Off the scoreboard: The student athletes competing for passion, not points

When you think of university sport, it’s likely that one of the first things that comes to mind is BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport). This is, perhaps, unsurprising: BUCS leagues dominate the university sport landscape, with athletes and teams travelling across the country every Wednesday to take part in fixtures and matches, all in a bid to earn points for their university in BUCS leagues. As Warwick puts it, BUCS is at “the heart of intercollegiate sport”.

But, what about those clubs which aren’t represented in BUCS’ 54-strong roster of sports, the clubs whose members aren’t taking part in competitions every week to bolster Team Warwick’s points tally? Their achievements are celebrated by the Students’ Union (SU) once a year at the Sports Awards, a trophy handed out to the exec who have guided their club to the “highest level of sporting success during that year”. Of course, these are the affectionally-termed non-BUCS clubs.

Whether it be Aikido, Classical and Modern Dance, or Underwater Hockey, non-BUCS teams play as much of a part in Team Warwick as their BUCS league counterparts, promoting sport on campus by encouraging students to get active and join a sports club.

While the achievements of BUCS clubs are often celebrated by Warwick Sport – the league itself having two separate story highlights on Instagram, for example – it is up for debate whether non-BUCS clubs get the same level of support and recognition for their successes.

“We are extremely grateful that Warwick Sport provides all facilities to us at no cost to the club. Many clubs at other universities aren’t afforded this luxury, so have less training hours a week.” Those are the words of Ollie Chick, the President of Warwick Lifesaving. As one of the clubs shortlisted for Non-BUCS Team of the Year at Sports Awards last year, Lifesaving are no strangers to training hard, with multiple training sessions a week in addition to regular competitions in the British Universities Lifesaving Clubs’ Association (BULSCA) league.

Despite this sporting success, Chick told The Boar that there is “no real support” given to their club by Warwick Sport

That extensive training and competition programme is not exclusive to Lifesaving, either. Many other non-BUCS clubs have regular training sessions and compete across the country in their sport’s own university tournaments. Latin and Ballroom take part in eight competitions a year, including the IVDA National Championships in Blackpool, while Quadball also compete once a term, finishing with the British Quadball Cup (BQC) in Term 3 – a tournament they won in both 2023 and 2024.

It is clear then that one of the common misconceptions of non-BUCS sports – that they are often less competitive or serious – can be debunked immediately. The teams are still highly competitive and often walk away from tournaments with plenty of silverware, some of which is even displayed in the SU building.

Nevertheless, despite this sporting success, Chick told The Boar that there is “no real support” given to their club by Warwick Sport. “Apart from our facility allocations, we are offered the odd repost on the Warwick Sport Instagram, and access to the Club Development Officer, but that’s about it,” he said.

Ivanna Keane, President of Warwick Latin and Ballroom, echoed Chick’s thoughts: “Non-BUCS athletes work just as hard [as BUCS athletes] but remain ‘off the radar’, which can be disheartening given the standard of our achievements.”

With sport being so central to many students’ university experiences, it begs the question as to why non-BUCS club members are left wondering whether Warwick Sport even remember their existence once the promotion of clubs in Welcome Week passes.

The Boar put this question to Louis Gosling, SU Vice-President for Sports. “We’re looking to make huge steps forward in the level of professional support available to all our clubs in the coming years, including non-BUCS,” Gosling said, highlighting in particular the work already done to expand the Team Warwick Performance application process.

Riva Harsiani, the President of Thai Boxing, praised the “incredibly helpful” support that her club has received from Warwick Sport’s Club Development Team over the previous year

The Performance programme helps clubs that demonstrate commitment and drive “to adopt a performance culture”, with access to strength and conditioning sessions, extra funding for coaching, and physio, nutrition, and lifestyle workshops. While ‘Performance Status’ has traditionally been awarded to clubs that compete in BUCS leagues, Thai Boxing and Warwick Devils were also successful in their applications this year, something that was celebrated by Gosling.

Riva Harsiani, the President of Thai Boxing, praised the “incredibly helpful” support that her club has received from Warwick Sport’s Club Development Team over the previous year, saying that it was “lovely” to see the team display “a clear lack of bias” in deciding who to award ‘Performance Status’ to.

“We are still offered the same opportunities to showcase our club and receive University funding as BUCS teams,” Harsiani added. For Thai Boxing, the Performance programme will “support and enhance their performance athletes’ development and team professionalism”, while also supporting their regular club members through provision of “more coached sessions”.

Just like other non-BUCS clubs, Thai Boxing members train regularly, with sessions led by their coach Pindi as well as student captains. Their athletes also compete against universities at competitions like the University Muay Thai Great Britain Championships which, in 2026, will be hosted by Warwick.

Harsiani’s experience as a non-BUCS Club President vastly differs, then, to that of Chick and Keane. The Performance programme which, as Gosling stressed can be applied for by all clubs, provides teams with extra funding – and it is the matter of funding which came up regularly when speaking to non-BUCS Presidents.

Gaia Nativ, the President of Warwick Quadball Club, told The Boar that a “lack of funding from the SU is a large problem” for her club. “We have to raise our own money for competitions,” she said, a problem with is exacerbated when it comes to the BQC “which tends to be not that easy to travel to”. Previous hosts of the tournament have included Sheffield, Newcastle, and Oxford.

As a society, rather than a sports club, Quadball do not receive support such as facility allocations or Club Development access from Warwick Sport. But, for Lifesaving and Latin and Ballroom, which are supported by Team Warwick’s schemes, the same issue of funding persists.

“The equipment associated with Lifesaving Sport is quite expensive. For example, submersible orange manikins which we use in most races are about £300 each, while one pair of fins cost around £120,” Chick explained. He said that, to be able to subsidise competition costs for members, “we can’t really afford to be continually spending money on equipment, which we are in need of.”

Chick explained that, to be able to subsidise competition costs for members, the club “can’t really afford to be continually spending money on equipment, which we are in need of”, with submersible orange manikins, for example, costing £300 each.

The way that funding is allocated to BUCS teams means a disparity will always remain between those competing in the inter-varsity leagues and those who are not

Keane similarly said that funding is one of the “biggest challenges” facing Latin and Ballroom, with limited finances meaning that the club is “sometimes turning down opportunities that would raise our performance level”.

While Gosling has said that he wants to support non-BUCS clubs even more in his second term as VP Sports, the way that funding is allocated to BUCS teams means a disparity will always remain between those competing in the inter-varsity leagues and those who are not.

BUCS clubs receive financial support for transport, accommodation, and league sign-up fees to BUCS fixtures from a ‘restricted grant’ designated for that use by the sport governing body. While all other costs are absorbed by the clubs themselves, this leaves non-BUCS clubs – who are also competing nationally – at a disadvantage.

Nativ said that she worries that a persistent lack of funding will mean that Quadball will not be able to afford to compete in national tournaments anymore. “Not being able to defend our position as one of the top national teams would be a real shame,” she added. Chick also echoed her concerns, saying that “any subsidy to competitions that the club offers gets taken away from our annual SU grant.”

With the cost of university sport already soaring, and often pricing some students out of competing altogether, non-BUCS clubs, especially those who are not Performance teams, seem set to face a continued uphill battle to attract members, compete in competitions, and even buy new equipment to train.

Gosling reiterated to The Boar that all non-BUCS have the same access to the Club Development teams and facility allocations as BUCS clubs and that they receive a grant which is “adjusted” to account for the difference in support they receive to BUCS teams who benefit from the restricted grant.

While most support for sport seems to remain channelled behind BUCS Wednesdays for the time being, Harsiani emphasised however, on a note of positivity, that membership of Thai Boxing has “grown exponentially” over the past two years, with the club now racking up over 300 members a year.

No matter how you want to get involved in sport at Warwick, join a club, and get active. Non-BUCS clubs may often face more challenges but, as Keane put it, “being part of a non-BUCS club has shown me the incredible dedication of student athletes who compete purely for passion and pride.”