Submitted by Callum O'Shea on Tue, 20/08/2024 - 09:25
Over 5000 Cambridge students competing for their college!
Earlier in the academic year, the Sports Service were delighted to release the ‘Cambridge University Leagues’ app, available through the app store, displaying all college sports leagues, fixtures and results in one place. The app has been created to provide a more accessible way for Cambridge University students to get involved in fun and informal college teams, in a recreationally competitive environment.
The ’University of Cambridge College Sport’ network provides a straightforward way to view league tables, fixtures, results and contact information for all interested parties, including team captains, players, and students keen to take their first steps in college sport, as well as University and College staff & alumni.
Take a look at the roundup below for each of the college sports leagues during 2023-24.
Please direct all queries to collegesport@sport.cam.ac.uk.
Basketball
Despite going unbeaten during Michaelmas, Churchill College were relegated along with Wolfson College during Lent term, while Darwin secured the Division 1 title.
Robinson and St John’s were promoted from Division 2, while Hughes Hall and Jesus were relegated.
Darwin College saw off the challenge from Wolfson to secure the Cuppers title for 2023-24.
As it stands there are 24 teams in total across 5 divisions, and 28 colleges represented.
Football
In the Women’s League, a new Cuppers format has been adopted to guarantee all entrants more matches, with teams playing a ‘Champions League’ format with a group stage alongside regular league matches followed by a Cuppers and Plate knockout.
The Cuppers final was hotly contested by Jesus College and Darwin/St. Edmund’s/Wolfson, with Jesus winning 2-1. Jesus were shortlisted for the ‘College Team of the Year’ award at the annual Sports Awards, for their achievements while competing as a solo college, not only this year but for many years.
The Plate final was won by Churchill/Christ’s/Lucy Cavendish (CCC), overcoming Gonville and Caius/Hughes Hall/St. Catharine’s in the final. ‘CCC’ were also shortlisted for College Team of the Year having recruited an entirely new roster for the 2023-24 season, many of whom had never played football before. For many, it was daunting to join a new sports team. From the awards nomination: “Yet, the team captain, Sophie Claxton (Churchill), demonstrated leadership, patience, determination, and kindness to inspire in all of these players an appreciation for football, regardless of their skill level”.
Over in the league, Darwin/St. Edmund’s/Wolfson won their first ever Division 1 league title, while Downing College won all their matches to win Division 2, and Homerton College finishing as runners up to gain promotion.
There are currently two divisions of 14 teams, with every college represented in the league.
Over in the men’s league, Fitzwilliam College retained the Premier Division title, winning every match, but couldn’t reach the Cuppers final this year.
The Cuppers final was contested by St John’s College and St Catharine’s College, both making their first appearances in the final for many years. St Catharine’s were an unlikely finalist, having made it to that stage despite playing their league matches in Division 2, finishing in mid-table. Despite that, they sealed the Cuppers victory after a penalty shootout. They were deservedly shortlisted for the ‘College Team of the Year’ award at the annual Sports Awards – their second team also winning the Shield final.
A mention also to Sidney Sussex, whose first and second team managed to win their league and gain promotion, from Divisions 2 and 5!
With 58 teams, the men’s football league has the highest number of Cambridge students participating of any college sport league.
Mixed Hockey
The college league and Cuppers event during Lent and Easter term were superbly coordinated by Cambridge University Hockey Club League Secretaries, Sophie Ward (Newnham) and Ben Wheatcroft (Gonville and Caius).
St. John’s College demonstrated their strength in depth, running 4 teams in total (joined with Newnham), with their 1st team being the team to beat, going unbeaten in Division 1 during Lent, although they were pushed all the way to the title by Christ’s/Pembroke.
In Division 2, Caius/Girton won the league to gain promotion, with Queens’/Clare/Magdalene joining them as runners up.
In the Cuppers competition, the quarter finals, semi finals and final were held at Wilberforce Road Sports Ground. The 2024 champions were St Catharine’s, who overcame Christ’s/Pembroke in the final, with strong representation by Cambridge University Hockey Club on both teams.
With two divisions of 17 teams in total, and 27 colleges represented, the league has a great platform for growth.
Mixed Lacrosse
Girton College narrowly pipped St Catharine’s to the Division 1 league title, halting the latter’s unbeaten season.
In Division 2, St John’s and Clare/Homerton gained promotion to Division 1, while in Division 3, Corpus/Newnham and Sidney/Lucy Cavendish secured their promotions!
The annual Cuppers event was held on 4th May, the same day as the hockey finals – with some players dashing between fixtures to compete for their college in hockey and lacrosse! 15 teams took part in the event, which included a group stage and knockout rounds. Emmanuel and St Catharine’s progressed to the final, with St Catharine’s the eventual winner.
The Mixed lacrosse teams currently has 3 divisions of 20 teams, with 25 colleges represented. Thanks go to League Secretary Sheherazad Che (St Catharine’s) from the Cambridge University Mixed Lacrosse Club for her efforts during the course of the year.
Netball – Ladies and Mixed
It was a huge effort from Emmanuel College to take a league and Cuppers Ladies Netball double! Having gained promotion in Lent 2023, they followed this up with a third place finish in Division 1 in Michaelmas 2024, narrowly missing out on the title, and then won the league in Lent 2024. Describing themselves as ‘outsiders’ for the Cuppers event, Emmanuel managed to overcome the odds to be crowned champions for 2024.
Coming up from Division 2 are league winners Sidney Sussex and second placed St. John’s, who bounced straight back after relegation from Division 1 in Michaelmas 2023.
In Division 3, Pembroke beat Selwyn to the league title on points difference. A closely contested Division 4 saw Christ’s take the title, with Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish beating Gonville and Caius to second place and promotion.
Over in the mixed league, Pembroke secured their first Division 1 league title since Lent 2022, narrowly beating Fitzwilliam into first place.
Trinity College won Division 2 and were joined in promotion by Girton College.
Division 3 was won by Robinson, who managed consecutive promotions in Michaelmas 2023 and Lent 2024 – they will be joined in promotion by Clare. Gonville and Caius and Magdalene were the teams to beat in Division 4!
In Ladies Netball, there are 28 teams, with 26 colleges represented.
In Mixed Netball, there are 25 teams, with 23 colleges represented.
Squash
Queens’ were looking for their fourth title in a row, but were stopped short by the strength of the Christ's team, who took the Division 1 title. in a row.
However, Queens’ did show their strength in depth, with their second team winning Division 2 to gain promotion to Division 1 and join the first team.
Downing and Peterhouse gained promotion to Division 1, with Gonville and Caius narrowly missing out.
Queens’ showed their strength as their 2nd team won Division 3, with fellow promotion winners being St. Catharine’s College.
Emmanuel College had a great term to follow up on their promotion winning Michaelmas 2023 term, with their 1st team winning Division 3, and their 2nd team gaining promotion from Division 5. Emma also managed to keep their momentum going in Cuppers, lifting the trophy and beating Trinity Hall in the final.
Also promoted from Division 4 were Trinity Hall, gaining consecutive promotions, while in Division 5 John's and Caius second teams gained promotion.
Finally, in Division 6, the league was won by re-entrant Sidney Sussex. Having been in Division 1 two years ago, the team dropped out of the league, but was re-invigorated this year by fresher Oliver Johnson. The efforts of Oliver and team were recognised at the annual Sports Awards, where they won the ‘College Team of the Year’ award – having encouraged dozens of students to take up squash, set the wheels in motion for refurbishment of courts at St John’s, and re-purposed courts at Sidney from storage to squash!
With 28 teams and 20 colleges represented in the league, this is already one of the biggest college leagues, and growing each year thanks to the efforts of CU Squash Club Secretary, and incoming Club President, Anant Gupta (Fitzwilliam).
Table Tennis
Another excellent term for Emmanuel College, whose first team won Division 2, and second team won Division 5, following up on their success during Michaelmas 2023.
The champions this term were Christ’s College, who won all their league games having been promoted from Division 2 in Michaelmas 2023, narrowly overcoming previous Division 1 winners Pembroke College.
In the Cuppers event, Christ’s managed to reach the final, but the winners were Magdalene College, who had managed to gain promotion from Division 3 during the league season.
With 30 teams across 6 divisions from 19 colleges, the league is growing each year. Huge thanks go to Romano Tucci (Robinson) for his efforts in organising the college league this year.
Tennis
Ever popular at Cambridge, with 42 teams contesting the league during Lent-Easter, the champions last term were Gonville and Caius.
Excellent work from Queens’ saw their first and second teams promoted from Divisions 3 and 7, while there were also league wins for Trinity, Corpus Christi and Hughes Hall.
The Cuppers event was contested during the Easter term, with Girton College reaching the finals to play against Pembroke, who were playing in Division 1 for the first time in five years. The eventual winners were Girton, whose winning squad of Laurent Trépanier, Tris Tan, Taiyi Wang, Ajay John, Callum O’Kane and Finley Peake saw them overcome league champions Gonville and Caius in the final, as well as St Catharine’s and St John’s in earlier rounds.
30 colleges are represented in the college tennis league.
Badminton
Thanks go to Chloe Huang (Churchill) from the Cambridge University Badminton Club for her efforts in coordinating the College Badminton League and Cuppers this year, including an open and women’s league, as well as open, mixed and women’s Cuppers.
With 68 teams across open and women’s leagues, and 31 colleges, badminton is one of the college leagues with the highest number of people involved.
The champions for this year as follows:
Cuppers
Women’s Winner: St Catharine's, Runner up: Downing
Mixed Winner: Churchill, Runner up: Downing
Open Winner: Wolfson/Clare Hall, Runner up: Hughes-Lucy
College League
Open Division 1 Winner: Robinson, Runner up: The Perse school
Womens Division 1 Winner: The Leys, Runner up: Pembroke
Ultimate
An ever-growing sport at Cambridge, the college Ultimate Flying Disc league is run by the University Ultimate Club. It is one of only two leagues (along with women’s football) where every college is represented.
Jesus College retained their crown as champions of the Indoor Cuppers event held at the University Sports Centre, as well as a strong league finish in Division 1 of the outdoor league.
Churchill/Murray Edwards became champions of the Outdoor Cuppers event, beating Jesus College in the final.
14 teams participate in the regular outdoor college league across two divisions, while there were also 14 competing at the Indoor Cuppers. The Cuppers event was brilliantly organised by College League Secretary Chris Hew (St. John’s).
Volleyball
24 teams contested the annual Volleyball Cuppers event this year, which ran over a number of dates during Easter term at the University Sports Centre. The eventual winners were Clare/Fitzwilliam, who overcame a strong Churchill side in the final.
The excellent participation levels in the tournament come as a result of the Cambridge University Volleyball Club’s efforts to establish a development squad – weekly training for aspiring players – as well as the success of the Give it a Go Volleyball sessions – giving beginners a chance to play regularly for free - which engaged over 60 students during the year, and were fully booked all year round!
Rugby Union
With 12 teams across two divisions, the league continues to thrive and offers opportunities for experienced players and beginners alike, with the support of College Rugby Manager Tom Stokes.
82 fixtures were contested throughout the year – an outstanding return considering the unique challenges that rugby faces at a recreationally competitive level, and a figure that dwarfs the recreational rugby offer at most other HE institutions. This included:
- 28 Tripartite matches played
- 23 League matches played
- 22 Cuppers fixtures played
In addition, team captains, players, student referees and coaches were supported by development opportunities including an introduction to refereeing course and a first aid in rugby course.
St. John’s College once again won the Division 1 title for a consecutive year, while the All Grey’s, comprised of Cambridge’s mature colleges of Wolfson, Darwin, St. Edmund’s, Hughes Hall and Clare Hall, won the Division 2 title.
The All Greys were shortlisted for the College Team of the Year award at the annual Sports Awards, in part due to being awarded the Fair Play award by Cambridge University and District Rugby Referee Society as the college rugby team which most promotes a sporting attitude within student rugby and secures respect, support and appreciation for referees and laws of the game. However, their off-field work surpassed the on-field success, as they raised £530 for the Movember foundation during November, and a further £1090 for the charity Break. This latter fundraiser was for the annual Jack Merritt memorial match, in memory of Jack, who played for the team and was killed in 2019.
In the annual Cuppers event, the victorious team were Jesus College. JCRUFC won the Cuppers trophy for the first time ever, dating back approximately 100 years. They were also shortlisted for the College Team of the Year award following their achievements in competition, as well as their other achievements in increasing participation in the club so that the team could consistently put out a full line-up, integrating training sessions with the local Cantabs rugby club to improve the quality of coaching and training facilities, and acquiring new sponsorships with Brewhouse and Flowers by Pinky to help fund kit and equipment throughout the year.
Rowing
Lent Bumps was once more keenly supported and contested, but like much of the sporting activity during March, was disrupted due to the weather conditions – the river being at one of its highest recorded levels meant that the getting-on race was unfortunately cancelled. However, when racing got underway, Lady Margaret Men and Jesus Women managed to retain their top spots.
Onto the Mays, and with term coming to a close, the weather shone down upon the Cam to provide ideal racing conditions for the crews, and some sunshine for spectators on the banks!
There were changes in the men’s and women’s events for the Head of the River, with Lady Margaret moving up in the men’s, and Gonville and Caius moving up in the women’s.
Lots to celebrate including both of the Lucy Cavendish Men’s boats moving up a division, as well as both of the first Hughes Hall boats.
Homerton College won the Pegasus Cup, awarded to the best performing college at the May Bumps. This included fantastic performances from their men’s boat and all three women’s boats, including this W3 moving up a remarkable 10 places!
Check out the league tables, fixtures, and results here: https://playwaze.com/university-of-cambridge-college-sport/bz928p8ct7/community-network?NetworkCode=univ4255
Or you can download the ‘Playwaze’ app and search for ‘Cambridge University Leagues’ . Alternatively, read more on the College Sport page.
All photos courtesy of Dik Ng and Izzy Poles.