Saints Sports Success keep on coming
Saints Sports is not only dedicated to providing our athletes with the best equipment, facilities, and coaches, but to celebrating their success – both as individuals and teams!
The last two weeks have been full of good news doing the rounds in Saints Sports: from korfball securing a place at the National Championships to Ultimate Frisbee Women 1s becoming Scottish champions and the Judo club sporting 7 medals from the biggest judo championship in Scottish Student Sport history! Here are some of our Sports Clubs most recent highlights:
The Korfball First Team competed in the regional round of BUCS in Edinburgh and finished 3rd out of 9 teams. Their high-quality korfball play and teamwork have helped them qualify for the National Championship in Norwich later this year.
On 4 February,
the Ultimate Frisbee Women’s 1st and 2nd teams made history: the 1st won all their games becoming Scottish champions and qualifying for the Division 1 nationals in April. The second team performed incredibly in their two games and became the highest-ranking women’s second team in the whole country – qualifying for the Division 2 nationals! And we weren’t the only ones shouting ‘Go Saints’ on the day – the men’s side of the club proved great support at the side-line. Additionally, both Men’s 1s and 2s competed in their BUCS fixtures and secured their spots at Division 1 and 2 nationals by winning all their games. The back-to-back victories were a great achievement for the club and the formidable support of all members made the day even more enjoyable!
The University of St. Andrews Judo Club participated in the biggest judo championship in Scottish Student Sport history with competitors from 18 different institutions. Our club sent 9 competitors, some of them competing for the first time. Nevertheless, seven of them brought medals home – 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 2 bronzes. The competition standard was incredibly high yet the determination and great preparation of our club resulted in some good news!
Additionally, the Ice Hockey Club 
is making some serious advances to the championship cup with two huge wins over rivals Edinburgh on Jan 28 and 31. Currently, the Club is having a promising season and we all have our fingers crossed for the Jonny Wookey Memorial Varsity Game ahead of the club. The Wookey game has an attendance of over 1000 students and is promising some high adrenaline for all hockey lovers.
The Rifle Club has also had not only great last two weeks, but an amazing year overall. The SSS Grand Prix series saw individuals, pairs, the Ladies Triad and teams of IV and VIII compete against the University of Edinburgh, Aberdeen University and Robert Gordon University across two-day events in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and St Andrews. A strong turnout for each event heralded a serious competition for all involved, with experienced and brand-new shooters competing shoulder-to-shoulder against each other across 8 classes. In total, from the Grand Prix series of matches the club has won first place in 6 categories, totalling 19 golds, 7 silvers and 3 bronzes from Scottish Student Sport competitions so far. These are some incredible achievements displaying the Club’s high quality aim and dedication to their sport. Additionally, the Grand Finale of the SSS series, the Indoor Championships, is yet to take place and the Team of VI are set to qualify for the BUCS rifle final in March, in which they will compete against the best University clubs in the UK!
Finally, the
Boat Club’s 60th anniversary fundraiser has recently closed, having raised an incredible £38,911. The money was raised through the hard effort of all members, from rowing marathons, bake sales, crowd funding and countless nights manning the union cloakrooms. The 60th Anniversary Gala in Edinburgh brought together the largest gathering of students and alumni in the club’s history for a dinner, auction and ceilidh. The club is planning to invest in a new top-end racing boat to allow them to compete at the highest level of UK university rowing, as well as other essential pieces of equipment! Well done, team!