25 points, winning eight of their league games. They will play in Tier 2 next season alongside the 2s. They have been brilliant throughout the season and won the league by 10 points, scoring 27 goals in the process.

The 2s were sadly relegated from Tier 1 and will play next season in Tier 2. However, this does not represent the way they have played throughout the season.

GMSscoringthefirstofabrillianthattrick

AnothergreatgoalfromAmit,tosealthe5-1 winvsSolent1s

The 3s have had a brilliant season winning the Tier 3 league with a total of

They have been very unfortunate in four or five of the games and could easily have got points if things had gone their way. They have played some really exciting football and have been on the wrong end of some poor decisions. Hopefully, they will bounce back next season.

The 4s were involved in a very tense Tier 4 league, including a three-way tie for the top spot along with UWE 3s, and our 5s. In a very complicated decisionmaking progress, they lost out on goal difference and finished 3rd. They had a huge opportunity to win the league, but could only manage a draw against Cardiff Met 4s.

Huge congratulations to the 5s who won the league and have been promoted to Tier 3 next season.

The 6s lay mid-table in Tier 6 with two games to play – which could elevate them up into the top 3. They have had a good season and we have been able to give a lot of “Freshers” a taste of BUCS football.

HELLENIC LEAGUE

The Saturday league is going really well. The club are currently lying 5th in the league, but with games in hand we can go top. We were beaten in the semifinal of the Gloucester County Cup, being beaten on penalties after a 0-0 draw. We had beaten some really good teams along the way, so it was disappointing not to reach the final.

The club have really been enjoying the Saturday games, which have broadened their football experiences and they have risen to this new challenge.

We are still in another Cup quarter final, so there is hope yet to progress to the final.

No.teams

It’s been a really positive season for the club, with 2 promotions, leaving us in a really good state for next season.

We will be still playing in the Hellenic league on a Saturday, and the start of the season will dovetail with pre-season training. This will hopefully propel the club forward once again into the new season.

We lose quite a few players this year, but we also retain some really good ones, as well as pushing the first years onto the next level.

Training has been well-attended and the players have responded positively to some new initiatives. For example, Millie has promoted a healthy attitude towards pre- and post-match nutrition, as well as providing Nutrition X products. We still need to develop the use of GPS trackers for the next season to help drive the club forwards. Will and the S&C team have provided a brilliant programme that has helped the club enormously.

Everyone is already looking forward to the new season.

Men’shockey.

MEN’S SQUAD

Closing the first half of the season with a big win against promotion rivals Oxford Hawks (away) 2-1; we knew something special could happen in the second half of the season.

After another successful, albeit too brief, indoor hockey campaign where we again took on some of the best teams at National League Division 2 level, the second half of our National League season started again in February. In this term, the M1s have started to express themselves and play some of their best, most free-flowing hockey, resulting in some stand-out performances; including a 2-1 win over local rivals Clifton Robinsons, followed by a 7-0 win over Plymouth, and two thoroughly professional performances resulting in

wins 3-2 away at Fareham and 3-0 at home to Chichester.

The biggest performances of them all followed; we went away to Cheltenham knowing that if other results went our way then we would win the Conference West for a second time in our history. We went into this game knowing that our job was to focus on winning; one we worked hard to achieve, breaking a tight, difficult game on 58 minutes. It finished 3-0 to Bristol and UBMHC are Champions with three games to spare! We look forward to England Hockey Division One next season.

The M1 BUCS season finished with a flourish, with the two Nottingham universities to play. Picking up our first ever Super BUCS point away at reigning Champions University of Nottingham with a 2-2 draw, gave us a small chance of pulling off a tough survival mission. However, despite an incredible effort, we were unable to beat a strong Nottingham Trent side, which means we will be attempting to win our third BUCS Prem (South) next season.

Our BUCS Cup campaign also started well, beating Cambridge University 7-0, however we were soon halted by a strong Exeter side, losing 2-0 The boys

can look back proudly on an incredible season competing toe-to-toe with the very best in the game.

The Men’s 2s started term 2 at the top of the league (on goal difference) after a particularly important win away at promotion rivals Team Bath Buccaneers. The boys have gone from strength to strength this term, securing a hugely important 2-1 win away at second placed Swindon, and later, a 3-2 win at home to Team Bath Buccaneers.

The M2s have won every game this term and now find themselves a net 8 points clear, with four games to go at the time of writing. Two more results and the M2s will be Champions and promoted to the West Premier Division for the first time. We will focus on the job at hand to make this a reality and close an inspirational, memorable season with another big celebration.

It has been a season of incredible achievement, not least following the loss of our former Head Coach, driving force and friend, Ben Dudley. Huge credit to the club and all staff for everything they have done throughout this very difficult year.

The M2s also finished their BUCS Premier (South) campaign strongly. With survival being the aim, playing as we do at the second National tier, the boys needed some big performances against rivals University College London and Reading. A big 6-3 win away at UCL was followed by a 3-2 win against Reading, securing seventh place and firming our position next season.

CHRIS WHITE HEAD COACH, HOCKEY

WillJonesandTomSmithcelebratingWill’s winninggoalagainstCliftonRobinsons SmifSports Photography

Ladies’hockey.

LADIES’ SQUAD

The Ladies 1s went into the new term with high expectations to continue the hard work they had put into the season before Christmas.

This group have been excellent throughout, grasping the necessary processes, tactics and team approach for our first season; working together. This has been borne out in particular in some stand-out performances, including a 2-0 win over Swindon Hockey Club and most recently, a big 1-0 win over rivals Cardiff & Met Hockey Club. We currently sit fifth in the table, hoping to break top four. A very young squad, full of first years, the ladies have a huge amount of ability and potential still to come. We are looking ahead to an exciting second season together, and to the future of this group.

In BUCS the L1s had a very exciting close to the season, first travelling over the bridge to play Cardiff University, coming out 4-1 winners. This made it all to play for, to secure an unexpected promotion in our final game against Exeter 2s.

On 7 February we travelled down to Exeter, needing a win and other results to go our way to secure a playoff spot, however despite an incredible effort, the game ended 1-1 against a very strong Exeter side, meaning the L1s missed out on promotion to Super BUCS by just 1 point.

We then moved on to the BUCS Cup. After having been given a ‘bye’ by Glasgow University, we travelled north again to Nottingham Trent in high spirits, excited for the challenge against a strong Super BUCS side. The ladies played some excellent hockey, however came out on the wrong side of the result, losing 3-0.

They’ve had an incredible BUCS season and should be extremely proud of the way they have played.

The Ladies 2s have had a great second term, playing a lot of hockey each

Saturday and Wednesday. Beginning the second half of the season in early January, the L2s are still going at the time of writing, with four games still to go in England Hockey West leagues and two fixtures to play in BUCS.

A few stand-out performances include a 3-1 win over Yate and 5-0 win over Team Bath Buccaneers in West Division

One, and a 3-2 win over Exeter 4s in BUCS, means the girls consolidate in both their BUCS and adult hockey leagues. These ladies have improved massively as a group and really started to understand the process and what we are trying to achieve. All of the staff are really proud of them.

CHRIS WHITE HEAD COACH, HOCKEY

Photography

Netball.

TERM 2 REFLECTIONS

It’s been another great term, with all six teams wrapping up the season before Easter. The club culture continues to flourish, leading the way for a term full of rigorous training, both on the court and in the gym. This has allowed players to improve on the physical aspects of their game, but also hone their essential skills such as leadership, communication and resilience, which are invaluable both on and off the court.

UBNC FIRST TEAM

The first team have had an incredible season retaining their Premier South status by finishing fifth in the league. It was a season full a challenges, and the players have learned so much from playing against such high calibre of players week-in, week-out. We say goodbye to some incredible athletes this year; Ife Danso, Niamh Hill, Lizzie McGechie, Anna Luckman and Isla May have represented the University with pride and passion, and have been a huge reason for the club’s recent success. They have been the ideal role models for the ‘Freshers’ coming in this year, with their dedication, attitude, discipline, resilience and respect for each other and the programme, and I want to personally wish them every success in

their futures, both in netball and in life.

1saftertheirawaywinatCardiffMet

BUCS SEASON

The term was full with lots of exhilarating games in both the league and the Cup The second team have had a solid season, finishing third in Western Tier 2. With so many first-years now embedded in the team, they will look to be stronger next year, and aim for promotion to Tier 1. Their season concluded in March following an exciting away fixture against UWE 1s.

Similar to the 2s, the third team have had a fantastic season and finish second in Western Tier 3. The season has seen them blow some opposition away with

their connections and fluidity through court, but also come through the tighter, nitty gritty games, by fighting through the tough moments.

Unfortunately, two narrow loses to the league leaders University of South Wales meant we missed out on promotion, but with most of the team returning next season, they will look to go one step further next year and get that top spot.

The fourth team play in the same division as the 3s, and have struggled for consistency. They have had some fantastic moments, the stand-out being a draw against the division winners, USW; a spectacle to watch and a match they felt they very much deserved to win. The season sadly ends with a demotion to Tier 4, but the group are determined to come straight back up next year.

The fifth team have been the ‘team of the season’, gaining promotion to Tier 4 and playing (almost) the perfect, unbeaten season. Unfortunately the final game didn’t go to plan and the team lost to second place Solent, by four goals. Nevertheless, one loss does not take away from the team’s achievements this year. They are a completely new team and gelled together immediately

So much excitement to come from this team, bring on next season!

UBNC5saftera30-59awaywinatMarjon

The sixth team have one remaining fixture but sit comfortably mid-table, following a great term in Tier 5. This team love a Cup run and for the second consecutive year, have reached the latter stages of the Conference Trophy. This year, the team performed brilliantly and reached the Semi Finals. They should be very proud of their achievements - I most certainly am.

LOOKING AHEAD TO TERM 3

The players are looking forward to continuing training in term 3. Although all the fixtures will have been played, the players understand the importance of continuing to invest in the programme and themselves.

We want to continue the hard work put in this year, making sure that it’s taken forward into next year, and so that we can see everyone return to pre-season in the summer, ready to go again.

StrivingtodefendthegoalagainstSwanseaatDerbyDay SmifSports Photography

Men’srugby.

IST XV

Rugby has always been similar to an Alton Towers roller coaster; it has its ups and downs. This term, it’s been like the best ride ever created. The 1st XV were the first part of the ride, winning huge games at the beginning of the season to finish the league with the second-most wins. This marked a very solid seasonone of ‘rebuilding’.

The top-half finish in the league meant a home tie verses Strathclyde in the Cup. This was the climb of the ride as the team, led in an incredible performance by second-year Gabriel Mann, saw an emphatic win under the lights of Coombe Dingle.

But, as with everything in this wonderful world, what comes up must of course come down - and oh, it did.

The next game was a Quarter Final trip to Newcastle and, having discovered that a flight for 22 people is a lot cheaper than a bus, the 1st XV rose to around 32,000 feet before ‘crashing’ down to a very well-drilled outfit. And just like that, a great season for the 1st XV in BUCS tournaments came to a close.

The struggle is that students find it hard to motivate once leagues are over, as they don’t see the pot at the end of the rainbow. Obvious external issues come to the front of their minds. So our challenge, here at rugby HQ, has been making sure that our students continue to feel wanted, and have a place to release their stress.

To address this, we ensure that the season doesn’t just stop; with games in the diary versus University of Massachusetts, Bath University and the Armed Forces U23s, at Clifton Rugby Club. Who knows how this roller coaster will end for the 1st XV squad.

Afirst-yearonlysidestartagainstBirmingham atDerbyDay,inMarch FineTime Photography

A DEVELOPING SQUAD

It has also been a mixed bag for the 3s and 4s, both seeing mid-table finishes in the season, however it is safe to say that next season looks like we could be onto a winner. I write this hoping Matt Birch doesn’t read it, as I don’t want to put all my eggs into the basket(!), but our first years look very good.

We had a first-year only side play Blackrock College and put 40 past them on a very wet Friday. Has it ever stopped raining this year??? I honestly cant remember the last day I didn’t have to consider which rain jacket to put on!

TERM 2 HIGHLIGHTS

The highlight of the term, the cherry on the cake, the peak of the roller coaster of a wonderful season, was our mighty second team who won the league by a clear 5 points in mid-March, and now find themselves in a playoff to promotion - which would be the highest this team has ever reached. They would face sides like Reading, St Marys and, you heard it here first, UWE.

The Bristol SU and Sport, Exercise and Health staff shudder at that thought, but it’s been an incredible achievement for that team, who are littered with first years and final-year players. The league was confirmed last week versus USW in the Pontypridd mountains, with an outstanding away performance. All that could be heard was “twos don’t lose!” echoing across the Welsh valleys.

2ndXVcelebratetheirleaguewin

Tennis.

FOREWORD

Term 1 was very successful for the BUCS teams and there was a lot still left to play for, heading into term 2. We had our first teams fighting to finish top of their leagues and reach playoffs, and our second teams also looked to top their leagues, and gain promotion. In addition we had four teams left in the Conference Cup.

COMPETITION

I cannot fault the hard work and discipline of our players to get the results they have this year; we saw four league wins (with two playoffs to come in April) and three out of four teams in the Conference Cup Final on 6 March.

BUCS Leagues

Women’s 1s:

Women’s 2s:

Women’s 3s:

Men’s 1s:

Men’s 2s:

Men’s 3s:

Men’s 4s: 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 4th 6th

Western Tier 1A-

Western Tier 2B*

Western Tier 2B

Western Tier 1A-

Western Tier 2B*

Western Tier 2B

Western Tier 2B

- Playoff for Southern Premier to come in midApril: W1s vs Essex and M1s vs Essex.

* Promotion

BUCS Conference Cup

Our Men’s 3s lost out in a close fight to Bournemouth 1s in the Semi Final of the Conference Cup, resulting in Bournemouth being the only non-Bristol side heading to Exeter for the Men’s and Women’s Finals in March. Our Men’s 2s team had an epic battle with the Bournemouth side - the fixture finishing 3-3 after regular matches and heading into a shootout. At 1-1 after the singles shootout, we lost 10-7 in the deciding Championship tiebreak; runners up for the second year in a row.

On the Women’s side our 2s took the win, sweeping the final 5-0, versus our 3s. It was an incredible day for Bristol Tennis!

BUCS Individuals

On the weekend of 2-3 March, we hosted the BUCS Individuals Western Qualifier, where nine of our players competed. Wins came from Victor Wiles, Toby Comberti, Alice Taylor and Ella Walker. Ella won her second round, putting her through to the Finals in Loughborough on 22-24 March, with the best female players in GB University Tennis.

Women’s side finish

- our highest finish this league in 2021.

Club Championships

National Premier League

Term 2 saw the end of both Men’s and Women’s NPL season. The level of opposition was incredibly high and our players fought hard to pick up results against some of the strongest club and university teams in the country. Our Men managed to stay in the league, which was a great achievement, and our

The first Club Championships was introduced in 2023 and it has kicked off well in its second year. Again, approximately 100 Intermediate, Advanced and BUCS players are entered across both men’s and women’s competitions. The Championship Finals day will be held on Saturday 27 April; a fantastic way to bring the club together, and mark the end of a brilliant season.

THANKS

Student Performance Tennis has achieved great things this season, and there are a lot of people to thank for that; thanks to the tennis staff working day-in, day-out with the players, especially those on court regularly. Ollie, Ross and Max, you have made a huge difference to the progress of our players.

The S&C team, in particular Samara; thank you for you positive and personalised approach.

EllaWalkeratpre-seasontraining FineTime Photography

The Performance team and MDT; special mention to Connor for spending the past few weeks with us, working on mental skills and playoff preparation.

Thanks also to the teams which put in a shift behind the scenes, to make sure that we are creating a positive environment in which our players train, compete and get exposure; the Facilities team and Business Development. Special mention goes to the hard work of Andrew Lanham for scheduling, and Vicky Dickson for bookings - we really appreciate you.

Lastly, the biggest thanks goes to our students themselves, who inspire us allas players, leaders and people. Performance Tennis has flourished this term due to the wonderful student committee. Special mention to Performance Captains Josh, Victor, Alice and Ella, for guiding and pushing the players, and to Club Captain Alex, for supporting the vision.

We have had an amazing season but we are not done yet- looking forward to those playoffs in April!

ALI BLACKETT HEAD COACH, TENNIS

Junior tennis.

I was appointed as Head Coach of Junior Performance Tennis in October, which meant, for the first time in over 20 years of working at the University, in various tennis specific roles, I was very excited to become a full-time employee (alongside my University Tennis Coordinator role).

I first worked closely with our tennis team to create a unique philosophy, principles and key values, which are intrinsically linked to our core values as a University, and as a division.

Our Junior Performance Programme recognises our talented juniors from across our development programme, who are showing a real passion for the game and excelling in their age group, to join and train more often with us. Our Performance players train with our fantastic coaching team twice a week, on a Tuesday and Friday evening.

In mid-January, to continue to help create more opportunities to help maximise our juniors’ potential, we introduced several new term-time Junior Performance sessions, on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. A chance for our best players, of a County

level and higher, to get their quality training in before the school day starts. These unique morning sessions are accessible to all local clubs around the Bristol & Bath area, to help bring more of our talent pool of juniors together, and to supplement their weekly programmes.

We have had a fantastic start, with more than 20 juniors attending our new-look morning sessions, and these players have already committed to train with us in the Summer term too.

Looking further ahead, we hope to continue to grow these sessions and create even more opportunities for our juniors to train and compete with us, at the University of Bristol. We hope this will include UOB training packages (additional off-court parent and player support, competition visits, workshops and discounts), a comprehensive schedule of Junior Performance camps (we’ve already had 70 children join us for camps in December and February) and LTA-sanctioned competitions at Coombe Dingle (hosted by UOB students who we’ve nominated to be trained up by the LTA). Please do get in touch if you would like to find out more.

OLLIE BENDALL HEAD COACH, JUNIOR PERFORMANCE TENNIS

Hockey TalentAcademy.

Two terms into our first year as an England Hockey licensed Talent Academy, we can reflect on a successful start. Almost 18 months since the beginning a very comprehensive application process, and a year since starting in earnest, the task of establishing, planning, setting up, resourcing and selecting, we have a living, thriving Talent Academy environment.

Following an assessment process starting in September 2023, our inaugural squads of 27 girls and 27 boys were selected; all high-potential hockey players from around the Bristol Hockey community. We began training as the University of Bristol Talent Academy squads in October.

BoysplayintheTriangularatExeterUniversity

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 of how sport at the University of Bristol operates, and undertaking a detailed individual development planning process.

We have completed over 40 sessions and 80 hours of learning across the groups, including two highly enjoyable day camps prior to, and post-Christmas. Despite the cold days, we focused on team building and bonding, as well as developing our hockey.

In February, the boys’ and girls’ squads competed for the first time, taking part in triangular tournaments vs Exeter and Bath Talent Academies. Some excellent performances ensued and our teams played together like they had done so for a long time - showing excellent teamship, communication and drive.

BristolTalentAcademyboysvsBathTAboys

Despite playing back-to-back matches and, for some of the girls, running for almost two hours, the squads achieved two wins (1 boys’, 1 girls’), 1 draw (boys) and 1 loss (girls) across our four games.

Players and coaches alike enjoyed themselves and, as coaches, we are incredibly proud of everyone we have the pleasure to work with, not just for their performances in these matches, but across all of our work together over these two terms.

In term 3 we look forward to much more development, with another 40+ sessions and yet more competition, all the way to the Talent Academy National Festival, in July.

SurridgeBristolTAkit