At a glance (Our 2024-45 Season)
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25,375 scheduled league and knockout fixtures.
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5,022 teams taking part across the year.
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825 leagues across the country.
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24 sports and 40 programme types including open, mixed, men’s and women’s.
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236 knockout competitions, including: National Championship, National Vase , National Trophy, National Shield, Conference Cup, Conference Trophy, Conference Shield.
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A mix of National and Premier leagues with UK wide travel, plus regional conference based leagues in five areas: Scottish, Northern, Midlands, Western and South Eastern.
What our Leagues and Knockouts mean for you
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Regular, organised fixtures throughout term time so you can play consistently alongside your studies.
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Competitions structures for all standards, from local competition to those aiming for national success.
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Teams and competitions designed to be inclusive, offering formats like mixed and open where appropriate.
Big Events
Our knockout season culminates in two highlight events each year.
BUCS Big Wednesday
The majority of our national knockout finals take place at BUCS Big Wednesday, scheduled for 24–25 March 2026 at Loughborough University. Last season’s Big Wednesday included:
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58 National Championship, National Trophy and National Vase finals
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116 teams from 30 institutions
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16 sports and 1,960 participants
Conference Finals
Most conference knockout programmes finish at one of five Conference Finals days, taking place on 11 March 2026 and hosted by our member institutions. Last season’s Conference Finals included:
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144 conference final fixtures
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288 teams from 85 institutions
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16 sports and at least 3,208 participants
Ready to get involved?
If you are thinking about university and want weekly competitive sport to be part of your student experience, BUCS offers something for everyone. Explore all of the sports BUCS delivers here.
