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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.

Regulation Update

Our survey found that due to our regulations, there was uncertainty about whether they could earn BUCS Points and BUCS Medals due to the lower numbers participating. In response to this, we are excited to share that we have added REG 6.1.2.1.10 and REG 6.2.2.8, which will enable a para athlete competing in a para category featuring no other individuals to be eligible to receive a BUCS Gold Medal if they beat a current BUCS Para Record or meet or exceed a National Governing Body (NGB) benchmark. Details of any records or benchmarks will be clearly communicated in our event information at the point of entries opening.

Not all para sports or categories are covered by these regulations. 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 or categories to get BUCS Points. For example, where NGBs do not require classifications or classification processes are entirely inaccessible to the majority of students.

Championships in which there are conditionally eligible para categories for the 2026-27 season are:

  • Athletics: Indoor Championships and Outdoor Championships
  • Cycling: 10 Mile Time Trial Championships, 25 Mile Time Trial Championships, Hill Climb Championships, and Track Championships
  • Powerlifting and Weightlifting: Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting Championships
  • Rowing: Indoor Championships
  • Swimming: Long Course Championships and Short Course Championships
  • Taekwondo: Championships

However, we need to go through a process to establish either the official BUCS Para Records or NGB benchmarks. Once this has been established, we will communicate it on the event information website page. At this stage, we cannot commit to having achieved this for all the conditionally eligible categories but we will do our absolute best!

FAQs

My sport's Championships was listed as having conditionally eligible para categories - why didn’t I receive any BUCS Points or a Gold Medal?

  • The Championships listed in the regulations contain conditionally eligible para categories, but these categories will only be eligible for application of these regulations if BUCS Para Records or NGB benchmarks are established before entries open. Where they have been, this will be clearly stated on the event information website page.

How will NGB benchmarks be set?

  • 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 Event Management Group (EMG) para sport reps, to work with NGBs to set appropriate benchmarks for our level of competitions.

Where else is this done?

  • 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 Athletics, Archery, Cycling and Swimming.

What about sports that don't have records?

  • Where records aren't a measure of success, our events team has found alternative ways of ensuring competition is provided, for example allowing guest entries to expand the pool of participants in our para badminton competition.

What if an elite para athlete sets a BUCS Para Record that most para athletes will never beat?

  • 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 benchmark.

What if a para athlete strategically sets records year-on-year to ensure they get maximum BUCS Points over their time as a student?

  • 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.