BUCS Issue ‘Return to Play Statement’
BUCS, the governing body of university sport in the U.K. (our equivalent to the NCAA/NAIA) has issued a statement regarding what sport at universities will look like in the year ahead.
“Next season, the majority of BUCS leagues will take place between January and April 2021.
The decision to focus on Term 2 is a result of feedback from our members, who want to be able to support students in their preparation for returning to competitive team sport.
The 2020-21 season will be considered a ‘bridging season’ with no promotion or relegation at the conclusion of competition. League standings from 2019-20 will be used to create the 2021-22 league structures for those institutions who maintain affiliation to BUCS in 2020-21.
Please note, the size of leagues, and the inclusion of cup knockout competitions alongside the league programme, is still under review.”
You can read the full BUCS article here: https://www.bucs.org.uk/latest-news.html
What does this mean for you?
Whilst it is a huge disappointment that BUCS competition will not officially begin until the Spring 2021 semester, this does not mean that there will not be any sporting opportunities during the Fall semester.
We are in regular contact with Coaches from various sports across the U.K. we know that they are hoping to deliver a pre-season that allows players to train and compete in practice games during the Fall semester, should this be permitted by the institutions the various sporting bodies.
Opportunities to compete outside of BUCS
Many of our athletes compete for both their university and a club side during their year in the U.K. During a normal week, our athletes would typically compete for their university on a Wednesday, however many will also compete again at the weekend for their various clubs side who take part in local and national competition.
This is regularly the case for athletes in basketball, soccer, volleyball and field hockey. It is hoped that by the time the Fall semester starts, local and national sporting competition away from BUCS will be in a position to resume, allowing our athletes to compete and experience U.K. sport.
The decision to resume any local and national competition away from BUCS is subject to the decision of the National Governing Bodies in each sport.
If you have any questions about how your sport or education could be affected during your year overseas, please just ask us or the coach at your U.K. institution and they’d be happy to inform you of their current plans for the year ahead.
We will be sure to inform you of further updates as we have them. Things are currently moving at a fast pace and there are regularly changes. Should you have any questions that are not answered by the above, please do contact us and we’d be happy to help.
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