Sport at the University
Sport: our vision
Over the next four years our commitments are:
Physical activity and wellbeing
- Ensure physical activity is part of everyday life on all campuses at the University and accessible to all within the community; engaging in local and national initiatives to create the most vibrant and active campus / workplace. Establishing targets to measure our inclusive practises.
- Provide an exceptional student experience.
- In Cornwall, create differentiation of our sporting offer to develop a unique offering and facility base for our students.
Competitive sport
- Possess facilities that are compliant with national standards to sustain competitive sport and increase physical activity across all campuses.
- Build the brand in Exeter through ‘Bleed Green’ for our competitive sports programmes and ‘I Am Sport’ to create a sense of community and that sport is for every member of our community.
- Build our pathway for students in Cornwall, who aspire to compete at the highest level and support athletes through our High-Performance department in Exeter.
- Ensure the University of Exeter remains a top 5 UK University for sport continuing our reputation of excellence in sport.
- Ensure Performance athletes are able to access a National Governing Body (NGB), franchise or professional club performance pathway that provides a national level competitive outlet, in addition to BUCS.
- Hold a Top 3 ranking across all performance programmes.
Partnerships
- Drive forward the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) vision by challenging cultures and practises, offering a welcoming and respectful environment with a diverse range of engaging activities, accessible to all students and staff.
- Play a key role in supporting the wellbeing of our student and staff population working in partnership with Wellbeing services.
- Develop our work with colleagues in the department of Sport and Health Sciences to deliver an eco-system of research, academic teaching and applied skills across both departments, providing opportunities for our students to maximise their experiences and use our professional staff knowledge and experiences to full benefit.
- Develop meaningful partnerships with key local agencies and governing bodies. Contributing to our society and improve the health and wellbeing of our local community and support the delivery of our Civic agreements.
- Demonstrate our commitment to sustainability through an ECE action plan developed in partnership with our student body.
Tackle by current student Christ Tshiunza (EURFC, Exeter Chiefs, and Wales).
Women’s Lacrosse (EULC).
Football (EUAFC).
Sailing (EUSC).
Sports round-up
Sports round-up
GB representation in the Sultan of Johor Cup 2022 with three Exeter Hockey Scholars
Three University of Exeter hockey players travelled to Malaysia in October 2022 to represent Great Britain U21’s in the Sultan of Johor Cup. The trio played against the likes of South Africa, Australia, and Japan over the course of the 8-day tournament.
Ben Fox, Ollie Drummond, and Lewis Wilcher helped the Great Britain squad finish 3rd, turning over Japan 3-1 in the bronze medal game. The squad narrowly missed out on a place in the final after a last-minute equaliser from India in a 5 all draw in their last pool game.
The trio said “The Sultan of Johor Cup was a surreal experience and one we will never forget. We learnt numerous lessons both on and off the pitch playing against challenging international teams with contrasting styles of play. We are happy to be back in Exeter and hopefully be able to use this experience in our BUCS and Weekend Fixtures moving forward!”
“The Sultan of Johor Cup was a surreal experience and one we will never forget.”
University of Exeter Head of Hockey, Harry Jones, added, “We are delighted to have three of our university players representing the Great Britain Elite Development Programme out in Malaysia. It is a real showcase of the talent these players have and also how much we have here at the University of Exeter. We currently have 18 players (Men and Women) representing their different international programmes.
It is great to have them back and wearing university colours again as well as imparting all they have learnt from their trip away to the other players in the squad.”
Windrider.
Rowing.
Boxing.
Rugby.
Golf: R&A Student Tour Series – France 2022
Eight sub-scratch golfers travelled to Le Golf National in Versailles France to play in the year’s second R&A student tour series, playing against the best university golfers Europe has to offer.
Qualifying for the event was the first challenge as the men’s field was balloted with a handicap of +0.7 meaning there were seven male golfers and one female representing Exeter. The competition comprised of three rounds in total: two around the Albatross course which was made famous in the 2018 Ryder cup, known for its punishing large greens and many water hazards, and the other was around the Aigle course which provided different challenges with very small tricky greens and tight fairways.
The first day finished with Jake Ball (2nd year) and Harry Butler (1st year) being T14 and Georgia Staroscik for the women being T6. The second day started with the players’ first round of the Aigle course. Ready to bring their A game, Toby Smith had a cracking 4 under par round which bumped him over 10 spaces up the leader board. Steady rounds of level par, +1 for Jake Ball and Adam Tridgell respectively helped continue their journey. Going into the final day all players were looking forward to their final round on Le Golf Nationale’s signature course.
Due to the outstanding golf being played by the Swedes and Irish, a BUCS title was not quite within reach, but moves were ready to be made up the leader board. Alex Keefe shot a very respectable +3 in his final round to finish the week on a high and Jake Ball held a clutch Birdie putt on 18 to secure his T20 finish for the week.
14 Alumni and Current Students headed to Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games
The summer of 2022 saw 14 alumni and current students head to Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Opening Ceremony took place on Thursday 28 July, followed by an 11-day feast of sporting action where our students and graduates represented their countries.
For many of our students, this was not their first time representing their country, but their first Commonwealth Games. As was the case for Clare Jones, co-vice captain for Wales Netball in her first Commonwealth Games. When asking Clare about how she felt ahead of the games, she couldn’t be prouder and more excited, as well as thankful for the support she has received from the University of Exeter:
“I am really excited to be representing my country at not only a home commonwealth games but my first commonwealth games. I am an incredibly proud Welsh woman; however, this selection also importantly allows me to represent my family, friends, and all those who have been a part of the journey in getting me to this point of my netball career, which includes the University of Exeter.
I feel so fortunate to have completed my BSc, MSc and now my PhD at Exeter. If it weren’t for the support I’ve received here, my sporting career would not have been possible.”
A sport steeped in history at Exeter is Hockey, where the university has five current students and alumni representing their country. One of those students, Millie Holme, only made her first senior international debut last August and also shared some of her thoughts ahead of her first game for Wales last summer:
“Words cannot describe how excited I am for the Commonwealth Games. I never thought at this stage in my life I’d be selected. I know I’ll be nervous, but I can’t wait to get started, put my Welsh shirt on, play against some of the top teams and take the whole atmosphere in.
I’ve really enjoyed being at the University of Exeter this year in all aspects. Hockey commitments and studies are never going to be easier to juggle, but I find hockey a nice way of taking a break from work. I think planning my week beforehand has helped me tremendously. It meant that I wasn’t stressing as much, as I’d already sorted out my time and what I had to do for the day.”
Ranging from Medicine to Business degrees, throughout their time at Exeter, each of the students who took part in the games has been supported by the Performance Sport programme.
Through this programme, students access a comprehensive package of support services including state-of-the-art training facilities, expert coaching, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, sports psychology, performance analysis, and a range of performance-athlete workshops.
Our programmes are generously supported by alumni and donors to the University and we thank them for all their support.
Please see the full list of students and alumni who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games below:
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Please see the full list of students and alumni who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games below:
Rhys Bradshaw
BSc Mathematics
Graduation year: 2022
Hockey
Wales
James Carson
PGCE Physical Education Secondary
Graduation year: 2019
Hockey
Wales
Ben Francis
BA Economics with Industrial Experience
Graduation year: 2018
Hockey
Wales
Ella Jackson
BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
Graduation year: 2016
Hockey
Wales
Millie Holme
Eng Mechanical Engineering with Year in Industry
Current student (graduating 2025)
Hockey
Wales
Betsy Creak
PGCE Biology Secondary
Graduation year: 2018
Netball
Wales
Clare Jones
DClinPsy Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Graduation year: 2022
Netball
Wales
Christina Shaw
BSc Biological Sciences
Graduation year: 2020
Netball
Wales
Merryn Doidge
BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
Graduation year: 2022
Rugby 7s
England
Luke Treharne
BMBS Medicine
Graduation year: 2017
Rugby 7s
Wales
Caity Mattinson
MSc Sport and Health Sciences
Graduation year: 2019
Rugby 7s
Scotland
Alexander Varley
BA History
Current student (graduating 2023)
Fencing
Guernsey
James Le Maitre
MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering
Graduation year: 2022
Fencing
Guernsey
Freya Davies
LLB Law
Graduation year: 2017
T20 Cricket
England
