With just two weeks to go until the biggest day of university sport, preparations are underway to make it the most gender equal BUCS Big Wednesday to date.
Supporting #EndPeriodPoverty campaigns, we are working together with the University of Nottingham to champion female confidence in providing free sanitary products across all fixture sites.
As always, an equal number of women’s and men’s fixtures will be taking place. However, this year, some fixtures have been flipped so that the women’s final follows the men’s, including squash (championship fixtures), football, volleyball and water polo (trophy and championship fixtures), creating an even bigger spectacle for crowds and players alike.
Working together with The Rugby Football League, an exhibition game of women’s rugby league will take place between the men’s trophy and championship finals. A positive development within the game, it is a chance to showcase the offer created for the women’s game within higher education, accelerating the growth of the sport for women.
Many fixtures will be livestreamed across our new platform BUCS.tv, where we will have a 50-50 split of male and female commentators and presenters. These include incredible talent such as Sky Sports pundit, former England international and Scotland Netball Head Coach Tamsin Greenway, and TikTok Women’s Six Nations presenter Claire Thomas.
Alice Robinson, BUCS Head of Events, commented: “When we look at women’s sport, it is often easy to just view the challenges and barriers, but the university sector highlights some of the most tangible progression that women’s sport has made in recent years.
We are proud to be embracing equality and taking small but significant steps to raise the profile of women’s sport, propelling it into the spotlight even further on a day where we celebrate the very best of university sport.”
Sean Nolan, Sports Officer at the University of Nottingham, who are hosting BUCS Big Wednesday, said: "It is great to see BUCS actively pushing for gender equality in sport with their commitment to small changes. These initiatives boost the profile and anticipation around women's fixtures, such as the flipping of men's and women's finals. On International Women's Day it is important to recognise the historic discrimination and inequality in sport, and take steps forward, which we are proud to see BUCS doing."
Tickets are available for BUCS Big Wednesday here.
