Para Sport Review 2026
In April 2026, BUCS conducted a survey on Para and Disability Sport for staff and students and with the support of the Para Sport Network.
These findings informed the priorities of the Belonging Strategy and provided insight into how BUCS could address the barriers to participation.
Our findings and general para entry trends are available here.
REG Update
Our survey found that due to our REGs, there was uncertainty about whether they could win BUCS Points due to the lower numbers participating. In response to this, we are excited to share that we have updated REG 6.1.2.1.7, which will allow any para athlete the opportunity to get points in the sports that are eligible, without needing to beat another individual.
This REG update, which achieved considerable support in Competitions Group, means that when para athletes compete alone in an event/race they can still get points by beating the current BUCS Para Record or by beating an NGB supported benchmark. This Record/Benchmark will be clearly communicated on our event information at the point of entries opening.
Not all para sports will be eligible for this REG update, it will only apply to those which already get BUCS Points. We are separately continuing to review our current BUCS Points offering across our para sport and identifying where there may be additional considerations that would qualify sports to get BUCS Points. For example, where NGBs do not require classifications or classification processes are entirely inaccessible to the majority of students.
The sports that are eligible for the 2026-27 season are:
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Rowing
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Athletics
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Swimming
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Taekwondo (patterns)
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Powerlifting
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Cycling
However, we need to go through a process to establish either the official BUCS Para Records or NGB Supported Benchmark. Once this has been established, we will communicate it on the event information page. At this stage, we cannot commit to having achieved this for all the sports that are eligible but we will do our absolute best!
FAQs
My sport is listed as eligible for the REG update - why I didn’t get any points?
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Sports listed in the REG update are eligible, but point changes will only apply if BUCS Para Records or NGB-agreed benchmarks are established before entries open. Whether points can be won under REG 6.1.2.1.7 will be clearly stated on the event entry page.
How will NGBs set the benchmarks?
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The NGBs we will be engaging with already have benchmarks for para sport. It is up to our team, with support from stakeholders such as EMG para sport reps, to work with NGBs to set appropriate benchmarks for our level of competitions.
Where else is this done?
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Benchmarks and ratings are used throughout para sports in order to compare people with different classifications achievements against each other. We can see this in Swimming, Athletics, Archery and Cycling
What about sports that don't have records?
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Where records aren't a measure of success, the events team has found alternative ways of ensuring competition is provided. This is through allowing guest entries to expand the pool of participants (badminton, wheelchair tennis) or allowing institutions to work together to field a team (Wheelchair basketball)
What if an elite athlete sets a BUCS Para Record that most para athletes will never beat?
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We do not want to set up an alternative route to Points that is equally as inaccessible as the previous conditions! We will monitor where BUCS Para Records are not getting beaten and review whether it would be appropriate to switch to an NGB Supported Benchmark.
What if an athlete strategically sets records year-on-year to ensure they get maximum points over their time as a student?
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BUCS has looked into assessing 'best effort attempts' in previous years and this is a complex matter to judge. We don't think this would be appropriate to regulate against in this case.
Para Sport Network
BUCS supports member networks which are setup by members to share best practice and drive forward change. The Para Sport Network is chaired by Alasdair Donaldson.
