Submitted by Callum O'Shea on Mon, 22/12/2025 - 16:44
An exciting term of sport saw the introduction of the College Sport Ranking Table.
The table aggregates performance and participation of college teams across the college leagues and cuppers events. Points are awarded to every team who participates and completes fixtures, with more points weighted towards higher ranking teams.
With every team scoring points for their college, these points combine to create a total score for each College, and in total over 350 teams scored points during Michaelmas.
While the table is intended primarily as something fun to enjoy, it also acts to encourage more fixture completion, for colleges to enter more teams, and for more students to get involved in college sport more regularly.
Later in the year, a separate table will be released to account for varying number of students in each college in a per capita points per student format.
The table is automatically updated, and is publicly accessible through the Cambridge University Leagues app, available in your app store, or online.
Ranking Table Roundup
An incredible term for Downing College sees them top the ranking table, having won leagues in Rugby Union (with Gonville and Caius), Ladies Netball, Table Tennis and Tennis. They’ve also entered 18 teams, level with St John’s College and more than any other.
Pembroke College are in second position despite having entered three fewer teams than Downing and St John’s. Men’s Football, Women’s Badminton and Mixed Netball have been the top performers so far for Pembroke.
There are only a handful of points in it as St John’s College go into the Christmas break in 3rd place. A super start for St John’s sees Division 1 wins for Squash and Mixed Hockey, while there were also lower division wins for Tennis, Squash, Basketball and Table Tennis.
The top five are rounded off with Trinity College (15 teams) and Jesus College (16 teams), both in hot pursuit of the podium positions.
Churchill, Queens’, Homerton and St Catharine’s are in 6th-9th, while it’s a worthy shoutout for Robinson College, who sneak into the top 10. Robinson have entered 13 teams, and of the top 10 colleges they have the fewest enrolled students, so they’re punching above their weight!
Pictured: The top 10 in the Ranking Table at Christmas! Find 11-31 at the end of the article.
College Sports Roundup
Top college of the term in the Badminton League was Lucy Cavendish College, whose 1st team won the Open Division 1, and whose Women’s team gained promotion from Division 2. Trinity College also had a strong term, by virtue of having entered more teams than most and gaining more points.
Trinity Hall ran Lucy Cavendish close in the Open Division 1, while it was an unbeaten term for Fitzwilliam College, who won Division 2, and Wolfson College, who won Division 3.
Pembroke won Division 1 of the Women’s League, while Emmanuel College were the champions in Division 2.
In the College Basketball League, Churchill College won Division 1 to make it three times in a row, a great achievement to keep that performance up over an extended period.
They were run close by Darwin College, who Churchill beat by 6 to secure the title. Elsewhere there were promotions from Division 2 for Lucy Cavendish and Girton College, after a three way tie on points with Jesus College saw them split on points (goal) difference.
Pictured: It's not that bad, chaps! Lucy Cavendish appear to be in mixed spirits, despite having secured promotion against Wolfson (Dik Ng)
Halfway through the Men’s Football season and it looks as though Fitzwilliam are continuing their long-established dominance of the sport at Cambridge, with their first team having made it through to the Cuppers semi-final and sitting top of the Premier Division table – unbeaten so far.
However, Homerton College have shown their credentials and picked up the most points for the ranking table this term. All three of their Men’s teams are performing well and sit in 3rd in their divisions – Premier Division, Division 3 and Division 5 – with all three still in their respective cup competitions too.
Elsewhere it has been a mixed start for reigning Cuppers champions Jesus College, whose three teams are doing well in the league, but Jesus lost out to Queens’ College in the Cuppers Round of 16, so the trophy will be going to a new team this year.
Only King’s College has a 100% record so far across league and cup, while it is shaping up to be a close contest in Division 2 – both Trinity and Christ’s College have won all their league matches so far.
Pictured: A day to forget for Churchill College, whose 2nd team were defeated 8-1 and dumped out of the Cup by Homerton College's 2nd team, contributing to the impressive points ranking table points total this term for Homerton (Dik Ng)
In the Mixed Hockey league, St John’s dominate the league with four team entries (with Newnham College), with the 1st team topping the Division 1 table during Michaelmas.
Huge congrats goes to Jesus College, who are now the only team entry operating as a solo college, and doing very well against the odds, finishing the term in third position in Division 1.
A super term for Emmanuel College saw them top the Mixed Lacrosse Division 1 table, though they were run close by Downing and St Catharine’s College, as well as an amalgamated Clare & Homerton team.
Over in the Netball leagues, these were hotly contested as always, with Jesus and Pembroke topping the ranking table with only a few points in it – both colleges entering three teams across Ladies and Mixed.
Reigning Cuppers champions, Trinity College, managed to sneak their way to the Mixed Netball Division 1 title ahead of Jesus and Pembroke, as well as Christ’s and Fitzwilliam, with only a few points in it!
Elsewhere there were unbeaten terms for Magdalene College in Division 2, gaining promotion to the top tier, and for Homerton in Division 4.
In the Ladies league, Downing and St John’s battled it out for first position in Division 1, while Homerton Ladies, not to be outdone by their mixed team, also manged to win their league too, gaining promotion from Division 2.
Magdalene Ladies did the same, gaining promotion to match their mixed team, while there were also promotions for Lucy Cavendish and Newnham College.
Pictured: After finishing 4th two terms in a row, Robinson College fell just short of promotion once again, finishing third by one point in Michaelmas.
The College Rugby Union league welcomed nine team entries for 2025, after CCK amalgamated with All Greys for this academic year.
A close contest in the league saw Downing/Caius pushed all the way by Pembroke/Girton/Churchill, with a narrow win for Downing/Caius in the contest between the two being enough to secure a much-celebrated title for the team.
It was a strong term elsewhere for Trinity/Christ’s (pictured in thumbnail), who competed admirably in the start of season touch tournament and completed all their league matches with great enthusiasm, while St John’s impressively continue to enter as a solo college, and will be hoping to celebrate back-to-back Cuppers wins in May.
Pictured: A jubilant Downing/Caius win the league title, overcoming biblical conditions and a determined All Greys side (Dik Ng)
In the Squash league, St John’s took the Division 1 title ahead of Fitzwilliam and Trinity, while St John’s second team also own Division 3.
Elsewhere, there were league victories for Peterhouse, Magdalene and St Edmund’s.
Downing reign supreme in the Table Tennis league, with three team entries including two in Division 1, and winning consecutive league titles too. Downing Table Tennis were last year's College Team of the Year winners at the annual Sports Awards, and they're on track for another nomination at this rate!
Robinson College pushed Downing all the way, while it was an unbeaten term for Selwyn College and King’s College, as well as Pembroke and St John’s.
Pictured: Downing Table Tennis
Another shortlistee for last year’s College Team of the Year Award at the annual Sports Awards, King’s Tennis, remarkably found their way to the Division 1 title at the first time of asking!
Keen to show that they’re the strongest in the college, and also put themselves in the running for the award again in 2026, King’s entered four teams into the college tennis league in Michaelmas – with three of the four winning leagues or gaining promotions. Huge credit to their committee for working towards getting more students playing recreationally competitive tennis regularly at King’s.
Elsewhere, there were promotions for Downing and Selwyn/Robinson from Division 2 to the top tier, while Hughes Hall won all their matches to maintain a 100% record – while also entering a second team too.
Finally, in the College Ultimate league, nine teams entered for this year, and at the Christmas break Churchill/Murray Edwards lead the way.
The traditional Indoor Cuppers event took place at the end of term, a super event organised by League Officer, Aldric Goh, with an amalgamated Christ’s/Pembroke/Peterhouse team taking victory.
Pictured: Ultimate Indoor Cuppers Winners
Looking ahead
It is still ‘early days’ with two terms to go and much more sport to enjoy. After Christmas, there will be another term of league fixtures in Lent, plus Cuppers competitions to play in Lent and Easter term too.
Next term will also see the eagerly anticipated draws for Cricket and Volleyball Cuppers, between which saw around 50 entries in total last year.
Keep an eye out for the Cuppers finals dates – the fantastic, brand new Mumford Pitch at Grange Road will be seeing lots of action, with all Football & Rugby finals scheduled for the beginning of Easter term. Also, at the start of Easter, the Netball & Basketball finals will be held at the University Sports Centre, while the Hockey & Lacrosse finals will be played at Wilberforce Road Sports Ground. A full schedule to come very soon.
For any queries or for further information about specific colleges, please contact us via collegesport@sport.cam.ac.uk.
