TeamDMU success highlighted in 10-place league table rise
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has climbed an unprecedented 10 places in the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) league tables, confirming the most successful season ever for #TeamDMU.
Sports clubs have gone far beyond expectations this academic year and in total, teams and individuals have contributed to a total of 398.5 BUCS points, a 45% increase on the 15/16 season.
This figure leaves #TeamDMU in 75th place which is their highest-ever position at the end of the BUCS season. The university is among the UK’s highest climbers.
This is a remarkable achievement for #TeamDMU as climbing just one place in the country’s ultimate university sports rankings is a challenge in itself.
DMU has invested millions of pounds in sport in recent years, including the development of facilities, introduction of Vice-Chancellor’s Sports Scholarships and the entry of more teams into BUCS league and cup competitions.
This has increased student involvement, with 100 more students competing this season compared to the 15/16 and 13 more teams entered into BUCS leagues.
DMU’s Head of Sport, Fiona Dick said: “We are absolutely over the moon with this significant rise in the league tables.
“We have dedicated a huge amount of time and effort to providing exceptional sporting opportunities for our students to succeed.
“Our clubs have been quite simply amazing this year and they deserve the recognition for a remarkable season of sport.”
Multiple #TeamDMU sides have contributed to the 10-place rise in the BUCS rankings
So how are BUCS ranking determined?
Over the course of the year, BUCS points are awarded for team and individual success.
Each team is awarded BUCS points for where they finish in their league, but more points are on offer for the higher the league they compete in.
The same goes for teams competing the cup and plate competitions. These fall into a number of categories. The higher the categories, the more points there are on offer and the further you progress, more points are awarded.
In individual sports, the top four in competition and its discipline are awarded BUCS points for their university.
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Notable contributions to the league table rise include league wins for Men’s Basketball 1st team, Women’s Hockey 1st team, Netball 1st team, Men’s Football 3rd team and Men’s Tennis 1st team.
Women’s Rugby also reached the semi-final of their cup competition, Women’s Hockey almost clinched a double, but missed out in the final, while Men’s Rugby defeated the University of Northampton to claim DMU’s second-ever cup win.
Other team and individual successes include, gold and bronze for rowing, bronze for Maddison Moore in karate, Lewis Fraser and Jay Butt picked up gold and bronze respectively in boxing, Ricky Millar won gold and silver in wild water canoeing and in the pool, our swimming team clinched gold.
So after this remarkable rise, what’s next for #TeamDMU?
Fiona said: “We are passionate about increasing sporting opportunities for everyone here at DMU.
“We are particularly aware that typically students who involve themselves in sport earn £5,000 more in a job when they graduate and we want to encourage that participating in our sports provision is worthwhile.
“We have once again entered more teams into BUCS and a total of 55 will compete for #TeamDMU in the forthcoming season.
“We want to consolidate our position and build on our success. We can climb this table further, but we have to work hard which is exactly what we’re planning to do.
“We will work with teams on their strength and conditioning, we are hoping to bring in more sports scholars and we will continue to strengthen our position as an ambitious sports institution.”
For all the latest sports news at DMU, visit our dedicated webpage.
Posted on: Monday 31 July 2017