See what our sports scholars have been up to in 2026.
While some of our scholars have had a quiet winter preparing for the summer season, others have had a series of successes throughout January and February, both at BUCS and in external competitions.
Rachel Tapster, our trampolining sport scholar, competed at the Portimão International Trampoline Open a couple of weeks ago, achieving impressive first place in her age category in the Double Mini Trampoline, after overcoming a recent ankle injury.
My ankle was injured going in, so I had to scale back my passes, but I am happy with the training I put in before competing. I had fun, so no complaints!
The American Football season has continued at a pace, with our scholars Nebechi Abana and Lambert Jaden Ondou having a busy couple of months. Neb and Jaden have both been selected for the GB men’s squad for the upcoming season following multiple trials this year, which is an incredible achievement. Neb has had some high-scoring games, including an impressive five touchdowns and 250 yards in the UOP Destroyers match against Exeter. Keep an eye on the Portsmouth Destroyers as they head into the cup semi-finals on Sunday 15 March.
Our athletics scholars have also been delivering some top results so far this year. Flynn Dodkin, our javelin sport scholar, took first place in both the Senior and Overall categories at the Long Throws Regional Winter Championships, with a throw of 54.76m. At the Indoor BUCS Nationals in Sheffield this month, our athletics scholar Vojtech Berger got through incredibly competitive heats to reach the finals in both events, finishing fifth in the long jump and sixth in 200m. Vojtech also set personal bests in both finals.
BUCS nationals also saw a great performance from taekwondo sport scholar Ella Dent. Ella made her debut in karate in Sheffield and ended up taking home gold in the Novice Kumite category - an incredible achievement.
Our basketball sport scholars, Sofia Morfiti and Adela Balakova, have guided the UOP team to reach the cup finals and won! The cup final win followed an already incredible five-week win streak, so big congratulations to you, Sofia and Adela, and the whole team for the incredible results. Sofia has also been selected for the English Universities Squad following an intense winter of trials.
Ben Filer, lacrosse sport scholar, made it onto the Irish national team following a winter of trials and made his debut last weekend, starting the season with a stellar performance across four matches at the Eurolax Sixes Cup. With three wins, Ben made a phenomenal first appearance, scoring five goals and recording four assists across the weekend.
Our scholars have really excelled so far this year. It has been inspiring to watch each individual going above and beyond their potential in competition, training, and for many applying remarkable resilience towards rehab and recovery. We have a very promising end to the season ahead of us!
BUCS Nationals
Team UOP sent a strong purple force up to Sheffield in the middle of February for the Indoor BUCS Nationals. We had nine competitors from Swimming, seven from Athletics, eleven from Climbing, nine from Badminton, and eight from Karate. With over 4,000 competitors from across the country, the standard of all sports was incredibly high this year, and it was great to see Team UOP putting in such a strong lineup.
In addition to the successes of our scholars, Vojtech and Ella, badminton delivered a particularly strong performance. Doubles pair Lucy Satterford and Ryan Chen faced a former BUCS medallist pairing, while our badminton sport scholar Anupam Akolkar also had a tough draw, narrowly losing in a competitive match against the number two seed, who went on to take the bronze.
Well done to everyone who competed and got involved, and good luck to those currently competing or training for their upcoming competitions! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings.