News | Wednesday, 12th February 2020

Manchester Met students head to BUCS Nationals

More than 60 students will attend the largest multi-sport event in the UK this weekend

Sagesse Nguie
Sagesse Nguie

Students at Manchester Metropolitan University have been working hard over the last few weeks preparing for this year’s BUCS Nationals.

On Friday, February 14, 52 students and five sports scholars will head to Sheffield to compete against more than 5,000 of the best athletes from universities across the UK to be crowned BUCS champions.

The three-day British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) tournament is the largest multi-sport event in the UK and the biggest event in the BUCS calendar, with 60 medals and 600 BUCS points for the taking.

Manchester Met students will compete in swimming, athletics, badminton, karate, judo, fencing and climbing.

Last year, Manchester Met athletes secured a haul of medals with particular success in swimming and karate. The University left the competition with four gold, three silver and five bronze medals and a total of 102 BUCS points – up from 32 points in 2018.

First year Sports, Physical Activity and Health student and sports scholar Sagesse Nguie is competing in the competition for the first time. He will be competing as a sprinter in the Indoor Athletics Championships.

He said: “I’m really excited for the competition this weekend – my goal is to run sub-seven seconds and make the final of the 60m sprint and the relay race. 

“I hope this weekend sets me up nicely for the BUCS year ahead – in May we also have the outdoor athletics competition, where I hope to win gold in the 200m sprint.

“Going forward, my ambitions for the year are to make the team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2020 European Athletics Championships in Paris.”

Hannah Slaney

Hannah Slaney is the first Manchester Metropolitan sports scholar to be joining the climbing event at the competition.

She said: “Enjoyment is always my top priority when competing but of course I compete to try and win.

“MMU Sport have been super supportive with my training – proving me with training facilities and advice has been really helpful when recently moving to an unfamiliar city.

“Following this, my goal is to compete in the 2020 World Cup Circuit and improve my rankings from previous years in the senior field.”

MSc Psychology student and sports scholar Adele Nicoll will also take part in the Indoor Athletics Championships, competing in the shotput event. Nicoll won the gold medal in the event last year while competing on her undergraduate course at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

She said: “My goal this year is to retain my title and come away with the gold medal. I would also like to push myself to break the championship record this time.

“As a distance learner living in Cardiff it can be difficult to feel a part of the team but MMU Sport have been extremely supportive and inclusive and I’m excited for the weekend.

“My other ambitions for the year are to win the indoor and outdoor BUCS competitions, win a medal at the indoor and outdoor British Championships and qualify for the European Championships.”

You can find live updates from the competition across the weekend on MMU Sport’s Instagram page.

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