Athletic Union off to a flying start

Clubs from the Athletic Union (AU) have enjoyed an excellent start to the sporting season this term, ensuring that the University of Exeter lies in a superb sixth place overall in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings going into the Christmas vacation.

The BUCS competition sees 165 institutions throughout the UK compete in over 50 sporting disciplines where points are earned for wins and draws. Points that are accumulated contribute towards an overall league ranking at the end of the season. The University of Exeter finished a fantastic seventh in last year’s competition and is hoping to build on this success.

The AU at the University of Exeter consists of 50 student led clubs that cover a range of sports including, tennis, football, canoeing, rugby, climbing and cricket. The Union is designed to give as many students as possible to opportunity to enjoy sport no matter what their experience of ability.

AU president Joe Batten commented “It has been a fantastic start to the year so far. All of the teams that compete in the BUCS leagues have been working incredibly hard and the results of this effort are really showing through. Hockey and Golf have been performing exceptionally well, topping their league tables going into the Christmas break. I hope that after Christmas we will be able to build upon this strong start and continue to progress in the New Year.”

The Intramural season has also got off to a great start. Intramural provides recreational sport leagues designed to encourage universal participation in Sport. Anyone can enter a team to compete in leagues that include football, basketball and hockey, with no previous experience in Sport required.

Joe Commented “The intramural league is designed to be an enjoyable and light hearted competition and it’s brilliant to see so many people engaging in it this year. We currently have over 270 teams competing weekly the six sports on offer. The great thing about Intramural is that it offers students who don’t want to compete too seriously the chance to form a team with their academic groups, hall friends, sports teams and societies, and play recreational sport once a week.”

The AU has also run a number of events this term including the incredibly successful Football Varsity which saw 4,000 students go to support the Green Machine.

Student sport is already benefiting from the £8 million investment in new facilities at the University which so far has seen the water-based astro pitch resurfaced, a new rubber crumb based MUGA pitch and six outdoor tennis courts covered. The university Rowing Club also saw the opening of the new Nicholas Bull Boathouse in September.

 Joe said “The new facilities have undoubtedly improved the Student Sporting experience at Exeter. To have the right resources to provide an effective training platform for the teams is incredibly important for continued development. I am really looking forward to the New Year and look forward to the New Year and am confident that the AU will continue to prosper throughout 2013.”