Inter Collegiate Sport

Michaelmas 2024 Roundup

Once more over 400 teams and 4000 students have taken to the courts and pitches of Cambridge to represent their colleges. Fixtures, Results and League Tables are found via the ‘Cambridge University Leagues’ app, available through App Store.

The ’University of Cambridge College Sport’ network provides a straightforward way to keep up to date and get involved.

Thanks to Dik Ng for football, rugby union and netball photos below! For more photos, head to the Cambridge University Sport Instagram. 

Please direct all queries to collegesport@sport.cam.ac.uk.

Badminton

60 teams contested College Badminton during Michaelmas term, showing the strength of the sport at Cambridge.

Winners of the open league were Pembroke College, whose women’s team also finished runners up of the Women’s Division 1, behind Fitzwilliam College.

Division 1 Robinson College (pictured below left) struggled with results but held regular sessions at their ‘home venue’, Cambridge University Real Tennis Club, to grow the sport in college. Meanwhile in the women’s league, promotion was on the cards for Caius-Trinity (pictured below right) after a successful term in Division 2.

Basketball

A tight contest in Division 1 saw Churchill, Darwin and Girton tied on eight points in the top three positions. By virtue of a better head-to-head record and points difference, Churchill took the Division 1 title.

In Division 2, Wolfson College won all their matches to move back up to Division 1, joined by runners up Hughes Hall.

In Division 3, Jesus College dominated this term to win the title, joined by St Catharine’s, while King’s/ Homerton and Trinity Hall did enough to gain promotion from Division 4, in which it all came down to the final round of matches.

24 teams contested the league this term.

Football

As we round up for Christmas, College Football reaches the halfway stage with much of the action still to come.

In the women’s league, Darwin/Eddie’s/Wolfson remain unbeaten in Division 1 and the Cuppers group stage, while a resurgent Caius/Hughes/Catz are unbeaten in Division 2 and looking for promotion following relegation last year. Meanwhile Trinity/Trinity Hall/Emmanuel have awoken from a two-year slumber and have steamed into this season with a new lease of life, having won every match they have played.

In the men’s league, Fitzwilliam and Pembroke lead the way in Division 1, having played out close encounters in league and Cuppers already, with Jesus close behind.

There’s a potential upset on the cards in Cuppers, with 6 teams outside Division 1 still in the competition on the men’s side: Churchill (pictured below left) found Storm Bert on their side in the latter stages of their Round of 16 match against Darwin, making the most of swirling winds to respond to a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 against a team from the division above.

The women’s Cuppers competition proceeds from the group stage to the quarter finals in February, with the competition following a ‘World Cup’ format. Pictured below are Homerton and John’s/Kings, in high spirits after a close game.

This year, 58 teams are contesting the men’s league, with 15 contesting the women’s league.

Hockey

St John’s / Newnham once again showed their commitment to college hockey, fielding an incredible four teams into the college league. Their first team were just pipped to the Division 1 title by a Trinity / Fitzwilliam side looking to advance beyond the semi-final stage of this year’s Cuppers, after narrowly missing out on reaching the final last year.

It was a close competition in Division 2 between Jesus and Queens’/Clare/Magdalene, with ‘QCM’ winning the title on goal difference, and both teams heading up to Division 1.

Pictured below: high spirits for the Robinson and co team ahead of the new season.

This term 15 teams competed across two divisions of mixed gender competition.

Mixed Lacrosse

Clare/Homerton continued their climb through the mixed lacrosse ranks, having gained promotion from Division 3 in Michaelmas 2023 and from Division 2 in Lent 2024. They won every match they played during Michaelmas 2024 to secure the Division 1 title, watched on in the final game by Lord Woolley, Principal of Homerton College, who waved his half and half scarf in support from the sideline!

They were challenged for the title by historically strong mixed lacrosse teams Emmanuel and St Catharine’s (pictured below).

It was neck and neck in Division 2 between Christ’s, Corpus/Newnham, and Downing, who all finished on 20 points. They were only separated by virtue of Christ’s having beaten their division rivals in league matches, but all three will be promoted to Division 1 for Lent term. Christ’s had plenty to catch up on having started their fixtures late, but made light work of storming through Division 2!

This term, 15 teams contested the league in total.

Netball

A term to remember for Selwyn Netball (pictured below left), as their Ladies’ and Mixed teams won all 12 matches that they played! Both teams won their respective divisions and will be taking on the top tier in Lent 2025.

Meanwhile, Jesus College nearly achieved the same feat as Selwyn, with their Ladies team winning Division 1, and their Mixed team finishing just ahead of challengers Fitzwilliam (pictured below right), and second behind Trinity College. A strong term for Trinity also saw their Ladies team win Division 4 without losing a match – perhaps they will be an outside chance for Cuppers victory later this year?

Gaining promotion alongside Trinity were the newly established St. Edmund’s College Ladies, in their first term after forming.

Elsewhere, Homerton gained promotion back to Division 1 after just a term in Division 2, while St Catharine’s and Downing beat Pembroke to promotion in Division 3.

In the Mixed League, after a tumultuous year and consecutive relegations, St John’s have found their feet to win Division 4, winning every match along the way. In Division 3, Peterhouse averaged 18 goals a game to secure their own promotion, alongside runners up Hughes Hall, while Clare College are up to Division 2 after finishing as runners up behind the all-conquering Selwyn.

Rugby Union

A tight division of ten competitive teams was won by a narrow margin by Pembroke/Girton, with only a handful of points separating seven of the teams at the end of the term.

‘Pirton’ won all their matches aside from an early season draw with Robinson, but it came down to the penultimate weekend when Pirton edged a close contest against title challengers Queens’/Jesus (pictured below right, alongside Trinity/Christ’s below left) 19-5 to seal the league title.

In Lent we look ahead to an increased fixture load for the CURUFC teams, with a few rounds of college matches thrown in alongside, as well as the much anticipated build up to Cuppers competition in Lent & Easter.

During Michaelmas, over forty league matches were played, showing the strength of rugby at Cambridge, while the much-loved Week 1 touch tournament was also a term highlight for the players. Thanks go to Tom Stokes and Max McKinlay for their efforts in delivering rugby for college teams.

Squash

Making light work of the top division in Michaelmas were Peterhouse, who won all their matches, making them the only Peterhouse team to win a first division for some time.

Elsewhere, 2023-24 College Team of the Year winners, Sidney Sussex, continued to climb up the leagues, winning Division 3 without losing a match.

In Division 5, Fitzwilliam recovered from consecutive relegations to win the league comfortably, while a very closely fought Division 6 saw Clare, Pembroke, Hughes Hall, Selwyn, and Anglia Ruskin all with a chance of taking the title, with Pembroke and Clare eventually taking the top two places.

Table Tennis

Downing College won the Division 1 title, finding themselves right at the top of eight table tennis divisions for the first time since 2020. Table tennis is thriving at Downing, with their second team winning Division 4, and a record four teams being entered into the league during Michaelmas.

Meanwhile, it was an excellent term for Lucy Cavendish, Gonville and Caius, Trinity Hall, and St Catharine’s, who all won all their fixtures to win their respective divisions.

In total, 38 teams entered during Michaelmas term.

Tennis

Taking the Division 1 title during Michaelmas term were an unbeaten Pembroke side who gained promotion to Division 1 at this point last year.

Elsewhere Murray Edwards / St Edmund’s gained promotion to Division 1 along with Lucy Cavendish (pictured below right), both teams having climbed from Division 6 since Lent 2022 to make their first ever appearances in the top division! Homerton (pictured below right) also finished in the top three, to secure promotion to Division 1.

King’s, Corpus Christi and St Catharine’s all finished level on points at the top of Division 3, and all will be heading up to Division 2.

In the lower divisions, Emmanuel won Division 4, while new entrants Selwyn/Robinson 2^nd also gained promotion to the upper tiers.

Having had a tricky couple of years, a resurgent Jesus won Division 5 and might be an outside shout for Cuppers when Easter comes around, while King’s 2^nd topped off a great term for King’s tennis with another promotion.

Ultimate

11 teams contested two divisions of College Ultimate during Michaelmas term. Churchill/Murray Edwards won Division 1, while a close finish in Division 2 saw Downing, Jesus, and St John’s level on points – Jesus took the title by virtue of a better head-to-head record.

A successful Indoor Cuppers event was held on the final day of term at the University Sports Centre, as has become tradition since the Centre was built in 2013! The event takes place in the sports hall across two courts, with ten teams vying for the overall trophy. Winners this year were Downing College.

Pictured below are a smiling Trinity College outside the Sports Centre and in action in the sports hall at the Indoor Cuppers event.